by worker-correspondent John D.
New Virginia Majority (NVM) held its annual Northern Virginia People’s Congress at an Episcopal Church in Fairfax on the 12th of September, 2026. This event took place one month after a parallel People’s Congress held in Richmond. The purpose of these events is to bring together NVM organizers and the broader community to celebrate the successes of the past year and to foster greater political and cultural unity. To facilitate participation by both Spanish and English speaking community members, Virginia Language Justice Collective provided headsets and live translation for all announcements, speeches, and performances. The NVM Solidarity Commission supplied child care services in the basement of the church.
The Congress began with a speech from a Palestinian flag-clad organizer who recounted recent achievements in political advocacy, such as longer lasting drivers licenses, rent stabilization, and eviction protections. The organizer emphasized the central role of unity and solidarity in making these gains. Speeches were followed by a performance of traditional Latin American dances. One adult led a group of children in flowing blue and white dresses. They arched and flapped the dresses while floating about the church and stomping their sandaled feet. The troupe was joined by another younger child dressed as a fiery, feathered bull who performed as the centerpiece for a final dance. The little bull had to grasp its own horns to keep them head-bound amid a colorful flurry of spinning and dipping! The rest of us clapped to keep rhythm with the dancers.
Congress organizers next directed participants in an exercise to build comradery and consciousness with neighbors at their table, each of which was themed for one of NVM’s advocacy areas: Housing, Education, or Immigration. At a table, neighbors communicated to draw a “Neighborhood Map” that visually articulated primary problems, underlying causes, needed changes, and concrete actions pertaining to their advocacy area. For instance, a table focusing on Immigration discussed the problem of police collaboration with ICE and the need to supply information about constitutional rights to the broader community. These conversations progressed despite a given table hosting monolingual speakers of two different languages and were helped along with the aid of bilingual persons, translation apps, and creative charades. “No entiendo” was a common refrain, but it did not dampen our willingness to cooperate.
Neighborhood maps were followed by a re-enactment of the successful push for passage of Virginia bill SB783. This bill placed restrictions on section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and thereby blocked ICE from deputizing local police (although signed into law by the governor, this bill was subsequently blocked by a federal judge and awaits appeal). Each table offered its preferred tactic to keep up pressure on the General Assembly in the coming session, such as to organize a march, contact representatives, or attend and talk at public hearings. By an individual ballot collected on sticky notes, the Congress voted “call your representatives” to be the most popular tactic and so encouraged all attendees to take at least this action.
As a final exercise, table groups each illustrated one word of a phrase which we then gathered in order at the front of the church: “La estrategia nace de la gente, y la fuerza de la gente mueve la Asemblea” (The strategy is born from the people, and the strength of the people moves the Assembly.) After a group photo with the completed phrase, we chanted the refrain “¡El pueblo unido jamás será vencido!” (The people united will never be divided!) as all returned to their tables. Formal Congress events were concluded by a casual volunteer-prepared lunch of grilled meats, rich rice, salad, and arepas. There was pizza for the children.
NVM continues its work to advance the Housing, Education, and Immigration interests of Virginia’s most vulnerable residents and to build a united Virginia community. Here are some of the ways that you can support NVM and your neighbors in this critical struggle:
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