Lane County Leader's Assembly

Katie D.

January 15, 2012 - 1:42 PM

On Tuesday, January 24th a diverse group of community members will come together for a gathering in support of the immigrants living in Lane County, at the second annual Lane County Leader's Assembly. The event is led by Causa, the leading organization supporting immigrants' rights in Oregon. The January 24th event will feature speakers and information about two critical issues in our community today: access to driver's licenses and the need for social services in this community.

Information can be found here: http://causaoregon.blogspot.com/2012/01/leaders-assembly-in-eugene-on-january.html

I attended the first Assembly last year (blog entry found here: http://isupportuoregon.org/my_duckstory/blog/katie_d/latino_rights_lane_county_leaders_assembly) This was one of the best Eugene events I have attended in my five years here, whether on campus or in the city at large. Over 800 people crowded into the church: folks from a wide variety of backgrounds, faiths, ideology, and life experiences. We included high school students and retired clergy members. The crowd was bilingual, so the speeches were translated in both English and Spanish. And several elected officials from Eugene, Springfield, and Lane County were present to add their support and to hear the community speak out in support of the immigrant members of our churches, work places, campuses, and friendships.

It was beautiful: it made the sometimes-overlooked and invisible members of our community the center of our collective attention. It made visible the artificial barriers and challenges faced by the Latino community, and the small-scale changes that might be confronted by a legislative session in Salem which could make sweeping differences in the lives of these neighbors.

Since last year's event was so inspiring, I volunteered to work on this year's Assembly.

We will have several speakers from the Latino immigrant community, as well as hearing from clergy people, elected officials, and activists. There will be music and celebrating: last year's event was both intense and joyful. I will be speaking at the event, and adding to the closing time with a "Next Steps" recommendation for those interested in providing further support.

This work has been part of my internship for CRES this year. It has been difficult at times, and has been a complicated and inspiring task to shoulder. But I feel so inspired by the energy present with various local churches, NGOs, and the response we've had from elected officials. What we hear from them is that they want to be pushed. They want to take a moral stand and support the lives and livelihoods for our neighbors who are recent transplants to Lane County (or those who have been here for fifteen or twenty years, but are undocumented) and they need our collective support to do so. They need to be pushed. And so do we: we need to stand up for laws made in our names.

So please join me on January 24th at 6:00 pm at First United Methodist Church on 13th and Olive Street. Come be a member of this movement. Hear people's stories, and add your voice. Or come to witness. Sometimes our presence is an enormous gift we can lend to a cause.

I hope to see you there!