Resisting through culture, love and pride

By Cristina Tzintzún, Jolt Founder & Executive Director

Cristina Tzintzún
Jul 27, 2017 · 4 min read

Last week, millions of Americans saw 15 courageous teens in pastel colored quinceañera dresses stage one of the most creative and empowering protests in recent memory — Quinceañera at the Capitol. The young women gathered at the steps of the Texas State Capitol to protest Senate Bill 4 (SB4), an anti-immigrant and anti-Latino piece of legislation that was signed into law by Texas Governor Greg Abbott and commended by Donald Trump’s Attorney General Jeff Sessions. By any measure Quinceañera at the Capitol was a success. It broke through the noise of the chaotic Trump White House, and it educated millions about the implications of SB4.

SB4 forces local law enforcement to carryout Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda, it also opens the door to the racial profiling of almost 11 million Latinos who make up 40 percent of our state’s population. The bill also allows victims and witnesses of crimes to be interrogated about their immigration status, and even allows for the removal of democratically elected officials from office just for speaking out against the law.

When I came up with the idea of the quinceañera protest, I wanted to show that as Latinos we refuse to submit to hate and to feelings of inferiority, and that we will respond with love and proudly declare that brown is beautiful. Quinceañera at the Capitol was a mix of Latinx pride, girl power, chipster culture, protest and performance art, and it was made possible by the hard work and creativity of Jolt members and staff. And while some may just see cute teens in pink dresses, it was a courageous and defiant act for these young women to stand on the front steps of the Capitol, where some of the most extreme policies criminalizing our communities have been enacted. It is the same Capitol where one legislator called immigration enforcement on SB4 protesters just a few weeks back.

Texas Republican legislators see these young women and our community as a threat. They fear us because they know that we represent the future. And they know that the bigotry and fear they peddle is the past. When Republican legislators enact policies against women, the LGBTQ+ community, immigrants, Muslims and people of color, they do so by arguing that we are outsiders, that the advancement of our rights is a threat to America. The irony is that Republicans and the agenda they advance are the outsiders. Most Americans support giving the undocumented legal status, they support gay marriage, and they support the right of Muslims to have equal religious freedom. We aren’t outsiders; we are America.

For us, Quinceanera at the Capitol was one step in our efforts to beat back hate and transform our state. When we walked through the senate chambers, I turned to several of these visionary young women and said, “Look around right now. Remember this moment. In a few years we will be running this place, and we are going to change everything. We will pass laws to protect immigrants, workers, students, women and the LGBTQ community.”

Latinos make up 40 percent of the Texas population, and by 2030 we will be the majority. Right now, Latinos have the power to transform Texas politics. At Jolt, our members are young Latinos, fifth generation Tejanos, children of immigrants, and DREAMers. Our power comes from our diversity, our culture, our voice and our vote. And we will use our power to defend our community.

I believe that Texas will change, and that as Latinos we will gain the respect and equality that we deserve. However, I am not pinning my hopes on one party, or one political leader. Instead I am looking to young people like 17-year-old quinceañera protester and Jolt member Magdalena Juarez, who last week showed more courage and leadership than many of Texas’ legislators when she said: “We will not meet this law on it’s hateful level. We will resist by drawing on the power within our communities; we will resist by celebrating our families and our culture. And we will resist by standing in unity and showing that we are not going to back down.”

Cristina Tzintzún

Written by

Organizer, mama, founder & ED @jolt_texas fighting to win the #Latino community power and respect we deserve

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