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When People March
By Eduardo Barraza
BARRIOZONA
April 15, 2006
The segment of Grand Avenue that stretches from 7th to 19th Avenue is not as busy or transited, compared to many main
avenues in Phoenix. Plenty of dilapidated and abandoned buildings, a burned motel, and empty lots make this section of
Grand a rather desolated area where homeless, hustlers, and people on bikes are at times the only thing that bring some
action to this wide, unattractive, and obscure section of what’s really part of US 60.
Along this mile, emerging art galleries like “The Trunk Space” rise close to “The Henry Company Liquor and Grocery,” an
old convenience store frequented mostly by people looking to buy not groceries but beer. At least half a dozen churches
like the “Phoenix Inner City Church” and “Roca de Salvación” thrive nearby the “Smoke Shop” and “Bikini Cocktails,” all
looking for souls trying to quench different kinds of thirsts. The vibrant-painted tire shops and used-car dealerships that
compete for attention in a tough zone for businesses, are perhaps just about the only colors that stand out in the middle of
this rundown neighborhood.
A much, much smaller ‘business’ takes claim in the middle of an empty lot right behind “Llantera del Norte:” a homeless
man that has piled up a mountain of stuff in a grocery’s cart, including traditional products such as bags filled with
discarded aluminum cans, and innovative ones, like used and old bike tires and tubes. Walking across the lot, the man
heads to a nearby recycling place. Most of the few motorists who drive through this mile don’t pay any attention to him,
rushing either toward 7th or 19th, but rarely stopping along this stretch that becomes even more desolate in the area
directly under an underpass of Interstate 10.
This mile of apparent calmness became paradoxically the setting of the historic and multitudinous April 10th march. The
usual boredom of this area, only altered by the whistle of the train crossing McDowell Road, was shaken by the imposing
passing and the uproar of thousands and thousands of human beings marching toward the Capitol in search of an
immigration reform. Nothing or nobody could have predicted, not even a few months ago, that one of the most solitary
areas of Phoenix was to become the route of what was estimated to be 150 to 200 thousand people. Never before, and
perhaps never again, will such a disregarded spot in Phoenix be the scenario of what became the largest, single and
peaceful demonstration in Arizona.
A deeper dimension of amazement unlocks when we think that just a year ago, a concentration of people of this
magnitude was literally unachievable. How was it possible to gather this huge amount of people in one event? To
understand this, we need to think within a new context of historic relevance. To think of a march of these proportions in
Phoenix with an 80’s or 90’s mentality is not possible. We need to see this event within a new historic framework, and
recognize that Phoenix is not the same, that it has changed, and that it did, to an extent, unexpectedly. The resistance to
accept this reality in many makes evident that the demographic shift caught them by surprise. For those who are part of
this rising social movement, for the thousands of demonstrators, there was surprise as well, but they incubated it,
perhaps unknowingly, for years. Giving birth to their demands in such an impressive way was the result of a latent process
whose time has come.
A march of people like the one that took place on March 24th, and more evidently the April 10th march, is only attainable
when the sentiment of a marginal people has been contained within for a long time. It develops inside, imperceptible for
mainstream society, but eventually overflows, uncontainable. The thousands –millions across the United States– of men
and women who have been in this state, particularly without legal documents, who have worked, and being partially and
covertly accepted, had become tired of the ambivalent attitude of the community that accepts their labor but denies them
legal status. Many of them, undisputable good, hard-working, and passive men and women, are so interweaved in the
social fabric of this country, that sooner or later were going to realize the two-facedness of a society that accepts them and
rejects them. And that an assertive action was needed.
When people march, especially in such a powerful, spontaneous, and non-violent way, as thousands did on Monday,
unjust social structures begin to tremble, and eventually collapse. A people’s movement forces a society to be confronted
with itself, and to do what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. declared: "that this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its
creed…that all men are created equal.” But equality, after four decades since King’s words, continues to be an ideal hard
to sell in 2006. So thus, many believe the undocumented individuals, those who composed the majority of the marching
crowd, the ones who did not enter the country through the door of legality, have no right to march for rights. Perhaps they
are missing the whole point. For those who get the point, it makes absolute sense, even when they may oppose an
immigration reform: a marcher who already has a right has no need to march.
Another striking aspect of these marches is that thousands of people have mobilized as one, practically, fundamentally,
and philosophically without a true and genuine leader. This is a leaderless movement, a people’s movement. This evokes
the biblical parable: “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless,
like sheep without a shepherd.” There are organizers, but not a philosopher who can shape the movement, and lead the
people toward a common goal. The people express their opinions in many different directions. They continue to wear out
the “Si se puede” chant because no social movement’s philosopher has coined a new, powerful phrase to summarize the
struggle. On top of this, the organizers, and even the people, are divided culturally and linguistically. Some can’t speak
Spanish correctly; others have difficulty with English. A group starts to idolize some organizers, but fails to identify with long
time Mexican-American leaders. Some adhere and follow the latter, and reject the former. Can a movement with these
characteristics prevail?
