Save Our State

Save Our State (SOS) was a California-based activist organization opposed to undocumented immigration. It took its name from California's 1994 Proposition 187, an initiative popularly known as the Save Our State proposition. Proposition 187 sought to deny undocumented residents access to publicly funded health care and education. Although California voters approved it, the measure was challenged in court and was ultimately invalidated by a federal district court in 1998. The organization was incorporated in July 2004 by Joseph Turner, a Ventura resident who considered conventional immigration-reform tactics, particularly letter-writing campaigns, ineffective. Save Our State instead promoted direct action, public demonstrations, consumer boycotts, online organizing, and what Turner and other supporters described as an aggressive or confrontational style. Its stated philosophy included the idea of transferring political pressure or "pain" from affected communities to institutions and localities that the group believed enabled undocumented immigration. A recurring target was Home Depot. SOS argued that the retailer supported or hosted day-labor centers near some of its stores and announced a boycott in December 2004. Members continued to demonstrate at Home Depot locations, sometimes traveling outside their home communities to stage protests at day-labor sites and other locations. Demonstrators commonly used signs and video cameras, with footage distributed through online video services. Reference accounts also reported that some participants carried pepper spray or other weapons, contributing to the organization's controversial public image. The group's most widely reported confrontation occurred in Baldwin Park, California, in May 2005. SOS objected to Danzas Indigenas, a public artwork at the Baldwin Park Metrolink station designed by artist Judy Baca with community participation. Activists criticized inscriptions referring to the area's Mexican and Indigenous history, including quotations associated with Gloria Anzaldua and a phrase reading "It was better before they came." On May 14, approximately 25 SOS members demonstrated at the monument while roughly 300 counterprotesters gathered. Police from several jurisdictions, including officers in riot gear, formed a separation between the groups. One woman was injured and kept overnight for observation. The dispute received local newspaper, radio, television, and independent-media coverage. Baldwin Park mayor Manuel Lozano defended the monument as protected artistic expression, called SOS a hate group, and led the city council in a June 2005 decision to keep the artwork intact. Save Our State's activities also generated criticism because white supremacists and racist skinheads were reported to have attended some demonstrations or participated in its online forums. The Southern Poverty Law Center described the organization as an anti-immigrant hate group and reported that its forums contained derogatory statements about Mexicans and other Latino people. Turner acknowledged difficulty preventing extremists from attaching themselves to the movement and said that some white supremacists had been removed from the forums or protests. At the same time, reports continued to note the presence of individuals displaying Confederate imagery and the persistence of offensive material online. By November 2009, Saveourstate.org was reported to be inactive, with the website and forums closed indefinitely. The Northern California chapter subsequently assumed direction of the organization. The available reference material does not establish whether the organization later formally dissolved, continued under another structure, or remained active only through that chapter.

Save Our State emerged in California during the period following the contentious debate over Proposition 187. The 1994 ballot initiative, whose popular name supplied the organization's identity, sought to restrict publicly funded health care and education for undocumented residents. Voters approved the proposition, but legal challenges prevented it from taking effect in its intended form, and a federal district court struck it down in 1998. Joseph Turner incorporated Save Our State in July 2004. According to accounts of the group's formation, Turner believed that established immigration-reform organizations relied too heavily on letter-writing and other conventional advocacy methods. SOS therefore adopted direct action as its principal method. Its rhetoric rejected what members viewed as the political correctness and multiculturalism of the 1990s, while presenting aggressive, highly visible protest as a means of forcing institutions and communities to confront the consequences of undocumented immigration. The organization described its protest philosophy as the "transference of pain." In practice, this meant targeting businesses, municipal sites, day-labor locations, and public symbols associated by the group with immigration or multicultural policies. Its first reported action came in December 2004, when it launched a boycott of Home Depot over the retailer's alleged funding or support of day-labor centers. Members subsequently traveled to Home Depot stores and day-labor sites in multiple communities to demonstrate. Protesters used signs, cameras, and online video distribution; accounts also described the presence of pepper spray and other weapons at some events. SOS received extensive attention after challenging Danzas Indigenas, a public artwork at the Baldwin Park Metrolink station. The work, designed by Judy Baca with community input, incorporated historical and political inscriptions concerning Mexican, Indigenous, and white experiences in the region. Save Our State interpreted some of the language as evidence of anti-white or separatist sentiment and organized a protest on May 14, 2005. The event produced a much larger counterprotest, required a substantial police presence, and resulted in one reported injury. Baldwin Park officials defended the artwork and later formally resolved that it would remain in place. The organization was also criticized for its relationship with extremist participants. The Southern Poverty Law Center described SOS as an anti-immigrant hate group and reported that white supremacists had participated in demonstrations and that the organization's forums contained derogatory material directed at Mexicans and other Latinos. Turner said that the group had removed some white supremacists and racist skinheads from its activities, but also acknowledged that it could not fully prevent outsiders from associating themselves with the movement. Reports continued to mention Confederate imagery at certain demonstrations, reinforcing the controversy surrounding the group's public identity. The available account places the organization in an inactive state by November 2009. Saveourstate.org and its forums had closed indefinitely, and the Northern California chapter had taken over direction. There is insufficient information to determine whether this represented a formal dissolution, a reorganization, or a continuing but less visible phase of activity.

