Lunes: Febrero 12. 2007 = Aztlan News Report
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http://vivirlatino.com/2007/02/12/the-kkk-is-back-and-targeting-latinos.php
Monday, February 12, 2007
The KKK is back, and targeting Latinos
17:35 H | Topics: Immigration - Race
As a kid in the South, the Ku Klux Klan was a source of constant fear for me. They looked scary, they acted scary, and my imagination made me believe they were everywhere. Over the years the Klan have pretty much slipped off my own personal radar, and in recent years had become more the stuff of jokes for the media rather than a serious threat. The Klan, it seemed, had pretty much dried up.
A recent report from the Anti-Defamation League is showing a surge in KKK activity and cites that the organization has a new target: Latinos.
"Extremist groups are good at seizing on whatever the hot button is of the day and twisting the message to get new members," Deborah M. Lauter, ADL Civil Rights director, said Monday. "This one seems to be taking hold with more of mainstream America than we'd like to see."
"Klan groups have witnessed a surprising and troubling resurgence by exploiting fears of an immigration explosion, and the debate over immigration has, in turn, helped to fuel an increase in Klan activity, with new groups sprouting in parts of the country that have not seen much activity," Lauter said.
CNN reports that moribund chapters in the South have re-launched and that new groups are cropping up in areas previously without Klan activity, such as Michigan, Iowa and New Jersey. And, overall growth is bounding:
Last May in Alabama, an anti-immigration rally included slogans such as, "Let's get rid of the Mexicans!" according to the document, titled "Ku Klux Klan Rebounds."
"The Klan is increasingly cooperating with other extremist groups and Neo-Nazi groups," Lauter said. "That's a new phenomenon."
Between 2000 and 2005, hate groups mushroomed 33 percent and Klan chapters by 63 percent, according to Mark Potok, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate crimes.
Whether the Klan's message of outright hatred will resonate with non-fringe immigration opponents is anybody's guess, but the fact that recent Klan events focused on targeting Latino immigrants have been "well-attended" is certainly not a good sign.
Via / CNN
Related
Houston Hate Crime Against Latino On Trial (Wednesday, Nov 15 2006)
Latino voters intimidated in California (Thursday, Oct 19 2006)
Jennifer Woodard Maderazo
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http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/newsbyid.asp?id=55596&cat=Politics+News&more=%2Fpolitics%2F
February 12, 2007
Anti-immigration Activists Clash With Pro-immigration Ralliers
LOS ANGELES -- Pro- and anti-immigration activists clashed in a rally in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday and no injuries were reported.
The clash occurred as hundreds of anti-immigration activists rallied to seek a presidential pardon for two U.S. Border Patrol agents convicted of shooting an alleged drug smuggler near the Texican border in Texas.
Police arrested two people. The ralliers marched along Hollywood Boulevard to demand that President George W. Bush pardon the two border agents who happen to be Hispanic. Jose Alonso Compean, 30, and Ignacio Ramos, 35, both of El Paso, Texas.
The pair were convicted of assault with a deadly weapon and other counts in the shooting of Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila, who was allegedly trying to smuggle 750 pounds of marijuana across the border in a van on Feb. 17, 2005, when he was spotted by the agents. As he ran back across the border, he was shot in the buttocks.
No weapon was found at the scene and Aldrete-Davila was not caught at the time. The government granted the suspected drug smuggler immunity to testify against the two agents.
Ramos is serving an 11-year sentence, while Compean was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
As the pro-pardon ralliers attempted to get out their message, pro-immigration activists tried to drown them out with drums and chants, calling the ralliers racists and pigs.
Police tried to keep the two groups apart, but couldn't stop some pushing and shoving.
It was not immediately known who was arrested and which side of the issue they were on, said Hollywood Police Officer James Jensen.
Organizers of the march said they took to the streets to raise "awareness that this is an issue that everyone should be behind."
"Today was not about illegal immigration, it was about justice for not only the officers but the families who came here to participate," said organizer David Hernandez.
