Hunger Strikes in Detention Force Candidates to Respond

Dec

#Freedomgiving Hunger Strike Supporters Push Candidates to Respond

Tags: clinton, detention, drum, elections, fahd ahmed, freedomgiving, o'malley, sanders

As Detainees Enter 8th Day of #Freedomgiving Hunger Strike, Protests Prompt Candidate Response, ICE Continues Retaliation

O’Malley Calls for End to Detention, Sanders Issues Support, Clinton Pivots to Beltway Talking Points

“Generic pledges of future positions are inadequate when there are people in detention literally starving to be free right now.” – Fahd Ahmed, Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM)

Citing that leading Democratic candidates have made promises of reform in the future, #Freedomgiving hunger strike supporters rallied at Hillary Clinton’s office yesterday demanding that she and the other candidates speak out on the current crisis in detention.

Before the rally, Fahd Ahmed, executive director of Desis Rising Up and Moving explained, “People seeking safety in the US who instead find themselves locked behind bars have refused their meals for the past week. The fact that they have not been released after as much as two years in detention is a failure of the immigration system. If the candidates don’t speak out on their behalf we are also witnessing a failure of humanity. Bernie Sanders started a petition for refugees coming to the US but what about the ones already in detention here?” Read more

Nov

Democrats Lost More than an Election in 2014

Tags: 2014, elections, marisa franco

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Note: The following is an op-ed by Marisa Franco, lead organizer of the #Not1More campaign at the National Day Laborer Organizing Network.

With the US witnessing rising levels of community and labor activism in the past two years, one would expect the 2014 midterm elections to be a vibrant moment of civic engagement, translating that activity into political power. But this year, that wasn’t the case.

With so much in motion, where’s the disconnect?

In every corner of the country there are examples of an active and engaged population pushing for change. The murders of Eric Garner in Staten Island and Mike Brown in Ferguson as well as countless others killed at the hands of police generated a new spirit of organizing affirming that black lives matter. LGBTQ issues are making dramatic advances and unheard of cultural leaps. Our cities are roiling with the fight for 15 and a rising tide to lift the minimum wage. More than 400,000 people turned out for climate justice this Fall in New York City to sway the UN discussion. Native and indigenous communities pledge to be Idle No More. Undocumented people have tirelessly faced down fear and placed their bodies in the way of buses to stop deportations. And the incredible stamina of the Moral Mondays movement in the face of attacks of voting rights and campaign finance laws refuses to wane. Read more

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#Freedomgiving Hunger Strike Supporters Push Candidates to Respond

Democrats Lost More than an Election in 2014

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