by Divya Shiv

In March, I got to spend five action-packed days with my five other QuEST Fellows in Washington, DC, as participants in the 2018 Spring Lobby Weekend organized by the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL). I hadn’t been to D.C. since an eighth grade school field trip when I was more interested in the hotel swimming pool than my historical surroundings. This time though, I was over the moon to get to spend time in DC to take in all of the history and do one of my favorite things in the world: talk to lawmakers about issues I care about.

We landed in DC a day before FCNL’s Lobby Weekend began, which gave us an opportunity to truly soak in the history of the city. We went to the National Museum of the American Indian and luckily got there right at the start of the museum docent’s tour on the role of women through American Indian history. The tour was truly eye opening, but the museum itself was, without exaggeration, one of the best museums I have ever been to. I could write a book about all of my thoughts and feelings about the museum, and I was only able to see two floors of it. We also walked to the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, and it was such a special moment to listen to one of my fellow Questies read aloud the immortal words of Abraham Lincoln, especially at this time of national turmoil. Outside of the museums and historical monuments, I could not get past the fact that we were walking by sites that hold such power (and sometimes such devastation), but were housed on the same street as Dunkin Donuts. Washington, DC, as a city will never cease to baffle and amaze me.

The FCNL conference — titled “Build Bridges, Not Walls” — was centered on the issue of immigration and was held at a strategic time, as lawmakers were about to pass the Omnibus Budget that funds the Federal Government. At the conference, we learned more about the issue of immigration and how to lobby, specifically lobbying lawmakers to give pathways to citizenship for Dreamers and their families, to decrease border enforcement procedures, and to address the criminalization of undocumented immigrants. During these four days, we got to take part in a series of amazing workshops and listen to awe-inspiring speeches, such as United We Dream’s Greisa Martinez, who ended her speech by having us sing along with her in a song that acknowledged the pain but also the strength we have in this fight for immigrant rights.

The pinnacle of the conference, however, was the last day, when we went to our lawmakers’ offices and conversed with them about immigration reform. The first meeting we had was with Washington State Representative Pramila Jayapal, who is my political role model. She is the embodiment of spirit and commitment, and her passion for this issue was so palpable that we all left the meeting feeling enthusiastic. It was great to hear her dedication to immigration, and on a more personal note, it was also wonderful to get to talk with an elected official who is an Indian-American woman like me, especially as I am considering entering politics, too. The highlight of my day (the highlight of this year!) was when I got to tell her how much she inspires me, and she shook my hand, thanked me for the work that I do, and (most importantly) remembered my name.

The five days in DC flew by, but those are days that I will cherish forever. I’m so thankful for QuEST, for my fellow QuESTies, and for FCNL, for giving me such an amazing, inspiring experience. The march for immigration reform is not over, but it gives me hope to know that there are lawmakers like Rep. Pramila Jayapal out there, as well as the hundreds of fierce advocates and lobbyists that I got to meet during the Lobby Weekend.  


 

 

 

 

 

 

QuEST Fellows meet with Pramila Jayapal, US Representative for Washington State’s 7th District, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, during FCNL’s Spring Lobby Weekend 2018. Left to right: Lara Carson, Divya Shiv, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Maggie Harrington, Elizabeth Huse (fellow Seattle resident attending the conference), Mary Krathwohl, Toetie Zwart.

For more on Spring Lobby Weekend, visit FCNL’s website, which includes audio and video of speakers at the conference.