Bilingual Newsletter
- Christina Alvarez: Organizing for Human Rights
This month we feature an interview with Christina Alvarez, an amazing activist
from California. Christina is the Co-Chair of the OUTfront Steering Committee.
Her keen areas of interest are: refugee resettlement, migrancy issues, and LGBT
rights. She currently resides in Orange County, California with her partner,
Emily Wood, and their two overwhelming terriers.
Why did you decide to get involved with human rights movement?
I spent a lot of my childhood under the influence of a strong, Cuban-American family, who was deeply centered in the Catholic Church. From this upbringing, I learned about Dorothy Day and the Christian Socialist Labor Movement, and the United Farm Workers Movement, which was still active where we lived. I think that was my first exposure to human rights and social justice work. I also attended a rather conservative all-girls Catholic boarding school (I was a day student), whose politics I never agreed with, but who I will be forever thankful for, because the nuns and administration at the school really pushed us to be our own, strong, independent feminist women. The school offered plenty of opportunities to get involved with the local migrant farm worker population, so the social justice passion of my childhood was nurtured as a teenager -- and, well, that work just leads naturally to human rights work.
How did you get involved with Amnesty International?
I became involved in Amnesty at age 13, at this same high school. I remember really advocating for having an active Amnesty group on campus, and being furious when the administration thought some aspects were too liberal, etc. But we fought to have a group, and worked on a lot of cases that were officially sanctioned by the school -- mostly anti-death penalty cases. I think this experience really planted the Amnesty seed in me, and I led that group through high school. When I started at Princeton, the first thing I did was find their Amnesty group, and I was in a leadership position with that group for all four years as well. And I loved it -- it was so fun being able to use Princeton's immense resources to further the human rights messages on campus, particularly because that message wasn't necessarily coming from anywhere else. After graduation, I applied for a position on the OUTfront Steering Committee, and here I am.
Could you tell us a little bit about OUTfront and what they do?
OUTfront is Amnesty International USA's program on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender human rights. The program consists of three staff members, seven steering committee members, a Human Rights Action Council, and all of our incredible volunteers. A lot of our work is closely tied to that of the Women's Program, or the Refugee Program, so we're fortunate to have a very diverse network. In February, OUTfront hosted a two-week, seven-city tour for two representatives of JFLAG, Jamaica's leading LGBT rights group. They arrived here in mid-February, so I worked closely with our Regional Staff to coordinate local events and a large press conference in Los Angeles.
What are some of the projects you’re most proud of with AI?
I loved being involved in Princeton's Amnesty chapter, because we were able to invite such incredible and inspiration human rights leaders -- and they actually came! Our tiny group was able to host Jose Ramos-Horta, the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Gyalo Thondup, the elder brother of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and so many other incredible individuals. I mean, I was 17 years old, just barely in college, and eating dinner with a Nobel Peace Prize winner and an immensely influential Tibetan activst...who was the brother of the Dalai Lama? It was unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable.
What would you say to other Latinas/os that want to get involved with human rights work?
I would encourage all Latina activists to get involved in this type of volunteer work, and to really follow their hearts toward social justice. There is always room for Latina activists in that we provide an under-represented voice of people of color in these growing social justice movements. I think, as minority activists, we have a responsibility to nurture the younger generations, and to make sure they become passionate about these issues.
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