I HAD A DREAM TOO

I HAD A DREAM TOO
"This poster is centered around the immigration story of my father who left everything he knew to come to America at the age of 19. He was seeking the American dream like everyone else, but his race and appearance made him the target of discrimination. All the smaller words represent his thoughts about being an immigrant and many of them are still haunting him to this day. These experiences slowly chipped away at his hope to find a place for himself in this country, but love turned it around for him. Getting married and starting a family here helped him find peace (represented by the koi) with where he was. However, the real healing didn’t come until after he received his green card, which finally made him legal even though in his mind, he was already a part of this country. The cycle of immigration and healing doesn’t end with him. It’ll continue with me. I will pick up his hopes and make our dreams come true."–Anny Qiu
Poster by Anny Qiu from the collection Art and Resistance Through Education (ARTE): Your Stories Our Fight Posters (2024). Learn more about ARTE here.