WE are the Future

When listeners were warned not to "clap their
hands or they would be removed and arrested"
shaking hands silently, often referred to as
"Quaker Hands" were used, until the the co-chair
of the board prohibited the silent action as well.
Photo Credit: Lori Khamala

  

By: Lori F. Khamala, AFSC NC Immigrant Rights Program Director 

March 28,2012, Raleigh, NC--We arrived more than an hour in advance to put our names down, hoping later to be chosen to speak to the NC House Select Committee on the State’s Role in Immigration Policy. As our Greensboro AFSC contingent joined the snaking queue waiting for the speaker sign-up to begin, there was a stark contrast between different parts of the line. One section of the line displayed hardened, bitter, angry white faces of an older generation. Another section of the line was peppered with faces of all shades and all ages, diverse, vibrant, excited and hopeful. These faces were smiling, despite the challenges ahead, and they joked with each other and enjoyed the company of friends old and new, all ready to take a stand for fairness for immigrants in our state. As one person pointed out, we were looking at North Carolina’s past on one side, and our future on the other.

Students of El Cambio attend the the hearing
Photo Credit: Lori Khamala

We packed the room of the hearing. The NC House Select Committee is made up mostly of legislators who have a decidedly anti-immigrant agenda. Many of them were co-sponsors of bills last year that sought to question children in schools about their legal status, regulate which IDs local law enforcement agencies accept (targeting Durham’s Police Department which officially accepts a Mexican ID card to simply identify individuals), deny even more services to immigrant residents, and require electronic verification of employment eligibility.  We fear that the Committee plans to propose “show me your papers” style legislation similar to that which passed in Arizona, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina, which would be disastrous to North Carolina’s economy and sense of fairness.  

The Committee has been less than transparent with meeting materials and agendas, and yesterday’s meeting was the first time any immigrant had been given the chance to speak, or that public comments were accepted.

Following a Press Conference at the State Capital in Raleigh, NC
Photo Credit: Lori Khamala 

The past/future contrast was on display throughout the hearing.  And to me, this is ironic, because undocumented immigrants and people of color themselves have so many reasons to be hardened and bitter. The inability of undocumented immigrants to obtain drivers’ licenses turns every trip to work, school or the store into a potential minefield; a routine traffic stop could lead to detention, deportation and family separation. Young people who have grown up in the United States and attended school their entire academic lives –paid for by taxes that they and their families pay—now find themselves at a dead end as higher education remains out of reach. With no way to regularize their status in this broken immigration system and no federal legalization program in sight, hardworking immigrants with decades of investment in this country are at the mercy of an enforcement-only policy.

The room filled to capacity for the Hearing
Photo Credit: Lori Khamala 

But instead of bitterness and resignation in the voices of all the young people who spoke, we heard an optimism, a commitment to keep moving forward and a determination to succeed despite the odds. We heard stories of immigrants themselves, for the first time since the start of this Committee. We heard speaker after speaker from the faith community describe the Biblical mandate to welcome the stranger and treat immigrants fairly. We heard immigration attorneys talk about how broken the immigration system is and what a myth it is to tell undocumented immigrants to just “get in line.” We heard a business owner share that her best employee in 35 years was an undocumented immigrant, and how frustrating it was that she could do nothing to change his status.   Episcopalian Bishop Michael Curry beautifully quoted the Langston Hughes poem “I, too, sing America,” hammering home the point that we are all equals.

Members Opposing Fair Immigration
 Reform would hardly look in the direction of
those supporting.
Photo Credit: Lori Khamala

 We also heard less encouraging words. We  heard individuals on the other side of the issue talk about the “illegal invasion” and insist on calling undocumented immigrants “alien,” claiming they weren’t good enough to be called “immigrant”. We heard that everything undocumented immigrants do is “stealing”, from jobs to services to school placement.

