4 for Fair Food Tour – UNC Vigil for Farmworker Rights from Coalition of Immokalee Workers on Vimeo.

4 for Fair Food Tour – North Carolina Vigil for Farmworker Justice.

Pastor David Mateo, United Church of Chapel Hill: “Today, we are in solidarity with farmworkers, who through the work of their hands have blessed our plates with tomatoes… We will do everything possible so that our community no longer suffers from racism, discrimination and abuse.  The Apostle Paul summed it up for us:  We are gardeners and field workers, laboring together with God.”

Joshua Orol, Beth Meyer Synagogue: “The people picking tomatoes out in the field deserve dignity, deserve to be paid fairly, and deserve to be protected from violence.”

On Sunday, the second day of the 4 for Fair Food Tour, farmworkers and their families were met by an outpouring of support from the faith community of Raleigh, Chapel Hill, and Carrboro, North Carolina.  With a morning chock-full of religious services and community meals, and an evening vigil in front of the University of North Carolina’s on-campus Wendy’s, tour participants had quite a full day – so we will jump right in!

After a restful night’s sleep at the Presbyterian Church’s New Hope Camp, tour participants gathered for a quick breakfast before heading to a series of Sunday services, where the labor of farmworkers as well as their struggle for justice in the Wendy’s campaign was lifted up before hundreds of parishioners, many of whom shared their excitement with workers for the upcoming March 5th action on UNC’s campus.

The CIW started at the United Church of Chapel Hill with a bilingual mass led by Pastor David Mateo.  After asking the farmworkers in the audience to rise as the guests of honor, Pastor Mateo guided the full room through a beautiful reflection on the responsibility of each generation to build a better world and to work creatively and persistently to support their neighbors in times of hardship.  Here is just one of the highlights from the morning’s moving sermon:

Today, we are in solidarity with farmworkers, who through the work of their hands have blessed our plates with tomatoes.  They are here because they are also victims of a generation that has been corrupted, and through its selfishness, seems unable to share its resources in order to dignify their work.  We are here to support and walk with you.  We will leave this room ready to take responsibility for our generation.  We will do everything possible so that our communities will no longer suffer from racism, discrimination and abuse.  The Apostle Paul summed it up for us:  We are gardeners and field workers, laboring together with God.

Following lunch at the United Church of Chapel Hill, CIW’s Julia de la Cruz and several tour participants headed to the next stop:  St. Thomas More Catholic Church (which also hosted the full tour for a delicious dinner that same evening!).  Following a warm welcome for Julia and other tour participants, church leaders invited the room of over 350 parishioners to the upcoming action.

Finally, the afternoon rolled into a gray evening just ahead of the 6pm vigil in front of UNC’s Wendy’s restaurant, nestled in the campus union on the highly-trafficked South Rd.

In spite of a drizzling rain, dozens of students from the UNC Student/Farmworker Alliance chapter, faculty, and allies of faith came out to join the workers from Immokalee for the vigil, featuring not only CIW’s Silvia Perez but also Joshua Orol, Youth Director of the Beth Meyer Synagogue in Raleigh, where #TomatoRabbi Eric Solomon presides; the Executive Director of the National Farmworker Ministry, Julie Taylor, all the way from Raleigh; and last but not least, Pastor David Mateo, Associate Pastor at United Church of Chapel Hill who had so movingly addressed the tour crew that same morning.  Make sure to check out the video at the top of today’s post for highlights from the vigil!

We will conclude today’s report with the words of Joshua Orol from Beth Meyer Synagogue, who gave powerful voice to the Jewish community’s commitment to justice and its solidarity with farmworkers in the Fair Food Movement:

The rabbis teach that a prince is not recognized before a worker.  We live in a society that gives too much to people who believe themselves to be princes.  Workers must be honored for the immense role they play in society.  For someone like me, who shops in a grocery store for whatever I want, I owe honor to the workers who make that possible.  And this campaign calls for a clear way to honor workers:  The people picking tomatoes out in the field deserve dignity, deserve to be paid fairly, and deserve to be protected from violence.

As we close in on Tuesday’s major march through UNC’s campus, the momentum building hour by hour in Chapel Hill is palpable.  If you can make it yourself, make sure to RSVP on Facebook and share the event widely!  For all those eager to support from afar, you can join in on the Boot the Braids Challenge on social media – and of course, please donate to the 4 for Fair Food Tour fundraiser!