Los Angeles Dream Act Vigil - "We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest"

Students and community members gathered in Los Angeles at the Placita Olvera in Downtown Los Angeles hold a vigil for the Dream Act. The DREAM Act is bipartisan legislation that enables high-achieving young people -- immigrants who have been raised here, have worked hard in school, and then pursue higher education or serve in the military -- to achieve the American Dream.




Participants in the vigil also honored and commemorated Tam Tran and Cinthya Felix, two undocumented students and leaders in the movement for the passage of the DREAM Act who passed away tragically in a car accident last May. Tam and Cinthya were UCLA alumnae and were graduate students at Brown University and Columbia, respectively. An altar was created with their picture and names on it.

The vigil took place Monday, September 20th from 7pm to 9pm, the night before a defense authorization bill was up for a cloture vote. The vote was significant because had it passed the cloture vote, discussion on possible amendments like the Dream Act would have been considered and voted on.

For more information, please visit www.dreamactivist.org



**LYRICS TO THE SONG**

We who believe in freedom cannot rest
We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes

Until the killing of Black men, Black mothers' sons
Is as important as the killing of white men, white mothers' sons

That which touches me most is that I had a chance to work with people
Passing on to others that which was passed on to me

To me young people come first, they have the courage where we fail
And if I can but shed some light as they carry us through the gale

The older I get the better I know that the secret of my going on
Is when the reins are in the hands of the young, who dare to run against the storm

Not needing to clutch for power, not needing the light just to shine on me
I need to be one in the number as we stand against tyranny

Struggling myself don't mean a whole lot, I've come to realize
That teaching others to stand up and fight is the only way my struggle survives

I'm a woman who speaks in a voice and I must be heard
At times I can be quite difficult, I'll bow to no man's word

We who believe in freedom cannot rest
We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes

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