DreamRiders

08-05-2013

(Allen Tu) We arrived in Houston late in the afternoon after a long drive from New Orleans. In the car, we prepared for our last community meeting presentation. It was a community meeting and dinner with OCA-Greater Houston and BPSOS-Houston. More than 70 people came.

Kevin opened and introduced the Dream Riders and the campaign. A few of the Dream Riders shared their stories. I incorporated spoken word and call-and-response into my story. I felt incredibly good about the participation from the community members. After our presentations, we held an open dialogue with the community members. I even met a rapper, Rocko Steady, who was a finalist for Kollaboration Houston. I will be performing at Kollaboration Chicago.

Dream Riders: New Orleans

08-04-2013

(Kevin Lee) We arrived in New Orleans, very late on the night of August 3. The next morning, we picked up Young Sun, one of the youth directors from the Korean American Resource and Cultural Center (KRCC) in Chicago and drove to the home of Vietnamese American Young Leaders Association (VAYLA). On the way, I looked out the window was surprised to see a nearby pond with crocodiles and people fishing. We were in a neighborhood with hard working families. At VAYLA, we were warmly welcomed by Ms. Christi, a VAYLA organizer and several VAYLA youth ranging from elementary age and up.

Dream Riders: Meeting Freedom University

08-03-2013

(Anna Jung) On August 3rd, the Dream Riders had a community meeting with students and professors of Freedom University at the Athens Latino Center for Education and Services. Everyone was very welcoming and supportive of us and our campaign. In contrast to yesterday’s press conference luncheon, this meeting was more intimate, reminding us of our earlier meeting with SEAC and United For the Dream, when all present shared their stories.

Dream Riders: Press Conference Luncheon in Georgia

08-02-2013

(Dong Yoon Kim) I grew up in Georgia for most of my life. I always wanted to engage in community activism in Georgia, but was never sure. As a student at the University of Georgia, Athens, I became involved with student activism, but did not have the opportunity to do community activism specifically in my own Korean American community. Today, I got my chance to work in Georgia with our Dream Riders and address immigration issues that impact Korean American and AAPI communities.

Dream Riders: Visiting McIntyre's Office

08-01-2013

(Allen Tu) The Dream Riders had an in-district meeting with the staff of Representative Mike McIntyre who represents the 7th District of North Carolina. Representative McIntyre is a fiscal conservative focused on issues related to the agriculture industry and farm families as well as the military and veterans. We were there to share our stories and seek his support for comprehensive immigration reform.

Before the meeting even started, I was not sure how things were going to unfold. The story that I share is a story that I have carried for just two weeks.

Dream Riders: Driving to Charlotte, North Carolina

07-31-2013

(Brandon Licuanan) I peered over the edge of my bunk bed at 6:45 a.m to find that I’m the last one in my room to wake up. The D.C. sun began to shine through the window. In no time, I was showered and dressed in business casual attire; ready for the day’s events. Everyone else was also dressed to kill, and I became excited about participating in my first press conference as a Dream Rider. We checked out of the hostel together and waited for Dong Yoon to drive us to the Capitol Hill at the House Triangle.

Dream Riders: Market Outreach in Annandale

07-30-2013

(Simon Jun) Yesterday, I saw DC for the first time. It was definitely different from Los Angeles.

Early in the morning, at 10:30 AM, we did market outreach to register Korean Americans and AAPIs to vote and to ask them to sign a petition in support of immigration reform. Sae Hee, led a training session at NAKASEC’s new office in Annandale before we started. I started to get nervous. Speaking to strangers has never been easy for me. Thankfully, I had my fellow Dream Rider, Anna Chung, and together we started asking people to register to vote and to sign our petition for immigration reform.

Dream Riders: Briefing with Interns at the White House and meeting with the Secretary of Education

07-29-2013

(Kevin Lee) Today we arrived in Washington DC on an overnight flight at 8:00am EST. We ate breakfast in the car and watched the beautiful DC sunrise inside the van. The Dream Riders which included Simon Jun, Anna Jung, Ga Young Chung, and I visited the Eisenhower Building next to the White House for the AAPI Interns briefing. We were all very nervous as it was our first scheduled event as Dream Riders. I introduced the Dream Riders and asked participants to share their stories. I was surprised that so many people in the audience were either children of immigrants or were immigrants themselves.

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