Immigrant Rights in Tennessee: Building on Legacies of Latin American and Civil Rights Movement Activism

• In Event: Legal Rights of Marginalized Groups

Abstract

This paper will honor the legacy of the historic dialogues between Paulo Freire and Miles Horton, founder of the Highlander Center based in East Tennessee, which has over an 80-year history of fostering popular education, grassroots leadership, and social justice. The analysis is based on work I have done since 2005 supporting the activities of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC). Tennessee, along with other southeastern states, is considered a “new destination.” Immigrants from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and other Latin American countries, as well as from other world regions, have been arriving in the state, particularly since the 1990s. The paper will discuss TIRRC’s lobbying efforts against anti-immigrant legislative proposals, two campaigns against the implementation of 287(g) programs, and a campaign to obtain in-state college tuition for undocumented students. As part of these efforts, immigrant leaders have been inspired by knowledge that they and various organizers have based on experiences in social movements in Latin America, as well as knowledge acquired in previous struggles for immigration reform, and particularly in the South, the Civil Rights Movement. Examples of the latter include Representative John Lewis giving a rousing speech at an immigrant rights march in Atlanta, Georgia; the “Undocubus”, inspired by the Freedom Rides, touring the Southeast; and Latino immigrants throughout the Southeast organizing to attend the 50-year anniversary of the Selma, Alabama march. This paper will focus on how these funds of knowledge have been in dialogue and have enriched the immigrant rights movement.

Author

• De Ann Pendry, University of Tennessee-Knoxville