BLACK AND BROWN BUILD SOLIDARITY IN THE SOUTH
By Sarada Tangirala

Never write off the South when it comes to building alliances between African Americans and the rapidly growing Latino population, as well as Native Americans.

In fact, some of the most exciting alliance-building in the U.S.has been happening there. A major force in this development has been the Southeast Regional Economic Justice Network (Southeast REJN), based in Durham, N.C. last March 29-April 1, the Network hosted an international conference dedicated to "Transforming Race Relations to Win the World We Want."

The REJN has a 12-year history of bringing black and Latino people together to collectively battle injustices that face working-class folks all over the South and beyond. Southern community activists and non-governmental organization leaders from eight nations gathered at a conference center in Norcross, Georgia, near Atlanta for the purpose of discussing strategies to deal with new developments in race relations in the age of globalization.

REJN sees the need to build new alliances in the current age. A major focus of the conference was on the discriminatory polices in immigration and employment that hurt both blacks and Latinos. The conference made history when participants held a protest at the Immigration and Naturalization office (INS) in Atlanta. Their rally demanded fair and equal standards for visa allocations, refugee and citizenship sttus for immigrants, unconditional amnesty, an end to INS racial profiling, raiding and mass deportations, and civil as well as labor rights protection for all immigrants.Everyone saw immigration policies as racist. It's a rare day when we see black and brown people together in such an event.

REJN stands committed to "Movement Building for a Democratic Economy and Justice in Workplaces, Families and Communities," which it calls "transformational organizing." Its approach is holistic, and unique in several ways. For one, it links the struggles for civil rights and immigrant rights, unlike other groups. In addition, while it works hard for civil rights, it also takes on economic justice issues, again unlike most mainstream civil rights organizations. Also, it sees lessons for labor organizing to be learned from community organizing; they are not isolated areas of work.

REJN's first gathering in 1990 convened contingency workers (day laborers, seasonal employees), poultry and catfish workers, and transient workers from North Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia and Alabama. The following year, injured workers joined the mix as a major constituency. In 1992 REJN held an international gathering to discuss the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and its effects on working-class people around the world. That conference formed part of the anti-Quincentennial movement that celebrated 500 years of resistance; REJN focussed on "Building 500 Years of Just Relationships."

The spring 2001 conference, according to the Network's Executive Coordinator Leah Wise, included twice as many people from other countries (including Mexico, Ecuador, Guyana, the Caribbean and Canada) as in the past. Participants came from both rural and urban areas, with almost as many youth as adults. The program included educational sessions on immigration. For many it was the first time they heard the history of U.S. immigration laws, for example, how the Immigration Act of 1996 sharply increased INS Border Patrol abuse and eliminated social service benefits to undocumented immigrants. Or how the Haitian Refugee Act of 1998 put strict limits on immigrants from Haiti to become permanent residents, allowing only orphaned children who could prove they were fleeing persecution.

Reports on relationship building among Latino and black youth and workers in North Carolina were a major piece of the conference. This is on-the-ground work and has high priority for the REJN. The conference also discussed the upcoming United Nations world conference on racism in South Africa; the Network will be sending a delegation.

In the 1960s, Executive Coordinator Leah Wise was a volunteer with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), an organization known for its creative and courageous work-like the REJN. Hollis Watkins, a former SNCC staff member, is also a Network staffer today. They exemplify a continuity of anti-racist struggle, from the civil rights movement of decades ago to now, that makes the South a key source of hope for the future. Its goal of "we're trying to win the world we want to live in"-as a motto in fighting racism-is part of that inspiration.

When the Network is not hosting conferences, it conducts ongoing programs that include its Continent Work Working Group, youth leadership training, "wellness work" (to help youth deal with high stress conditions), and cultural projects. Leah Wise has also pushed hard to make the problems, concerns and gifts of women central to workers' movement and promoted women's leadership.

Find out more:

Southeast Regional Economic Justice Network, P.O. Box 240, Durham, NC 27702 (919)683-4310. FAX (919)683-3428. E-mail: serejn@rejn.org

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