Davenport--We (the Immigrant Rights Network-Dubuque Chapter) met the Freedom Riders in Davenport, Iowa late yesterday afternoon. Their speeches were empowering! The support from labor unions, churches, and community groups was eye opening for our group. Each person in our group had a red, white and blue bandana on which they wrote messages of hope. As the Freedom Riders mounted
their buses, our group passed on their bandanas so the Freedom Riders could carry their voices of hope on to DC. I know that this experience will help our IRN group become more confident and more vocal within our own community. Thank you for all the hard work in organizing the Freedom Ride. Si se puede!

--Marcia Sola & IRN Dubuque Chapter

Knoxville - Four hundred people greeted the Las Vegas route buses at Sacred Heart Cathedral. Heard history of freedom rides, local civil rights history, local Palestinian and Mexican immigrants, local bakery workers locked out of their jobs, and a challenge from the chair of the TN Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition...2 bus riders spoke and were received enthusiastically...the torch from the bus was passed to great effect for the local press: 3 TV stations and the local paper and radio. Then everyone adjourned for dinner, music, and
dancing in the gym. Great night. They are at an historic labor and civil rights training school, Highlander Center, this morning.

--Jim Sessions (www.iwfr.org/knoxville.asp for pictures)

Milwaukee--The Minnesota riders are on their way to Indianapolis after "firing up" a crowd [of about 800] in Milwaukee Sunday night and protesting Monday morning at the home office of a key Congressman on immigration issues. The two Minnesota buses made
stops in Madison, Jefferson and Milwaukee, Wis., Sunday. In Milwaukee, they participated in an energetic event at Our Lady of Guadalupe church, organizers said. Early Tuesday, the group demonstrated outside the home office of Congressman James Sensenbrenner in Brookfield, a suburb of Milwaukee.
Sensenbrenner, a Republican, chairs a key House committee that oversees immigration issues. The group's next stop is Indianapolis, where a local gathering will highlight the need to reunify families separated under current immigration policies.

--Workday Minnesota (www.workdayminnesota.com)

St. Louis--Against the backdrop of the St. Louis Arch, about 900 people welcomed the SF Bay Area bus last night at City Hall, reflecting the massive community support of the IWFR. After a rally with great gospel music, the riders held a memorial in honor of rider Angelina Dominguez's son Esteban Silva, a legal
immigrant who died while in custody at an INS detention center. Each freedom rider placed a rose in a basket next to his picture in a moving tribute. This morning, one bus went to National Linen Laundry to a civic participation action where they registered 54 workers to vote (the company gave the workers paid
time off for their civic participation). Another bus also
registered voters through house visits around St. Frances de Sales Catholic Church. JR Vera reports that the riders are awesome and although only getting 4 to 5 hours of sleep, they remain energized and renewed with each event they attend.

See a wonderful photo gallery at the Seattle Times website:
seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/photogalleries/localnews138/1.html

Imgage caption: BETTY UDESEN / THE SEATTLE TIMES
On the bus, Central Washington: Noor Ahmed, of SeaTac, one of several Somalis who recently won a court battle to remain in the United States, is among the 54 riders headed across country on the bus that originated in Seattle.