| “Flip despair upside down, into hopefulness.”
By National Day Laborers Organizing Network (NDLON) Speaking for ourselves as NDLON staff members, our heads and hearts are all at different places when we think about the struggles to come. Nauseated, nervous, sleepless, sick, angry, determined – it has been a wild ride, and it’s not over. But we remain so grateful for the solidarity and support we get from one another, and especially from you, our members, partners and friends. Manuel Vicente, Director of Radio Jornalera, shared his reaction: “I don’t feel like being sad right now. I don’t want people to feel sorry for me. I want to encourage my community to be brave. I want to push that feeling, that understanding – that we are strong and don’t want pity. I spoke with a lot of workers. It’s not that they don’t care about what happened. It’s that they need to continue with their lives.” He continued: “After the election I felt dizzy. Overwhelmed. It was chaotic. But I want to move past that. To act not with panic, but with determination. We are cabrones and cabronas. We are not victims.” Ishell Linares-Soto, Director of Development, said this moment reminded her of the remarkable speech the filmmaker and activist Valarie Kaur gave after the first Trump election in 2017, when she flipped despair upside down, into hopefulness. “What if this is not the darkness of the tomb,” Kaur said, “but the darkness of the womb?” Moving from pain and darkness into a new existence – we don’t know how long the suffering will last, but we do know this: We’re only going forward from here. A TIME FOR ACTION: MAGA OUT OF LAPD! Just last week, we rapidly mobilized in Los Angeles to oppose and protest the appointment of former LA Sheriff Jim McDonnell to Los Angeles Police Chief. In his time as LA Sheriff, McDonnell colluded with ICE to try to block California’s sanctuary laws. As we once again face the threats of “mass deportation,” we need to make sure our local and state officials are on the right side of history. We must make clear that we will push back on every anti-immigrant and authoritarian step they intend to take. |
| (NDLON members and various community organizations in front of the Los Angeles City Hall, protesting McDonnell’s LAPD appointment) |
| This one was a quick mobilization, and yet hundreds of workers, day laborers, janitors, activists and allies came out to make their voices heard, and thousands signed a petition to protest the appointment. It was a good example of the vibrant, grassroots mobilizations that we need nationwide. In the months that come, it is so important that we show up, for our loved ones, for our co-workers, for our communities. That is where we must put our energy.
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Onward, The Staff of NDLON |
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