More from Sunday’s March for Farmworker Justice!

Posted on by CIW
Photo by Cindy Skop, Lakeland Ledger. You can find a gallery of great pics from yesterday’s action at the Ledger website by clicking here.

Check out the photo report and all the latest press…

Don’t miss the CIW photo report — with analysis and pictures you won’t find anywhere else — from the biggest Publix protest of the year this past weekend in Lakeland. You can find the report here.

The Ft. Myers News-Press also weighed in this morning with a follow-up story on Sunday’s big action in an article entitled, “Coalition of Immokalee Workers pay Publix a visit.” Here’s an excerpt:

“The peaceful demonstration drew workers and supporters from around the state as well as clergy of many faiths. One of those was retired United Church of Christ minister Jim Boler of Fort Myers. ‘I was especially moved by what the high school students from Immokalee had to say,’ Boler said. ‘One girl talked about what it’s like to live in a farmworker family, seeing Publix ads celebrating Thanksgiving but knowing that for her family, if there’s not work that week, they can’t afford food.'” read more

And the Palm Beach Post joined the fray as well, with an op/ed by Dan Moffett calling on Publix to stop fighting progress and bring its considerable purchasing power to bear on improving farm labor conditions in its home state, entitled “Publix in the wrong aisle.” After opening with a quick recital of all the accolades that have made Publix “Florida’s grocery store,” Mr. Moffett writes:

“The Immokalee coalition has worked with federal officials to prosecute cases against growers who have held foreign workers captive. The coalition has collected some honors of its own in recent years, from human rights groups, including the Robert F. Kennedy Justice Center. Everything Floridians have come to know about Publix suggests that the company should be participating in the farmworkers’ initiative. Frankly, you’d expect Publix to be leading it.” read more

And last but definitely not least, Tampa’s community radio station WMNF did a remarkably good piece, getting great interviews with several march participants, including 93-yr old human rights activist Stetson Kennedy, who started his career in the 1930’s visiting labor camps throughout Florida and reporting on the slavery — yes, slavery — he found there:

“When we passed the Civil Rights Act in ’64, I told myself that I was going to move on to something else, that everything was fixed. But of course it was not fixed. And so I’m still here this much later. You might say this is where I came in.” listen

And here’s more coverage from teh exciting march:

n the day’s events: