“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.”
– Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail

This past Wednesday, CIW members used twine to create a visible network reflecting Martin Luther King’s notion of “interconnectedness” that bounds up the fate of each person with the whole of the community.

As Fast for Fair Food approaches, workers in Immokalee preparing to fast draw inspiration from human rights movement across the globe, the history of creative non-violence in forging social change, each other…

With the Fast for Fair Food just one week away, workers in Immokalee planning to join the fast have launched a series of meetings with a focus on the discipline and use of fasting as a tool for social change… and are taking a moment to party, too!

The past ten days in Immokalee have been a whirlwind of activity, and at the eye of that storm has been a quiet and deliberate process of reflection. Drawing on lessons from the giants of social justice throughout modern history — from Mahatma Gandhi to Alice Paul and Martin Luther King — CIW members have taken time over the past ten days to deepen their understanding of the mechanisms of social change and to share their own experiences of struggle. The Lenten season has added a profound seriousness to the discussions, and provided an example of the spiritual power of fasting for bringing about social justice familiar to all.

The reflections have been some of the most moving discussions in the long history of the CIW, touching on themes well beyond the specific question of the fast as “a sword that heals” to include explorations of the strength we derive from unity (above, right, workers step out from last week’s meeting to demonstrate that, together, it is easy to do what it is impossible to do alone — in this case, lift and move a truck across the parking lot through the air!), the universal nature of human rights, and the role of individuals and communities in making the world a fairer, better place.

But, to paraphrase a great faster, man cannot live on reflection alone, there must be some action, too. This Sunday afternoon in Immokalee was the annual Year of the Worker Party and, like every year, it was an opportunity for the entire community to come together for music and laughs, to share the various cultures that make up Immokalee’s cosmopolitan mix, and to celebrate of another year of victories! Here below are two photos from today’s Party (on the left, the CIW’s traditional Conjunto de Marimba plays to a crowd that swelled to well over 1,000 by sunset):

As allies from across Florida and across the country continue to answer the call, making their own preparations to join CIW members a week from now outside Publix headquarters and begin the Fast for Fair Food, workers in Immokalee are themselves readying for what is sure to be an extraordinary — and unforgettable — action.

You can join us, for all or part of the week, or just for the final day and the celebration ending the six-day fast. Click here for more information, or write to workers@ciw-online.org if you’d like to learn more about how you can participate.