CROSSING THE LINE | A Busboys and Poets Books Presentation
Date and Time
Jul 8, 2024 6:00 pm
Location
14th & V
2021 14th St NW, Washington, District of Columbia, 20009
Jul 8, 2024 6:00 pm
14th & V
It was family separation and "kids in cages" that drove Sarah Towle to the U.S. southern border. On discovering the many-headed hydra that is the U.S. immigration system--and the heroic determination of those caught under its knee--she could never look away again. CROSSING THE LINE: FINDING AMERICA IN THE BORDERLANDS charts Sarah's journey from outrage to activism to abolition as she exposes, layer by "broken" layer, the global deterrence to detention to deportation complex that is failing everyone--save the profiteers and demagogues who benefit from it.
Deftly weaving together oral storytelling, history, and memoir, Sarah illustrates how the U.S. has led the retreat from post-WWII commitments to protecting human rights. Yet within the web of normalized cruelty, she finds hope and inspiration in the extraordinary acts of ordinary people who prove, every day, there is a better way. By amplifying their voices and celebrating their efforts, Sarah reveals that we can welcome with dignity those most in need of safety and compassion. In unmasking the real root causes of the so-called "crisis" in human migration, she urges us to act before we travel much farther down our current course--one which history will not soon forgive, or forget.
Sarah Towle is joining us on the Busboys stage alongside Rainer Rodriguez, survivor of MPP (Remain in Mexico Program), and Samuel Temple-Cole, survivor of the ICE immigration gulag, to dispel the fear mongering around immigration share more about their experiences with the U.S. immigration system. Copies of the book will be available for purchase during and after the event, and Towle will be signing following the program.
This event is free and open to all. Our program begins at 6:00 pm, and will be followed by an audience Q&A. Copies of CROSSING THE LINE will be available for purchase before and after the event. Please note that this event is in person and will not be livestreamed.
We ask that guests RSVP in order to receive direct updates about the event from Busboys and Poets Books
Sarah Towle is an educator, researcher, and writer; a human rights defender, nature lover, and vocalist. She resides in an ephemeral borderlands, buffeted and buoyed by a diversity of languages, cultures, landscapes, and creeds. She has taught English language literacy, cross-cultural communication and conflict resolution skills, and the writing craft for three decades across four continents in myriad classroom contexts, including under the trees in refugee settings.
An award-winning children’s author, Sarah has earned accolades for her interactive tales for educational tourism. “Crossing the Line: Finding America in the Borderlands” is her debut full-length book.
Sarah is the proud mother of a powerful, confident adult woman. She is grateful to have found her soulmate, who triples as her editor and personal chef. She and her family share a home with their rescue hound, Gryffindog, who keeps everyone laughing and gets Sarah away from her desk and walking every day (when she’s not crossing borders). In addition to getting “Crossing the Line” across the line, Sarah publishes opinions, stories, and audio-tales regularly on Substack: Tales of Humanity. Find her podcast, From the Borderlands, wherever you listen. Learn more about Sarah at sarahtowle.com.
Rainer Rodriguez Pena A dynamic and innovative team leader for St. John's Community Services and the OASIS Program, Washington, DC, Ray has found is passion working with transitional youth to define their place in society and contribute to their communities in a confident way. A former asylum seeker from Cuba, Ray honed his skills as a Spanish-English language translator with Global Response Medicine while trapped in Matamoros, Mexico under the Migrant “Protection” Program. He also played a pivotal role in establishing The Sidewalk School, an NGO focused on educating immigrant children awaiting asylum at the border. Ray achieved official refugee status in the US on January 22, 2020.
Samuel Temple-Cole Currently seeking asylum in the US, Samuel fled the “unseen war” in the Cameroon in 2016 after experiencing persecution first-hand only to face injustices unforetold while a captive of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). A man of deep faith and extraordinary resilience, Sam determined to rebuild his life once out from under ICE’s knee. He now resides in Maryland and is pursuing a profession in the Information Technology sector, while raising awareness about the systemic and normalized lapses in human rights and legal due process commitments within the US Department of Homeland Security agencies that affect seekers of safe haven, like him.
