I first came to Phoenix from the East Coast in 1975. I had been used to robust, vigorous marches against the War in Vietnam and for and against other righteous causes. Phoenix, on the other hand, was not much for such demonstrations. At first I thought it might be just the summer's withering heat, but it was the culture. Things got done, but not like that.
Fast forward to 2010. Last night a large energetic crowd gathered on a weekday night to protest Arizona's unjust new anti-Immigrant Law, celebrated our Diversity and our Commitment to Tolerance and Resistance, and marched right past US Airways Center where Los Suns were beginning to whup up on the Spurs to the State Capitol.
I had decided that it was time for me to show up. I had been to many other demonstrations around here. The culture, of necessity and with the infusion of fresh blood over the years, had changed. Evan Mecham's recission of the Martin Luther King Holiday had sent us to the streets for repeated and determined marches, even in pouring rain, until the Righteous Holiday was reestablished. It is now a very positive annual march and celebration.
In the old days in Phoenix, we understood that Native Americans, African-Americans, and Latinos had to stand together. Over the years, some of that unity had faded, lost at time in fractious competition over funds, attention, diverging opinions and interests. No more--the Unity is back. As we gathered last night at Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist Church, it was back to the future. The crowd was upbeat, excited---and unbelievably diverse. Some recent actions over mostly Latino issues have been mostly Latino. La Marcha of a few years ago included more than 300,000 souls, but I was one of the very few Anglos. Last night was different---a big Black turnout, Anglos of all ages, babies in strollers, Latinos, etc.
County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox, under constant attack from Sheriff Joe Arpaio and County Attorney Andrew Thomas in recent years, was the Convenor. Vice Mayor Michael Nowakowski, Councilman Mike Johnson, a 22-year veteran of Phoenix PD and 8-year Councilman and himself assaulted by an overzealous White officer in his own neighborhood recently, was righteously indignant and powerfully resensitized to the negative power law enforcement can wield. An SCLC leader from California chimed in. It had the feel of a good ol' Baptist Civil Rights gathering....and then Rev. Al Sharpton took the pulpit.
Rev. Al, Mary Rose recounted, had been here a couple of years ago when Sheriff Joe began his insidious roundups of undocumented workers. At that time he promised her that he would be back if it got worse. Well....it's worse. From the first word, Sharpton's words crackled with determination and righteous indignation. He railed against this insidious new reintroduction of "States' Rights" under the guise of filling a vacuum. He made clear that we all suffer from the disdain for basic human rights and share the same fate if we allow police to act on the thin thread of "reasonable suspicion". He excoriated Leaders of Color who now feel they are above it. He made clear the linkage among the various groups there represented, saying, "After nightfall, we all look Mexican."
Rev. Al's jaw was set tight, his rhetoric uplifting, his commitment palpable. To folks in a state that feels like we're under siege, his strong support was a welcome relief. He vowed a vigorous series of legal challenges, then noted, as he shared the history of the Freedom Riders from the 60's, as racially-diverse groups overcame intolerance with their joint commitment, that, if legal challenges fall short, that spirit will return to Phoenix. He vowed that folks from all over America will descend upon this city and this state for Freedom Walks, marching in civil disobedience and without id.
With that upbeat ending and a sense of unity and shared purpose coursing through the crowd, we took to the streets. The crowd of thousands marched peaceably right past US Airways, where the celebrated Los Suns were just beginning the second half of a drubbing of the nemesis Spurs. Three of those Suns are from other lands, most notably the ebullient Progressive Leader Steve Nash, and Robin Lopez is Mexican-American.
We made it the 5 or 6 miles to the State Capitol. Once there, the rally was fairly routine--emphasizing, again, the change in culture necessitated by a political establishment steeped in repressive and regressive tendencies. But the Unity, Determination, and Shared Purpose remained, even as choppers overhead and numerous tv trucks on the ground recorded the event for posterity. What is clear, though, is that this group will be back, if necessary---again and again and again. Si, Se Puede!!!