LatinaLista — The year 2006 will be forever remembered as the time when the Latino community came together and marched for immigration reform. As anyone who took part in those infamous marches of 2006 that swept the country from Los Angeles to Dallas to Chicago to New York City, those marches weren’t so much about policy as it was personal.
It seems like everyone knew or knew someone who knew someone who was undocumented. It was that personal connection, no matter how many degrees removed, that made people so passionate about walking the streets of their cities shoulder to shoulder.
A few times since then, immigration activists and advocacy organizations have tried to replicate those memorable marches, and in all honesty, they just haven’t been able to recapture the same intensity of emotion or participation.
But this year could be different.
Though the White House is seen to be sincere in getting immigration reform passed and a bipartisan group of Congressmen are spearheading a compromised approach to the issue, there are still too many politicians in Congress who are critical of immigration reform and regurgitating old and exaggerated rhetoric to oppose it.
It’s this opposition, when the potential to get something done is as high as it’s ever been, that could be enough of an impetus to get people to lace up their shoes again and take to the streets one more time to speak out for a path to citizenship for 11 million people.
At least that’s the hope of a massive event planned for April 10, 2013 in Washington DC.
Citizenship for 11 million is a rally planned on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capital Building in Washington D.C. While the vast number of participating organizations and groups are known for championing immigration reform over the years, there are some new members to the group from the business, technology and education sectors.
The main goal of the rally is to “educate, march, rally, pray and knock on the doors of Congress until President Obama signs commonsense immigration reform that includes a realistic path to citizenship.”
It’s a path that may finally be realized.
