MEET KELLY CAMACHO

There’s a difference when you RECKON something and when you know something. Like the difference between when you code and when you write. Coding is defined as a language used to program (give instructions to) computers and Reckoning is defined as to think or believe, basically giving instructions to neighbors. When a neighbor says, “I reckon,” I’m full of red, white, and blue ears, with stars on top.  Teachers are responsible for teaching us to write and code. I reckon they are the most important role America has seen, second to parents and awfully close to soldiers.  

Buffalo Girl, Kelly Camacho, SUNY and public-school graduate, a proud Puerto Rican, knows teachers, she’s the daughter of one. Under thirty, full of motivation and life, she currently lends her energy to the New York State United Teachers. Per their website: NYSUT is a federation of more than 1,200 local unions, each representing its own members. We are affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA). We are also part of organized labor – the AFL-CIO – and of Education International, with more than 20 million members worldwide. Kelly is an asset to NYSUT because her passion for helping neighbors understand the power of collective voice is connected to her deeper work of finding hers, shoes on and off, a little country, a little Urbana. Her focus word is “union.”

“Union” has meant a lot of things in America; at one point, it was a pseudonym for what we were fighting for. A word to remind our country during times of great dissent, we in the United States are people united by a national commitment to liberty, best spiced up by state identity. New York’s spice would be something in between everything bagel, sofrito, and curry powder. To a SUNY kid “meet me in the UNION” means energizing food, fun, and friends. This month, we mean all of the above, but specifically the methodology we use as Americans. When we reckon, we might have some ideas, we need some time to talk about them.  Kelly’s energy is what Unions need to keep those conversations going. Kelly’s quote reads: “When people have the same problem, it becomes an issue. I would like to see our local and global communities move from a ‘me’ to a ‘we’ attitude. No matter what issue, if you fail to build solidarity and leaders, you have failed. The success of the movement hinges on our ability to build power in all communities. Our inclusion, protection, and solidarity with women, Black and Brown people, and LGBTQ+ is pivotal. The inclusion of groups for strategy and not solidarity is extractive.”