“A Trail for Humanity’s” Final Walk Begins in Chicano Park

By Brent Beltran / San Diego Free Press

On the morning of Saturday, August 16 over 100 people gathered by the temescal (sweat lodge) in Chicano Park for a ceremony to honor the walkers of A Trail for Humanity.

On July 22 a group of women and children left Merced, California on a journey south to the US-Mexico border in San Ysidro to pressure the Obama administration to put a halt to its deportation enforcement only policies; call for an end to the use of police as immigration enforcement agents; demand an end to family separations; and stem the tide of racial profiling that has incarcerated so many migrants and African American

Those gathered at Chicano Park came to support these dedicated women and march with them on the final leg of their walk to the border.
The website for A Trail for Humanity states:

“In the era of mass deportations, over incarceration and a humanitarian crisis of unaccompanied minors at our southern border, we the women of A Trail for Humanity will journey over 300 miles on foot for our children and our families. We will walk from the San Francisco Bay to the U.S. Mexico Border with dignity, with our children and with humanity. A Trail for Humanity is inspired by the wisdom in the Mayan proverb – In Lak’ Ech Ala K’in – that we are all a reflection of one another.

“As mothers, we can no longer tolerate the terrorizing of women and children. Reuniting with one’s family has become a felony, children are being ripped from the protective arms of parents, migrants are being fed to the Sonora desert sands and refugee children are being kept in torturous conditions. This march brings these realities to the forefront. We are taking a stand against the violence targeting migrant women and children. Join us in solidarity as we take a stand for humanity.”

The goals of A Trail for Humanity include:

1. Pressuring the Obama administration to put a halt to its deportation enforcement only
2. Calling for an end to the use of police as immigration enforcement agents
3. Demanding an end to family separations
4. Stemming the tide of racial profiling that has incarcerated so many migrants and African Americans

The video below, with interviews of one of the lead organizers of the walk, Cindy Gonzalez, Barrio Logan walk organizer Max Bojorquez, and Gretchen Burns-Bergman of Moms United, captures the Barrio Logan portion of A Trail for Humanity’s 300+ mile pilgrimage.

Exclusive San Diego Free Press video package of the Barrio Logan portion of the 300+ mile pilgrimage to the border

Video by Horacio Jones

Editor: Videographer Horacio Jones  runs CinemaViva, a San Diego based video production company where he recently created a documentary on Chicano Park called Cycles of Change: Restoring Quetzalcoatl in Chicano Park.   He has been a video producer, director, camera operator and editor for over 10 years. He has directed several documentaries, short films and numerous corporate and event videos. Currently he is the owner of at http://www.CinemaViva.com where he oversees the day-to-day video production and editing tasks necessary to maintain a successful video production company. He also teaches filming and editing techniques to students attending the Film Connection Film Institute.

The San Diego Free Press is the online partner of the OB Rag.