the Advocates in DC
This post is for my sister who complained that I haven’t posted a new blog entry in a while despite my promise to write more during my facebook hiatus. I told her that this week isn’t good for me because I’m in DC for a conference. She said that wasn’t a satisfactory excuse, so here I am.
The conference I’m attending has brought together advocates from around the country who are working on combatting racial profiling nationally and in their respective communities. I’ve met an amazingly diverse group of people, ranging from an organizer in Maine who works with local Native American tribes, to a Somali immigrant in Tennessee who works with taxi cab drivers, to a fourth-generation Mexican-American activist in Arizona who has been working, tirelessly, for decades on issues affecting the state’s Latino population.
Much of the conversation over these past few days has been about the new law in Arizona that allows police officers to stop individuals they believe to be undocumented. Our discussions have focused on how this law changes our work as advocates, the frustration and fear within immigrant and minority communities, and what the passage of this law says about the state of race relations in our country.
These conferences always leave me with mixed emotions.
On one hand I’m disheartened by the seemingly long road ahead of us as we continue to work on racial justice issues and the frustratingly simplistic state of our national discourse. One of the attorneys summed it up nicely when she said “the economy is in the shitter and instead of blaming those that got rich off of it–the guy who just bought his third beach house–we’re blaming the guy washing dishes at the back of the restaurant who is paying his taxes and supporting his family.”
On the other hand, I’m inspired by the dedication of my fellow advocates in the movement. Those people who day after day, year after year, continue to press for justice and equality for all, never losing hope that positive change is just around the corner. These are the type of people who have brought about significant civil rights advances in our nation’s history and will be the force behind the good that we have to believe will come. I’m lucky to have the opportunity to meet with them, learn from them, and hope with them.
Thank you for the Advocates in DC.
