Mi Familia Vota, which organized the rally, works to bring a sense of empowerment to voters on issues including immigration reform, healthcare, voting rights, climate change and workers’ rights.
Speaker JoAnn Fujioka (left) told of President Franklin Roosevelt’s executive order in 1942 authorizing the physical removal of Japanese Americans into internment camps—Fujioka’s family and 120,000 other U.S. residents of Japanese ancestry lost their homes, belongings and businesses. She implored the crowd to pack the state house in support of a bill by Colorado State Representative Joe Salazar to make Colorado a sanctuary state.
Timothy Tyler, minister of Shorter African American Episcopal Church, called for black, brown and all people of conscience to stand together against a movement to separate people. “We must reach out to people who are marginalized because of homelessness, racism, misogyny….let people marry who they want to marry. We won’t allow walls. We’ll stand together and fight together—and if need be we’ll die together to make America great. We will have victory.”
Karen Perez, (left) who arrived from Mexico at age three months told the crowd, “It terrifies me that I can be deported. I’m asking for nothing free. Just the opportunity to work and give a life to my kids.”