"Because illegal immigration is such a volatile issue here in Los Angeles, this has become a real rallying point," he said, adding that "These are people that are really out there marching for fairness, justice and the rule of law."
Source: Copyright 2007 XINHUA NEWS AGENCY.
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http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_5211923
Article Launched: 02/12/2007 12:08:05 PM MST
County to continue its part in Op Linebacker (12:13 p.m.)
By Erica Molina Johnson / El Paso Times
EL PASO, Texas ~ In June of 2006, Montana Vista residents Luisa Carrillo, left, and Rosa Perez held a sign voicing their opposition to El Paso County Sheriff Leo Samaniego's efforts in conducting the Operation Linebacker program in the county. County Commissioners Court today failed to approve a resolution that would have ended the county's participation in Operation Linebacker. (Times file photo)Opponents of the controversial Operation Linebacker law enforcement program nearly got their way at County Commissioners Court today when a motion for the county to continue its participation in the program initially failed.
A motion to allow County Judge Anthony Cobos to sign a resolution related to Operation Linebacker failed by a vote of 3-2 which would have meant the county's participation in the program would essentially be over.
Commissioners Sarinana, Veronica Escobar and Miguel Teran voted no. Then Sarinana asked the court to reconsider the item. He then voted yes with Cobos and Dan Haggerty which allowed the resolution to pass.
The vote allowed Cobos to sign a resolution which was already on file with official agencies and had former County Judge Dolores Briones' signature. Cobos' signature was required to move the grant forward.
"We almost had it," said Fernando Garcia, executive director for Border Network for Human Rights which opposes the program.
El Paso County Sheriff Leo Samaniego was pleased with the final
vote.
"Outstanding," he said. "I'm proud of Commissioner Sarinana. He saw what could have happened."
Samaniego said ending participation in the program would have jeopardized future funding requests.
In September 2005, Samaniego and other border sheriffs launched Operation Linebacker, a controversial initiative to beef up police presence on the border and control crime.
But the number of crimes in El Paso County has not declined -- it increased slightly -- statistics from the El Paso County Sheriff's Office showed.
Total reported crimes increased by 3.74 percent. Violent crimes, which are homicides, rapes, assaults and robberies, remained stable, while property crimes, such as burglaries, arson, theft and vehicle thefts increased by almost 8 percent between September 2005 and September 2006, compared with statistics from September 2004 to September 2005.
The figures were obtained by the El Paso Times through the Freedom of Information Act.
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http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/021307dntexdropouts.77f806f4.html
06:10 PM CST on Monday, February 12, 2007
Study reports high cost of high school dropouts in Texas
Associated Press
AUSTIN, Texas - This year's class of high school dropouts in Texas will cost state taxpayers $377 million each year over the course of their lifetimes, according to a study released Monday by several think tanks that support state-funded private school vouchers.
"This research brings into sharp focus the disastrous results of not embracing bold steps to reform our public education system," said Rod Paige, former U.S. Secretary of Education. "No society can long prosper under the weight of so many children lost."
The study also found that "a modest school choice program would reduce public school dropout rates and save taxpayers up to $53 million a year in costs associated with dropouts."
Opponents of vouchers were critical of the report.
"This is just the latest excuse for proponents of school choice to go 'This is why we need school choice,"' said Richard Kouri, a lobbyist for the Texas State Teachers Association. "If the argument is 'we need school choice because a school over here doesn't work,' the response should be 'go make the school work,' not 'we're going to surrender on it."'
The study was commissioned by the National Center for Policy Analysis, Hispanic Council for Reform and Educational Options and the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation.
Voucher proposals have routinely been unsuccessful in the Legislature, but proponents have filed voucher legislation to be considered again this year. State leaders have acknowledged that such a proposal is not likely this legislative session because of a lack of support among lawmakers.
