America Ferrera kicked off the speeches for the Women’s March on Washington, where she condemned the newly inaugurated Donald Trump and shared why she chose to participate in the march. Ferrera, who was also the chair of the Artists’ Committee for the Women’s March delivered a very powerful speech with a strong message to Trump.
As a first generation American born to Honduran immigrants, Ferrera had a lot to say:
“It’s been a heart wrenching time to be both a woman and an immigrant in this country. Our dignity, our character, our rights have all been under attack and a platform of hate and division assumed power yesterday but the president is not America. His cabinet is not America. Congress is not America. We are America and we are here to stay.”
She added that she was marching for her family and neighbors, for the future and causes she claims and the clauses that claim us.
“We march today for the moral core of this nation against which our new president is waging a war. He would like us to forget the words: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” and instead take up a credo of hate, fear and suspicion of one another but we are gathered here and across the country and around the world today to say “Mr. Trump, we refuse. We reject the demonization of our Muslim brothers and sisters. We demand an end to the systemic murder and incarceration of our black brothers and sisters. We will not give up our right to safe and legal abortions. We will not ask our LGBTQ families to go backwards. We will not go from being a nation of immigrants to a nation of ignorance,” she explained.
She also discussed Trump’s stance on immigration and building a wall.
“We won’t build walls and we won’t see the worst in each other and we will not turn our backs on the more than 750,000 young immigrants in this country currently protected by DACA. They are hardworking, upstanding, courageous individuals who refuse to live in the shadow of fear and isolation. They bravely took to the streets to declare themselves and to provide a voice and hope for their community. Today, we march with and for them.”
Ferrera also emphasized that we are all under attack.
“Together, we, all of us will fight, resist and oppose every single action that threatens the lives and dignity of any and all of our communities.”
“Marchers, make no mistake. We are, every single one of us, under attack. Our safety and freedoms are on the chopping block and we are the only ones who can protect one another. If we do not stand together, march together, fight together for the next four years, then we will lose together. Our opposition knows how to stick together. They are united in their agenda to hold this country back and and revert progress. So we, too, must stand united. If we, the millions of Americans who believe in the common decency, in a greater good, in justice for all, if we fall into the trap of separating ourselves by our causes and our labels, then we will weaken our fight and we will lose. But if we commit to what aligns us, if we stand together steadfast and determined, then we stand a chance at saving the soul of our country.”
She concluded her speech with a small call to action. She asked everyone to take out their cell phone and text “women” to 40649, to sign up so everyone can continue to work together.
