Over 200 Northwestern students, Evanston community members and Kat Abughazaleh, a leading Democratic candidate in the race to represent Illinois’ 9th Congressional District, gathered at a benefit concert Friday night fundraising for legal aid for immigrants.
The concert, hosted at Double Clutch Brewing Company, was organized by Local Mojo NU, which promotes student and local artists on college campuses; Alianza, NU’s Latine student alliance; and campus organizers for Abughazaleh’s congressional campaign. Organizers donated proceeds to the National Immigrant Justice Center, which provides legal aid and services for immigrant communities.
The concert raised over $3,300 for the NIJC, according to organizers.
“It’s easy to feel really powerless right now with what’s going on with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), and I think one way that you can engage in that is registering to vote and doing your civic duty,” said Weinberg sophomore and former Daily staffer Abby Kelso, a Cats for Kat campus fellow. “There are organizations that are doing work on the ground, and so we just wanted to provide an avenue for Northwestern students to support that work.”
Abughazaleh attended the concert, where she spoke with students individually and on stage. She encouraged attendees to register to vote for the March 17 primary election, just over a week away.
She also emphasized the importance of the youth vote, adding that young people are “purposely omitted” from the political arena “by those in power.”
“Being able to be involved in the conversation and involved in decisions that will change your life, I think, means a lot to people. I know it means a lot to me,” Abughazaleh told The Daily. “I’m really glad that we are able to reach out through so many different means — some conventional, some very unconventional, but all of them inclusive.”
(Emily Dissanayake/The Daily Northwestern)
Abughazaleh left the concert early to go to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Broadview, Illinois, following the detainment of U.S. citizen Sundas “Sunny” Naqvi, a Skokie resident who was born in Evanston. Naqvi was reportedly taken by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at O’Hare International Airport.
Following Naqvi’s release Saturday, Abughazaleh attended a news conference with other community leaders outside the facility Sunday afternoon.
Right before leaving Friday’s concert, she urged attendees to donate, adding it was “more important than ever” to help immigrant-rights organizations “get the money they need.”
“We are heading out there, we are not leaving until she’s released,” Abughazaleh said. “But this is f–cked up, and these people need help.”
Student DJ FatDog Slim and bands Rain Check, Inertia and The Mee-Ow Band each performed during the concert, playing both originals and popular covers.
For Inertia drummer Hailey Kim, the concert was a “cool strategy” to bring together a coalition of students advocating for the same cause.
“I especially think this event is really tailored toward young people, because it’s student music, student bands and a show,” Kim said. “I saw Kat going around and introducing herself and kind of talking with people, and it was really nice to see a politician who’s going forward and approaching these communities.”
This wasn’t the first time Abughazaleh reached out directly to Northwestern students. Just a day before, she attended and performed a stand-up routine at the Prattic, an off-campus, student-run comedy club, for “The Woke Mind Virus” show Thursday night.
Max Garon, one of the presidents of Local Mojo, said Friday’s concert was also proof of the importance of the local music community, which he calls “socially conscious.”
“People can really rally around having fun and being together with each other, while also celebrating the people around us and making sure that people are protected,” Garon said. “At the end of the day, that’s what music is about, so it makes sense that it translates to something like this.”
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