After a strenuous 21-mile march to bring awareness against President Donald Trump’s mass deportation plan. Rights over Borders organized a march from San Mateo City Hall to San Francisco City Hall], but their work did not stop there. The four women have partnered with other upcoming activists in order to collaborate and achieve the same goals which are supporting, and standing up for the latino community.
Rights over Borders, based in San Mateo County, collaborated with One Heart Rising, an emerging community activist group based in Fremont, California, founded by Mykayla Perez, 20. Another partner: The Celebration Nation Foundation, founded by Flor Martinez, who has been mentoring and guiding young Bay Area activists.
The three groups partnered to fundraise and collect donations to travel to California’s Central Coast, roughly two hours south of Redwood City. They went to multiple fields in Watsonville to pass out red cards for undocumented people if they encounter federal immigration agents.
The groups distributed lunch bags with sandwiches, chips, and tangerines. They served conchas, chicken tacos, water, gatorade, and snacks. At one location, the women taught farm workers the viral dance from Kendrick Lamar's super bowl performance of “Not Like Us.” This was done to share on social media to bring awareness of the conditions farmworkers are working in, and humanize them to the public as hardworking people. Those who participated were entered into a raffle to win a black hoodie with Celebration Nation Foundation’s logo on it and information on the rights undocumented people have.
The women fed around 25-30 farm workers on Monday. Organizer Mykayla Perez planned the trip to the Central Coast because she wanted to do more to support the latino community. Word spread about the trip after Perez posted on TikTok asking for Bay Area volunteers. “I previously did this with a group of co-workers, and it was a lot smaller, and not as many people,” she said. “I was looking for a lot more people that could help spread the word, or also be here physically handing out donations to our field workers.”
That's when Flor Martinez, Rights over Borders, and Liza Ortiz stepped in.
Ortiz said this work is very personal for her because she is a child of immigrant parents. “We have to be the voices for them,” she said. “They’re not as in touch with social media as we are, so it’s important for us to speak up as much as we can, and show up whenever you can. It does take one person to be involved for other people to be inspired. That’s how I got inspired by seeing Mykayla’s TikTok.”
Heading to the Central Coast was important to Perez. “There are a lot more fields out here in general than the Bay Area. Originally where I’m from in Modesto we have fields as well, but not as many as out here. So it’s just a lot easier to access, and we wanted to do a bigger area and make a big difference.” said Perez.
Farm workers came over to the table of food with mud on shoes, hands and pants from installing the sprinkler pipes in the fields, while others took care of removing dead leaves, and maintaining the strawberry bushes that are in the transition stage from flowering to producing strawberries.
As field workers took their lunch break, they also grabbed food to take home to their families. Ortiz recalls a conversation she had with one of the field workers from Michoacán, like her father, “I feel like it's just very touching that people come from all over, and you see like it's our raza,” she said. “You feel connected to them even though you're not blood.”
Ortiz also pointed out that in “Watsonville, all of these workers are Hispanic, and it's so important to care for them. And that's also why we came out here to feed them and bring them water and everything.”
Perez said, “They’re the reason that we have food that's easy and accessible. I feel like half the Americans wouldn't do their job for what they get paid. It's really important to remember that these people feed America. They are the reason we have food on our tables, and it's important to respect them.”
Rights Over Borders said it was important to continue their work beyond the 21 mile march.
Organizer and founder of the group Vanessa Arriaga said, “Just as important as it is to protest, it’s very important to continue engaging in your community by coming out here with people. Giving back to people who feed you, and we need to do more than protest, so this is just the beginning of much of the work we’ll be able to do.”
Jenaly Carreno who is an organizer with Rights Over Borderd also said she called off work on Monday in order to travel to Watsonville but it was something that was important to her, “Why not support the hands that feed you. As for moving forward I say it for all of us [Rights Over Borders] you still need to come out and support your community. It’s not just a one and done thing we are gonna keep doing things moving forward and we hope you come out, and join us.
Despite pushback about her activism from some Central Coast residents in 2020, Flor Martinez, known on social media as “FlowerInSpanish,” expressed the importance of supporting the latino community.
“You know, growing up undocumented, unfortunately, that's the same language that I heard well growing up. Right, like go back to where you came from. You don't belong here. And that's the same language that our undocumented communities are hearing today. And so it was unfortunate that was the case, especially for people that don't know me, have never met me. And just that we're going off of rumors. I mean, bullying isn't good for anybody including myself, but I'm a tough cookie.”
Acknowledging the controversy that can still shadow her, Martinez said,“Be kind with these emergent leaders. They might not know all the answers right away, but they will learn as they go.” However, she added, “It's always good to hold people accountable and question people's motives”
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