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.
(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.
Kica Matos
President
National Immigration Law Center
