Editor’s note: This story was first published in the August-September 2025 print edition of the People’s Tribune. The comments are excerpts from longer presentations by the community leaders from Austin and Chicago on the topic of unity between Black Americans and immigrants, and really everyone, in the fight for a just world. We welcome your thoughts. — People’s Tribune
Chas Moore Founder, Austin Justice Coalition (from ‘Good Trouble’ speech):
“Every time, the heroes are the people… a lot of Black Americans in the last election didn’t think immigration was their fight. Straight people see trans people get mistreated and say, ‘That’s not my fight.’ Anytime a human is going through injustice it is indeed our fight. We are all on stolen land. Everyone who says the immigration fight is not my fight—you are fooling yourself and you have drunk the punch. How dare we sit back and act like we don’t have work to do. On a daily basis there are still people sleeping on the street.”
Jorge Mújica Campaign Organizer with Arise Chicago (from Breakthrough News interview):
“It’s divide and conquer. There’s been divisions between immigrants and native populations forever … African American populations are absolutely right. They have been denied services and resources for the longest time…. Immigrants feel envious of African American populations in the sense that, ‘Oh, they’re citizens, entitled to this and that, while I am not….’ And then from the other side you see, ‘Well, I’ve been denied all these services and benefits all my life, and all of a sudden I see government giving immigrants these benefits.’ [But] many details never make it to the media … the fact is, most immigrants are not given any kind of benefits at all. They don’t have access to those benefits under the law, but they pay taxes and everybody benefits from taxes undocumented immigrants pay. But that’s too detailed to put forward in a massive way. It takes immense education.”
