VIEW FROM THE HILL - #6; December 21, 2005 A Monthly E-mail Update Highlander Research and Education Center www.highlandercenter.org >---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>--<>--<>--< CONTENTS 1. Anti-Immigrant Legislation Pending in Congress 2. Highlander Supports Gulf Coast Organizing Efforts 3. Youth Organizer Training in California and Mississippi 4. 50th Anniversary Montgomery Bus Boycott Conference 5. Highlander Social Change Workshops; March 17-19 and Oct. 13-15, 2006 6. Support Highlander with an Online Contribution >---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>--<>--<>--< 1. ANTI-IMMIGRANT LEGISLATION PENDING IN CONGRESS Late Friday night, the House of Representatives passed HR 4437, the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act. This is the most repressive immigration bill in seventy years. The bill would make undocumented immigrants aggravated felons and drastically limit their basic legal rights, criminalize anyone who comes in contact with them, make first-time DUI a deportable offense, and empower state and local police to enforce immigration laws. HR 4437 also calls for the construction of a 700 mile fence along the border, and contains many other provisions that exacerbate an already broken immigration system. Together, the provisions of HR 4437 represent an unprecedented assault on immigrants, and threaten the human and civil rights of all. Although the passage of this bill is devastating, the vote was close (239 to 182) due to intensive mobilization during the ten days from when the bill was introduced to when it was voted on. In contrast, when the House voted on anti-immigrant legislation in 1996, we lost 350 to 85. We should keep this at the forefront of our minds as the battle moves to the Senate, where reason-- rather than fear--is more likely to prevail. Highlander is working with organizations around the country to develop a strategy to educate the public about this dangerous legislation. Please check our Web site in the coming weeks for updates and ideas about how you can help. In the meantime, as you celebrate the holidays with your loved ones, please take the opportunity to have a dialogue about how human and civil rights for all, including immigrants and refugees, is paramount if we are to have a true democracy in this country. >---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>--<>--<>--< 2. HIGHLANDER SUPPORTS GULF COAST ORGANIZING EFFORTS Highlander's Cultural Organizer Tufara Waller Muhammad traveled to Jackson, Mississippi, on December 8-9 to participate in the "Justice after Katrina: The People Must Decide! Gulf Coast Survivors Assembly" - an important gathering to discuss strategies for the people's input on all aspects of the rebuilding of New Orleans. On December 10, a march entitled "From Outrage to Action: March for Human Rights and Right to Return" was held in New Orleans. Tufara was a featured performer for the march's opening assembly, held at Congo Square in Louie Armstrong Park. Approximately 5,000 protesters took part in the march, which was covered by both national and international media. (Highlander friends enjoyed seeing Tufara in the coverage provided by C-Span.) Highlander Board members Hubert Dixon and Hollis Watkins were also participants in the weekend's events. These events were sponsored by the Mississippi Disaster Relief Coalition and the People's Hurricane Relief Fund and Oversight Committee. Highlander's participation is part of our ongoing commitment to support organizing efforts in the Gulf Coast region. For more information on grassroots organizing efforts in support of the survivors of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, log onto www.communitylaborunited.net or our Web site, www.highlandercenter.org. >---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>--<>--<>--< 3. YOUTH ORGANIZER TRAINING IN CALIFORNIA AND MISSISSIPPI On November 6-11, Young & Restless staff members Paulina Hernandez and Caitlin Breedlove were among the trainers at the National Youth Organizing Training Institute in Monterrey, California. The Institute marked the culmination of a year and a half collaboration between Y&R, the School of Unity and Liberation (SOUL) in Oakland, and several other regional and national youth organizing intermediary and support organizations. Close to thirty youth organizers from around the country attended the Institute, where they received training in political analysis about issues affecting young people and in skills building around tactics to address those issues. Paulina and Caitlin led sessions around youth organizing and risk management, power analysis, and theatre of the oppressed. On November 18-19, Paulina and Catilin traveled to Decant, Mississippi, for a two-day political education training with a group of young people age 6-24. The event was hosted by 2nd Chance, which participated in Highlander's Seeds of