Priscilla's Rebirth

The feeling…it was kind of like sitting in a hospital waiting room anticipating the birth of a child. But the reality was that I was standing tippy-toed, peering over a barb-wired cement fence trying to get a peep at Priscila the Undocubus. She was sitting sad in a tow yard.

We traveled from Phoenix to Los Angeles, after hearing the bus had been vandalized and by some accounts, destroyed. Our hope was that we could do some tinkering and get her back to Phoenix.  Over 40 years old, it’s been a rough road, as those of you out there with a love for old cars know.

As the debate on immigration reform has raged on in Washington DC, we’ve anticipated a point in which we would rev the engine again, board the bus to some location and once again make our presence, stories and demands known. As we closed the No Papers No Fear Ride for Justice bus tour in Charlotte last year, we asked President Obama to change course on his record of deportations and criminalization of migrants. Now almost at 2 million deportations, it is clear that he will need more than a question. The President has said it himself, leaders must be compelled to take action, and a dilemma must be posed.

Back in Los Angeles, we had a choice to make ourselves. Scrap the bus, or figure out a way to get it back to Phoenix and in doing so, sign up for lots of repairs and work. In the end, we towed it back to Phoenix. For the many people who helped bring this bus to life last summer, it was a sad sight to see. But because of how far we’ve come and because we’ve got some distance to go, we have launched a campaign to revive the bus. It will be a heavy lift, and it will be long, but it will be as it was from the beginning, a labor of love, from and for the community.

We’ll keep you posted on the latest, in the meantime, consider chipping in to give us a jump start to get back on the road at bit.ly/onroadagain.

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