• 2009

  Website and forums become inactive

  [1]Save Our Stateen.wikipedia.org

  The organization's website and forums close indefinitely, with the Northern California chapter reportedly assuming direction.

• 2005

  Baldwin Park monument protest

  [1]Save Our Stateen.wikipedia.org

  The organization's protest of Danzas Indigenas triggers a large counterprotest and heightened police presence.

• 2004

  Save Our State is incorporated

  [1]Save Our Stateen.wikipedia.org

  Joseph Turner incorporates the organization in July and establishes an activist program centered on direct action against undocumented immigration.

• 2004

  Home Depot boycott begins

  [1]Save Our Stateen.wikipedia.org

  SOS announces a boycott of Home Depot over alleged support for day-labor centers.

• 1998

  Proposition 187 is struck down

  [1]Save Our Stateen.wikipedia.org

  A federal district court strikes down the central provisions of Proposition 187 after litigation.

• 1994

  Proposition 187 provides the organization's name

  [1]Save Our Stateen.wikipedia.org

  California voters approve Proposition 187, popularly known as the Save Our State initiative. The measure is later blocked and invalidated after legal challenges.

Confrontational anti-immigration activism focused on direct action, public protest, and opposition to institutions or local policies perceived to facilitate undocumented immigration.

• 2005

  Baldwin Park protest controversy

  A protest over Danzas Indigenas led to a confrontation involving approximately 25 SOS members and around 300 counterprotesters. Police formed a barrier between the groups, and one woman was injured.

  Source

• 2005

  Alleged links to white supremacist activists

  The Southern Poverty Law Center reported that white supremacists participated in some demonstrations and that SOS forums contained derogatory or hate-based statements. Group leaders said they had removed some extremists but could not prevent all outside participation.

  Source

Read more

• 2005Danzas Indigenas protest

  Baldwin Park, California

  The organization protested inscriptions on a public artwork at the Baldwin Park Metrolink station, arguing that some language was hostile to white residents or promoted the return of the area to Mexico.

  Outcome. The protest drew a much larger counterdemonstration and police intervention. Baldwin Park's city council later supported leaving the artwork intact.

  Source
• 2004Home Depot boycott

  California · United States

  SOS called for a boycott of Home Depot, alleging that the retailer funded or supported day-labor centers located at or near its stores. Members also demonstrated at Home Depot locations.

  Outcome. The campaign was reported to continue through the period covered by the source material. No measured commercial result is provided.

  Source

• 2009

  Northern California chapter assumes directionStrategy

  Background

  The central Saveourstate.org website and forums became inactive and were closed indefinitely.

  Action taken

  The Northern California chapter reportedly took over direction of the organization.

  Aftermath

  The available sources do not establish whether the organization formally dissolved or continued under the chapter's leadership.

  Source

• 2004

  Adopt direct-action organizingStrategy

  Background

  Founder Joseph Turner considered existing immigration-reform groups' letter-writing and conventional advocacy methods ineffective.

  Action taken

  SOS emphasized aggressive demonstrations, boycotts, travel to protests outside members' home communities, and online publication of protest footage.

  Aftermath

  The approach increased the organization's visibility but also generated local opposition and controversy over confrontational tactics and extremist associations.

  Source

1. 1Save Our Stateen.wikipedia.org