Brainstorm Week 7 - Emily Eckey

UndocuQueers struggle for the right to work and live in the country in which they were raised and educated, as discussed in the entry on “Undocuqueer Movement” in Equality Archive. To confront this struggle, UndocuQueer artivistas use social media as methods of emancipation. These artivistas make forms of art, such as visual art and videos, that give depth to immigrants and show different layers of humanity, with hopes of changing the existing anti-migrant culture. In “’Layers of humanity’: Interview with undocuqueer artivist Julio Salgado,” Hinda Seif interviews a co-founder of the Dreamers Adrift collective that produced the “Undocumented and Awkward” videos. Seif writes, “Salgado often creates in collaboration with those he depicts, with the purpose of using art to empower, dignify and forge spaces for those who have been silenced” (Seif 303). This social media practice is a form of resilience because the series comments on the complex problems faced by undocumented people on a day to day basis and uses art to empower them. For example, Salgado encourages undocumented youth “to find creative ways to use their talents and to support social justice struggles despite the barriers they face” (Seif 303). They use humor in the series to address the difficulties of being undocumented while also appealing to a young audience and fostering social activism.