"History shows that boycotts of Arizona’s tourist industry when racism influences the state’s policies are effective in overturning those policies; a boycott by African-American (and other) groups got the MLK Day holiday restored back in the 1980s, when GOP Governor Evan Mecham rescinded it (and helped end Mecham’s political career). As an Arizonan, I wholeheartedly endorse tourist dollars going to other states if Governor Brewer signs the travesty known as SB 1070 into law." - rykin
Since Governor Brewer's signing of SB 1070 into law on Friday, April 23rd, several individuals, organizations and even cities have already called for sweeping boycotts of Arizona and Arizona-based businesses. Some of those are people like Al Sharpton, San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera, Representative Raul Grijalva (D-Arizona), Janet Murguia, head of the National Council of La Raza, groups such as the Asian American Hotel Owners Association, American Immigration Lawyers Association, and various social network groups such as Boycott the Police State Known as Arizona & Boycott AZ that are organizing in-person meet ups around the country for supporters to target various AZ based companies.
In an interview with MSNBC's Keith Olberman, Raul Grijalva said, “We’re asking organizations, civic, religious, labor, Latino, organizations of color to refrain from using Arizona as a convention site, to refrain from spending their dollars in the state of Arizona until Arizona turns the clock forward instead of backwards and joins the rest of the union. Indeed, Arizona needs to be quarantined from the rest of the nation, isolated and sanctioned until there’s a regime change, much like South Africa under apartheid was in the 1980s."
Alto Arizona is calling for a centralized online discussion forum to strategize about what type of Boycott will be most effective and to offer a space for individuals and organizations to share information and connect online and offline. The aim is to create a national boycott of Arizona (and beyond) until the racist SB 1070 law is overturned and to advocate for comprehensive immigration reform at the federal level.
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