I love running across book recommendations in unexpected places. This is from the latest ACLU magazine. #WeNeedDiverseBooks
How are we going to ever have our voices heard if we don‘t come out of the shadows? Recently, I went to a public protest. It felt good to get my voice out there. It feels good to fight for the rights of immigrants.
I pretended it didn‘t happen. I saw something missing in them. They didn‘t have much knowledge about what they said. Teasing or bullying a fellow human being is irrational. They are ignorant and not looking at a human being as an individual.
There were times, though, when I‘d look at myself in the mirror and think, I‘m in the wrong body. I tried to fight it because of my family, because of my Mexican tradition. I tried to adapt a mind set to think like a guy. It soon became evident that this was not working, and I became depressed.
Eventually, my true self, my genuine self, was going to come out. But in the meantime, I continued to hide under the two shadows. And remember, I don‘t like lying. So I pushed everyone aside and stayed by myself. It was lonely. It really was.
While we rested, I looked up at the moon. I thought about my mom. The moon is kind of like my mom. I cried to the moon because I thought life was unfair. The girl who married my dad was a really mean person. She was totally not like my mom. My mom was very kind. Everyone in the village said so. When my father‘s second wife physically abused us, I would talk to the moon to feel better.
I was a pastor of the Southside congregation. We declared the church a sanctuary for Central American refugees. And a movement started. Eventually we got the government to recognize these folks as refugees. But I got three federal felony convictions along the way. And I‘ve been involved with the border ever since. How could I, a minister of God, a human being, turn my back on people who were dying?
Congratulations to Susan Kuklin's for her new book #WeAreHereToStay and sharing voices that should be heard. We are still celebrating! Learn more about Susan Kuklin's take on student interaction and global perspectives in this month's Author's Corner. https://wowlit.org/blog/2019/01/01/authors-corner-susan-kuklin/
#WorldsofWords #BookBirthday #AuthorsCorner
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With courage and honesty, these 9 young adults reveal their pasts. It's heartbreaking but full of hope.
We're all immigrants here.
A history of US Immigration Law and Executive Actions is included as well as resources.
Amazing. Essential.
Thank you to Candlewick Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review goodreads.com/overtheedge
We Are Here to Stay: Voices of Undocumented Young Adults | 
