[Greensboro, NC] Following in the footsteps of the four brave A&T students who helped launch the sit-in movement fifty-one years ago to the date, immigrant young people and their allies gathered at New Garden Friends Meeting and marched with candles to Guilford College for a prayer vigil on Tues, February 1, 2011. The group was protesting bill H. 11 introduced in the NC General Assembly, which would deny higher education to undocumented residents of the state, regardless of ability to pay, length of time in the US, or amount of taxes paid. The vigil was one of five organized across the state by the Adelante Education Coalition and allied groups including the American Friends Service Committee, FaithAction International House and the Latin American Coalition, lead groups in Greensboro.
Around 60 people gathered on the rainy Tuesday night to hear moving accounts of how this bill would affect students and our state as a whole. Jorge Zeballos, Latino Student Coordinator at Guilford College, talked about how this law will prevent students from achieving the education that every student deserves. Zeballos also noted that this year’s class at Guilford has one of the largest Latino populations yet; he emphasized that investing in education for Latinos is investing in our future.
Yazmin (last name omitted) shared a powerful personal account of arriving in the US at age 13. “Since the day I arrived this country, I made sure I was doing everything possible to adapt and prepare for college: adjust to the new culture, learn the language, and become an honor student.” She was discouraged at times, but never gave up, and was accepted into Guilford College. “Getting in was not easy, staying has been even more challenging. But I know that on May 7th [graduation] I'll be able to look back and see that all the sacrifices, worries, stress and things that come with being a Latina immigrant in college will be worth it, because I am gaining the skills and experience that will help me to better serve my community.” Yazmin encouraged everyone to “come together to make sure that students like me get the chance of going to college. As residents of NC we need to pressure representatives at the state level to do the right thing by not enacting bills that jeopardize access to higher education for all students. Education should not be a privilege, but a basic human right for ALL."
Rev. Julie Peeples, pastor of Congregational United Church of Christ explained that admitting undocumented students into NC campuses not only makes financial sense for our state, but it is also morally the right thing to do. She urged NC policymakers not to pass the destructive legislation.
From this point there was a candlelight march of solidarity beginning at New Garden Friends Meeting and ending at Dana Auditorium on the Guilford College campus, with steady and solemn drum beats in the background. Even though gusts of wind forced the candles out, the march was carried on with solidarity and a force of its own.
Upon reaching the Moon Room of Guilford College, where the College Meeting for Worship is held every Sunday, participants wrote short messages to local legislators reflecting their own hopes and prayers for our state, and then shared them aloud. Messages included, “There should be no laws banning immigrants who are not citizens from educating themselves. An educated public is a smart, responsible public which will desire to do good for the society they live in…” and “Please have the generosity of spirit that allows you to see the best, not the worst, of our guests. Welcome them, grant them the opportunity for an education. Our future may well depend on our generosity,” and “I wish that everybody can go to school in this state.” (from Bella, age 5).
The evening’s events closed with final remarks by Guilford College Campus Minister Max Carter, who commented that some politicians claim to want to live up to “God’s standards.” But “God’s standards” are best described in Micah 6:8, where we learn that what is required of us is “to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” and in Matthew 25, when we learn that in the end, God will judge us by how we fed the hungry, clothed the naked, cared for the sick, visited the prisoner, and welcomed the stranger. These may not be the standards the politicians were referring to, but if we strive to abide by these standards, our community and our world would be a better place.
The gathering ended with participants feeling a renewed commitment to fight the bill denying higher education to undocumented immigrants, and to work for the rights of all immigrants and give them the same rights that everyone deserves, regardless of culture, faith, immigration status or family background.
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