New York, February 10, 2018
Good Morning…I represent September Eleventh Families For Peaceful Tomorrows..We are composed of more than 200 family members of loved ones who made the ultimate sacrifice September 11, 2001.
It has been almost 17 years that for us were and still are pain filled and not easy even with the passage of time.
Our foundling members postponed their grieving to come together and create an organization that reflected our unanimous convictions…We wanted justice as prescribed by the rule of law and what we absolutely did not want was revenge or bloodshed brought on by a war of retribution. What we did want as a memorial to our lost ones, is a Peace Filled World..
We do not want hate filled rhetoric used in any way in the name of our loved ones. Nor do we want divisive laws put in place to further divide our country.
Our country achieved it’s greatness by welcoming a beautiful mosaic of immigrants, black, brown, white and yellow, who all came to this land with a dream. Their dream was for a better life in a free democratic land.
We must always revere the ideals forged by those forefathers and treasure our land sanctified by the blood shed by our brave soldiers in wars to preserve our freedom and the right to pursue happiness.
So today, September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows stands in solidarity with Ravi and all our immigrant sisters and brothers. We ask in the names of many voices forever silenced, that our country’s elected representatives put in place fair and humane immigration laws…We too say ” You can’t deport this movement!”
Gloria Williams’s speech at the emergency rally of the New Sanctuary Movement
