Dreamers and Dream Defenders cut out from March on Washington ceremony

Despite being on the program, representatives from both the Dream Defenders and United We Dream were not allowed to speak at yesterday’s “Let Freedom Ring” ceremony to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. Both the Dream Defenders, whose actions we’ve covered before, and the undocumented youth movement of which United We Dream is a part are known for direct action tactics (not dissimilar to those undertaken by Dr. King, a recipient of much of the March on Washington honors). Dream Defenders’ Phillip Agnew is calling for people to publish their own speeches on social media:

“This is about more than the speech,” said Agnew. “It’s about the voices of hundreds of thousands of people across the country that have been silenced for too long. Our generation’s dreams have been deferred for too long. While the words spoken amidst the pillars of the Lincoln Memorial yesterday may have reverberated throughout the nation, the actions, energy and love of the rising generation will resound in history books for centuries to come, like those of giants before us.”

Watch Agnew’s incredible two-minute speech, record your own two-minute video, and post with the hashtag #OurMarch. If any commenters are able to make a transcript from the video, please leave it in comments.

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Verónica Bayetti Flores has spent the last years of her life living and breathing reproductive justice. She has led national policy and movement building work on the intersections of immigrants' rights, health care access, young parenthood, and LGBTQ liberation, and has worked to increase access to contraception and abortion, fought for paid sick leave, and demanded access to safe public space for queer youth of color. In 2008 Verónica obtained her Master’s degree in the Sexuality and Health program at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. She loves cooking, making art, listening to music, and thinking about the ways art forms traditionally seen as feminine are valued and devalued. In addition to writing for Feministing, she is currently spending most of her time doing policy work to reduce the harms of LGBTQ youth of color's interactions with the police and making sure abortion care is accessible to all regardless of their income.

Verónica is a queer immigrant writer, activist, and rabble-rouser.

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