The student activists who confronted the meeting where racist former congressperson Tom Tancredo was invited to speak by the white supremacist student group Youth for Western Civilization were correct and no amount of obfuscation or attacks from any direction can diminish the importance of their action.

The tactics of the police who escalated the situation by using violence should be condemned.  The students have a right to protest hateful and racist language that incites violence against oppressed people.

By attacking the student demonstrators, the police illustrated once again that their job is to protect those who seek to divide all working and oppressed people.

Tom Tancredo, with his scapegoating of immigrants, racist attitude towards Muslims and Arab people and his insensitive, hateful remarks toward indigenous people should not be left free to spread his vicious beliefs anywhere.

Groups like the Youth for Western Civilization are springing up around the country in response to a changed working class.  They espouse the greatness of a western civilization built off the super exploitation of darker skinned people—the indigenous people who lived here for generations before European colonization and the African people brought here in chains.

Racist, ultra right groups are gaining more momentum to increase their numbers as the crisis of the economic system deepens.  Racists are also angered by the symbolism of the first Black president.

The young students and supporters at the University of North Carolina were being responsible, thoughtful activists by boldly protesting and attempting to hold an alternative program to what the Youth for Western Civilization was holding.

Join Carolina students on April 23 to

SPEAK OUT!

... for immigrants' rights
... for diversity in our community
... against hate speech and racism

We will gather at 6pm in the Pit to make signs. A rally and speak out to support immigrants' rights will begin at 6:30pm.

This event is being organized by multiple campus organizations to stand united against anti-immigrant and bigoted views being brought into our community by "Youth for Western Civilization."

Please note: this action is not organized or endorsed by any particular organization, but by members of multiple groups at UNC.

To: Chancellor Holden Thorp

CC: UNC System President Erskine Bowles, Chairman of the Board of Trustees Roger Perry
From: United Students Against Sweatshops, 2008-2009 National Coordinating Committee
Date: April 22, 2009 
RE: Free Speech at Carolina

On behalf of United Students Against Sweatshops, we write to express our solidarity with those who
protested the April 14, 2009 speaking event with former Colorado Republican Representative Tom
Tancredo and the right-wing event host Youth for Western Civilization. We represent an international
student-labor network, established in 1998, with hundreds of member organizations across North
America. We are part of a global movement that supports working people and challenges corporate
control and power over our communities.

In recent days, members of the UNC-CH administration have condemned the actions of protesters and
apologized to Tancredo on the grounds that Tancredo “felt threatened” and that the protesters did not
respect Tancredo's right to freedom of speech. Meanwhile, what the University has failed to condemn is
that nonviolent students were sprayed with chemical agents, thrown roughly to the ground, and
threatened with tasers. It is regrettable that minor property damage occurred at Bingham Hall after
police violence escalated the situation, and we are glad that no one suffered any injuries due to the
broken window. However, it is shameful that the University has concerned itself only with the free
speech and safety of Tancredo, and not the free speech and safety of its own students.

Former Congressman Tom Tancredo's free speech rights were not violated.

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is intended to protect the public, when expressing

Comradicals,

The violence used to subdue recent SDS demonstrations against Tom Tancredo's white supremacist hate speech at UNC-Chapel Hill is sadly familiar to us as student activists in New York City, where not a week goes by that our comrades are not detained for nonviolently voicing dissent. As you may know, the New School occupied a school building for the second time last week, and excessive force was used against both demonstrators on the inside and street supporters on the outside. Police violence is not only a grim reality for student demonstrators across the world, but a constant presence in the lives of low-income communities and people of color, who are routinely assaulted through extreme forms of violence. This is this unacceptable, and we must fight against it.  

That said, the Students Creating Radical Change at NYU (functionally analagous to an SDS chapter) extends their full solidarity to UNC SDS demonstrators and supporters. While SCRC has not been the recipient of such violent attacks as the UNC SDS, we have similarly battled against racism, xenophobia, and the accusation of impeding free speech. Throughout the 2006-2007 school year, the NYU College Republicans consistently targeted immigrants throughout racist discourse and events, starting with a “Catch the Illegal Immigrant Game.” In this event, participants were told to “spot” an “illegal immigrant” and identify them. The event invitation told students, “It shouldn’t be too hard because they’re everywhere." Following a massive counter-protest led by SCRC, the College Republicans proceeded to host a discussion with Chris Simcox, one of the leaders of the Minutemen. As with your recent protest, we attempted to shut the event down by drowning out his talk with protests on both the inside and outside. And like you, we were accused of preventing free speech.  However, we were fortunate enough to escape the extreme violence that you have experienced.  

Dear Friends in Struggle,

We are writing to support and commend your protest of former senator Tom Tancredo at UNC on April 14^th. It is vital to movements for social justice and human rights that white supremacists like Tancredo are met with strong resistance wherever they go. We commend your willingness to stand up and make it clear that you oppose his racist anti-immigrant hatred and that hate speech can not be part of a democratic or respectful environment. As citizens and activists, we are honored to express solidarity with you.

We are also outraged at the reports of extreme and unnecessary police violence that was used against you during this protest. We are appalled that your university community seems to be more concerned with the supposed suppression of Tancredo’s free speech rights than the clear violations of your right to be safe and heard on your own campus. We join with you in demanding a full investigation of police actions during this event and hope that those responsible for these violent acts will be held accountable.

Please do not be deterred by the criticism and attacks from police and university administration and continue to do the important work of opposing racism and standing up for the rights of immigrants. Along with social justice advocates across the country, we stand behind you in this struggle for justice.

In Solidarity,

April 16, 2009

Dear Chancellor Thorp:

I want to express my concerns over the events of April 14, 2009. Currently, I am a Doctoral Candidate and Teaching Fellow in the Department of Communication Studies specializing in the rhetoric of social protest. I have been a part of the UNC system for 6 years and a student and member of the UNC-Chapel Hill community for over 4 years. During that time I have witnessed some of UNC’s proudest, shining moments and consider those less shining to be opportunities for growth and progress. As a member of this community, a first-hand witness to the protest events on April 14th, and as a scholar of free speech issues, I believe it is my responsibility to address what I see as precisely one of those opportunities.

In the days leading up to April 14th, I reviewed a number of emails, websites and other literature about the Youth for Western Civilization, Tom Tancredo, and proposed responses to his presence and the presence of the YWC chapter on campus. I attended the event on the 14th as a researcher of social protest and free speech and to stand in solidarity with those students who felt threatened by the presence of the YWC and Mr. Tancredo in our community. During the protest, I watched as some of my students were roughly pushed to the ground by police officers, sprayed with pepper spray, and threatened with a taser. I helped some students to the bathroom on the second floor of Bingham Hall to rinse the spray from their noses, mouths, and eyes. Needless to say I was afraid for their safety and my own. The Students for a Democratic Society released a statement today detailing a side of this story that has been absent from police accounts, the Daily Tar Heel, and other mainstream media sources. In the interests of free speech, that side of the story deserves to be heard, and I encourage you to hear their voices.