Los Angeles, June 30, 11am
A sea of white shirts
A manicured stage
U.S. flags
Liberal politicians sharing the podium with religious leaders and called out by
Radical activists
Speaking truths
Linking the history of slavery to contemporary forms of separating families
Revolutionaries marching through
with their megaphones
Naming the systemic processes perpetuating atrocities
Backstage
Down the street
Hidden from view
The gray building
Surrounded by wire
A call and response
“You are not alone”
Between the chants
I heard the taps
Tap, tap, tap
Then the lights flickered
And the tears flowed
Across the street
A row of tents
Homelessness
This is the U.S.
***
Gilda L. Ochoa teaches Chicana/o-Latina/o Studies at Pomona College. Her latest book is Academic Profiling: Latinos, Asian Americans and the Achievement Gap.
