Washington, D.C — Today, immigrant youth from United We Dream launched the second volume of the zine, Immigrant Made. The zine features poetry, personal essays, stories and artwork by Black, brown, immigrant, and queer young people who are unapologetically reclaiming their histories, experiences, and reaffirming their existence.
The second volume arrives in the midst of a range of attacks on young people, including efforts by some conservatives to erase the contributions of cultural and artistic leaders in literature and education. It also includes politicians who are trying to distract and divide us by limiting what young people can learn in school, banning books, and trying to deny our LGBTQ identity. In 2022 alone, more than 100 bills have been introduced to restrict K-12 curriculum on topics related to race, gender and sexuality.
Read the second volume of Immigrant Made here.
Juanita A. Monsalve, Producer and Director of Immigrant Made and Senior Creative & Marketing Manager of United We Dream, said:
“Despite attempts to censor Black, indigenous and immigrant voices, young people will find a way to tell our stories! Immigrant Made is more than a collection of writing. It is reclaiming agency over our lives, our histories, and our contributions to the world around us by telling stories of love, inherent worth, and irrefutable pride.
Across the country, our communities continue to witness conservative attacks and efforts to remove books from schools because they teach about our histories and our experiences as immigrants, as Black and brown people, and as queer people. They are trying to ban our stories, but our stories are powerful! It’s up to us to assert our truths and reclaim agency over our lives, our history and our culture by unapologetically telling our stories and making them hear our voices. Immigrant Made is meant to be shared far and wide to inspire young people to continue finding ways of telling our stories.”
