Ikechukwu Onyema

Story of Self

I am Ikechukwu Onyema

I am a Chemistry Teacher in East Orange, NJ

I am a union member

I am a first generation immigrant child of Nigerian parents

I am their dream

I am the product of neocolonialism

I am the fondest dreams of a refugee–hungry, searching, migrating

I am a broken law

I am synonymous with thug

 

Because we want gun control, cop control, war control,

Because we are organizers

Because we are leaders

Because we read

Because we write

Because we fight

 

We are the students who managed to escape bullets and did not feel lucky afterward.

We are much more than this

We are the space between decadent fantasies and radical dreams

We are organizers

We are committed to struggles both local and international

We are educators

 

[2018 NEA National Leadership Summit: Think Global, Act Local Workshop]