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Conference

SEND OFF EVENT FOR SEATTLE FREEDOM RIDE/IMMIGRANT RIGHTS CAMPAIGN
September 20, 2003 - Saturday
Prior to departure on Tuesday, Sept. 23, there will be a send-off event ending in a massive rally at the Seattle Center Fisher Lawn.

SEATTLE FREEDOM RIDE- IMMIGRANT RIGHTS CAMPAIGN
September 23, 2003 - Tuesday
10 am new conference
7 pm community event

Buses filled with immigrant workers and allies will begin an historic journey from 10 cities around the country, including Seattle, to Washington, D.C. to demand respect for all people, regardless of immigration status.

Just as the Freedom Rides of the early 1960s exposed the brutality of legal segregation in the South, today's Freedom Rides will expose the injustice of current policies toward immigrants and create a powerful coalition of voices for change.

The Immigrant Worker Freedom Ride (IWFR) is a national mobilization to focus public attention on the immigrant rights issue and the Seattle-area coalition will kick off its campaign on Thursday with a 10 a.m. news conference and a 7 p.m. community event, both at the New Holly Community Center, 7050 32nd Ave. South in Seattle (take Metro buses 106, 32 or 36).

Scheduled to speak at the 10 a.m. news conference:
• Seattle IWFR Co-Chairs Pramila Jayapal, Executive Director of the Hate Free Zone Campaign of Washington
• Steve Williamson, Executive Secretary of the King County Labor Council, AFL-CIO.
• Also on the agenda are several immigrant workers who will tell their individual stories of struggle
• elected officials who have endorsed the IWFR.
Likewise, the 7 p.m. community event will feature speakers representing the diversity of our community, entertainment and food.

Families are welcome. "This Freedom Ride is about building a powerful new coalition speaking out for justice for all regardless of immigrant status and demanding attention to the plight of immigrants who have been under assault even more since September 11, 2001," Jayapal said. "One of the most exciting pieces of this effort is that we will hear directly from immigrants telling their own stories of courageously seeking the promise of America," Williamson added.

The diverse Seattle IWFR Steering Committee includes more than 22 different groups representing immigrant and civil rights groups, labor, ethnic and faith-based organizations. The Seattle Freedom Ride has also been endorsed by U.S. Reps. Jim McDermott and Adam Smith, State Sen. Adam Kline, State Reps. Eric Pettigrew and Phyllis Gutierrez Kenney, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, and Seattle City Council President Peter Steinbrueck, among others.

IWFR buses will leave nine cities -- including Seattle and Portland -- on September 23 and make frequent stops throughout the nation on their way to Washington, D.C. to press the need for immigration reform.

The primary themes of the Freedom Ride are the path to citizenship, reunification of families, justice on the job regardless of immigration status, and civil rights for all.

Prior to their departure, on Saturday, Sept. 20, there will be a send-off event ending in a massive rally at the Seattle Center Fisher Lawn. In addition to attending the kickoff celebration, you can demonstrate your support for the IWFR by making a tax-deductible contribution to the effort.

Planners must raise $2,500 per seat to ensure that each immigrant worker can ride the bus. This covers the cost of travel for 10 days, including food, lodging, lost wages and a plane ticket from New York back to Seattle.
Checks can be made out to "IWFR—Seattle/WAC"
and sent to:
Bob Gorman, AFL-CIO,
2800 1st Ave, Suite 220,
Seattle, WA, 98121.

For more information about local IWFR efforts, check out www.seattle-iwfr.org.
David Groves Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO dgroves@wslc.org
-- (206) 281-8901
DAILY labor news at www.wslc.org

location:
New Holly Community Center
7050 32nd Ave. South
Seattle (take Metro buses 106, 32 or 36).

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