TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Community members gathered at the Desert Garden Gallery on Tucson's eastside Sunday to create bold T-shirts focusing on issues important to them through a Statement Shirt Workshop hosted by Crafting Resilience.
Regina Dante started Crafting Resilience to bring people together, teach them how to sew, and allow them to show not only their creativity, but also their feelings in a unique way.
"So when we all come together and we work on crafts together, that's really important in community building and we know that we're not alone. Other people feel the same way as us," Dante said.
Every thread, every stitch, every cut, every mark was made carefully and chosen with reason.
Leah Dardis with Queer Girls' Pantry for Kids 85711 expressed her political views based on current events.
"Right now I'm currently doing a statement T-shirt about my deep dark feelings about ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement]. It's an anti-ICE shirt that is not appropriate for the language of the air, but is very appropriate for my feelings about it," said Dardis.
She says she's a second generation Tucsonan and that her mom came to the U.S. from Mexico in 1954, so seeing Mexicans being targeted by ICE hits home for her.
"I have a lot of bad feelings about La Migra, driving while brown, and now with having a white woman being shot and removed from her car for being a protester in the ways that I protest, all I saw was myself," Dardis said. "I saw my spouse, a transgender person being removed the car and being shot — and I have adult children and I said I can't stand by and be silent."
Kristi Noem, Department of Homeland Security Secretary, says in every situation they are doing targeted enforcement.
"If we are on a target and doing an operation, there may be individuals surrounding that criminal that we may be asking who they are and why they're there and having them validate their identity. That's what we've always done and asking people who they are so that we know who's in those surroundings and if they are breaking our federal laws, we will detain them as well until we run that process," Noem said.
Dardis' spouse Alex Bell says she helped her mom study for her citizenship test in 1985. Her mom became a citizen in 1986, but the fear is still there.
"Her entire family might be at risk and me," Bell said.
When asked if coming together in the community like this could create change, Bell responded, "I can only hope."
Dante teaches three free classes each month at various locations and focuses on different types of art and sewing. She gives away tools and materials as well.
To learn more about the classes offered, visit the Instagram page @crafting.resilience.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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Vanessa Gongora is KGUN 9's Westside reporter.. Vanessa fell in love with storytelling by growing up in sports. She was fascinated by how sports reporters go beyond the x's & o's to tell players' stories, and how sports bring people together, inspiring Vanessa to provide the same impact as a journalist. Share your story ideas and important issues with Vanessa by emailing vanessa.gongora@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
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