Making Sanctuary People
The idea and practice of sanctuary have a long and vexed presence in U.S. political discourse, community organizing and social movements. This talk explores the ways activists, service providers, and faith leaders and religious communities drew on long histories of faith-based and secular organizing to mobilize and respond to the precarity of Latina/o communities in Ohio from 2016-2020. Enduring attacks on immigrants in Ohio throughout the 2024 Presidential election, including disinformation about Haitian immigrants and Haitian migrants, affirm the need to highlight efforts to create and disseminate narratives that challenge anti-immigrant rhetoric and to nurture sanctuary practices and support the work of sanctuary people.