2020 Election Helping out with the 2020 election has been challenging in light of the pandemic, but I have been able to support Biden and Harris by handwriting 100 postcards urging people to get out and vote for Democrats to support Americans’ access to affordable healthcare. I also delivered voter information materials door to door for the Travis County Democratic Party.
Backpack Project for Immigrants
In fall 2019 I partnered with a family friend to obtain used backpacks and fill them with basic necessities to be distributed to southern border immigrants who were, at the time, being offloaded in San Antonio, Texas in large numbers. These immigrants were being released at the bus station with nothing to sustain them. The backpacks contained toiletries, food, writing pads and pens. They were collected and distributed by an all faiths group in San Antonio. In February 2020 I was making arrangements to bring this project to my school as a National Honor Society sponsored event when Trump closed the border and the flow of immigrants stopped. Then the pandemic hit.
Women's March on Washington, January 2017
I was 5 years old the first time I campaigned for Hillary Clinton. Obama was the first president of whom I had any awareness. In 2016 I joined my mom in campaigning for Hillary for a second time. Her election loss was devastating. In hopes of turning our despair into meaningful action, my mom and I joined a charter bus in Houston which headed to the Women’s March in Washington DC in January 2017. Needless to say, it was a powerful experience. On the 24-hour ride to DC we passed around a microphone and people of varying ethnicity, age, experience, and cultural backgrounds discussed their reasons for marching. One of our fellow passengers was an 80 year old Black woman who had marched in the civil rights movement in the 1960’s! It was on the bus ride that I was introduced to the concept of intersectionality.
Pussy Hat / Planned Parenthood Project
As I was listening to these women’s stories on the bus ride, I began crocheting pussy hats. Crochet was a skill I had been taught in Montessori school when I was five years old. By the end of the trip, I had crocheted and given 3 pussy hats to fellow marchers. After the march my mom made me a deal. She stated that for every pussy hat I crocheted for someone, she would donate $25.00 to Planned Parenthood. Since then some of the hat recipients have made additional donations. To date I have made 10 pussy hats and have raised $300.00 for Planned Parenthood.
I have continued the activism inspired by my Women’s March experience by attending anniversary marches for the event. I have also marched with students against school gun violence. At Griffin I am a member of the Diversity and Equity Committee and the LGBTQ+ student organization.