My Trip to Washington, D.C.

This is a photo that I took, shortly after landing in D.C.

From Sunday, July 28th to Friday, August 2nd, I traveled to Washington, D.C.  I was there as part of a weeklong program hosted by the ACLU and Close Up Foundation called the 2019 Advocacy Institute.  In short, this institute was directed towards college students who are interested in advocacy and law careers.  We learned many things about advocacy, lobbying, and even got a chance to network with other rights organizations in order to jumpstart our respective careers.  This post will give you a taste of what we were doing each day, as well as things that I learned.  Also, in lieu of explaining the activists and organizations that I met with and learned from throughout the week, I will be linking websites for your reference if you want to learn more, otherwise, this post would be way too long.

Now onto the Advocacy Institute from last week.

Sunday, July 28th:  The first day of the program was not nearly as packed full as some of the other days.  I had an early flight around 6:30 A.M. and arrived at the hotel and got registered around 11 A.M., after which I met a ton of students also there for the program.   Due to the fact that we had five hours before our first event, we all took the Metro subway system down to the Smithsonian Museums.  The subway was surprisingly accessible and clean.  After getting lunch, we went into the Smithsonian Castle.  I had always thought that this was strictly administrative offices, however, there is a small exhibit on the first floor.  It was interesting in that it outlined the history of all of the museums and had artifacts from the original museum.

Each day we had homerooms where we would talk about the events of each day, what we learned, etc.  Dinner was at the hotel, which would have been fine if the tables that the food was served on were not at my head level, and the trays for the food were not even higher, making it impossible for me and others with disabilities, to reach without help.  Immediately after, we had an orientation to introduce the program and the individuals involved.

Our first seminar of the week was taught by Reverend Sam Otter and called Building an Inclusive Community.  Sam Otter, a former pastor, is now in charge of the Washington Consulting Group.  Prior to his speech, we all participated in an exercise, for which there would be a phrase on a powerpoint like "caucasian" or "child of divorced parents," and we would have to stand once we fit the identity on the screen.  However, he never said the words "stand if you are able" which is ableist in the sense that without using that simple phrase, it is like forgetting an entire minority exists.  In addition, the words "stand if you are physically disabled came up on the screen."  All I could think was "Really?  Does he not understand how this is problematic?"  Other than that small hiccup, the speech was well done.  First, he talked about the foundations that an inclusive community has to have, including members that are willing to build relationships with others, members that are authentic, etc.  In addition, he talked about intent vs. impact, and how one must first understand the impact that their action had on others, in order to then fully explain the intent of the action.

Monday, July 29th:  This day was a bit more focused on traveling around the city and exploring, rather than sitting in the hotel during seminars.  However, we had two back-to-back panels at the hotel before lunch.  The first panel was full of student activists talking about a wide range of issues in their communities.  Then, in the second one, the panel was opened up to all of us.  We sat talking about activism in our communities, what we practice for advocacy, etc.  It was very eye-opening to see what others were doing and to get insight as to how I can improve my efforts.

Our first stop was lunch on U Street.  While there, we learned the history of U Street, how it is a historic African American neighborhood, saw a major Jazz era, etc.  It is also the site of an African American war memorial.  After lunch, I saw the African American Culture and History Museum for the first time.  It was too amazing for words.  The museum is split up into two main sections, the lower floors delve into African American history, while the upper floors delve into African American culture.  I spent the majority of my time in the history aspect.  I had learned about slavery, segregation and the Civil Rights Movement in history courses, but this museum changed my perspective completely.  It went so much more in-depth.  I am doing a horrible job of describing this because you would have to see it in order to understand the effect that it has.  The Culture area featured famous celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, athletes like Jackie Robinson, and musicians like Jimi Hendrix.  Later, we went to a Washington Nationals game.  It was fun, however, I did not pay too much attention as I am more of a football fan rather than baseball, and it was too much fun to talk to other people from the Institute.

