11 Days of Global Unity Human Rights
The focus of this talk is to understand the struggle that farmworkers and undocumented students face across the country but more specifically in upstate NY. We will explore themes like: Race, fear, power and socioeconomic status. We will explore why farmworkers deserve equal rights like everyone else, and the many movements in place to achieve that goal. At the same time we will discuss the impact that government laws have on undocumented students for accessing higher education
Listeners will learn:
- Farmworkers feed the world, yet they are often the most exploited looked at as lower class
- Undocumented students do not get "free" financial aid
- Grassroots organizing is effective and is already making an impact
Gabriela Quintanilla
Gabriela Quintanilla was born in El Salvador, and migrated to the U.S. when she was 13 years old. She is a recent graduate from Stony Brook University, with a Bachelors of Arts degree in in Sociology and a minor in Political Science. Throughout her time at Stony Brook, she became involved as a social justice activist and community organizer through Rural & Migrant Ministry. She has helped coordinate northeast buses with SFA network, mobilized rallies in her community, and designed workshops to amplify the voices of undocumented students and farmworkers.
She has been featured in two award-winning documentaries: Paper State, which won best student documentary at Cannes Festival 2013 and Dreamers Among Us. Most recently, she is working on launching a seven-day summer program for undocumented students, ADELANTE, in the Hudson Valley area of NY. She values honesty, transparency, and positivity. She is looking forward to working with different non-profit organizations in the future to keep on furthering her organizing skills to advance the farmworker justice movement. She feels privileged to work alongside with passionate students and youth across the country. Gabriela can be intense when it comes to meeting her goals and creating social justice, but she is always down to #TurnUp4Justice! She enjoys traveling, exercising, eating healthy and sleeping!
