‘Home is here’: DACA walkout features love for Oklahoma
Given the criticism of immigrants these last few years, one might be surprised by the message Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals students are delivering to our city. But the “home is here” message DACA students preached during Friday’s OKCPS walkouts exemplifies the best of Oklahoma and our nation. In fact, DACA students said the word “Oklahoma” over and over, as they committed themselves to make their community and state better.
On Friday, Nov. 8, hundreds of students from Capitol Hill High School, U.S. Grant High School and Southeast High School peacefully participated in a nationwide walkout in support of undocumented immigrants and youth — called “dreamers” — authorized to stay in America under DACA. I attended the walkout at Capitol Hill.
A dreamer who immigrated to America in 2003 set the tone of the event while students held signs proclaiming, “home is here.” And here, they committed to “unity,” “freedom,” “love,” “respect,” “family,” “community,” and to “thrive.” The most repeated word was “Oklahoma.”
As the name of their families’ chosen home was repeated over and over, I almost expected to hear the lyrics of our state song, “Brand new state, gonna treat you great….”
Seriously, the multiracial crowd reminded me of the best of the Oklahoma of my childhood. Like the earlier immigrants to Oklahoma — and the generation who survived the Great Depression, won World War II and committed to a better life for Baby Boomers like me — dreamers seek to do more than just survive. Their goal is to thrive, and they are dedicated to bringing our community up with them.
DACA walkout: ‘No human is illegal’
During Friday’s DACA walkout, student leaders offered a range of civics lessons, first being CONTINUE READING: 'Home is here': DACA walkout features love for Oklahoma