Charleston Community Service Organization rally says no to racial profiling

Ladson, SC – On Monday, September 22, organizers with the Charleston Community Service Organization (CSO) hosted a rally demanding an end to racial profiling.

The Legalization for All network’s call for a national Weekend of Action and protests were planned across the country in response to the September 8 SCOTUS decision allowing ICE to implement racial profiling tactics.

The Charleston CSO rally was held in front of Elbit Systems of America, an Israeli-owned weapons manufacturer located in Ladson, South Carolina, as a show of solidarity with the Elbit Out of SC coalition (EOSC), which hosts weekly pickets there every Thursday. Organizers from Charleston CSO, EOSC and the Lowcountry Action Committee (LAC), an official branch of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression doing work to stop deaths at the Charleston County jail, all gave speeches and led chants to a diverse crowd of about 40.

“I am speaking up for those that are scared to go grocery shopping because they can be killed or kidnapped while grocery shopping or going to work,” said Lucía Peña, co-founding member of Charleston CSO. “We say no to racial profiling whether it’s happening in California, New York City or South Carolina because it’s a denial of our human rights” one organizer said.

Charleston’s Latino community knows what it feels like to be racially profiled by law enforcement. In the early morning hours of June 1, ICE raided El Alamo, a popular Latino-owned night club in Ladson. “They let out all the ‘Americans’ without doing background checks, yet took any Latinos not caring of legal status,” one club patron said. “How was it not racially profiling?” she asked. About 80 people were arrested and transported to ICE facilities across the Southeast in the aftermath of the raid that night.

Regarding the rally, Lowcountry Action Committee co-founder Erica Veal said, “One thing everyone should take away from today is there’s power in solidarity.”

Veal continued, “The same systems that are kidnapping our Latino brothers and sisters off the streets are allowing our Black brothers and sisters to die in the Al Cannon Detention Center.” Approximately 20 people, mostly Black, have been killed by police at Al Cannon Detention Center or died from medical neglect incurred at the jail in the last decade.

“These same systems allowed Elbit to build a weapons factory in our community and take money away from our public schools,” stated Veal, referring to a fee in lieu of taxes (FILOT) agreement Elbit signed with the Charleston county council. The FILOT allows Elbit to operate without paying property taxes, the revenue from which is typically used to support the Charleston area public schools and their primarily Black and Latino student bodies.

Attendees chanted to the rhythm of African drums as they marched back and forth across the road in front of the Elbit factory, holding signs written in both English and Spanish. All the while, off-duty North Charleston police officers, paid $60 per hour by the company to serve as security, looked on.

Dozens of passersby honked in solidarity and two trucks attempted to antagonize the group. One with a Trump flag flying high drove back and forth yelling at the crowd and another deliberately spewed exhaust fumes on the activists as he passed. Despite this, messages of solidarity continued. “The people united can never be defeated. When we unite, we can win. We will not live in fear.”

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