If you are in Washington state check out this newly formed group – Washington Dream Act Coalition.  This week they released a press release which includes this amazing video of 67 undocumented youth ‘coming out’!

In the state of Washington, over 65 undocumented students from the Washington Dream Act Coalition (WDAC) came out of the shadows through a video montage calling for Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray to take the lead for Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

“Stepping out of the shadows has been a very liberating experience for me,” said Marc, an undocumented graduate of the University of Washington and member of the WDAC. “I will no longer lie and make up stories to my friends to hide my immigration status,” he added. “Hopefully, others will follow our example and together we can finally bring real change to this broken immigration system.”

Are your scared, mystified, perplexed, confused and just downright troubled by our call to “come out?”

Why should undocumented immigrants come out and more importantly, be out?

10. Because the closet is too small and suffocating: There is so much more to learn by stepping outside the cave rather than believing that the shadows bouncing on the walls are reality. See “allegory of the cave.”

9. Because out DREAM Act youth are celebrities who often get what they want without much effort:

“Hi, are you THE Prerna Lal?” is actually a conversation starter followed by star-struck gazes that make one uncomfortable at first, but pretty amused later on when people go out of their way to wine and dine and please you. Just play your cards right and keep your ego in check.

8. Because DREAM Act status is a pickup line:

“Hi, are you Rigo Padilla? I have read so much about you!” And then you smile and act modest while handing her/him your business card and telling her/him to call you anytime.

7. Because most people think you are just “super-rad” and cool:

For example, on a job interview, the potential employer was simply blown away with my immigration status and the ways in which I navigate the system. Of course, I earned “cool” points and bagged the job. This can also be used to impress potential dates. “ZOMG, you ride your bike home for 10 miles every day! That is so cool!”

6. Because it helps us build community:

There is strength in numbers—Where are our 38 million undocumented immigrants? Come out of the shadows, share your stories and experiences. Together we can form a powerful and thriving community with safe spaces and resources for everyone.

5. Because it is safer:

We cannot help and provide services for people who elect to live in the shadow and cower in fear. You can be picked up and deported at any time and we would have no idea. But if you are out about your status and well-plugged in to our community, people will come to your help in no time. And who knows? You may end up with a great job offer regardless of your status and even a work permit if ICE dares to lock you up.

4. Because we cannot help those who don’t help their own cause:

DREAM Activists around the country are putting themselves out there on a daily basis to fight for their basic right to live in their own homes and for YOU to continue living in your home too. What are you doing to help with the cause? We aren’t running some welfare program: Free-loading is not cool.

3. Because you will make really cool friends all over the United States

Name a state and we can probably go there tomorrow, hang out with a fellow DREAM Act student or activista, get a free tour and place to stay.

2. Because you will feel more empowered and free

Yes, freedom is socially constructed but it is a relief to not constantly fear an oppressive and unjust system that prevents you from living out in the open. It is so much more empowering and it also builds your self-esteem. So let it go and see where the freedom from fear takes you.

1. Because we cannot pass the DREAM Act with you in the closet.

Everyone matters. The only way to build mass public consciousness and to fight misperceptions, mediated-conversations and media misrepresentation is to actively show ourselves to the world.

There’s actually no justifiable reason for anyone to live in the shadows. Come out and be out.

For Immediate Release

March 11, 2010

Contact: Tolu Olubunmi 202-216-0261 ext. 407(o) 240-505-5921(c)

Empowered youth across the country declaretheir undocumented status and their worth to America

Undocumented Chicago youth are leading United We Dream Network’s “Coming Out” actions

Chicago, IL – Yesterday, 8 students with the Immigrant Youth Justice League (IYJL) stood up one by one and declared their undocumented status to the nation. The event kicked off United We Dream Network’s “National Coming Out Week” March 15^th – 21^st in support of the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act.

DREAM Act is bipartisan legislation that addresses the situation faced by young people who were brought to the United States years ago as undocumented immigrant children, and who have since grown up here but are being denied the ability to fully contribute to society.

Yesterday’s press conference, at the Federal Plaza in Chicago, is part of mass mobilizations happening across the country, as immigrant youth and their supporters lend their voices to the fight for passage of the DREAM Act and just and humane immigration reform. Undocumented youth are daring Senate and House leadership to get on the right side of history and pass legislation that would strengthen our economy and keep families together.

“Coming out actions are being planned by thousands of students who are choosing to stop living in fear, said Carlos Saavedra, national field coordinator for the United We Dream Network. “The courage shown by these students highlights the character of a generation of immigrant youth, willing to lay everything on the line in the hopes of claiming the American dream as their own. It is time we as a nation recognize the true worth of these untapped resources.”

More details on the National Coming Out Week, March 15^th – 21^st is available at http://www.dreamactivist.org/comeout.