 But those voices were in the minority.  The   34 speakers chosen at random favored  immigration reform and opposed anti-immigrant legislation at a rate of nearly three to one.  Immigrant supporters of all backgrounds wore t-shirts with the message “Do I look undocumented?” underscoring the point that you cannot identify someone’s legal status by looking at them. When supporters were asked not to applaud speakers, they utilized the Quaker / Sign Language applause of waving fingers above their heads, until this, too, became distracting for the representatives.  The shirts, the finger waves, the poetry, the presence of so many young people all created a beautiful and spirited movement in the normally drab legislative halls.

The speakers yesterday made it clear that we in North Carolina have a choice- move backward or move forward.  (And, as one speaker put it, since when does North Carolina aspire to be like South Carolina?)  There is virulent hostility and downright hatred towards our immigrant brothers and sisters, and this opposition will not stop.  But looking at the crowd, I think it’s obvious which way we are going.  We are going with youthful energy and optimism over tired old negative arguments, hopes and dreams over hate and bitterness. We’re going towards our beautiful and colorful and courageous future.

I, Too BY LANGSTON HUGHES

I, too, sing America. // I am the darker brother. / They send me to eat in the kitchen / When company comes, / But I laugh, / And eat well, / And grow strong.  //  Tomorrow, / I’ll be at the table / When company comes. / Nobody’ll dare / Say to me, / “Eat in the kitchen,” /Then.  // Besides, / They’ll see how beautiful I am /

And be ashamed— // I, too, am America.

Hundreds Converge in Greensboro: a community facing a foreclosure crisis!

Hundreds Converge upon the Carolina Theater in Downtown Greensboro, NC on March 14, 2012

Copyright: 

 AFSC

 by Victor Lopez, Intern - AFSC Office of the Carolinas 

GREENSBORO, NC - March 14--Drum beats and chanting filled the air as dozens of protesters marched from Washington Street to their final destination at The Carolina Theater, in Greensboro, NC on March 14, 2012.

There they converged with an eager crowd of supporters to celebrate the premier of a locally produced short film, “Let’s Lose Our House:  A Modern Foreclosure Tale.”

The film was an “engaging” and informative treatment of a very complex and “disastrous” foreclosure problems of affecting our communities, according to the events organizers.

Susan Ikenberry, a Greensboro local who attended the event, said seeing the film showed the human connection to foreclosure.

Ikenberry said, “The film transcended the raw numbers and statistics and put a human and local face on foreclosure; it provided a glimpse into the largely privatenightmares that many of our neighbors are experiencing.”

The crowd of over 500 people who came out for the premier suggests that foreclosure is a charged topic for Greensboro residents. Members of the Occupy Greensboro Movement argue that Guilford County residents are becoming increasingly tired of the tactics used by banks that have led to the foreclosure epidemic that is plaguing this area.

Area Director for the American Friends Service Committee, Ann Lennon, said that the diversity of those who attended the premier as evidence that foreclosures in Greensboro are affecting a wide demographic.

“The program highlighted the disturbing aspects of the foreclosure crisis,” said Lennon.  “The personal stories were front and center. It pulls a community together to support each other.  Working together we can make a difference. “

Guilford County alone is averages 296 new foreclosure filings each month, according to Guilford Counties Registrar of Deeds Office. 

Co-filmmaker and Guilford graduate Kevin Smith said that, “the loss of a home through foreclosure devastates the affected family emotionally and financially. But it’s not only the affected family that suffers.  Each and every foreclosed home impacts each and every member of the community.”

Nathan Pius, a member of Greensboro’s Occupy movement, observed the crowds reactions.

“The audience laughed at the comical parts of the film and then were quiet and attentive during the expository segments,” said Pius.

Following the movies premier, Guilford County's Register of Deeds, Jeff Thigpen, spoke to the audience about the fraud being perpetrated by banks relating to foreclosures.

Thigpen recently filed civil lawsuits against financial institutions such as Bank of America, Wells Fargo, citing fraudulent practices in the foreclosure process, including forged signatures, according to the Wall Street Journal.

“The ‘robo’ signing process employed by the financial institutions made it hard to discern what was a correct foreclosure from what was not,” said Thigpen.

