KEPW national desk covers J20 rally in LA County

Curtis Blankinship (KEPW News): United Teachers of Los Angeles, Union del Barrio, National Lawyers Guild, Womens March Action, Eastside Padres and Centro CSO organized a protest rally against the Trump agenda and deportations on Jan. 20 at Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights, a suburb of Los Angeles, California.

The rally focused on what Trump has called the largest deportation operation in American history and joined in solidarity with Mexico and other Latin American nations critical of Trump’s plans. They also called for women and reproductive rights and a stand for Palestine.

Cancel the Contract Antelope Valley is a coalition of community organizations and leaders from the Antelope Valley calling for the end of law enforcement violence and racism in our communities. They are calling on our cities and our schools to cancel the contracts with the LA Sheriff’s Department and reinvest those dollars in a new vision of community safety and meaningful services for students and the community.

Spokespersons Raquel Derfler and Crystal Chavez spoke about the historical abuse of Latin Americans in the US.

Raquel Derfler: I’ve traveled here from the Antelope Valley, so that’s the northernmost point of LA County, to stand in solidarity with you, our brothers and sisters, as we begin to fight again against another Trump administration and defend our community.

So we’re here to educate the community that the new administration boldly supports law enforcement, basically brutalizing our community and standing with ICE and working with ICE in the name of law and order.

But I’d like to share a little bit of my story. As you can see, as you heard, my last name is Derfler, but I’m actually a proud Latina. But I don’t speak Spanish and that’s confusing to many in my community.

I don’t speak Spanish because my mother didn’t speak Spanish. She grew up in the 1950’s, 60s, was in high school in the 1960s, and my grandparents refused to teach their children Spanish because they wanted to make sure they were American as possible.

Americanized, because if you did not speak English in those days, you were viewed as an other, as an enemy, someone who was to be deported. And we’re headed in that direction now. That’s what it’s going to be pretty soon. So we wanted to be here and to let you know that we’ll be fighting with you.

Crystal Chavez: My name is Crystal and I’m with Cancel The Contract from Antelope Valley. I am here today to stand up for my family and for my neighbors.

In the 1930’s, during The Mexican Repatriation, more than two million Mexican Americans were deported because the administration felt they were taking American jobs during difficult times; 40% to 60% of those were Mexican American citizens born in the United States.

And now, this administration is coming for the 14th Amendment. They want history to repeat itself.

Stand up with me. Stand up for our brothers and our sisters who are also at war. Women’s rights are at stake. We will not stand quietly this time. We will not stand as our neighbors get deported. We will fight. We will fight.

Curtis Blankinship: For more information on Cancel the Contract Antelope Valley, go to CTCAV.org. KEPW News, I’m Curtis Blankinship.