I traveled more than 2 hours to attend a faith action this past Monday, where Ju gave one of the most powerful and moving speeches for immigration reform in front of over more than a 1000 people.

Held by Oakland Community Organizing (OCO), the event featured several key local players. Ju was undoubtedly the best speaker of the night and made us all proud! Don’t let me convince you, see it for yourself:

(Apologies for the crappy quality)

Ju’s story in his own words:

I was born in South Korea, and I came to the United States when I was twelve years old. At first, I had a tough time learning English and I had a difficult time to adapt American culture due to lack of support from the Asian community. Therefore, I never knew what it means to be living in a strong Asian community where people help one another, build strong relationships, and live a fulfill life within a secure family. And unfortunately, I’ve experienced racism, classism, segregation, and discrimination from the privileged people. Yes indeed, Asian Americans have been oppressed and marginalized by the dominant society. Furthermore, we have been treated as minority and perceived as second class citizens. With this injustice society, I knew I had to do something.

And he did do something.

After talking to him online several times, I first met Ju at an Underground Undergrad event at Laney College last Spring. He was pushing hard to bring awareness of the plight of undocumented students at his college. Later that year, he decided to take a leadership role, ran and got elected as Student Body President of Laney College.

Ju is fond of this quote by Hillary Clinton and I do believe he follows it aptly:

Always aim high, work hard, and care deeply about what you believe in. When you stumble, keep faith. When you’re knocked down, get right back up. And never listen to anyone who says you can’t or shouldn’t go on.

His energy and commitment to the DREAM Act is truly inspiring. And like some of us on this site, Ju wants to learn Spanish. It just might come in helpful for the work we do.

Ju isn’t in deportation–he doesn’t have anything to gain from putting himself out there. But he does so knowing that his story is powerful and he is making a real difference by sharing it with so many people. And that’s why I salute him! We really have to adapt the Schwarzenegger amendment for this dude someday:

Ju is part of the Students for Fair Consideration launching this Fall, a program that seeks to facilitate policy/advocacy training and college access for almost two dozen immigrant youth scholars in and around the San Francisco Bay Area.