We have all witnessed the pain of recent events: the Earthquake in Haiti with the politicized and often dehumanizing military response to it. We have also witnessed the continued struggle of the Haitian people following the U.S.-orchestrated coup against the democratically elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Amidst these struggles, we must take yet another stand in the fight for human rights, human dignity and collective self-determination. In light of Arizona’s recent reprehensible legislative acts, we of the Haiti Action Committee and of the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund, feel compelled to respond and make our stance clear on these issues.

Arizona's recent policies, requiring police action that will target people of Latino origin and calling for an end to ethnic studies programs, are unacceptable, unconstitutional, and detrimental to any progress towards a healthy and just society. By making their bigotry towards Latinos evident, the legislators and supporters of these laws have become complicit in the war on people of color that is being waged around the world.

By allowing police broad power to racially profile, harass, prosecute, and deport people “suspected” of being “illegal” immigrants, Arizona has created a police state reminiscent of fascist governments that have publicly branded and stigmatized minorities. We denounce the Arizona government’s exploitation of cheap migrant labor and the criminalization of migrant workers’ struggle for survival and respect. We denounce the inhuman treatment of immigrants that deprives them of their basic rights to life and health. We denounce the international policies this country generates that force people to leave their homelands and attempt to find solace in this country.

Similarly, Arizona’s recent criminalization of diversity is an outrage.  School districts are following state guidelines to launch a witch-hunt against English teachers who speak with accents and programs that teach ethnic diversity. Written in brazenly offensive language, the law ensures that any program teaching a particular non-white ethnicity’s history will be targeted and removed. By blocking ethnic studies, you block self-awareness and self-esteem to students of color, but you also invalidate important history and deprive all students of a complete education.

The message from Arizona is clear: people of color are considered second-rate, criminal, and inferior. Arizona has created this openly hostile and antagonistic environment and we encourage everyone to take a stand against it. Haiti Action Committee and the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund are proud to support the ongoing boycott of Arizona until all of its racist, anti-immigrant policies are revoked.

We are all united in the same struggle for respect and self-determination. As James Baldwin said, "we live in an age in which silence is not only criminal but suicidal...for if they take you in the morning, they will be coming for us that night."