friend,

Black History Month is a time to recognize and honor the legacy and invaluable
contributions of the African Diaspora in the United States. As a leader in the immigrants’ rights movement and as a Black Latina woman from
Puerto Rico — one of the world’s oldest colonies — it’s a time in which I draw
from the strength and wisdom of Black leaders and Black-led social justice
movements.

Author Alice Walker, once said, “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have
any.”

In my work, when I encounter skeptics who don’t believe that we can forge our
way to a truly humane immigration system, I encourage them to look back on the
civil rights movement. In the face of the worst excesses of systemic racism,
white supremacy, and violence, Black Americans peacefully exercised their
individual and collective power, whether it was sitting down at a segregated
lunch counter, refusing to give up a seat on a bus, risking their lives to
register to vote, or marching on Washington in the hundreds of thousands.


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(Source: GHI Vintage/Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group)

With the same courage, we must set out to build a truly intersectional movement
for immigrants’ rights. We must believe that our vision for America — a country that centers the
dignity of all people — is possible, and that together, we have more power than
the forces that attempt to divide us.

Puerto Rican freedom fighter Pedro Albizu Campos once reminded us that “the
fight for freedom is never easy, but it is always worth it.” With that
reflection, I would like to invite you to support four organizations who are
doing tremendous work, serving Black communities, Black immigrants, and fighting
for our shared liberation.

The UndocuBlack Network works to empower and protect the rights of Black undocumented communities
through policymaking and advocacy, media and narrative shifting, and community
building and mental wellness.

Transgender Law Center’s Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project (BLMP) envisions a world without forced migration, where no one is forced to give up
their homeland and where all Black LGBTQIA+ people are free and liberated. They
build and center the power of Black LGBTQIA+ migrants to ensure the liberation
of ALL Black people.

The NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is America’s premier legal organization fighting for racial justice. Using the
power of law, narrative, research, and people, they defend and advance the full
dignity and citizenship of Black people in America.

The Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI) believes that a thriving multiracial democracy requires racial, social and
economic justice for all. BAJI educates and engages African American and Black
immigrant communities to organize and advocate for racial, social and economic
justice.

We deeply appreciate your solidarity and support of these incredible
organizations. Thank you for standing alongside us in the fight for justice and
equality.

DONATE NOW
[[link removed]]Kica Matos
President
National Immigration Law Center

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