The Cuban Five Present at Dolores Huerta's 80 Birthday Concert Celebration
The Cuban Five Present at Dolores Huerta's 80 Birthday Concert Celebration
Under the theme "Weaving Movements Together," a benefit concert honoring the 80th birthday of long time civil rights activist Dolores Huerta took place on Friday, August 13th at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, California. Her idea for the celebratory event was to build a space that would make available a progressive agenda.
Pete Escovedo - Dolores Huerta- Santana- Hilda Solis
At the concert, elected officials including Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalba and LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, plus actors Danny Glover, Edward Olmos and Martin Sheen, and entertainers Carlos Santana, Pete Escovedo, Lila Downs, and Culture Clash were present to honor her legacy as co-founder of the United Farm Workers of America and current President of the Dolores Huerta Foundation.
A largely Latino crowd of more than 5,000 attended in a display of appreciation for Dolores' life-long commitment to civil rights, in particular farm workers in the U.S. Currently, she is a leading voice for the rights of immigrants and the struggle against the racist Arizona law, known as SB1070.
In keeping with the theme "Weaving Movements Together," a number of booths and tables representing different progressive causes were arrayed in front of the theater. The International Committee for the Freedom of the Cuban Five staffed a literature table next to the Pacifica radio station KPFK that was broadcasting the entire concert live. Six members of the Committee distributed thousands of bi-lingual fliers, brochures and postcards and collected names from people who expressed their support and wanted more information. In a sign of the growing awareness about the case, many people were already familiar with the Five.
Actor Danny Glover, while visiting the literature table, was asked to present a plaque that the Cuban Five had sent to Dolores Huerta for her birthday, which he readily accepted. Moments later, while being interviewed by KPFK, he was visibly moved as he described his recent visit with Gerardo Hernandez in Victorville Penitentiary.
During the concert, Glover was invited to say a few words in honor of Dolores. He described all the different struggles that she had embraced through the years, including the farm workers, anti-war, immigrant rights, and women's rights. There was an enthusiastic round of applause when Glover mentioned Dolores' support for the Cuban Five.
Earlier, at a well attended press conference, Dolores Huerta spoke to the media and answered questions from television, radio and print media journalists. One of the questions posed to Dolores was about the Cuban Five. "There have been some positive signs between Cuba and the U.S. lately. Cuba has released a number of prisoners and has promised to release more. Given this climate, do you think there is a chance for the freedom of the Cuban Five and what can people do to make that happen?"
Dolores Huerta went on to explain who the Cuban Five are, saying that they were gathering information in Miami about terrorist groups that operate against Cuba. But the FBI, instead of arresting the terrorists, arrested the Five. "The only way that they can be freed is to apply the pressure, do the work, let people know from the bottom up, and outreach to the politicians. It is very unjust that they are still in prison."
People left the concert energized, having been encouraged by the messages from Dolores and others to continue to organize, unite and work together to build a stronger progressive movement.
International Committee for the Freedom of the Cuban 5
To learn more about the lastest developments on the case of the Cuban 5 visit: www.thecuban5.org
