March & Rally through Hollywood with Puerto Ricans in Action & SoCal Stands with Puerto Rico.
September 20th 2018 marked one year since Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. Over 4,600 people died in this catastrophe and one year later, the destruction of Puerto Rico has not ended. It has escalated. The poverty rate has surged over 50%. Nearly 300 schools have closed. 400,000 Puerto Ricans have had to flee the island, while those they leave behind contend with a humanitarian crisis beyond their control, their homes and infrastructure in an even more precarious state than last year's hurricane season. All aspects of life in Puerto Rico are under attack by the dictatorship of Wall Street and the US-imposed Fiscal Control Board. The cause of the suffering of millions of Puerto Ricans is no longer a natural disaster, but rather 120 years of US colonialist exploitation.
DECOLONIZE PUERTO RICO!
September 23rd 2018 Southern Californians joined in a nationwide day of action in solidarity with Puerto Rico, letting our Boricua brothers and sisters know that they have not been forgotten and that we demand that our elected officials in Washington pass legislation ASAP to provide for the humane, just and dignified recovery and rebuilding of the island. The US policies that abandoned the island throughout this disaster of unprecedented severity and scope do not represent the vast majority of us.
WE STAND WITH THE US CITIZENS OF PUERTO RICO!
RALLY SPEAKERS/PERFORMERS:
Emcee: Aida Rodriguez, Comic/Actress
DJ Bri @djbrigiger
Reina Mora, Singer
Victoria Ortiz, Activist/Actress
Albizael Del Valle, Deputy for Councilmember Harris-Dawson
Luivette Resto, Poet
Julio Rodriguez, Conga Poet
Magda Rodriguez-Sutton, VICA (Virgin Islands in CA)
Dr. Anaida Colon-Muniz, Centro de Educación Comunitario,
Chapman University
Ariana Benitez, Student from Puerto Rico
Cristina Florez, Dancer @cristinaflorez__
Lawrence Reyes, Puerto Rican Alliance/National Young Lords
Britney Craig, Black Lives Matter: Los Angeles
Dr. Johnny Ramirez, Fuller Theological Seminary Theology Professor
Nicole Hernandez - Co-Founder, Puerto Ricans in Action