My mother - Manuelita de Atoche Lucero (Mela) Leger - was a bilingual education pioneer. Together my parents wrote the 1973 Bilingual Multicultural Education Act, which is the basis by which Spanish, Towa, Tewa, Tiwa, Keres, Navajo, and Apache are taught in our schools. Here in New Mexico -- we celebrate our multiculturalism. 

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In Congress, I will be a voice for compassion, understanding, and unity. I will continue to be outspoken against racism, sexism, homophobia, antisemitism, and xenophobia. We must always stand up for all of our communities, and against those who are complicit in fostering hate, division, and discrimination -- no matter the form it takes. 

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When I served as Vice-Chair of President Obama’s Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, we fought to make our preservation and historical work more inclusive, because without recognizing and elevating these histories, it’s that much easier to erase communities and discriminate against differences.

 

We must defeat those that would demonize the “other” to achieve power. Here in New Mexico, we know there is no “other” there is only an “us.”