Picket at Detroit ball game: ‘No to Arizona law SB1070!’

On June 18, a multinational crowd of spirited demonstrators protested the Arizona Diamondbacks at Comerica Park in downtown Detroit before the baseball team’s game with the Detroit Tigers. The protesters demanded the repeal of Arizona’s apartheid law SB1070 and all laws targeted at undocumented workers and immigrants. They hoisted banners and bright red signs that read, “Overturn Arizona apartheid: Jobs, not racism,” and chanted, “Say no to racism: Boycott Arizona!” Demonstration participants included African Americans, Latinos/as, students, youth and union members.

Protesters are targeting the Diamondbacks at stadiums across the U.S. because the team’s owners have bankrolled legislators and Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, who are responsible for the passage of SB1070 and other racist laws. In Detroit, the militant protest and widespread media coverage forced the Diamondbacks’ owners to issue a statement in which they denied any responsibility for the racist laws in Arizona.

The demonstration was called by the Michigan Emergency Committee against War and Injustice; the Moratorium NOW! Coalition to Stop Foreclosures, Evictions and Utility Shut-offs; Fight Imperialism, Stand Together — Detroit; Latinos Unidos; and Solidarity and Defense. Numerous individuals and organizations supported the action

— Report and photo by Bryan G. Pfeifer