Christine Neumann-Ortiz
Christine Neumann-Oritz
Founder and Executive Director
Voces de la Frontera
Christine Neumann-Ortiz is best known as the driving force behind 70,000 people marching through Milwaukee on May 1, 2006 in support of immigrant rights. Scheduled to coincide with May Day, the international workers’ rights holiday, her march was the largest in Wisconsin’s history. On May 1, 2007, she broke her own record, increasing the number of May Day protesters by more than 10,000 people; Milwaukee was the only city in the nation to see such an increase. Urging her followers on with the rallying cry “¡Sí se puede!, Yes we can!,” Christine has linked the immigration reform movement to an overall struggle for human rights, an anti-poverty agenda, and a stand against US policies that vilify immigrants as a drain on economic resources. She has been a successful and creative organizer at the grassroots level for many years, empowering local populations of immigrant and low-wage workers in Wisconsin. In July 2007, she got the attention of CNN’s Lou Dobb’s after organizing a local rally where marchers wore masks of the controversial anchorman’s face. Prior to this event, she took adult and children immigrants on a bus tour around the state, stopping in towns where they could tell their personal stories of work place raids, separated families, and overall injustice. Over time, she has steadily worked toward her goal of creating a fair path to legalization for immigrants and increasing protections and benefits for all workers, regardless of their citizenship. Christine maintains: “Our struggle will not end until we win.”
Christine is the founder and director of the immigrant worker-run organization Voces de la Frontera. She is a board member of the national organization Fair Immigration Reform Movement as well as several Wisconsin-based immigration and workers’ rights coalitions. She has received several awards for her work, including the 2006 Public Service Award from the Wisconsin chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. Prior to founding Voces de la Frontera, Christine worked to advance migrant education programs and to improve occupational safety. She holds a master’s degree in US/Chicano history from the University of Texas-Austin, and a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
For more on Christine Neumann-Ortiz:
Midwest Hispanic Voters Could Play Pivotal Role
By Diana Marrero, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
August 11, 2008
Civil Rights Group Joins Iraq Protest Walk, Links to Domestic 'War' On Immigrants
By Lisa Loring, Daily Kenoshan
July 18, 2008
Hispanic Groups Ask Businessman to Stop Selling IDs
By Georgia Pabst, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
July 1, 2008
Ashley Accused
By Jessica Shawley, Arcadia News Leader
June 26, 2008
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