Apr 23, 2006 10:54 am US/Pacific
Black Activists Join To March With Minutemen
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―
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Schoolchildren protest from a bus headed back to school from a protest. (File)
Jensen Walker/Getty Images
Several black activists plan to join members of the Minutemen Project to protest illegal immigration, which organizer Ted Hayes touted as the "biggest threat to blacks in America since slavery."
The protest, organized by Hayes' Crispus Attucks Brigade and the American Black Citizens Opposed to Illegal Immigration Invasion, is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.
Hayes, a homeless activist, alleged that most homeless people in Los Angeles are black and illegal immigration compounds the problem since blacks refuse to accept the "slave wages" that many illegal immigrants accept.
Many pro-immigration rallies were held in recent weeks; most of which, called for amnesty to the nation's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants. Many Southland public officials, including Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, supported the protesters.
"While all Americans are suffering from this invasion, we blacks are suffering the most," Hayes said. "We feel like the leaders promoting this issue are being insensitive. This country wasn't built on the backs of immigrants like (Villaraigosa) says. It was built on the back of West African slaves."
Immigrant activist Nativo Lopez believes Hayes is out of step with most black leaders and that both blacks and Hispanics face the same problems.
"Unfortunately, (Hayes) thinks that way," Lopez said. "He has a right to express his opinion, but I don't agree with him. Many and most African American leaders think otherwise and we're appreciative of their support. I'm not interested in Latinos being pitted against African Americans," he said. "We are all in the same boat. We will pull ourselves up together."
The Minutemen Project formed by Jim Gilchrist, patrols the Mexican border. He may attend the protest along with other Minutemen Project members. Hayes said that Minutemen Project members have been unfairly portrayed as racist.
"I've been down to the border with them. They're not racist," Hayes said. "They don't care what color you are."
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
SLIDESHOW: Tempers Rise In Illegal Immigration Protest
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