Thank you to all who were able to accompany us for this year’s Architects of Justice celebration, where we recognize and give flowers to today’s Orange County movement leaders. The CLUE extended family converged at Harbor Christian Church in Newport Beach, where event hosts Izeah Chairez, CLUE board of directors member and political and community organizer for NUHW, and Celeste Rivero, Program Director for the Boys and Girls Club of Garden Grove and alum of our 2023 Young Religious Leaders Fellowship, led us in commemorating our shared struggles over a challenging year, and those who rose to meet the occasion.
This year our ‘Architects of Justice’ were members of the Starbucks Workers United union, who have bravely led an ongoing strike against the corporation since November, Orange County Courtroom Observers, who show up to immigration court in Santa Ana every day the court is open to provide accompaniment and support to people with ongoing cases, and Professors Brad Christerson and Thomas Crisp, who have accompanied Orange County movements for years and have contributed scholarship to the study of the nonviolent tradition.
We heard music performances by Nina Fernando, former CLUE-ista and current Executive Director of the Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign, and learned about the inspiring and challenging work of the Orange County Rapid Response Network.
In gathering, we were reminded of the value of recognizing our power as a movement, and as people led by the values of our respective faith traditions.
As host Celeste Rivero shared, “I don’t need to tell anyone in this room how intense this year has been for members of the immigrant community and anyone involved in immigration advocacy. So many of you here tonight have stepped up to protect your neighbors and care for one another in different ways. This work can only be done in community.”
