Welcoming Neighbors
The Ohio Immigrant Alliance issued a statement of love, welcome, and respect to Haitian-Ohioans.
Find the original statement at bit.ly/HaitianOhioans
I’m talking to Haitian-Ohioans right now.
Dear neighbors, we see you. We love you. We respect and celebrate you. We are honored that you chose to make Ohio your home, the place where you could find safety, earn a living, establish yourself, and take care of your family.
Unfortunately, Ohio is home to irresponsible elected officials who are attempting to cling to power in the midst of a changing United States. They will say and do anything to stay on top, no matter who they hurt. But they do not represent the views of everyone in Ohio — not by a long shot.
Ohio might be home to fear-mongering politicians, but we are also a top 5 “Welcome Corps” state. We may be home to white nationalists, but #BlackLivesMatter actions have proliferated in our small towns and villages, too.
Willard, Ohio is a small town of about 6,000 people. It was once a dying town. But over the course of 20 years, immigrants from Mexico and other parts of the world made Willard their home, opened businesses, and filled the area’s factories and farms with new workers. I’ll never forget the time I spent canvassing the community with a father, Jesus Lara, and his four children, seeking support to stop his deportation.
A young male gas attendant, white, witnessed some ugly, MAGA aggression against Jesus’ young daughter and me in his parking lot. He stood up for us and helped us gather more signatures entirely on his own, because he grew up without a father and knew how that felt. That’s the type of community I want us to be. We find things we have in common and help each other. We don’t fear or exploit our differences.
J.D. Vance’s heinous lies about Haitian-Ohioans in Springfield has become a national punchline. But at the Ohio Immigrant Alliance we are not laughing. We are horrified. We know how his comments and the media storm endangers you and your families. We know that you chose Ohio because you thought it would be a safe and affordable place to start a new life. The Ohio Immigrant Alliance is working with native-born Ohioans and people who chose to make Ohio their home— whether they came from Montana or Mauritania — to build a state where everyone’s gifts are celebrated and their humanity respected.
You have already survived so much; you should not have to face this denigration in your adopted home. Please know that there are millions of Ohioans who stand with you, welcome you, and want to live in communities where you and everyone else feels safe, loved, and at home.