To contact immigrant students, educators or for more information please contact: Tolu Olubunmi (olubunmi@nilc.org) 240-505-5921(c)

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The United We Dream Network (UWD) is a national youth led network devoted to achieving equal access to higher education for all people, regardless of immigration status. UWD is dedicated to the passage of the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, a bipartisan legislation that would permit a select group of undocumented students, conditional legal status and eventual citizenship in the U.S. For more information on the DREAM Act, visit UWD’s website www.dreamactivist.org.

Coming out of the Shadows – A How To Guide

Difficulty:

Easy to Medium to Very Difficult

Time:

10 minutes-2 hours

“Brothers and Sisters, you must come out! come out to your parents, come out to your friends, if indeed they are your friends, come out to your neighbors, come out to your fellow workers. Once and for all, let’s break down the myth and destroy the lies and distortions. For your sake, for their sake. For the sake of all the youngsters who’ve been scared by the votes from Dade to Eugene. On the Statue of Liberty it says ‘ Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free.’ In the Declaration of Independence it is written, ‘All men are created equal and endowed with certain unalienable rights.’ For Mr. Briggs and Mrs. Bryant and all the bigots out there, no matter how hard you try, you can never erase those words from the Declaration of Independence! No matter how hard you try you can never chip those words from the base of the Statue of Liberty! That is where America is!”

-Harvey Milk

Congratulations! You have decided to come out of the shadows about your undocumented status. Perhaps you have finally decided to tell your friends why you haven’t signed up for your drivers’ ed. class or why you still don’t drive to school. Maybe, you will come out to your guidance counselor, who has asked you repeatedly to turn in your college application, but you were too afraid to tell him/her that you don’t have a social security number and that you still don’t know how you will pay for college without financial aid.

Please remember you are not alone. You are part of a large community of courageous undocumented youth who have decided to come out of the shadows about our immigration status.  We live every day in fear and we are tired of it. We want to be able to talk about our lives and our stories without fearing persecution or deportation. We are not free to travel, go to school, work, live, but we refuse to be helpless. In the same way the LGBTQ community has historically come out, undocumented youth, some of whom are also part of the LGBTQ community, have decided to speak openly about their status. Your courage will open the way to having even more conversations about your immigration status. Sharing your stories will allow  us, as a movement of undocumented youth, to grow, as we continue to learn to accept ourselves. By being more open we will begin replacing fear with courage and, ultimately, be united in our demands for change. You will be surprised how little other people know about the realities of being undocumented. People who know someone who is gay or lesbian are more likely to support equal rights for all gay and lesbian people- the same follows for people who know someone who is undocumented.  Also note, if you must also confront intersecting oppressions (i.e. Gender, Race, Class, Sexual orientation), coming out about your status is one of the many hurdles for liberation.

National Coming Out Day

March 10th is National Coming Out Day. In Chicago, the Immigrant Youth Justice League will be holding a rally and a march to launch a week-long “coming out” of undocumented youth across the country. In other cities and towns, students are coming out to their friends on a much smaller scale. Whether big or small, consider participating in the National Coming Out Day and weeks by coming out!

Before you get started:

If you are nervous about coming out:

• Practice, Practice, Practice!: In front of a mirror or with someone with whom you’ve     already come out to
• Breathe: Breathing is a good thing. When we are nervous, we tend to withhold our breath or breathe heavily. Take a break and be conscious of your breathing. Breathe in and out until you can hear your heart beat normally. This is good for centering yourself and your thoughts.
• Protect Yourself
  • Use only your first name, a nickname or your middle name
  • Limit the amount of identifying information in your story of self.  For example, instead of saying “I live on Elm Street” you say “I live in St. Paul, MN.”
  • Write your story and have a friend or family member read it.
• Know Your Rights

Include Know Your Rights Info here.

How to Participate in the Coming Out Week:

Your Commitment:

Look at the list below and determine your level of participation.  Every bit helps moves us closer to passing the DREAM Act!

“I am a Dreamer”

Share your story with anyone (friends, family that do not know, a teacher, etc.) and get at least 10 petition signatures

“Shout It Out”

Get 25 petition signatures (or text) & share you story with us (written or video)

“We Are Here, Get Used to It”

Get 50 petition signatures (or text) & share you story with us (written or video) & hold a coming out party

“Loud and Proud”

Get 75 petition signatures (or text) & share you story with us (written or video) & hold a coming out event w/ press coverage

“Out of the Closets and into the Streets”

Get 100 petition signatures (or text) & get 5 people to share their story with us (written or video) & hold a coming out event w/ press coverage

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT WHAT LEVEL YOU ARE

Coming out is a very important and empowering time in a persons life. By coming out of the shadows you’re finally shedding some light on this issue that has been affecting others for years. Remember that there’s other youth out there, like yourself, that are too scared to come out. By taking the first step many more will find the courage they need to speak out as well!

Whatever you decide to do….Be creative and Be Brave!