Day Eight of the Farmworkers March for Justice

Photos by: Matthew Rosenberg

More supporters joined us when we left Trinity Lutheran in the morning including a couple from Rochester who woke up at 5 am to get there before we departed. The size of our group grew throughout the 16 miles as many more farmworkers arrived from Albion, Brockport, and Sodus.
With over 50 people, we slowed our pace as we made our way from Amsterdam, through Scotia and into Schenectady.

In the afternoon, we stopped at a Stewart’s shop outside of Rotterdam Junction to rest and eat lunch along the side of the road.
We must have be quite a site for passers-by, with all our red shirts, flags, singing and chanting. In Scotia, we stopped over at the First Baptist Church for another rest, refreshments, and were joined by still more supporters. Our chants resounded loudly through the streets of Schenectady upon our arrival.

The congregation at First United Methodist in Schenectady welcomed us with open arms and a fantastic dinner. After dinner Jill, Lucila and Concha gave a powerful presentation on their experiences as farmworkers and their reasons for being a part of this movement for equal rights. While all of their stories are quite different, they share the common struggle of women, raising families and working in an industry that treats them as second class workers.

Once again, we were blessed with the gift of massage. As we scrambled to get all of our stuff out of the van and transport people to the YWCA for showers, two massage therapists appeared in our midst. Their touch helped to renew both our bodies and our spirits. Thank you John and Desmond!

We are settling down for the night here at the Methodist Church, with a sense of growing anticipation and excitement as we approach Albany. Tomorrow’s march will take us within just a few miles of the capitol! Although logistics have become a bit more of a challenge with so many more people joining us for the weekend, we all welcome the new energy.