Lynn minorities share struggles, victories

LYNN – Residents and activists came out to share their struggles and pledge to take action during the first of what moderator Pamela Freeman said would definitely not be the last Civil Rights Forum.”I remember those days of being 10 years old and sitting in the front of the cultural center on Sutton Street,” she said. “I remember thinking I would like to be like Abner Darby and I hope some day I will be.”Freeman asked the nearly 100 attendees to pause in tribute to Darby, a local civil rights activist who served 25 years as Executive Director of the Community Minority Cultural Center before his death in 2007, as well as Martin Luther King Jr. She then asked a panel of six to share their “struggles and victories” as minorities in Lynn.Josefa Sanchez shared arguably the most powerful struggle of the evening. Speaking through an interpreter she thanked Operation Bootstrap for teaching English as a second language classes because she understands that without English she will not get far, though it’s taken her time to learn that lesson.Sanchez came from Mexico without papers over a decade ago. She said she applied for legal status but was never contacted. She spent years doing “any kind of work I could get including cleaning bathrooms, sometimes without gloves.”Any money she makes goes to her parents in Mexico “so they can survive.” Sanchez said she knows she has been discriminated against because she is undocumented and does not speak English, and she expects there are many others just like her.Ana Perdomo, who also spoke through an interpreter, is dealing with a three-fold struggle. The early education teacher said cutbacks on the state and federal level have led to fewer daycare vouchers being issued by the government to families in need. That has resulted in more families taking their children out of daycare and then losing their jobs when they are forced to remain home to care for their children, she explained.”As a result I have lost my job,” she said through an interpreter.Tammy Mitchell discussed the hardship of trying to raise three grandchildren on her own while Bobby Boyd urged anyone facing foreclosure on their home, as he once did, to stand and fight.Darryl Murkison, from the North Shore National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, admitted he needed to do a better job getting information to minorities regarding the civil service exam, and John Licorish, principal of the Washington Elementary School, said he believes that “a focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) is a focus on social justice and therefore is part of Dr. King’s dream.”He said the United States lacks diversity in STEM fields, particularly when it comes to African-Americans and Latinos. He urged parents, if their children show any interest in STEM fields, to foster that interest.And James Tarr from the Highland Coalition reminded people Martin Luther King Jr. did not become great in a vacuum.”We venerate Dr. Martin Luther King because of all he did but he didn’t do it alone,” he said. “One million people marched with him in Washington. We have great city leaders but they can’t do it alone. They need your help, they need your voice and sometimes they need your action.”Freeman urged audience members to sign up for one of two committees – the citywide Literacy Campaign or Working America – so during next year’s event they could look back and see the work that was done and how they made a difference.Chris Stevens can be reached at [email protected].