“Oftentimes we’re only taught about one side of America; we’re taught American exceptionalism. That America can do no wrong, America has done no wrong, but in fact, America is the origin of a lot of wrong and a lot of problems with the world.”
The words of Bradley senior Alejandro Perez rang loud last Saturday as the Bradley chapter of the United Nations Association (UNA) hosted a protest against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after a nurse alleged that women in Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Ga. were medically neglected and subjected to mass hysterectomies.
Nurse Dawn Wooten released the details through a letter with Project South, an organization looking to solve social, economic and political issues in the Southern region of the United States.
The protest had brought attention from non-Bradley affiliated community leaders and students after the allegations were released, according to Perez, an event coordinator of the Bradley UNA and an organizational communications major.
Bradley students and Peoria community members gathered at Laura Bradley Park in front of the Christopher Columbus statue and made their way to the Main Street and University St. intersection, chanting in both English and Spanish and with signs and banners in hand. Participants were told to wear face masks and keep six feet apart to maintain social distancing
“Just hearing all the things that ICE has done, even just the recent news of sterilizing women, it just really wants to make me act and spread the word of how we need to end this suffering these immigrants are facing,” Mia Chidichimo, sophomore health sciences and Spanish double major, said.
Throughout the protest, students shared stories of their experiences of prejudice or immigration. One such account came from Angelica Ballestas, president and founder of the UNA chapter.
She said that she was able to immigrate legally from Colombia but knew that everyone didn’t have the same chance to do so.
“My life was in danger when we left our country,” Ballestas said. “I wonder if I still would be alive today, if I still would have the opportunity of education, regardless of the privilege I have here [or] there.”
In her speech, Ballestas, a senior political science and international studies double major, said that the United States was founded on the ideas of all men being equal and that the idea should spread to all cultures, races and people.
“Our values as a nation are our multiculturalism,” Ballestas said. “Our value as a nation is that we are different and that we have so many things to put forward [in] comparison to others. Our ideas are unique. We are an influential country for a reason.”
Perez also called for intersectionality about the issues that minorities face in the United States. He highlighted educating others and brought attention to other movements such as Black Lives Matter in his speech.
For students that didn’t make the protest, Ballestas said they can make change in more ways than one.
“Make sure you all vote, that your voice is heard, that you’re involved with your local government, that you’re involved with your state government,” Ballestas said. “You’re elected officials are here for you. They’re your civil servants for a reason.”
