Day 3: Support for farmworker freedom swells as marchers inch closer to the coast; YOU can still join us for the grand finale, Saturday, 3/18!

One of the youngest marchers does his part to Build a New World on Day 3 of the march from Pahokee to Palm Beach, eliciting a tumult of truck and car horns that saluted marchers along the day’s 11 mile route. As marchers made their way ever closer to the island enclave of Palm Beach, and ever deeper into the populated coastal communities along the way, support for their cause seemed to swell with every step.

La Jornada (Mexico): [translation below] Una marcha de cinco días de decenas de jornaleros de la Coalición de Trabajadores de Immokalee (CIW, por sus siglas en inglés) en Florida, festeja el décimo aniversario del Programa de Comida Justa que ha transformado las condiciones de trabajadores agrícolas y es modelo para conquistar el respeto de derechos laborales básicos, y a la vez demandar el fin de la esclavitud moderna en los campos de Estados Unidos…

[A five-day march of dozens of farmworkers with the Coalition of Immokale Workers (CIW) in Florida, celebrates the tenth anniversary of the Fair Food Program that has transformed the conditions of agricultural workers and is a model for securing respect for basic labor rights, and at the same time demanding the end of modern slavery in the fields of the United States.]

… “Esta lucha es para crear un modo nuevo con derechos humanos para todos, en el que los trabajadores sean tratados como seres humanos,” afirmó Gonzalo, quien subrayó que la marcha presenta una pregunta a las empresas que aún se rehúsan a participar en el Programa de Comida Justa: ¿Están a lado de la esclavitud moderna o de los derechos humanos de todos?

[“This fight is to create a new model with human rights for all, in which workers are treated as human beings,” said Gonzalo, who stressed that the march presents a question to companies that still refuse to participate in the Fair Food Program: Are they on the side of modern slavery, or of human rights for all?”]

Day 3 of the March to Build a New World saw the marchers’ numbers swell with reinforcements, with new allies arriving from New York to California; a stirring speech before dawn by the CIW’s Lupe Gonzalo on the Fair Food Program’s fight against sexual harassment and assault; the first delegation visits to Publix and Wendy’s stores along the march route; an audible surge in support for the march, measured in honks and shouts of solidarity from the thousands of drivers who came across the colorful celebration of human rights on the road to the coast; and the first international reporting on the march, in the widely read Mexican daily La Jornada.

All in all, a very eventful day, indeed.

And that’s not all. As a special treat, two new creative artists, a photographer and videographer team, joined the march on Day 3 and added their own talented eyes to the documentation of all the days’ action! Here’s a sneak peek of a few of their best pics:

As always, we have all the highlights from Day 3 here below, including new video of the day’s most memorable moments, not just one but two photo galleries, and a round-up of the day’s media. And check back in tomorrow for the news from Day 4 as we close in on Palm Beach!