Photo: Chirla
With roses and bread – in reference to a known poem from 1911 calling on worker’s justice – CHIRLA calls on Gov. Newsom to sign pro immigrant bills that recognize the contributions of immigrant and disabled seniors and strengthen the future of immigrant high school immigrant students.
LOS ANGELES — The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), the largest immigrant rights organization in California, visited the offices of Governor Newsom in Los Angeles and Sacramento on Tuesday, October 3, 2023, to present him with bread, roses, diplomas, and copies of the 1911 poem by James Oppenheim «Bread and Roses.» The actions will urge Gov. Newsom to sign two pro-immigrant bills, AB 1536 and AB 278, the CAPI expansion bill and the high school dream centers bill respectively.
AB 1536, the CAPI expansion, would provide cash assistance to undocumented seniors and disabled. AB 278 would make it possible for immigrant high school students to access Dream Resource Centers on campus.
The poem «Bread and Roses» appeals for both fair wages and dignified conditions for garment workers striving for dignity and respect. This is what AB 1536 is calling for immigrant seniors and disabled who are undocumented and for immigrant undocumented high school students who are carving their futures.
One of the lines in the poem reads: «Our lives shall not be sweated from birth until life closes; Hearts starve as well as bodies; give us bread, but give us roses.»
Community members will carry with them roses, copies of the poem, sample diplomas, and bread urging the governor to think about the many better and brighter days that can be made possible with his signature on both bills.
