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]