Civic Health Spotlight on OneAmerica Votes

Throughout this calendar year, NWHF will be highlighting our Civic Health Cohort, also known as the C4 Power Program.

“We are strongest when we see the most vulnerable in our society, bear witness to their struggles, and then work to create systems to make it better” - Stacey Abrams

OneAmerica Votes hosted Zoom vote parties throughout the 2020 election season.

Glicerio Zurita, Vancouver Organizer at OneAmerica Votes, believes that to build a movement in Southwest Washington and across the state we need to unshackle all systems of oppression that are keeping the community with their head down. We must get to the root of the problems and liberate people.

OneAmerica envisions a peaceful world where every person’s human rights and dignity are respected, where communities appreciate differences and stand together for justice and equality, and where each person contributes to the common good. OneAmerica is the largest organization organizing with and for immigrants and refugees in Washington State. Initially named Hate Free Zone, OneAmerica was founded immediately after September 11, 2001 to address the backlash, hate crimes and discrimination against immigrant communities of color, primarily Muslims, Arab Americans, East Africans and South Asians.

Today, OneAmerica Votes plays an active and leading role in state and national coalitions working on immigrant rights, education, economic and environmental justice, voting rights and immigrant integration.They believe that building broad-based movements led by people of color and their allies and grounded in grassroots community organizing will create a more just, democratic and compassionate society.

Through the C4 Power Program, OneAmerica Votes will focus on their work in SW Washington. They look to build a dynamic and integrated ecosystem of organizations that are rooted in SW Washington, aligned with partner organizations on both sides of the border within the Portland metropolitan region. Participation in the C4PP will play a major role in building those metro-area relationships. 

The two participants representing OneAmerica Votes are Juan Monje, Council Member, and Glicerio Zurita, Vancouver Organizer. Both leaders look forward to learning more about how to: 

• Engage organizational leaders and stakeholders in thinking strategically about where their work in SW Washington needs to go and how it will get there

• Identify challenges and develop creative solutions

• Delegate to new leaders within the organization 

They also have big goals for 2021. After the last four years of anti-immigrant attacks, voters and organizations like OneAmerica Votes became a rising tide that lifted new, pro-immigrant elected officials to office at the state and national level. Under the Biden Administration, OneAmerica Votes is working hard to ensure that Congress makes significant progress in not just undoing the harm of the past, but also in taking big steps to build a just immigration system. It’s time to create a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented community members who’ve been excluded for too long and to include all immigrants in COVID-19 relief, regardless of status.  

At the state level, their work is focused on pandemic relief for all, prioritizing early learning and childcare systems that have been underfunded and harmed during the pandemic, and creating a just immigration system right here at home. They also take time to celebrate big wins from the Washington legislature this year, including Fairstart for Kids, the largest investment in childcare and early learning in the state’s history, as well as a bill banning private prisons.

Even with these amazing wins, the fight isn’t over. OneAmerica will continue fighting to:

• Create a permanent unemployment system that’s available to everyone, regardless of immigration status. 

• Ensure everyone, including immigrants, has a say in their children’s schools by expanding access to run for school board to legal, permanent residents. 

• Expand language access in classrooms to eliminate language barriers, as well as recognize and support bilingualism as an asset. 

• Create a just immigration system at the federal level that treats immigrants like whole human beings whose home is here. 

NWHF is thrilled to have OneAmerica and their team as part of the C4 Power Program cohort! Learn more about their work on their website.