911 Call for American Citizens to Rise Up in Support of the Latinx Community During COVID
For those of us who grew up in the U.S., McGruff the Crime Dog challenged us to "take a bite out of crime." With crime and safety education throughout the public school systems and in our communities, we were taught "if you see something, say something" as neighborhood crime watch programs emerged throughout American communities. "Officer Friendly," was crazy-scary for tiny tots as uniformed police officers visited schools to teach us that the ominous-looking police officers all dressed up in uniform was not something to fear while "Smokey the Bear" was a cartoon icon that taught youth to prevent forest fires. "Stop, drop, and roll...," was the mantra of the National Fire Prevention Association that, when coupled with the fire department's visits to our school during fire drills, created much fear and panic for the younger version of the childhood Harlon. The zany branding, cliche's and slogans, uniforms, tools, and tour of the fire-engine were all intended to teach America's youth how to avoid danger and when to call 911. This is a 911 call for the immigrant community in America.
With all that is going on in America today - as we question the "good cop or bad cop," and find ourselves torn between, "...to wear? Or, not-to wear? " consideration over face masks that are intended to slow the spread of a planetary pandemic, a not-so-silent killer hangs disproportionately over black and brown communities across the nation as the nation's leaders look the other way. Not the least bit insignificant is the disproportionate infections and fatalities that follow the wake of the Coronavirus in Black, Hispanic, and immigrant communities. Where are the authorities and creative educational programming as we face one of the greatest dangers of modern-day-history? As the virus is attacking the heart of already marginalized communities - where are the emergency protocols specific to the Black and Brown communities?
Taking Action with Emergency Protocols
When I read the news that the United States government would systematically block "mixed-status" families from receiving stimulus - our family and thousands of other U.S. Citizen spouses and children included - I knew I had to do something for the LatinX community. In April, as my undocumented Salvadoran husband lay struggling to breathe with the Coronavirus, I read the news that our family and thousands of others would be left to fend for ourselves in our times of greatest need. As if my whole world was on fire, the natural instinct to "stop-drop-and roll" kicked in! I had "seen something" alright - and you better believe I was about to "say something!"
Enrique and I decided we simply must roll-up our sleeves to do whatever we possibly could to support the immigrant community most affected by the virus. We opened our hearts, our minds, and our homes as one of the many ways we began to help!
The writing was on the wall. Beautiful Latinx residents across the country would have no choice but to continue to work despite a near-global shutdown. Like almost every other segment of society, the world over was staying home in an attempt to stay safe, but Latinx workers had no choice but to continue to face the substantially disproportionate risks of contracting and spreading the disease. And worse - our beautiful and hardworking Latinx families are now enduring higher fatalities than any other segment of American communities.
Quite literally - we opened our homes. As real estate investors - we are the proud owners of recently renovated rental homes. It is sincerely our deepest pleasure to purchase, renovate, and then rent quality homes to families in need of support. Case in point, nearly three years earlier, we made our first rental property available to a single mother who was, at the time, soon to give birth to her fourth child. Having fallen on hard times, we were honored to provide her and her family with a safe place to land at below-market rates. Simply the right and compassionate thing to do, we opened our first rental home to a family in need which has since proved rewarding in more ways than just a landlord-tenant relationship as they became an addition to our east side family.
Just three years later, who could have known we'd be in the midst of a global pandemic as a white nationalist' regime has taken over the Whitehouse. We're now the providers of housing for a handful of other families in various properties, each with their own challenges in these dark times. From free or half-price rent to paying for utilities, buying groceries, providing rides, and providing basic furnishings, etc. we have done our level best to support the families who have leased our available properties.
As hardship started to follow, eviction was never even a thought that crossed our minds as the pandemic takes its toll. Nothing could have prepared us for our highest calling yet as the pandemic swept the nation while the nation's leaders completely shut out the Latinx community with intentioned malice. To "see something" and not to "say something" at a time when the current administration is well on their way towards whitewashing the nation by leaving the immigrant population to die, is complicit. We hopped into action!
As Enrique's health improved, we started making calls. We reached out to leaders of the Immigrant Welcome Center, Exodus Refugees, Shepherd Community Center, and Southeast Multiservice Center to inform them of our current vacancy in our 1/2 duplex which we were excited to offer to each for any family or individual who might be facing hardship during this incredibly dark time. Our goal, to donate the home to a family in need for as long as we could afford to do so during the COVID Crises. Enters Hazel.
