Black community leaders respond to immigration enforcement in LA: 'This is our fight, too'

Black community leaders and advocates gathered in South Los Angeles Monday to respond to the recent immigration enforcement and military presence in Southern California.

They focused on one main message — this is our fight, too.

Several Black-led groups issued direct calls to action and suggested ways people can get involved, including supporting protests and working with grassroots community organizations.

Baba Akili, director of the Fannie Lou Hamer Institute and a representative of Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, said Black, Latino, immigrant and LGBTQ+ people are being targeted and erased.

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“ We are under attack, and when you are under attack, you got a choice,” he said during a news conference in Leimert Park. “You can stand up and fight back, or you can accept it. We are saying stand up and fight back.”

Many Black Angelenos are immigrants

Black Women For Wellness, the main organizer of the news conference, said the recent immigration raids in Los Angeles County and beyond are rooted in the same violence, racism and over-policing that have historically targeted Black communities.

Nana Gyamfi, the executive director of Black Alliance for Just Immigration, said that 1 in 5 Black people in L.A. is an immigrant or child of immigrants. She added that what we see happening with immigration enforcement now is the “tip of the spear” for what may come.

“ You cannot terrorize a fifth of this community, 20% of this community, and think that it's not Black people's fight,” she said. “ So this is the time to stand together in solidarity, and in self-interest.”

Janette Robinson Flint, the co-founder and executive director of Black Women for Wellness, referenced a sentiment that has been circulating online that 92% of Black women in the U.S. voted for Kamala Harris in the last election and are therefore stepping back from the aftermath.

But she said democracy demands active engagement beyond the ballot box.

“ We voted,” she said. “We have to do something more.”

A call to action

Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, said the organization knows of more than 500 people who have been taken in immigration enforcement activities in L.A. over the past 19 days.

More than 1,600 people suspected of violating immigration laws have been arrested in Southern California, according to the Department of Homeland Security, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. The Trump administration has said its targeting dangerous criminals, but recent raids have swept up people who have no criminal records.

Salas said the broader community should stand with immigrants, and Akili called on others to join in solidarity with people who want a better life for themselves and their family.

There are “ three very simple things that all of us can do,” Akili said — “resist, resist, resist.”

Robinson Flint encouraged people to protest peacefully, or support protestors with water, food and childcare if they’re not comfortable hitting the streets.

She suggested a list of more than two dozen organizations to get involved with, including grassroots community groups for those who are feeling leery of political leadership and government.

People are asked to talk to their friends, their families, their neighbors, their congregations and coworkers. They are also encouraged to post online, call their elected representatives and donate to groups who are on the front lines.

“ We have a responsibility and we have the power,” said Kevin Cosney, co-founder and associate director of California Black Power Network. “We must act now.”

Another message

Not everyone was on board with the messaging.

The news conference was disrupted by a small group of protesters who carried signs that said “reparations over immigration” and “vote no on SB 437.”

If passed, SB 437 would require the California State University system to explore and establish a process for verifying genealogical research for reparations claims. The protesters were quickly drowned out by people in the audience who chanted: “The people united will never be divided.”