The study was based on an estimated 119,000 dropouts every year. Each dropout costs the state $3,168 every year for the rest of their lives because of increased Medicaid costs, incarceration costs and loss of tax revenue, according to the report.
The study concludes that the state spends about as much every year on dropouts after they leave school as it does in state aid to schools when they are in school.
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http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0212BorderFlowers12-ON.html
Feb. 12, 2007 07:36 AM
Customs agents to screen flowers crossing border
Associated Press
TUCSON, Arizona - Customs agents on the Arizona-Mexico border will be on the alert this Valentine's Day for much smaller culprits than drug smugglers.
They'll be looking for tiny pests in flower arrangements, which are screened to keep out insects and diseases that could harm agriculture in the United States.
A news release from Customs and Border Protection officials said chrysanthemums, gladiola and choisya are not allowed in from Mexico.
The agency said airports are the biggest seizure point, led by Miami, and then New York and Los Angeles.
Federal officials say people who want to buy floral arrangements in Mexico should tell their florist not to use the prohibited plant species in their arrangements.
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http://www.sacbee.com/114/story/122244.html
Published 12:00 am PST Monday, February 12, 2007
Immigrants, lawyers face proposed hike in filing fees
By JULIANA BARBASSA - Associated Press Writer
Supporting herself and a 7-year-old son on a preschool teacher's salary in suburban Marin County, one of the nation's priciest housing markets, forces Sveta Nikitina to keep a tight budget.
But there's one expense the Russian immigrant can't control: fees for filing immigration forms.
Already, the cost of applications that allow Nikitina to work and travel in the United States while she waits to become a permanent resident have pushed her careful bookkeeping into the red.
Now, a proposal by the Department of Homeland Security's Citizenship and Immigration Services that's likely to be implemented by summer would increase the filing fees for more than two dozen forms, and could push her plans - and those of many other immigrants - out of reach.
"It was a huge amount of money for me," she said. "I went into overdraft to do it, but what else can I do - throw in the towel, just give up?"
Becoming a U.S. citizen, or even a legal permanent resident, is already expensive. The proposal announced Jan. 31 by federal immigration officials would increase price tags on individual forms by an average of 66 percent.
The $350 Nikitina paid this year to USCIS would go up to $645. She's already filed these forms four times, and has to resubmit them each year while she awaits her "green card" - as the legal permanent residency document is often called.
The law allows some to file for free - members of the military, refugees, asylum seekers, victims of human trafficking among them. But for the vast majority of legal immigrants, the packet of four forms plus the fingerprinting fee needed for one person to become a permanent resident would go from $935 to $1985 under the proposed fee schedule.
"A lot of them are making very difficult choices, between food and bills and rent and these fees, plus whatever they have to pay an attorney," said Susan Bowyer, managing attorney at the International Institute of the East Bay, a nonprofit which gives newcomers cut-rate legal help. "Even with our reduced fees, it would be a real hardship."
The federal agency, mandated by Congress to support its operations with fee money, plans to use the funds to reduce months, and even years of delay in processing certain applications, strengthen its security and fraud investigations teams, and modernize equipment, said agency spokeswoman Sharon Rummery.
"We have an obligation to charge the amount of fees that are going to cover the cost of doing business," Rummery said.
Some of the agency's goals - speeding up processing, putting files online instead of in boxes and clearing the backlog - are also in applicants' interest, she said.
But immigrants and their attorneys are afraid the fee hikes will hurt those who are trying to follow the rules, stalling their immigration process, or delaying their ability to bring over close family members. Many are encouraging those eligible to apply as soon as possible and avoid the higher costs.
"The impact is ... likely to be immediate and profound," said Crystal Williams, of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. "Those who were saving up to apply for citizenship will have to wait longer - perhaps too long to enable them to vote in the 2008 elections."
Advocates also fear some might try to cut costs by trying to navigate the complexities of immigration law without an attorney.
"Immigration law today is a much more dangerous thicket than it was a decade ago," said Williams. "The wrong mistake could not only cause a person to lose his shot at citizenship, it could cost him his green card and his ability to live lawfully in the U.S."
