Attleboro nonprofit organization's leader attends State of the Union address as Auchincloss guest
ATTLEBORO — The head of a city-based organization that aids recent immigrants was at President Donald Trump’s State of the Union Address in Washington Tuesday night.
Amanda Blount, executive director of The Literacy Center, was the guest of U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Newton, whose 4th Congressional District includes the Attleboro area.
“It was a fascinating experience,” Blount said in a press release following the president’s speech at the U.S. Capitol. “I believe that showing up and participating in our democracy is part of my civic duty as an American, regardless of my political beliefs or which party I support. When we are in the room, we have a voice.”
Blout, speaking in a phone interview after returning from the capital Wednesday afternoon said the invitation to attend, which came from Auchincloss’s office a month ago, was “a huge surprise. I was very honored.”
Blount flew to the capital on Sunday to avoid the weekend blizzard that paralyzed travel on the East Coast. “I went to the Capitol a few hours before the address, and I met with the congressman,” she said. She added that she had an opportunity to tell Auchincloss about activities at The Literacy Center.
Members of Congress are allowed to bring one guest to the annual speech. Blount was seated in the gallery with the guests of other legislators including family members and the head of one of the Chicago businesses that recently successfully sued in the Supreme Court to overturn the president’s sweeping tariffs. “It was a real mixed group up in the gallery,” she said.
It wasn’t all warmth, however. In his nearly two-hour address, The Associated Press reported, Trump revived much of the same language he’s used throughout the past decade about undocumented immigrants, blasting “criminal aliens” and warning of “drug lords, murderers all over our country.”
While Blount was not there to argue, she said, “President Trump’s rhetoric about immigrants in the United States does not align with the facts or data and it certainly does not align with the values of The Literacy Center or my own personal values.”
Established 35 years ago, The Literacy Center helps adults, including many immigrants, learn English so they can get jobs and integrate easily into their communities. Last year, the center supported 800 people from 57 countries. Blount has been executive director since 2018.
“Amanda is an antidote to the cynicism of today’s politics.” Auchincloss said in explaining his choice of Blount as a guest. “She doesn’t point fingers; she extends a helping hand. Every time I meet with her, I leave optimistic. We need more doers and leaders like her.”
“For nearly four decades, The Literacy Center has operated on the fundamental belief that every person deserves the chance to learn and build a better life. Education opens doors,” Blount said in the center’s press release.
Speaking by phone from T.F. Green Airport in Rhode Island Wednesday after her return from Washington, she added, “I think treating people with respect and human dignity should not be a politicized or partisan issue.” Trump, she added, has shown “again and again that that’s not a priority of his.”
In the center’s press release, Blount said, “We all have dreams, for ourselves, for our families, for our futures. To pursue them, we need to feel safe. We need opportunities to learn. And we need to know that we matter. That is the promise at the core of who we are at The Literacy Center.”
By: Tom Reilly
Source: The Sun Chronicle