My Arizona, My Home

By Teresa Mabry, USSA Women of Color Chair

The Day Governor Brewer decided to make a political play instead of the morally correct decision for the State of Arizona, and the people of Arizona, I could not  believe what had just happened. Why was it signed?  Lets not even ask that question.  We know.  The reason has come to a realistic light now that her campaign signs hang across the state. SB1070 is not a “Brown” issue, it is a human issue.  Arizona is becoming a state in which people of color and immigrant communities are being legally criminalized and profiled as a result of a political move, at the cost of the people.  I say the people because, again, this is a human issue. And yes, I have read the bill.

  

I refuse to be scared, I refuse to stand by, hold my tongue and allow the suffering to continue. I refuse! Arizona is my state, my home. No longer will unconstitutional and racist legislation, or legislators, be tolerated! No longer will ignorant, hateful statement, nor actions such as Tom Horne's ignorant comments on Dolores Huerta be tolerated or passed off. No longer can you or will you be able to discount our communities.  You’ve been looking for an alternative, my dear State of Arizona, and instead of choosing a viable option like the DREAM Act and Comprehensive Immigration Reform the decision was made to take us back in time. You see the people across the Nation and their actions, yet you refuse to hear them, but very soon you will feel them. Yes, this piece of legislation has already taken a toll on the State’s economy, but that feeling is only financial. You see, while this piece of legislation is hateful, racist, and intended to create fear, the stance the movement is taking against it and ones like it is one of love; a love for our fellow community members and the understanding and ability to continue  the progression towards a just society.  Yes, students and young people alike are at the forefront of this movement, not in an attempt to get out of classes, but in the realization that this place we call home is no longer safe, that we students we are affected by terrible legislation and, as students and contributing community members, we have a responsibility to care for one another and to love one another. Remember the DREAMers who were arrested in McCain’s office?  To say they risked deportation to get out of class would be a complete discredit to their bravery. To say those thousands of people who came across the nation to Phoenix, Arizona May 29th, 2010 came to feel the spring heat would be a blatant lie. 

This movement will continue to be one of Love and will continue to progress. My home will no longer cause me pain when I think of the occurrences happening in the state. Yes we will move forward, and the movement will certainly progress, because of Love.  It was Love that those DREAMers risked deportation, which for some meant their lives. It was Love that brought thousands of people to the desert to take a stance against SB1070 on May 29th, 2010. It will continue to be Love that keeps this movement going forward. Saturday May 29th, 2010 renewed my faith, and hope in you Arizona. Love with the understanding of what we know, what we need, and what we want from the society we are creating. My Arizona, my Home.