Lori Fernald Khamala, Director of the North Carolina Immigrant Rights Program for the American Friends Service Committee, who attended the function with her young daughter, said that the event was a an exciting event full of information and entertainment.

"The event was wonderfully informative and creative all at the same time,” said Khamala. “The film did a good job of highlighting very complex issues such as foreclosure in a way that people could digest.”

There were qualified housing counselors on hand for those who needed help fighting foreclosures they are facing.

Additionally, the event offered a range of ways for people to become involved in helping to craft a community-based response to the crisis, from signing petitions to getting trained to dig up evidence of fraud in public records, to telling their own foreclosure story.

“Reports coming from many of the service providers I spoke to said that they felt they were able to help a wide range of people following the movies premier,” said Pius.

Lennon said the event was meant to revive and remind the public that the plight of foreclosure is still a very active issue in the Greensboro community.

“We have to keep the conversations going, a lot of these processes and understandings will not have immediate gratification connected to them,” said Lennon. “We have to be conscience; however, to the kind of country we are leaving to the generations that follow ours.” 

Women and Islam; Feminism and Interfaith Relationships

By Brianna Goodison, AFSC Intern, Guilford College Principled Problem Solving Scholar

            Working on the Esse Quam Videri: Muslim Self Portraits series has been an adventure to say the least. Rushing around trying to finish last minute event details while at the same time learning the ropes at the AFSC office in Greensboro made the Women and Islam panel discussion appear to be a long ways away. But nevertheless, before I knew it, I was greeting guests at the door of the Guilford College Art Gallery.

            The venue couldn't have been more perfect; the walls were covered with Todd Drake's Muslim Self Portraits collection. Once everyone was settled in their seats, the lights dimmed and the film “The Noble Struggle of Amina Wadud” began. The film detailed the struggle of Amina Wadud, an African American Islamic Feminist, as she challenged certain Muslim practices and became a voice for Islamic feminism.

            After the film, Diya Abdo, an assistant English professor at Guilford College, began by discussing the definition of feminism. She explained that feminism did not originate from only one culture but grows locally, from within each culture. Parveen Hasanali, an assistant professor of Religious Studies, continued the conversation by showing the audience works of art done by different Islamic Feminist artists, like Shirin Neshat and Shirin Aliabadi. We were shown black and white images of veiled Muslim women contrasted with images of Muslim women in colorful hijabs who've had recent nose jobs. The audience was asked to express their thoughts on the message that the artist was trying to convey and what stereotypes the paintings reinforced or defied about Muslim women and Islamic culture.

            At the end of the discussion, around twenty-five female guests, including myself, made their way to Founders Hall to discuss their thoughts more in-depth over dinner. The guest-list included a diverse mixture of people, but the focus was on Muslim-Quaker women interfaith relationships. Guests were encouraged to sit with strangers to have a more impacting dialogue and to meet new people. Being neither Quaker nor Muslim, I was worried I wouldn't be able to find common ground with both parties.

            The conversation was different at each table, but ours focused on the prompt question “In what ways have your religious beliefs changed over the last decade? In what ways have they stayed the same?” Our table consisted of a few AFSC interns, a Muslim, Indian immigrant, and an elderly Free Methodist. We all shared our personal religious journey and were pleasantly surprised to see how unique, yet similar, our experiences were.

            After we finished, the tables were brought together to exchange the main themes or ideas that each table focused on. Discussions ranged to the bullying of Muslim children in schools to the religious emphasis on the importance of knowing, and loving, one's neighbors.

            Towards the end of the meal, the focus was shifted towards action we can take to support the Muslim community and to encourage Quaker-Muslim relations. An array of ideas were brought up, including volunteering at the free clinic in downtown Greensboro that is run mainly by members of the Muslim community.

            As the conversation came to a close, contact information was exchanged and guests voiced excitement over future, related events. One guest ended the evening reminding us that, as neighbors, we are obligated to know what is going on in each others lives and to actively find ways to support each other. I couldn't agree more. Sometimes, with such a focus on discussion and understanding, we lose sight of the action we need to take to maintain these bridges that we have built.