Action #17: Day Without Immigrants

Last Thursday was Day Without Immigrants when thousands of immigrants stayed home from work to show the country just how much they contribute.

Our custodian's team has the most extraordinary work ethic of anyone I've ever met. They are there before I come to work and after I leave and have frequently come in the middle of the night to handle things like pipe bursts or to salt after icy weather. Only the head of the team speaks English comfortably enough for us to have a conversation, but I stopped him in the hall to thank him for coming in that day. I thought he might just say "you're welcome" and keep walking, but he stopped to talk to me for a minute and said he had really wanted to join the protest but knew that too many people counted on him to do that. I reiterated that I know how much his team's work can go under appreciated and he went on his way.

I'm proud I spoke up to him, but even prouder that I said it in front of someone else. This someone else is a person with whom I work closely and have developed a friendship, but with whom I don't talk politics because I know she was anti-Clinton. I don't really know how she feels about anything else that is happening in the world but I have gotten the sense that there are many areas in which we might painfully disagree with each other, especially racially, and I don't want to go there.

She heard my conversation with our custodian and looked genuinely touched by it. I hope I planted a seed.