INTERVIEW & PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBIN RODRIGUEZ
JESSICA GONZÁLEZ-ROJAS, NY ASSEMBLYMEMBER DISTRICT 34
PICTURED IN FRONT OF THE UNISPHERE AT FLUSHING MEADOWS CORONA PARK
On her place of special meaning - I feel like… like the personal is political, right? It sounds very cliché but… like you commented on my necklace that says I am a daughter of an immigrant. I think being a daughter of an immigrant father was very political and also my mom is Puerto Rican, [which is a] very political identity. Then, as someone who has always fought for gender justice and reproductive rights… and anti-violence against women… that’s very political and very personal. It’s less about a particular place and more about identities that I feel connected to from an early age.
JESSICA GONZÁLEZ-ROJAS WITH HER NECKLACE AND ASSEMBLYMEMBER PIN
“I always see the personal as political.”
On the organization NICE - Oh, NICE! New Immigrant Community Empowerment. It’s an organization that I was on the founding board of back in ‘99. It emerged out of some of the really hateful anti-immigrant sentiment that was out there and we were formed as a coalition of people in the community that cared about immigration. It’s beautiful because we were like this scrappy little group in ‘99 and now it’s a huge entity with members — they just went to D.C. to fight for immigration.. I mean we are still fighting the same fight, right? But, it’s become a really strong base of amazing organizers and activists and mostly day laborers and domestic workers. It’s so amazing to see how much they’ve grown in the last 22 years.
On what she hopes to see in upcoming years - I always go back to values. My three guiding values are equity, dignity, and justice… and I feel like dignity is the thing that is so grounding. So what I’m hoping to do is to make sure that anything we do allows for people to live a more dignified life. Whatever your identity or circumstances — whether you’re poor, whether you’re Latina or an immigrant, or Transgender, or homeless, or incarcerated — that you can live with dignity, that the systems around us are set up to provide support and not punish people. Unfortunately we live in a society that’s often looking at punishment versus rehabilitation and restoration… and I think those are the things that are rooted in my work. That’s why for me it’s also important to build with other women of color because I can’t do it alone. And I think that women of color are actually more effective legislators… well women are more effective legislators, statistically. I think making investments different legislative bodies where we are seeing more women in office and seeing the way in which they lead is really important to me. So, building that power and creating an environment in which we can pass policies that are humane… like really rooted in humanity.
“Most of the rest of the elected officials [surrounding my district] are Latino — well Latina actually. From Astoria to Corona... my friend calls it the Latina Beltway. ”
On what’s next on the agenda - For me, I want to make sure I’m balancing the Legislative work with the community work. A lot of my job is taking care of the constituents in the district, and we have a great team that does that, making sure that I’m very present in the community… it’s the place that my son goes to school, where I eat, where I shop, and where I raise my family. I want to always be connected to the grassroots while also fighting for the big systemic change that I want. Sometimes it’s about that pothole or that garbage pickup … and I’m thinking I want to totally, radically transform the healthcare system. * chuckles * It’s just striking that balance between making sure people feel served and making sure that we’re working towards a world where everyone can live with equity, dignity, and justice. That’s what i’m trying to balance. Career wise I don’t have a next goal, per se, just because i’m so new and I really just want to do a good job. I think eventually I want to teach, I was an adjunct at CUNY, at NYU, I love it. I could actually teach and do this but… not right now because i’m so new. I just love engaging the next generation.
“We want to make sure that we are electing people that look like the district, speak like the district... ”