FRSO in Tucson hosts 56th Chicano Moratorium

Tucson, AZ – On Saturday, August 29, a dozen people attended a brief presentation and documentary screening of Chicano! A Quest for Homeland to commemorate the 56th Chicano Moratorium. Hosted by Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), the event was held at Southside Presbyterian Church, known as the birthplace of the Sanctuary Movement of the 1980s. The Church served as a home for volunteers who provided aid and shelter for thousands of Central American immigrants. The Church continues to be an important pillar in the immigrant rights movement.

The presentation highlighted the political program of the FRSO and the National Question in the U.S. and how Chicanos in the Southwest constitute a nation, oppressed by U.S. imperialism, with the right to self-determination. The crowd heard about the conditions of Chicanos in the 1960s that fueled the rise of the Chicano National Movement.

The presentation also reviewed the role that the U.S. war on Vietnam had on Chicanos. The disproportionately high casualty rate among Chicanos sparked three large anti-war rallies. The largest, with 30,000 people marching in Los Angeles, California on August 29, 1970, was the biggest rally by any single ethnicity at the time. The documentary showed footage of the brutal repression from LA County Sheriffs and LAPD that led to the deaths of journalist Ruben Salazar, and Brown Beret members Lyn Ward and Angel Diaz.

Arlee Thwing of FRSO said, “We believe all nations have a right to self-determination and liberation up to and including secession, and that includes Aztlán. Our strategy is clear: we need a revolution, led by us, the working class, with the strategic alliance of the multinational working class and oppressed nationalities at its core.”

FRSO member Jessica Moreno shared her own experience growing up as a Chicana in Tucson in the 1990s, saying, “No soy de aqui, ni de alla – a famous quote that represents the sentiment of not feeling like we belong, but the reality is that we do belong, and this is our land.”

This is the first Chicano Moratorium event in Tucson since FRSO hosted Chicano Revolutionary and Brown Beret cofounder Carlos Montes in 2017. Participants also learned about local organizations that were tabling, including Tucson Anti-War Committee, Veterans for Peace, and Common Defense.

#TusconAZ #AZ #OppressedNationalities #ChicanoMoratorium #Chicano