Dear Black Folks: The Protests Against ICE Are Absolutely Our Fight Too [Op-Ed]
What ICE is doing to migrants isn’t just an immigration issue. It’s white supremacist violence at its core. It’s separating families. It’s state violence.
“Black folks need to stay home.”
“Let them handle it. This is their fight.”
“Most Latinos voted for this mess.”
“ICE don’t target us. We’ve got citizenship.”
“I ain’t marching for nobody who won’t march for me.”
“Latinos don’t like us anyway.”
But what’s really being said underneath all that deflection is this: “If they come for Latinos, I’ll be quiet, as long as they leave me and mine alone.” But if you study history, I mean really study history, then you should already know that they never leave us alone. Not for long.
I get it. Black folks are tired. We’ve carried the weight of every major freedom movement in this country. We’ve bled. We’ve died. And we’ve been betrayed. We’ve shown up, over and over, only to be met with anti-blackness in return. But this ain’t about who likes us. It’s about who’s next!
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This is a deeply teachable moment. For years, many in the Hispanic community have watched—and in some cases participated in—the marginalization of Black people, knowing full well how systems of division and oppression were being used against us all. There’s been complicity. Silence. Even alignment with anti-Black structures, whether to gain proximity to whiteness or out of fear.
And now, in the face of ICE raids and mass deportations, there’s an expectation that the Black community will rise up to save others once again. But we’re tired. We’ve always been on the frontlines—not just for ourselves, but for everyone. It’s time for an honest reckoning.
Solidarity cannot be one-sided. Compassion cannot be conditional. If we’re to move forward as co-strugglers against white supremacy, then mutual respect, accountability, and reciprocity must lead the way. That’s the only path to real liberation—for all of us.
I used this article for a training...keep 'em coming!