Tuesday, July 30th:  On Tuesday, we spent the entire day in seminars at the hotel.  We started our day with two of three electives of our choice.  I chose Criminal Justice and Voting Rights, with the other option being Immigrants' rights.  The Criminal Rights seminar was taught by two former convicts from Connecticut who learned law from books in the prison and were able to get their own convictions overturned.  Upon being released, they started a campaign through the ACLU called the Smart Justice Campaign, which has now spread to many other affiliates nationwide.  Started in 2018, the primary goal of Smart Justice is to end mass incarceration and racism in the prison system.  After talking about the campaign's many successes, which you can find at the link, the two men gave us examples of how they were able to accomplish those goals, while giving us tips on how to accomplish our own.  For example, they demonstrated how to lobby effectively, as well as what to do if we were ever given the opportunity to testify in front of Congress.

My second seminar for the day, on voting rights, was a bit disappointing to be honest.  I expected it to be about voter fraud, disenfranchisement, etc.  However, it was all about the citizenship question on the census, which was super important and interesting to learn more about, but it seemed odd as a discussion in Voting Rights.  This one was taught by two lawyers who had just won the case that got the citizenship question banned from the 2020 census.   They explained the ins and outs of the case, and stated that due to new evidence that has come to light, they will be going back to court to keep the citizenship question off of the 2030 census.  After their talk, they stated that there is still a lot of misinformation about the census and that we all can help by spreading the correct information.  If anyone is interested in helping me get the word out, comment below and I will send you the information that needs to be said.

Afterward, we had what was called a Campaign Planning Workshop.  The workshop was taught by Emily Hanson, who, as evidenced by the article that I have provided, works with public education in Missouri, and Elizer Darris, who works at the Minnesota ACLU on the Smart Justice campaign.  The primary focus of this session was to introduce how to organize in our communities and how to appeal to politicians in order to get our advocacy goals through to them.  This was one of the most important aspects of the week.  I felt like I took a lot out of it and am able to use a lot of the same tactics that were talked about.  Our next seminar was by far my favorite.  It was a panel called Inside the Television Writer's Room:  Helping Hollywood Get it Right.

It featured five individuals, all representing a different minority.  These individuals were Zuri Adele (actress on "Good Trouble,"African American representation), Sue Obeidi (Director, Hollywood Bureau of MPAC or Muslim Public Affairs Council, Muslim American representation), Alex Schmeider (Associate Director of GLAAD, LGBTQ representation), Danny Woodburn (Actor, Disability representation), and Marsha Zeesman (Director of Entertainment and Arts Partnerships, representing the ACLU).  It was moderated by Michele Moore, the Chief Communications Officer of the ACLU.

My favorite part of this panel was that finally, I got a chance to see disability representation, which there is a severe lack of.  Each person started by talking about what Hollywood representation gets correct and what still needs to be fixed.  For example, Muslim American representation and African American representation is getting more and more positive attention, as is transgender representation, while disability representation (with the exception of Speechless) still needs a lot of work.  Also, intersectionality is not representated at all, and people with disabilities are often portrayed in a very poor light or forgotten all together.  Then, they taught us how to get our messages out into the world by using popular mediums, and accepting the small victories, even if our bigger goals do not get accomplished.

At the end of the night, we had one more seminar, but it was canceled so that we could all get together and watch the first night of the second Democratic Debate.

Wednesday, July 31st:  This day had almost exactly the same format as the day prior, just with different elective choices.  I chose Gender and Reproductive Justice and LGBTQ Equality, with a third option being Digital Privacy.  The Women's and Reproductive Justice elective was by far my favorite of the four that I took part in.  They started the forum by speaking about the ACLU's victories in this area, including Roe v. Wade, Title X, etc.  Then, they jumped into the current threats to this issue including the Hyde Amendment, and multiple state legislatures that are trying to ban abortions.  After this, the two women speaking introduced us to the Rights For All campaign.  If you are interested in learning more or getting involved, I have attached the website with all of the information.  The primary goal of the Rights For All campaign is to get political candidates on record, pledging support for various issues in order to hold them accountable later.

