On May 1st Causa had its annual May Day march and rally. This year the march was very special because we were celebrating two grand victories for the Latino immigrant community: the passage of not one, but TWO bills! The first was tuition equity and the second is the driver's card bill. We created history on May 1st when the Governor came to the rally and signed the driver's card bill in front of the 3,000 people who were present. It was incredible and so inspiring to see what our immigrant rights movement has accomplished! Both bills took many years to pass, tuition equity took over 10 years and the driver's card took almost 4 years. Witnessing the movement's leaders and allies sit next to the Governor as he signed the bill was just extraordinary, it truly was a special and memorable moment for me.
Most of the legislators that are our allies and who supported the bill stood behind the Governor watching as he signed it. I think it was good that the legislators were part of the rally so they could see the support in the community for the bill. It's always important to put a face to an issue so one is able to put it into perspective.
At the rally, I was honored to be one of the key note speakers. I was asked to speak about where we have come, our accomplishments, and where we are going as far as our goals. I was very nervous because every other speaker is very charismatic and able to get the crowd excited when they speak. I am an introvert and don't like public speaking very much. Although I am passionate about the work I have been doing it is always intimidating to speak in Spanish in front of 3,000 native speakers. I think I did a good job though, I was able to get the crowd to chant along with me and was told by people that they liked my speech. All in all, it was a great day!
No comments:
Post a Comment