In spite of all these circumstances, people started to show up for the march –one by one, in groups, entire families– at
Veterans Memorial Coliseum. By Noon, the coliseum grounds were packed, as well as the corners where Grand, 19th
Avenue and McDowell intersect. They were almost as many United States flags as there were people. The multitude was
waiting to begin the march in perfect order, mostly quiet, except when, ineffectively, the organizers and some entertainers
tried to make them lift up their voices. Days before, some people who opposed the march were wishing for rain to ruin the
march; conversely, there was no rain, but an immense cloud that some people believe was a godsend. The train whistle
was heard a couple of times. Some of the marchers thought the engineer was saluting them, but the whistle blow is a
standard procedure when the train is going through McDowell. The people cheered anyway. The number of people
overcame the march’s volunteers, but their orderly behavior made up for the lack of enough helpers.
The march began shortly after 1:00 PM. People inside the coliseum’s grounds became trapped for several minutes.
Because the crowd outside was so thick, it took a while before people could get out to the street. In a matter of minutes,
people started walking down, southeast bound on Grand Avenue, toward 7th. The usually quiet avenue became a loud
one when, intensely and passionately, people began chanting. By the time the multitude approached the freeway’s
underpass, the view was already impressive. The strength marchers represented was felt powerfully on the streets. On a
sidewalk, three Mexican-American elders, two men and one woman, who were watching the march expressed their
opinion about illegal immigrants by saying in Spanish: “the dirt should go down the drain.” Another couple, both on
wheelchairs, cheered from the sidewalk as well. Two young men, both Anglo, got on top of their art gallery’s roof for a
better view; one was smiling, cheering the marchers on; the other one had an expression of disbelief. Police officers were
attentive, but to an extent bored: the marchers did not give them any extra work.
Most carried flags, some big enough to be held by a group of people and seen from the news helicopters above. The
cloud helped enormously to decrease the heat. The mile’s length from 19th to 7th Avenue was too much for some kids
and people who almost called it quits. When people finally reached 7th Street, the smell of fried chicken from Church’s
distracted some marchers. At the intersection of Grand, 7th Avenue and Van Buren, the marchers split. Some kept going
straight on Van Buren toward 3rd Avenue, following the organizers, who detoured to pass by City Hall and greet Mayor Phil
Gordon. Many were confused since the original plan was to go south on 7th to Washington, and then head toward the
Capitol. Some followed this original route. Individuals scattered even before reaching 7th and started walking south
straight to Washington. Some used Van Buren, walking westbound toward the Capitol as well. At one point, it was evident
that marchers felt confused, and of course many were already tired. Some went through Adams, others through the
sidewalks on Washington. Most made it to the Capitol. There, an army of television crews and trucks were profusely
covering the march. As soon as some reached the Capitol, they set out back to the coliseum. People used any street
heading north to reach Grand. Toward the end of the march, people were walking everywhere. No major or relevant
incidents were reported. That night, news anchors were reporting an amazingly orderly, peacefully, and of course, historic
march.
The impact of the march, from a social and demographic perspective, was astonishing. No one in their right mind can
ignore the strong presence that immigrants represent in Arizona, and the rest of the country. However, the influence it had
on legislators appears to have been of minimal effect. The minds of senators who oppose immigration reform were not
changed, perhaps only became “more intense” after the march, as one radio caller put it. Just two days after the march,
they approved a senate bill that, if implemented as law, would charge immigrants with trespassing, a Class 1
misdemeanor. This sends a clear message to those who are here without documents, that it will take more than marches
to have an effect on politicians. Among immigrants, there’s uncertainty about how the march helped or didn’t help their
cause. Organizers are now calling for a one day economic boycott on May 1st.
A few days later after the march, the one mile stretch of Grand Avenue has fully returned to its regular and quite aspect.
The homeless man with the loaded cart was not seen during the march, but he has resumed his routine as well. On Good
Friday, April 14, he was spotted in the same empty lot, checking the tire of a man’s bike, perhaps trying to sell him one of
the many he carries in his cart, filled with the assorted stuff he finds on the streets. A brand new, small American flag
noticeably sticks out of his cart, most likely a remnant of the march. The few companies along this now historic segment of
Grand, even the homeless man, are back doing business as usual.
Copyright © 2006 Hispanic Institute of Social Issues
Grassroots Journalism
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