Last year, 730,642 immigrants applied to become U.S. citizens, and 497,005 applied to become permanent residents.
USCIS implemented smaller fee increases in 2004, to account for the additional costs of in-depth background checks required after Sept. 11; and again in 2005, to keep up with inflation.
Other attorneys said the increase is unfair because it asks immigrants who are following the law to pay for enforcement and fraud investigations - costs generated by those who haven't followed procedure.
"It's a targeted tax," said Peter K. Hoffmann, a Boston immigration attorney. "These are services that benefit the whole country, not just immigrants."
Stephen Gaudet, a construction worker and landscape designer from Lynn, Mass., who married a Latvian immigrant three years ago, saved enough to get Hoffmann's help in applying for his wife's permanent residency. But a work injury and two shoulder surgeries later, he's on disability insurance and trying to regain the use of his arm. His wife, Simona Gaudet, is holding down two jobs to make ends meet, and their goal of making her an American citizen may have to be postponed indefinitely.
"It's definitely a priority, but for a young couple like us, it boils down to a money issue," he said.
The fee increase proposal is undergoing a public comment and review period, and will probably be implemented in June, immigration officials said. Changes like this may be a tough sell, but they're essential to the agency's increased efficiency, Rummery said.
"We've come very far," she said. "There used to be lines that would go around the block. We don't have that anymore. The money we're asking for is just the money we need."
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http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/nation/16673235.htm
Posted on Sun, Feb. 11, 2007
Pressure to pardon border agents mounts
2 were imprisoned after being convicted of shooting suspected drug smuggler
EUNICE MOSCOSO / Cox News Service
WASHINGTON — Former Border Patrol agents Jose Alonso Compean and Ignacio Ramos have become famous in conservative circles, in a case that shows the power of talk radio and the blogosphere.
The two agents are serving prison sentences after being convicted of shooting a suspected drug smuggler and trying to cover up the incident. Many lawmakers in Washington are asking President Bush to pardon the agents, who they say were convicted wrongly for protecting the border of the United States against criminal intruders.
The agents — Jose Alonso Compean and Ignacio Ramos — were sentenced to 12 and 11 years in prison, respectively.
The calls for an executive pardon and a Congressional investigation intensified this week following reports that Ramos was assaulted in a Mississippi prison.
Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., an ardent critic of illegal immigration who is pondering a run for the White House, spent about an hour with Ramos at the jail on Friday and said Ramos had been severely beaten, with deep bruises along his arm, cuts and bruises on his chest, back and knees.
Ramos told the lawmaker he had been pummeled and kicked by five or six inmates on Saturday in a planned attack while others watched after they saw him on an episode of the television show “America’s Most Wanted.” Ramos did not get medical attention until Monday, the lawmaker added.
“This guy should never be walking around in an orange jumpsuit with handcuffs, he should be home with his family,” Tancredo said shortly after leaving the prison. “This is a horrible travesty.”
Ramos’ attorney, David L. Botsford, said that a motion is pending at the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to get bail for Ramos while he plans an appeal. A similar request was rejected by a district court, said Botsford, a prominent criminal defense attorney in Austin.
The plight of the two Border Patrol officers has become a major cause on conservative talk shows and on Web sites that promote more enforcement against illegal immigration.
The suspected drug smuggler, Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila, had entered the United States illegally in a van that contained more than 700 pounds of marijuana. The prosecution contends Compean shot at him 14 times and Ramos fired once, hitting Aldrete-Davila in the buttocks as he tried to run away. The agents contend Aldrete-Davila appeared to be pointing a gun at them.
Ramos and Compean were convicted a year ago on charges including assault with a deadly weapon and intentionally defacing a crime scene. Aldrete-Davila was given immunity in the case to testify against the agents and has filed a multimillion dollar lawsuit against the U.S. government.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said this week that the agents’ sentences were extreme. In a letter to Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy, she also said that “aggressive prosecution of Border Patrol agents has a chilling effect on their ability to carry out their duties and on the morale of all agents.”
