“Knowledge emerges only through . . . the restless, impatient, continuing, hopeful inquiry [that] human beings pursue in the world, with the world, and with each other.” - from the book Pedagogy of the Oppressed, by Brazilian popular educator Paolo Freire

Ignorance is a powerful force to keep people down. As Thomas H. Jones wrote in his 1857 slave memoir, “the whole community was in league to keep the poor slave in ignorance . . .” But when we take action to break out of ignorance, we can change a lot more than our own lives.

Oscar Cerrito and Lidia Pereyra, Winchester area residents in their early 20s, are described this way by their friend and mentor, Katy Pitcock: “These aren’t just smart young people. They started out behind the curve, learning a new language, and with few advantages at home. To get to the point of being college-eligible, they have to be seriously dedicated academically. And they want to use their education here, in the only communities they know.”

Both Oscar and Lidia plan careers in health care, serving their own Spanish-speaking community. They have broken out of the ignorance to which low-paid Spanish-speaking immigrants are assigned, and knocked on the door of Virginia’s college system. In the process, they have rocked the ignorance of some other people.

Lidia came to the U.S. when she was 11, not speaking a word of English. Now she is 20, and has started the process of becoming a nurse practitioner. Lidia’s father was a legal, taxpaying resident, and he wanted his wife and children here. As soon as they came, they began the process of also becoming legal residents. In a Washington Post article about Lidia, this process was described as “complicated, with laws broken and laws followed, rules complied with and deadlines missed, and the children caught up in the ugly tangle of Catch-22s that follows illegal immigration.”

Oscar’s story is pretty much the same. To some people, this means they are somewhere in the long process of officially becoming contributing U.S. citizens. To others, it means that Lidia and Oscar are “illegal immigrants,” and therefore not deserving of any benefits that Virginia can confer.

Katy Pitcock has worked on educational, intercultural and other programs with all kinds of people for many years. But, she realized this year, she was still ignorant of how laws are made in Virginia.

But, she said, “I didn’t know the legislative process; in fact, I was so ignorant of it I didn’t even think of trying it. Working to start our Northern Shenandoah Valley chapter of the Virginia Organizing Project (VOP), I had started to get the idea of building relationships - relationships that you can tap into when you can’t win on an issue alone. But I hadn’t really applied that to the issues that matter to me every day.”

Then she joined a series of conference calls with immigrant leaders and other concerned Virginians that were organized by the Virginia Justice Center for Farm and Immigrant Workers, to explore who was interested in taking leadership on certain immigrant issues, including the issue of in-state tuition.

On the first call, Katy said she knew about this issue, was willing to work on it, and was in touch with young people affected by the issue, including Lidia and Oscar. She said people on the call reacted as delightedly as if “a sports agent had showed up with a seven foot basketball player.” And she in turn recognized that “the conference calls could connect me to what I didn’t even know I was missing - people who could bring Lidia’s and Oscar’s issues into the legislative process. They also were willing to do the work of connecting all of our different agendas, so that when Lidia and Oscar and I and others took action, we had support from around Virginia. Our supporters included community college presidents, teachers and counselors, and organized groups like the Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations (VACOLAO) and VOP.”

When Katy contacted Oscar soon afterwards, he said, “I knew she was bringing me a new experience. It’s cool to have new experiences.” The new experience that Katy introduced Lidia and Oscar to was trying to influence the General Assembly of Virginia.

When Katy, Oscar and Lidia got involved with the General Assembly, they were surprised to find out that the members of the General Assembly were ignorant of a lot of things they knew. After watching a committee in action, Oscar said, “They make laws without knowing what the process of immigration really is.”

Katy had already found that out during a previous visit to the General Assembly - her first. She and another VOP member talked to Delegates and aides about many issues, including in-state tuition. “In one case,” she said, “a Delegate told me proudly about the immigration status of someone he knew - and it turned out he got every detail wrong. Some of our Virginia legislators were making decisions about a situation they didn’t really understand.” But Katy, along with members of VACOLAO and their supporters like the American Jewish Congress and VOP, kept trying to get them to understand.

At least one legislator did. Senator Emmett Hanger had introduced a bill that, like several other bills in the General Assembly, would have prevented any “illegal alien” from getting in-state tuition - including Oscar and Lidia. But he listened to the responses he got to his legislation. He also learned from the situation of his son’s fiancee, an immigrant from the Philippines. And so, astonishingly, in the middle of the General Assembly session, he amended his own legislation to include students like Oscar and Lidia. Essentially, he was admitting that when he had introduced his bill, he had not known everything he should have.

Hanger explained his new opinions with these words about the students he now wanted to make eligible for in-state tuition: “It’s not like they just showed up today . . . They’ve been in the school systems, and they’ve been good role models. They just lack appropriate documentation. This [legislation] can be an incentive to help them.”

At the General Assembly, Oscar and Lidia testified before the House Committee on Education for Senator Hanger’s amended bill. Lidia had never done anything like that before, but she said, “I think I got out what I wanted to say. I had practiced, and I had it written down.” But, she went on, describing the committee’s actions: “What was going on wasn’t very understandable. The Delegates had some information from some people, but it was still confusing.” After Oscar and Lidia and others testified, and after they heard from Virginia’s Attorney General with a different point of view, the Committee voted to delay its decision until next year.

Oscar’s original focus was on “taking the opportunity to go to college.” But, after the General Assembly experience, Oscar said, “I believe you have to fight for your rights. I am doing this not just for myself, but for the younger members of my family, and my community.”

To fight for a professional education, Oscar and Lidia, as well as Katy, their friend and ally, had to educate themselves about democracy and political power. In turn, they have educated General Assembly members and other Virginians about the real lives of young immigrants in our communities. In Katy’s words, “We expanded our understanding and we expanded our influence. We didn’t act alone - we had wonderful allies - but we also knew that we couldn’t assume someone else would do our part of the job.”

Katy said, “Next year we have to do better. It’s like teaching a class. You have to have an outline. You have to know what your students need. No one needs speeches that show what a good guy you are. They need the real facts, the realities that show all our relationships of responsibility to each other. We all need for Oscar and Lidia to be well-educated health professionals, and we all have our part to play in the big educational process that moves us forward on this and many other issues.”