Audio slide show by Karen Loschiavo
Petra Falcon had already fought for immigrant rights in Arizona for more than 30 years when Senate Bill 1070 passed in 2010, so she didn’t give up her fight.
Instead, she spent 103 days holding vigil outside the state Capitol with hundreds of other advocates for immigrants. Now, Falcon is leading young people down the same path of civic engagement she walked with her organization Promise Arizona.
Promise Arizona is Falcon’s attempt to mobilize the Latino community in Phoenix around the issues that involve them, including immigration, education and transportation policy. Formed in the months after the passage of the controversial immigration law, Promise Arizona now has a staff of seven, most of whom are under 25.
Falcon started community organizing when she was in high school here in Arizona. Her father and brothers were farm workers and laborers, and she began working in a factory herself when she was only 12 years old.
“I always talk about organizing myself out of poverty,” she said.
By the time Falcon was studying at ASU in 1974, she was working on the campaign to elect former governor Raul Héctor Castro, the first Mexican-American governor of Arizona.
“I quickly learned, quite frankly, by wedging myself in,” she said. “I had to fight for a space, and fight for a place at the table, and for recognition and to get an education.”
She said having young people involved in Promise Arizona is a natural consequence of the immigration politics in the state.
Working out of a small but cozy office in a Methodist church downtown, the organization attempts to engage the Latino and immigrant communities through voter registration, education and rallying the communities around political issues that directly affect them.
Immigration is a major issue, but Promise also focuses on improving transportation and education, among other causes. The organization counted the passage of Phoenix’s Proposition 104, which increased transportation funding through a sales tax increase, as a major victory because it could expand and improve public transportation in many of the neighborhoods where immigrants live.
“The families that come to us are immigrant families, and many of them have had to survive in an environment where perhaps they have lived in fear and they have not felt welcome. And it impacts all of them, from young to old,” Falcon said.
She said leading young people into understanding the mechanisms of power that run society helps them tap into their own power to make a difference.
“They bring their heart, their commitment, their hard work, their vision, their dreams,” she said. “I think they bring their desire to do something for themselves and their families.”
Promise Arizona intern Perla Salgado moved to Arizona 15 years ago, when she was six years old. She qualifies under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which gives her access to a two-year work permit to stay in the United States. She met Falcon at their mutual church, Our Lady of Guadalupe, and started working for her organization shortly after.
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Salgado said she was inspired to connect immigrants and Latino people to each other and to the resources available to them. She said as an immigrant growing up in Tempe, there wasn’t a large Hispanic community around her. The larger community was in Phoenix. She said her work with Promise Arizona helps builds connections between immigrants, much like it did for her.
“There is help available and they can connect to others,” she said.
Salgado and another staff member now run Promise Arizona’s English Innovations class, which uses tablets to teach English to Spanish-speaking adults.
Jose Barbosa, 23, is also an intern, and has been working with Promise Arizona on and off as a volunteer since 2012. He said he does the work to improve his community and build a new generation of leaders.
“I want to make a difference doing this type of work — civic engagement,” he said.
The goal of making a difference is a uniting factor for the young interns and staff at Promise Arizona. Take ASU senior Wayne Benton, who grew up in Gilbert, where he said diversity was scarce.
When he was first hired as an intern, hearing others’ stories opened his eyes to the issues surrounding immigration in Arizona, he said. He hasn’t looked back since.
“I see the investment Promise has within the community of Phoenix, it’s a really beautiful thing. That’s what made me want to stay and devote myself,” Benton said.
He said he is indebted to Promise for taking a chance on hiring him as a full-time organizer in June. He initially had little experience, but said that is proof that the organization is dedicated to creating leaders.
The young staff members mentioned admiring Falcon’s work and looking up to her as a role model, with some even calling her “Mother Petra.” Falcon said building a family is an important part of creating a community, and loving the young people as if they were her own children is part of that.
“Even though we may not reach our practical goals, we have done the best we can as a community of people,” Falcon said. “Ultimately, whatever happens, we’re going to be there for each other.”
Contact the reporter at Karen.Loschiavo@asu.edu