Nicaraguan Refugee - Hazel & Harlon J. Wilson - Author -
Positive Indignation and DeportingLove.com
Our latest demonstration of "positive indignation," landed us the priceless opportunity to meet Hazel, an American asylee from Nicaragua who had suffered a long and perilous battle with human trafficking as she fled treacherous conditions of her home country. When we met, Hazel was caught on the pages between the chapters of American immigration as the harm she had faced had earned her asylum in the United States and yet, she was stuck in the system waiting for her social security card. Sadly, COVID closed government offices. With the closures came indefinite delays in the processing of her documents (as well as our own immigration case). Hazel couldn't work without authorization (or risk losing the freedom she'd just gained) and was staying in temporary housing that was described as abusive. We were honored to offer her a reprieve from the harmful situation she had faced by moving her into our rental.
With the help of the Immigrant Welcome Center and Exodus Refugees, without hesitation, we placed Hazel in our duplex. With free rent for the first month, I took it a step further and dug out my grandmother's old military-style folding cot which provided Hazel with a bed. Enrique and I assembled the necessities including extra dishes from our kitchen cupboards, towels and other linens, extra cleaning supplies, a chair and table, and a few other things Hazel would need.
For nearly two months, I provided transportation and support as we put Hazel in touch with various organizations that could help accommodate her need for groceries and personal care items. I even took her grocery shopping at the nearby Kroger where the necessities far exceeded the $25 gift card given to her by a local non-profit as it was my sincerest heartfelt pride to "take a bite out of" the crime that this dear woman had faced. Lost and alone in America, helping Hazel helped me more than she could ever imagine.
While Hazel's story of success in gaining asylum is uncommon at a time when Trump is pushing to dismantle the American asylum system, it is with great pleasure that we were able to meet Hazel and to provide temporary housing and support on her journey. I'm pleased to report, as of this writing, Exodus Refugees was able to help Hazel find permanent housing and was able to help offset some of our costs associated with our help. She has since received the long-awaited social security card and has landed employment. She is now well on her way building a life for herself here in Indy. But sadly, that's not always the case!
Tomorrow, another Latinx family will be moving to where Hazel left. While not what most creditors would want to see on our balance sheet, you can't put a price on the conversion of anger, rage, frustrations, and negativity that we've faced with American immigration that I work daily to transform into positive outcomes through helping others within our immigrant community. By providing homes, volunteering, and thorough various donations we're making from here all the way to El Salvador - I get to release a lot of the anger and rage of our own situation in ways that we've come to know as "positive indignation!" And boy am I indignant in the days of Trump!
What Could You Do in the State of Emergency?
This is a 911 call! I've "seen something" and I've been "saying somethings!" The forest is already on fire and for many Latinos in America, it's simply too late to "stop-drop-and roll!" If we can teach our kids fancy rhymes to lead them to safety then perhaps we should teach ourselves some of the same. As IPS School #100, kindergarten teacher taught me 45-years ago regarding a typical traffic light, "Red means STOP! Green means GO! Yellow means WAIT even if you're late!" The COVID traffic in Latinx and black communities must be stopped! You can help!
Please stop! No, I mean really stop after you read the last sentence on this post. Sit for a moment in quiet contemplation and think through what you can do - no matter how seemingly small or insignificant - to help even just one family in your beautiful black and brown community!?! I'm not asking you to open your home to others, or maybe that's precisely what you should do. Only you can decide. What I am urgently bringing to the digital landscape by way of this blog is this - LATINOS AND BLACK AMERICANS ARE DYING AT STAGGERINGLY DISPROPORTIONATE RATES! Don't just stand there! The community is on fire and we have to help these innocent people to get out of the way of danger. Let this be your own inner 911! Humans are suffering and they need you! What more can you do during this state of emergency?
As I continue to write the book Positive Indignation, I'd love to hear from you! I would love to help anyone who reads this to find their own voice of positive indignation. Let me help you help others, when possible. Please share your ideas, your efforts, your results, and your photos and videos. Please, whatever you do, don't stand idly by and watch the immigrant and black communities burn. Please, I urge you, get out there and support an immigrant in your community! This is your 911!
Email me to share your insights - positiveindignation@gmail.com.
Harlon J. Wilson is a retired health information technology executive and innovator. Perhaps his greatest role yet is in his advocacy work for social justice with a focus on human-centered immigration reform. Harlon is the U.S. citizen spouse of Luis Enrique Gonzalez Ortiz, an undocumented Salvadoran. The couple's immigration approved marriage was turned upside by the Trump administration's new policies and efforts to deport. Learn more about the couple's journey at: http://deportinglove.com.
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