Poor People's Campaign
In March 1968, Tijerina was elected to lead the Chicano contingent of the Washington, D.C. march of the Poor People's Campaign. Despite setbacks, such as the April 4 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, the prime organizer of the campaign, and the April 25 bombing of Tijerina's Albuquerque home, King's survivors in the civil rights struggle were undeterred. They conducted the march on May 2, 1968, as planned. Tijerina, with three busloads from New Mexico, met up with the other Hispanic contingencies from Colorado, led by Corky Gonzales, and the Los Angeles, led by Alicia Escalante, Reverend Nieto of Texas, and Puerto Ricans from New York. Together, they convened in "Resurrection City" with the African American factions led by Coretta Scott King and Ralph Abernathy. Tijerina insisted that the Native American delegations spearhead the march and be the first to demand justice, a proposal that had been approved during the original planning meeting with Dr. King. But when it came time to march, Abernathy's followers resisted the idea. Much was made of this "rift" in the mainstream press, which claimed that Tijerina insisted that the Hispanic delegation go first. En route to D.C., a group of Native Americans who were accompanied by Dick Gregory were detained by Washington State police. In protest, Tijerina organized a demonstration in front of the United States Supreme Court building on May 29. Police brutalized the demonstrators, but eventually, twenty delegates were permitted to meet with John Davis, the clerk of the court. The following month, leaders met with Secretary of State Dean Rusk. On June 23, 1969, the day that Warren E. Burger was sworn in as Chief Justice, Tijerina returned to Washington to place him under citizen's arrest. As he waited outside the Senate chamber, Burger never exited. He had dodged the arrest by exiting out a back door.
Read more about this topic: Reies Tijerina
Famous quotes containing the words poor people, poor, people and/or campaign:
“If sometimes our poor people have had to die of starvation, it is not that God didn’t care for them, but because you and I didn’t give, were not an instrument of love in the hands of God, to give them that bread, to give them that clothing; because we did not recognize him, when once more Christ came in distressing disguise, in the hungry man, in the lonely man, in the homeless child, and seeking for shelter.”
—Mother Teresa (b. 1910)
“He is the rich man in whom the people are rich, and he is the poor man in whom the people are poor; and how to give access to the masterpieces of art and nature, is the problem of civilization.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“A movement is only composed of people moving. To feel its warmth and motion around us is the end as well as the means.”
—Gloria Steinem (b. 1934)
“Now, Mr. President, we don’t intend to trouble you during the campaign but after you are elected, then look out for us!”
—Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906)