Day Nine of the Farmworkers March for Justice

Photos by: Matthew Rosenberg

In Schenectady, we shared a Mother’s Day breakfast hosted by the youth at First United Methodist Church before their Sunday morning service. Many of us also attended the service to hear Jeffrey McGee address the congregation. The son of a dairy farmworker, at 12 years old Jeffery has now marched in two 10-day marches across New York State—as he puts it, “for my dad.”

We had only about 9 miles to walk today, so we enjoyed a leisurely morning as we waited for the rain to pass.
Members of the Mid-Hudson Coalition for Economic Justice and other supporters from the Schenectady and Albany areas joined us at the church as we gathered to start the day’s march. The newcomers infused us with a great new energy as we made our way noisily down Route 5 toward Albany.

After lunch, we were joined by the Youth Arts Group, whose members will remain with us for the vigil tomorrow.
As we marched by a Taco Bell, the group orchestrated an impromptu action in support of the national campaign to “Boycott the Bell,” organized by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to raise the wage of tomato-pickers in Immokalee, Florida. .

Later that day, one of the founders and leader of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Lucas Benitez, arrived from Florida to meet up with the march. Lucas’s presence among us is exciting for all of us who have been inspired by the work of his organization and the remarkable nation-wide campaign against one of the largest corporate restaurant chains in the country.

After gathering for dinner at the Pine Grove Methodist Church in Colonie, the marchers had the chance to meet with Lucas and learn about the struggle and successes of farmworkers elsewhere.
He spoke of the need for us to build alliances among all workers—that this is not just about supporting each other’s cause, but rather recognizing that we are all implicated in the same systems of oppression and therefore must see ourselves as part of the same struggle.

With only five miles until we reach the capitol, we realize that our long days of marching have ended. We look forward with much anticipation to our arrival in Albany, in hopes that our march and vigil will at last allow the voices of New York’s farmworkers to permeate the walls of the Senate chambers.