When I was a kid, I was taught I lived in the best country in the world. As a 1st generation American, this is where my family sought refuge after WWII. They were proud to come to America, the nation that had helped defeat fascism & gave them freedom. 1/7

You see, my family fought their own country in the Italian resistance. My blonde hair/blue-eyed grandfather helped fight Nazis & was captured as a traitor. Placed in camps, he & his brother escaped months later, weak & malnourished, & fled home in bare feet over mountains. 2/7

After they returned to find their small town in Northern Italy in ruins, & many family/friends dead including their mother, my Nonno decided to build a new life with my Nonna. A woodworker & seamstress by trade, they fled Italy to start anew. 3/7

Within a few years they came to America. They were overjoyed. They spoke no English, had no money, & crossed the ocean by boat with my then ~4yr old father. My Nonna was 7ms pregnant, & they had one suitcase for all. After weeks of rough waters, they made it to America. 4/7

My family started fresh in NH, & they couldn’t have been more proud to become American. They learned the language, saved money for a house, & worked in the church & community. My whole life they taught me to give back to the country that had given them a better life. 5/7

My grandparents have long passed, but if they could see America today they‘d be horrified. To them, America was a beacon of hope fighting fascism. It gave them a new life. Today, it saddens me to know it is starting to look too much like what they fought against. 6/7

My family is why I am unafraid to fight for the integrity of our democracy. As the granddaughter of immigrants who fought against fascism, their legacy now falls on me — resistance is in my blood. I wholly reject the Trump administration, in their honor. Why do you #resist? 7/7

P.S. Below is a photo of my Nonna and Nonno when they were still alive at a local Italian restaurant.