A chilly 40 degree afternoon did not stop the Good Neighbors from speaking their minds and standing up for immigrants in their second “Welcome to Hastings” rally. The group of Hastings community members marched from the Welcome to Hastings sign by the high school, to the Lady Liberty statue in the Utilities Park, and back again to the sign.
The group marched to promote inclusion and equality in the community, especially for immigrants and their families.
“We all have an immigrant story in our family. Whether we came 400 years ago or last year, we all made a journey to get here at some point in our family’s history,” one of the leaders of the rally, Margaret Marsh, said.
Marsh’s family immigrant story is that of her grandfather who came to America from Ireland.
“The immigrant story is pretty fresh in my mind and I just want to make sure it stays fresh in everyone’s mind,” Marsh said.
Voter registration was also offered at the rally as another way people can become more politically involved past the march. Judy Sandeen is a trained deputy registrar and can assist with voter registration any time she gets clearance from the county office.
“[Our mission of today is] to have educated voters and people who know they need to register before they can vote,” Sandeen said. ”Doing the voter registration makes people eligible to vote and then that helps preserve our democracy.”
Yesterday’s rally also attracted Hastings High School students interested in marching for equality as seniors Haley Mazour and Kaila Avent attended the march.
Both Mazour and Avent elaborate on Marsh’s belief that we all have immigration in our family’s past and need to look past that.
“We need to find a way to open America’s doors to everyone, because in the end, we are a country of immigrants,” Mazour said. ”Just because we may have come to America in the 1500s doesn’t mean that we are any less immigrants than those coming today.”
Avent agrees with this.
“This is a country founded on immigrants unless you’re Native American. People forget their family’s past and think they deserve more things than other people, but everybody’s human. It all comes down to human rights,” Avent said.
As more students and other young people are getting politically involved recently, some people may still be trying to find their voice to speak up for what they believe in. Mazour gives advice for those who want to get involved but may be timid.
“I think that if you want to, you should just take the chance and come out anyway. We’re lucky in Hastings that we have a really welcoming community where nobody’s going to try to attack you for protesting, so there’s no risk,” Mazour said. ”I think it’s important as young people that we find our voices early so that way, later in life, we’re able to advocate for not only ourselves, but for those who can’t advocate for themselves.”
Marsh agrees.
“If you don’t like something, you really should speak out against it because one person can make a big, big difference. I’ve learned in the last year that what we do really matters and we do have a voice and we can change things, so we should,” Marsh said.
It is very fitting that the immigration rally was held directly next to Fischer Rainbow Fountain. Hastings historian Bill Sole said in 1985, “Let [the fountain] remain as a monument commemorating the past generations who built our city, the present citizens who are proud to live here and the future generations who will carry on.”
