March for America from VivirLatino on Vimeo.

Some video clips from the March 21, 2010 March for America in Washington D.C.

I’ve decided to break my analysis of this past weekend’s March for America into three parts, each focusing on a different aspect of my experience and perceptions.

The first part is messaging. What was the purpose of this march and was the reason why anywhere between 200,000 to 500,000 people went the same as the organizers? How did expectations and promises compare with the reality of what was said and what was experienced?


The official tag lines of the march were : “Immigration reform for new American families. Economic Justice for all American families”. This pushes the idea that immigration reform will bring a better economy to all. Who is this message for? The immigrant community or those who aren’t convinced that people deserve to live without fear? Not to mention that this argument is based on capitalism, the same capitalism that has brought neo-liberal economic polices to countries around the world, forcing migration, the same capitalism linked to colonialism that was responsible for my own family’s immigration story. But before the tea baggers start calling me a socialist…

How is familia defined? There were many many faith organizations represented including churches. I saw many signs saying: ” I am Christian and I support immigration reform” and “I am conservative and I support immigration reform”. Now I understand that many Latinos are Christians and people of faith, pero why did I only see one sign, held up by a white woman mind you, saying “immigration is a queer issue”? Are the orgs going to keep pushing for an immigration reform package that leaves out families that “offend” part of their base?

Walking in my ‘hood the day before the march, the day I traveled down to the DC, I noticed that there weren’t any posters, fliers or signs announcing the march and I live in one of the most immigrant neighborhoods in NYC. Local immigrants, both documented and undocumented, that I spoke to in the days prior to the march, asked me out loud, what was the point? Would this march raise the hopes of the millions of undocumented but bring no reform?
“They are playing with people’s emotions”, one told me.

I was also concerned that the March for America would turn into a march in favor of the Schumer/Graham blueprint that was announced right before the rally. This blueprint, which is a far cry from the plan that advocates had asked for, calls for a biometric id card as well as for the undocumented to admit that their being in the U.S without papers is a crime. In other words, hand over your identities on a platter and admit that you were a criminal all along. And some of the orgs sponsoring the march, including America’s Voice and The National Council of la Raza said that this blueprint is a good start.

Forget si se puede or as Roberto Lovato likes to say, si se pedo. This is si se pudrió, as in a rotten ass deal.

The morning of the march, while taking the Metro, I found a copy of the Washington Hispanic, which was printed in Spanish despite it’s English language title. Inside, along with a half page ad for the March was a little box with tips for would be participants. Included was: to wear white, bring U.S flags, and that the purpose of the march was to show “Americans” that immigrants are just like “them” and that immigrants want to integrate themselves into the country.

White for peace/passivity?
White for surrender?
White for um…white?

The U.S flag over other flags because assimilation means immigrants must never have pride in their home country or if they do, it must be hidden?

Now, to be fair, these were not messages that I heard from any of speakers. Who were the speakers? They included the usual suspects of heads of orgs and politicians including Ali Noorani, Janet Murguia, Congressman Gutierrez, and Angelica Salas. There was even a taped message from President Obama
. Piolin’s entourage and fans almost ran me over. Pero you know who wasn’t there? The familia of Marcelo Lucero. The familia of Luis Ramirez. The familia of Jose Sucuzhañay. The familia of Brisenia Flores. If there were peeps who need half a million arms of love and support around them, it is the families of those killed for being immigrants/Latinos. I may have missed it, but were their names even mentioned or in a flurry to push for reform have organizers forgotten that without reform, people are being killed for being?

In conversations I had before ad after the march, I waxed nostalgic and sounded a little like a vieja remembering the day when marches went somewhere and were part of a wider strategy of direct and indirect action. For example, talking to amiga bfp about the health care vote that was being debated and that willfully left out the undocumented. bfp asked, why the fuck were there not half a million people storming the congress? Or even half that amount? Or a quarter? The one time I heard health care reform mentioned at the march it was in the context of it not being enough and that is why we need comprehensive immigration reform. Pero, will that be enough?

Other people who were there…were your expectations met? Did you see yourself and your needs as part of immigrant communities represented? Did you hear what you expected to hear?

Next up….March for America Part II : Media