Tobacco.org

Baldemar Velásquez journals his experiences during a recent trip to North Carolina 

All day, I was nervous about the nicotine and tar. The “Green Monster,” as they know it, is nicotine poisoning ingested through the skin. I was lucky to find some light gloves with grips on them.

They’ll get wet but at least there would be a shield from the tar and nicotine. . . .

The final tally on my body was the rash on my arms and lower legs and ankles, four blisters on my right hand, sunburn on my nose, face, and lips, and swollen hands that were numb. . . . God put on my heart to call the only pastor I knew who might come and help me do this and come to bless the men and their families. The Rev. Nelson Johnson had been meeting with the RJ Reynolds Co. to advocate a dialogue between FLOC and the company, and after several meetings, the company continues to avoid any responsibility for the production of their tobacco. . . .

He spoke out his heart to God, recalling the many African-Americans who toiled in these same fields, like himself as a youth, the blessing of the workers’ families in Mexico, the success of their work, that the hearts of many would be reached to lift up the yoke of oppression of all tobacco workers, and that there might be unity among brown, blacks, and whites in this endeavor.

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