From Shadow to Light
Immigrant Mass Incarceration and Civil Disobedience
with Dulce Guerrero, Cinthia Marroquin, Mohammad Abdollahi and Steve Pavey, Ph.D
Based on over two years of organizing and research with undocumented youth, Dulce Guerrero, Cinthia Marroquin, Mohammad Abdollahi, three undocumented activists and Broward Detention Center organizers along with Steve Pavey, Ph.D an applied anthropologist & missiologist will discuss their book Shadows then Light,which explores the meaning and practice of the diverse forms of civil disobedience, in the context of challenging the prison industrial complex. Through photographs, ethnographic data, poetry and essays, they offer a critique of a loveless American society that reduces human beings to corpses while they live. The question before us now, “Is another America possible?”
Dulce Guerrero is a 20-year old undocumented activists from Mableton, Georgia. She came to the U.S. at the age of 2 and became involved after her mother was arrested for driving without a licenses. Dulce is now an organizer with DreamActivist Georgia, she's helped stop the deportation of nearly 60 families and is works to empower her community to lose the fear.
Cinthia Marroquin is a 22-year old undocumented organizer from Raleigh, North Carolina. She came to the U.S. from Mexico at the age of 15. Cinthia had plans of returning to Mexico last year, however after meeting other immigrants she decided to stay and fight. Cinthia was arrested in December of 2012 asking Sen. Hagan from NC to stop the deportation of a local family. Cinthia is an organizer with the North Carolina Dream Team.
Mohammad Abdollahi is a 27 year old undocumented immigrant organizer from Ann Arbor, MI. Mo came to the U.S from Iran at the age of 3. As an undocumented and gay activist, Mohammad has been a key figure in the undocumented student movement since he began his participation in 2009. Mohammad has helped co-found the United We Dream Network, Dream Activist.org, the National Immigrant Youth Alliance, the Dream is Coming Project and has participated in helped organize several acts of civil disobedience throughout the country including the first undocumented student sit in at Senator McCain’s office in May 17th, 2010.
Steve Pavey is an applied anthropologist & missiologist engaged in activist scholarship as a Senior Research Scientist at the One Horizon Institute, Lexington, Kentucky. He utilizes collaborative and participatory research methods alongside activism with communities organizing for immigrant justice. He is a member of the steering committee for the Southeast Immigrant Rights Network, as well as close ally to the National Immigrant Youth Alliance.