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Dreaming of Home: A Keynote & Community Conversation on Immigrant Justice
Join keynote speaker, writer, and professor Cristina Jiménez, author of Dreaming of Home: How We Turn Fear into Pride, Power, and Real Change and Make the Road CT for a panel discussion where you’ll learn more about the experiences of immigrants in Connecticut and current immigration policy.
This community conversation will serve as a book talk and an open forum to discuss how federal changes in immigration policy are impacting immigrants right here in Connecticut.
This event is presented in partnership with our community sponsor, Unitarian Universalist Church in Westport.
About Dreaming of Home
(Book description and author bio courtesy of Macmillan Publishers)
Dreaming of Home is a coming-of-age story for both a young woman finding her true self and a social movement of immigrant youth trailblazers who inspired the world and changed the lives of millions.
Cristina Jiménez’s family fought to stay afloat as Ecuador fell into a political and economic crisis. When she was 13, her family came to the U.S. seeking a better life, landing in an overcrowded one-bedroom apartment in Queens, New York. She lived in fear of deportation and ashamed of being undocumented, but eventually, Cristina discovered she was not alone. She made it into college when students and advocates won a change in the law, allowing undocumented students to access higher education. She was proud to be the first one in her family to go to college, but she felt out of place until she met professors and student activists who opened a new world where she found her calling within a community of social justice organizers.
With deep candor and humor, Cristina shows us what it’s like to grow up undocumented and the reality that being a “good” immigrant doesn’t shield you from systemic racism, danger — or even the confusion of falling in love. She invites us to acknowledge the America that never was and to imagine the America that could be when everyday people come together, build power, and fight for change, even when the world around us seems to be crumbling.
About Cristina Jiménez
Cristina Jiménez is an award-winning community organizer and a leading voice in movements for social justice. She is co-founder and former executive director of United We Dream, the largest immigrant youth-led organization in the country. A distinguished lecturer at the City University of New York, Jimenez received a 2017 MacArthur Fellowship and a spot on the 2018 TIME 100 Most Influential People List. She came to the U.S. from Ecuador in 1998 and grew up undocumented in Queens, N.Y.
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The Westport Library is committed to intellectual freedom, inclusivity, and lifelong learning. Our mission is to provide spaces where diverse perspectives can be explored and discussed respectfully. Inviting a speaker does not equate to endorsing their personal views. We aim to offer programming that fosters dialogue and reflects a broad spectrum of ideas and experiences.
Immigrant American Heritage Month
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The Westport Library is committed to intellectual freedom, inclusivity, and lifelong learning. Our mission is to provide welcoming spaces for the free exchange of ideas. The Library does not endorse or condemn points of view, including any program content or the views expressed by presenters or participants.
