Over the past week we’ve seen two instances where grassroots movements, both supported by Crossroads Fund, have won historic victories.On June 8th, President Obama announced that undocumented youth who met certain criteria would be eligible for deportation waivers and work permits. Although this is not a complete solution to the issues facing the millions of undocumented people living and working in the US, it is a huge step forward, and observers agree that it would not have happened without the actions of undocumented youth. Over the last two years, undocumented youth from around the country have risked arrest and deportation in brave civil disobedience actions calling for immigration reform. Chicago’s own Immigrant Youth Justice League has been a leader in the movement, participating in local and national actions pressing for justice for undocumented immigrants. This recent decision could change the lives of more than 800,000 young people.Today the good news continued, as Governor Quinn announced that he would move forward with the plan to close the Tamms supermax prison, along with several other correctional facilities in the state. For years, Crossroads grantee Tamms Year Ten has been calling attention to the inhumane conditions at the prison, where inmates are kept in extreme isolation without access to education or even human contact. Despite their tiny budget, Tamms Year Ten has used diverse tactics including art, educación, poetry, legislative hearings, advocacy and community organizing in their efforts to close the prison. Although the legislature may still move to reopen the facilities in the fall, it will become much more difficult to reopen them once they have already been shut down.Both Tamms Year Ten and the Immigrant Youth Justice League are small, all-volunteer grassroots organizations going up against huge institutions. And both groups received their first foundation support from Crossroads Fund. We believe in the power of grassroots organizing to change history, and we are able to take the risk and invest in small groups with unproven track records. As these two historic victories show, those investments pay off tenfold.Crossroads Fund – Thirty years of seeding change, growing leaders and building movements.