My last elective for the week was on LGBTQ Rights.  Throughout the forum, one of ACLU's attorneys talked about victories that they have had, including the passage of gay marriage.  Also, she talked about some of the losses that they have had, including losing the wedding cake case (a gay couple wanted a cake made for their reception, but a baker refused, citing religion).  Lastly, she talked about a few ongoing cases in which LGBTQ individuals were fired after coming out to their employers.

After this, just like the day before, we had our second and last, Campaign Planning Workshop.  The focus of this session was mainly how to have effective one-on-one meetings with politicians that can help you push your advocacy plans through.  The leaders talked about the fact that open-ended questions are vital during this process, and to try to avoid yes or no questions as much as possible.  As someone who wants to take several issues to politicians in the near future, this lesson was one of the most important in my opinion.  Lastly, they talked about tips and tricks to have an effective movement, like how to develope action statements that people can get behind.

Our final seminar of the trip was called Artificial Intelligence, Surveillance, and the Civil Liberties Panel.  On the panel were Rachel Levinson-Waldman (Senior Counsel of the Brennan Center's Liberty and National Security Program), Ben Wizner (Director of the ACLU's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project), and Harlan Yu (Executive Director of Upturn).  In this seminar, the main topic was facial recognition.  The panel talked about how these softwares can be used against us in the future and we can no longer be anonymous.  Also, they talked about an organization called the Brennan Center.  The Brennan Center is made up of lawyers who work to protect citizen's civil liberties when they relate to technology.

Then, we went to a dinner and internship fair at the National Press Club.  The internship fair was a bit disappointing for a few reasons.  The first being that of fifteen organizations that were supposed to come, only three besides the ACLU showed up.  Also, the room was so packed that I could barely move around to meet these organizations in order to network for internships, which was the entire point.  During dinner, there were a few speeches, but one in particular really resonated with the whole room.  It was by the head of the internships at the ACLU, who spoke passionately about Immigrants' rights and how it affects everyone in this country.  Unfortunately, I was too awestruck to be smart and write notes down, but if you are interested in hearing more, I am happy to answer any questions.

Thursday, August 1st:  Thursday we spent a majority of the day at the Capitol Building and Congressional Office Buildings.  All of us were split into one of many different groups, each of which dealt with a different issue.  I chose Voting Rights, because of all of the options, this was the one that I felt most aligned with Disability Rights, and I wanted to raise awareness to issues that are not talked about enough.  While on Capitol Hill, my group met with John Lewis's legislative director.  For the most part, the conversation was centered on HR1, a bill that included provisions to protect voting rights.  As of right now, this bill has been read on the Senate floor twice.  Also, statehood for Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico is being investigated.  Lastly, I asked about accessiblity at the polls and what could be done.  The legislative director admitted to not knowing much, but vowed to talk with Lewis and do research to find out how he felt about introducing legislation that would make the polls way more accessible that they currently are, or are not in most cases.

Friday, August 2nd:  This was the day that everyone went home, so I spent most of the day in airports.  It was pretty uneventful until my plane began its descent into Chicago.  The landing was rocky, the plane slammed up and down a few times, and shook sideways as we hit the runway.  Other than that, the flight was smooth and really short.

Overall, I absolutely loved this program and had the best time in Washington, D.C.  I feel like I learned so much from all of the speakers and gained even more passion for what I want to do with my life after college- becoming a Disability Rights attorney- for those who do not know.  In addition, I met so many wonderful people who I hope to keep in touch with and meet up with in the future.  I cannot wait to see what I and my peers will do for advocacy in the future and in our careers.  I had to cut a lot of details out so that this post was not super long, so if you have any questions or want to know more about anything that I talked about, please feel free to comment below or message me directly and I will be happy to answer any and all questions.

Thanks for reading!