There is no room for courage if we’ve already lost the battle in our minds. Through the Jewish-Latino Teen Coalition, courageous young leaders from numerous high schools throughout Tucson, Arizona, were able to further develop their awareness of other cultures from Latino backgrounds and Jewish heritage. In addition, we received not only the chance to take social action, but the chance to grow as individuals that would impact us for the rest of their lives. Continuously, this opportunity created a strong, diverse group to come together towards shared values and concerns among the community in order to create a powerful message.
Being only high school sophomores and juniors made it very easy to undermine the value we held in advocating. However, family members, friends, classmates, or even the people we would meet along our journey gave us the courage to share our voices. That’s why this year, the Jewish-Latino Teen Coalition chose to split into two groups to touch base on DACA and the Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Act of 2023. This meant that after finalizing our decision, we would take the next number of months to expand our knowledge behind these concepts. We had numerous guest speakers and organizations to help us become more well-informed when creating a voice for those who may not be in the position to speak out loud for themselves.
A revolving constant thought was that our worst enemy can be ourselves when it comes to holding ourselves back in life. Things that can be unfamiliar can be described as “scary” or even “uncomfortable,” since familiarity creates a sense of stability. Yet familiarity can seem like a book flipping through the same page, creating something boring and unafraid. I’ve acknowledged that most growth comes at times when a person takes that leap of faith outside their comfort zone. From the very beginning of our introduction to our fellow accepted applicants for this program, we shared not only cultural foods but our stories, understanding that there is so much enrichment and depth that comes from our identity, even if we may not have it fully comprehended it. Therefore, throughout the months of preparation for the Washington, D.C., spring trip, those who were once acknowledged solely as people who were also accepted to the program became like a second family. This was based on the bonds and relationships developed as time went on, seeing two unique groups of people become a reflection of unity.
It takes a lot of courage to share a person’s culture, especially when society makes it easy to create separation. It even took courage for some of us to get on a plane, since it was our first time. It took courage to show others our tears when walking down the halls of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, or even the tears that came with sharing our personal stories. It took courage to speak to Democrats and Republicans alike, because sometimes there was fear of feeling unworthy of this task. It took courage to forget about our placed label, and instead hold onto our identity. Lastly, none of this would be possible without this program and [JLTC volunteers] Shari Gooter, Lisa Kondrat, Brad Goldstein, and Matt Landau. The source for our courage came not only from ourselves through family and experience, but also from them.
The Jewish Latino Teen Coalition is a collaborative effort to build bridges between Southern Arizona’s Jewish and Latino communities, explore shared values, work toward mutual goals, appreciate differences, and cultivate future leaders. Each year, the coalition is comprised of a diverse group of students from many high schools and backgrounds who commit to months of education to build knowledge and skills for advocacy and leadership. Students participate in weekly meetings and workshops to foster mutual understanding, respect, and civic engagement. In addition, students participate in cultural exchange, team building exercises, community service activities, meetings with community leaders, and political advocacy.
Each year, the program culminates in a trip to Washington, D.C., where students engage with national advocacy organizations, lobby members of Congress, tour our nation’s Capital, and continue cultural exploration.
