A Real Civil Rights Journey

by David Hernandez

Midway through the 20th Century, almost 100 years after President Lincoln wrote and delivered the Emancipation Proclamation, white Americans were awakened to a painful truth; Millions of American men and women, descendents of freed slaves, were being treated like second and third class citizens. In some parts of this nation, they were treated worse then stray dogs.

Forced to sit in the back of busses, prevented from eating and drinking in “whites only” restaurants and bars, waiting in line to drink from water fountains designated for “colored” only, black Americans suffered the shame and humiliation associated with bigotry and racism.

Given a series of events both political and social, Americans finally awoke to this reality and the Civil Rights Movement began. With leaders like Martin Luther King and courageous political and civil activists, laws were acquired at the local, state and national level that prevented abuses so common in the black community.

These laws permitted individuals born in the United States of America–some 4th, 5th and 6th generation Americans-to finally enjoy the basic rights so many citizens took for granted.

The Civil Rights Movement was their battle. It was a battle fought in the streets, in the schoolhouses, and in the courts for over a decade. It was founded on a dream that all men would someday be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. Because of the sacrifices made by these courageous folks who were willing to put their lives on the line, civil rights exist today for all American citizens no matter what their race, religion, nationality or creed.

But there are a growing number of people in our country who are claiming that their civil rights are being violated. These men and women are Persons Here Illegally. They have stolen across the border and claimed this country as their home. Moreover, they are demanding the rights available to all American citizens with the help of organizations like the ACLU. According to the ACLU,

The Immigrants' Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation was established in 1987 to expand and enforce the civil rights and civil liberties of non-citizens and to combat public and private discrimination against immigrants.

Rights that took American Blacks decades to acquire are being handed to persons here illegally because they have successfully evaded authority and circumvented the legal process.

This is a civil rights issue, but the question is “Who’s civil rights are we most obligated to protect?”

What needs to be done.

There cannot be any discussion of immigration reform that does not include the impact illegal immigration has on the African American community. Those most impacted by the flood of persons here illegally will not be left to fend for themselves. The price of freedom was too great; the sacrifices made for civil rights were too painful.

The economic challenges faced by those from other countries deserve our compassion and our concern, but they do not equal the price paid in the journey from the auction block to the voting booth, from the plantation to the state assembly, from the back of the bus to the freedom to live, work and worship with every other American citizen. No, the road to citizenship was too painful and too costly to devalue by keeping it out of so-called “compressive reform.”

Before we can engage in any discussion of rights for migrant workers and those claiming entitlement to civil liberties, we must remember the sacrifices that were made by Americans in the name of liberty. We cannot keep American blacks out of the discussion.

When jobs, services, and money for education are diverted away from black communities and given to persons here illegally, we are stealing from the poor to give to the poor. Some say we are igniting a race war–well let me tell you–the war is here and it has been here for a very long time.

Politicians no longer get to blame activists for that which they have too long ignored.

So, I am closing with a challenge to all elected representatives and candidates for President: If you do not stand up for the black community now and include them in your talks of immigration reform, then you are not qualified to represent any American in the future.

God bless you and God bless the United States of America.

Midway through the 20th Century, almost 100 years after President Lincoln wrote and delivered the Emancipation Proclamation, white Americans were awakened to a painful truth; Millions of American men and women, descendents of freed slaves, were being treated like second and third class citizens. In some parts of this nation, they were treated worse then stray dogs.

Forced to sit in the back of busses, prevented from eating and drinking in “whites only” restaurants and bars, waiting in line to drink from water fountains designated for “colored” only, black Americans suffered the shame and humiliation associated with bigotry and racism.

Given a series of events both political and social, Americans finally awoke to this reality and the Civil Rights Movement began. With leaders like Martin Luther King and courageous political and civil activists, laws were acquired at the local, state and national level that prevented abuses so common in the black community.

These laws permitted individuals born in the United States of America–some 4th, 5th and 6th generation Americans-to finally enjoy the basic rights so many citizens took for granted.

The Civil Rights Movement was their battle. It was a battle fought in the streets, in the schoolhouses, and in the courts for over a decade. It was founded on a dream that all men would someday be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. Because of the sacrifices made by these courageous folks who were willing to put their lives on the line, civil rights exist today for all American citizens no matter what their race, religion, nationality or creed.

But there are a growing number of people in our country who are claiming that their civil rights are being violated. These men and women are Persons Here Illegally. They have stolen across the border and claimed this country as their home. Moreover, they are demanding the rights available to all American citizens with the help of organizations like the ACLU. According to the ACLU, The Immigrants' Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation was established in 1987 to expand and enforce the civil rights and civil liberties of non-citizens and to combat public and private discrimination against immigrants.

Rights that took American Blacks decades to acquire are being handed to persons here illegally because they have successfully evaded authority and circumvented the legal process.

This is a civil rights issue, but the question is “Who’s civil rights are we most obligated to protect?”

What needs to be done.

There cannot be any discussion of immigration reform that does not include the impact illegal immigration has on the African American community. Those most impacted by the flood of persons here illegally will not be left to fend for themselves. The price of freedom was too great; the sacrifices made for civil rights were too painful.

The economic challenges faced by those from other countries deserve our compassion and our concern, but they do not equal the price paid in the journey from the auction block to the voting booth, from the plantation to the state assembly, from the back of the bus to the freedom to live, work and worship with every other American citizen. No, the road to citizenship was too painful and too costly to devalue by keeping it out of so-called “compressive reform.”

Before we can engage in any discussion of rights for migrant workers and those claiming entitlement to civil liberties, we must remember the sacrifices that were made by Americans in the name of liberty. We cannot keep American blacks out of the discussion.

When jobs, services, and money for education are diverted away from black communities and given to persons here illegally, we are stealing from the poor to give to the poor. Some say we are igniting a race war–well let me tell you–the war is here and it has been here for a very long time.

Politicians no longer get to blame activists for that which they have too long ignored.

So, I am closing with a challenge to all elected representatives and candidates for President: If you do not stand up for the black community now and include them in your talks of immigration reform, then you are not qualified to represent any American in the future.

God bless you and God bless the United States of America.

David Hernandez
http://blackamericanscivilrights.wordpress.com/