May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. We lift up our Asian Pacific heritage by affirming our right to democratic participation. We denounce the illegal and discriminatory abductions of Palestinian, Arab, and Middle Eastern members of our community who have spoken out against U.S. complicity in the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Anti-immigrant repression has been used to quash political dissent in our country throughout history. ICE has raided our communities, seizing immigrants without warning, detaining, and deporting them in an attempt to instill fear and crush student and worker resistance. From the Chinese Exclusion Act and 1924 Immigration Act to the internment of Japanese Americans—many of them U.S. permanent residents and citizens--to the forced relocation of Marshall Islanders, the histories of Asian and Pacific American immigration are closely intertwined with methods of displacement, silencing, and control that are used today in Palestine and against immigrants at home. (fb)

On this day, May 23, 1954, negotiations between the big banana monopolies, the Honduran government, and striking agricultural workers began after weeks of coordinated national resistance. The general strike would be the most significant popular uprising in Honduras during the 20th century, only to be surpassed by the resistance against the US-backed coup in 2009. The 1954 general strike was a historic struggle that mobilized tens of thousands of Honduran workers against oppressive working conditions and the exploitative control US companies exerted over their country’s political and economic life. The dedication of solidarity of its participants shows what can be accomplished when workers unite and exert their collective power. The 1954 strike was a defining moment in 20th century Honduran history. Its central committee acted as a de facto parallel government over the course of the strike, challenging the power the fruit companies had over Honduras. Banana workers were joined by diverse sectors of Honduran society in a collective struggle over the next few months. Although the strike did not achieve all the workers’ goals, it ushered in improved conditions and progressive reforms. Most importantly, the strike won workers one of the most fundamental democratic rights- the right to organize- and established a labor code, which they were denied under the yoke of US monopolies and local oligarchs. We stand in solidarity with Honduran workers who continue to struggle for justice and dignity today. (fb)