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Rich Pellegrino: Person of the Year 2007
12/27/2007
He is a white male of European descent,
doesn’t speak Spanish, isn’t married to a Latina, but to an Afro-Caribbean
woman. He wasn’t born in Latin America, but in the capital of the world,
New York City, he is Rich Pellegrino, Atlanta Latino’s Person of the Year
for 2007.
But despite his lack of direct connection with the Latino
community, exactly one year ago, Pellegrino, his wife of 25 years and
their eight children (ages 24, 22, 21, 19, 17, 15, 9, and 6) began what he
calls a “family movement” to help immigrants.
“We are all
immigrants,” Pellegrino frequently says, despite the fact that his parents
were also born in the United States and three of his grandparents were
Italian.
Pellegrino’s “family movement” started last Christmas
when he read the news in local newspapers about the various regulations
that Georgia’s counties were trying to push through to supposedly
counteract the problems being caused by undocumented immigrants.
The final straw was the proposal to prohibit the lease of
apartments to people who were not legal residents or citizens of Cherokee
County.
“That woke me up. We wanted to fight illegal immigration
with illegal unconstitutional laws, when hate and fear have to be healed
with love and welcome,” says Pellegrino, who was out on a street corner in
southern Cobb County with his family the very next day, carrying bilingual
signs that said, “Welcome immigrants. Bienvenidos inmigrantes.”
A
few days later, the Pellegrinos did the same in Cherokee County. The
response was favorable in both cases.
“White and black people
honked and waved,” says Pellegrino. “We did get a few fingers, but the
response was mostly positive.”
That was only the beginning of what
was to be an entire year dedicated to working with people and
organizations that defend the interests of immigrants.
2007 was a
year of intense work that awakened the interest of media outlets like Fox
News, LA Times, the AJC, and more, who found Pellegrino’s story to be far
from conventional: an American defending the rights of immigrants.
MAIN PIECE
Specifically, Pellegrino provided the
spark for the “Labor of Love” campaign, the peaceful event that brought
together hundreds of people in Centennial Olympic Park, where community
leaders distributed pamphlets on their work and invited participants to
place red, white, and blue carnations in a gigantic heart of 7,000 flowers
as a show of goodwill and encourage authorities and the local population
toward dialogue, integration, and working together.
“Rich was the
one who pulled the event together,” says Teodoro Maus, one of the
activists who participated in the event and one of those who nominated
Pellegrino for this award. “He started out by convincing skeptics, and
later coordinated all of the logistical details such as permits, dates,
etc.”
A LIFE OF SERVICE
It’s no coincidence that
Pellegrino has taken such an active role in defending undocumented
individuals, given his lengthy and consistent track record in serving
others.
He has been the founder, director, member, and
collaborator of several non-profit humanitarian organizations, including
crisis and referral centers, community food pantries, homeless and women’s
shelters and resource centers, addiction prevention and treatment clinics,
faith-based initiatives, United Way committees, and more – and immigrant
aid organizations as well, starting this year.
His vast experience
in community service and his countless travels, as well as the six years
he spent in the Caribbean (his wife is originally from St. Vincent) and a
life dedicated to the study of spiritual practices have led him to write
and publish professional and faith-based articles, newspaper columns,
training materials, courses, and booklets.
He has also produced
and hosted faith-based self-help radio and television programs and series.
A SPIRITUAL MISSION
Pellegrino emphasizes that his
intervention in defense of the immigrant is a spiritual mission.
“There are many misconceptions about Latinos and prejudice, but
especially all kinds of fears,” says Pellegrino. “Information helps, but
it doesn’t heal the heart.”
According to Pellegrino, to combat
their own pain, people attack those who are different when they are
perceived as a threat to their dominant position. The same situation has
repeated itself over and over again through history – first with European
immigrants, then with blacks, then with Muslims, and now with Latinos.
However, Pellegrino has not lost hope that the final outcome will
be positive, even though the journey is a difficult one.
“I
believe this will be the quickest time that as a group we hate somebody
and then we forget about it,” says Pellegrino. “The sad thing is that (in
Georgia) it will get worse before it gets better.”
WHAT’S
NEXT
While the situation is still changing, Pellegrino is
preparing to finalize in 2008 two projects he began this past year, and is
continuing his work as a mediator and coordinator of activities aimed at
reducing tensions between Americans and Latinos.
The first project
is the establishment of the Atlanta chapter of Healing Our Nation, a
nationwide organization dedicated to promoting the resolution of disputes
through peaceful dialogue.
The second project is the publication
of The Survival Manual for Latino Immigrants (Manual de Supervivencia para
Inmigrantes Latinos), a booklet that will include an historical timeline
of immigration in the United States and practical information for Hispanic
immigrants.
As a man of faith, Pellegrino feels that his work and
the work of all those who support the cause of immigrants will help people
resolve issues in ways that bring benefits to all.
“I believe the
arrival of Latinos is part of a greater plan of the Higher Power for this
country,” says Pellegrino.
He also says that he is available to
provide an ear or assistance to anyone who needs a hand.
“Please
include my phone number – it’s 678-522-4178 – and my email, which is
pilgrim1@mindspring.com because my last name means ‘pilgrim,’” says
Pellegrino. “I think it’s a cute coincidence.”, he
concludes.