Fire Youth Leadership Training Camp in 2004. On the second day of the training, the group was joined by young people from Youth Creating Change in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and Youth Innovation Moveement Solutions in Duck Hill, Mississippi, who were participating in a peer exchange program organized by Youth Action, a national organization that supports youth organizing. One very important part of the training was to help the young people see connections between issues, oppressions, and communities. As 7-year old Cyntessia Head said: "I just know there is a connection between the murder of Dr. King and what Bush did during Katrina; I just need help figuring out what it is!" >---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>--<>--<>--< 4. 50th ANNIVERSARY MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTT CONFERENCE December 5th marked the 50th anniversary of the Montgomery bus boycott, during which 50,000 Black people walked for 381 days to protest daily discrimination and humiliation on Montgomery buses. The boycott launched the modern civil rights movement, establishing it as a moral and spiritual movement and forcing America to look in new ways at the racist treatment of African Americans. On December 8-9, Highlander's Director Pam McMichael attended a 50th anniversary national civil rights conference sponsored by Alabama State University and the National Center for the Study of Civil Rights and African American Culture at Alabama State. The theme of the conference was The Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Advancement of the Social Justice: Seeking the Beloved Community. "It was very important for Highlander to be at this conference," said McMichael, "for our relationships with people and organizations in Montgomery, and also for our continued learning at Highlander to better understand our own history and use the lessons of history to inform our work today." Highlander teaches about the Montgomery bus boycott in its leadership development program with immigrants and in other workshops. >---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>--<>--<>--< 5. HIGHLANDER SOCIAL CHANGE WORKSHOPS; MARCH 17-19 AND OCT. 13-15, 2006 If you'd like to visit Highlander and learn more about our work, you might want to attend one of the Social Change Workshops we're offering in 2006 - on March 17-19 and October 13-15. These workshops are designed for English and Spanish-speaking individuals and organizations who would like to learn more about Highlander and share ideas and information about working for social change. The workshops will include sessions on popular education, participatory research, and cultural work; Highlander's history and current educational strategies; and the nuts and bolts of running a residential center. There will also be time to relax, reflect, watch videos, talk with Highlander staff and other participants, use the resource center, and enjoy the outdoors. There will be simultaneous English/Spanish interpretation if needed. The cost for the two-day workshop is $350, which includes room and board. We will have limited scholarships available for people with limited means who are actively engaged in social change. Childcare can be provided. For more information and an application form, see our Web site, www.highlandercenter.org, or contact Roberto Tijerina at roberto@highlandercenter.org or 865-933-3443 x233. >---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>--<>--<>--< 6. SUPPORT HIGHLANDER WITH AN ONLINE CONTRIBUTION We don’t normally ask for your financial help in View from the Hill, but at the end of the year we wanted to remind you that you can make a tax deductible donation online through our Web site. Just go to www.highlandercenter.org and click on the "Donate Now" button. You can also mail a donation to us at the address below. If you make a contribution before December 31, you can benefit from the Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act of 2005. This legislation removes the 50% limitation and allows a tax payer who itemizes his/her deductions to take 100% of the total charitable cash contributions donated to a qualified charity between August 28, 2005 and December 31, 2005 as a charitable tax deduction up to 100% of adjusted gross income. For more information, please consult a tax specialist or visit www.irs.gov. Thanks for your support for Highlander. Your help is crucial to our continued work for justice and equality for all people. >---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>---<>--<>--<>--< To unsubscribe from this e-mail list, or to add someone new, send an e-mail to hrec@highlandercenter.org. Past issues of View from the Hill are available online at www.highlandercenter.org/n-view.asp. Highlander Research and Education Center 1959 Highlander Way New Market, TN 37820 Phone: (865)-933-3443 Fax: (865) 933-3424 www.highlandercenter.org