Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez brought
an Astoria activist as her guest to President Donald
Trump’s State of the Union Address on Tuesday,
Feb. 5.
Ana Maria Archila, the co-executive founder of
the Center for Popular Democracy was thrust into
the national spotlight last fall when she and another
activist, fellow New Yorker Maria Gallagher, stopped
an elevator carrying then-Arizona Senator Jeff Flake
at the Capitol Building on live TV. They identified
themselves as sexual assault survivors and demanded
that Flake explain his decision to vote to confirm
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
“Happy to announce that I will be bringing Ana
Maria Archila, the NY-14 resident who confronted
Jeff Flake ahead of the Kavanaugh vote, to the
Congresswoman
Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez
State of the Union this year,” Acasio-Cortez an-nounced
42 FEBRUARY 2019 I LIC COURIER I www.qns.com
on Instagram Monday. “Her act of bravery
elevated the stories of survivors around the country
and had a profound impact, changing the vote’s
proceedings and our national conversation around
believing survivors.”
While Flake told the Senate Judiciary Committee
he would vote to advance the nomination of Kava-naugh,
who stood accused of sexually assaulting Dr.
Christine Blasey Ford when she was 15, he called
for a week’s delay to allow an FBI probe into the
allegations. Kavanaugh was eventually confirmed
and now sits on the Supreme Court.
“I will be joining Representative Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez as an invited guest at the State of
the Union tomorrow,” Archilla said in a statement.
“Like millions of people, I am filled with hope by
Alexandria’s fierce leadership, her bold vision, and
her relentless belief that our country is abundant.
We share the belief that if we confront the old
power structures and make democracy work for
the people, we can build a country where we all
live in dignity.”
Having emigrated from Colombia to the U.S. at age
17, Archila has become one of the nation’s leading
advocates for civil rights, access to decent and af-fordable
health care, equity in education funding and
resources, and immigrant rights first at the Jackson
Heights-based Make the Road New York and now
at the Center for Popular Democracy with an agenda
that is pro-worker, pro-immigrant, and dedicated to
racial and economic justice.
Politics
brings Astoria
activist to SOTU
Photo caption: Ana Maria Archila
/www.qns.com
/www.qns.com