T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council, a union representing Border Patrol agents, said that the conviction and sentencing of Ramos and Compean has devastated agents along the border and that it is “a gross miscarriage of justice.”
U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton of San Antonio has stood by his prosecution.
“In America, law enforcement officers do not get to shoot unarmed suspects who are running away, lie about it to their supervisors and file official reports that are false,” Sutton said in a statement last month.
Several conservative lawmakers have been pushing for Bush to intervene in the case.
Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Calif., chairman of the Immigration Reform Caucus, said in a statement that it is “unconscionable” for the Bush administration “to put the rights of a drug smuggler ahead of the rights of our own Border Patrol agents.”
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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Aztlannet_News/message/27621
Sun Feb 11, 2007 3:03 am
jrodhdztf@hotmail.com
PRD Supports May 1st National Boycott Message #27621
To all Media
The Party of the Democratic Revolution-PRD-CEN, the second largest polical force in Mexico, resolved to endorse "The May 1 Great American Boycott II", convened by the March 25 Coalition and endorsed by 63 national, state and local organizations at the Feb 3-4 National Conference to Organize the May 1, 2007 national boycot which calls for No Work, No Buying, No Selling, No School, No to the War on Immigrants, No to the Iraq War, Full Legalization Now, Moratorium on all Raids & Deportations.
THE PRD DECLARATION STATES:
"For a program to be viable, the participation of both countries is necessary for the design of an immigration agenda administered, supervised, evaluated and guided by the principle of "shared responsibility".
To accomplish this requires the unity of forces, raising our voices and unifing tactics. Addionally to recognize the sacrifice and blood spilled byChicago Martirs and that of the thousands of workers who have struggled for better working conditions and respect to their human rights.
On this basis the Secretariat for Human Rights of the Party of the Democratic Revolution supports the Great American Boycott II on MAY 1st 2007 It is neccessary to march, to take the streets, Es necesario marchar, salir a las calles, tomar las ciudades, boycott american goods. To accomplish this the PRD determines that the participation of all sectors of society of México and the United States. We call on all the Unions of Mexico and the US, all the human rights groups of both countries, the grass roots organizations and the immigrant rtights organizations to participate in this mobilization. The protection of labor and human rights are indispensable to be able to reach and imagine a higher level of living. It is neccessary to create history".
FROM THE FINAL DECLARATION:
LONG LIVE THE CHICAGO MARTIRS!
¡LONG LIVE INTERNATIONAL WORKERS DAY!
¡LONG LIVE THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF MEXICAN WORKERS!
A TODOS LOS MEDIOS DE COMUNICACION
El CEN-PRD-Partido de la Revolucion Democratica, resolvio apoyar el "El Gran Paro Nacional Americano II" convocado por la Coalicion 25 de Marzo de Los Angeles y por la Conferencia Nacional Para Organizar el 1ro de Mayo 2007. El Paro del Dia Internacional del Trabajo 2007 llama a la poblacion de los EE.UU a No Trabajar, No Comprar, No Vender, No Escuela, No a la Guerra al Migrante, No a la Guerra Contra Iraq, por La Legalizacion a los 12 millones de indocumentados, por Un Moratrio Contra Las Redadas y Deportaciones.
El PRD declara:
"Para que un programa sea viable, es necesaria la participación de ambos países en el diseño de una agenda migratoria donde su administración, supervisión y evaluación, sea bajo el principio de responsabilidad compartida.
Para lograrlo, es necesario volver a unir fuerzas, volver a alzar la voz, unificar tácticas. Hacer valer la sangre derramada de los Mártires de Chicago y de los miles de obreros que han peleado por mejores condiciones de laborales, y el respeto a sus derechos humanos.
Por ello, la Secretaria de Derechos Humanos del CEN del PRD, se manifiesta a favor del próximo boicot americano este 1º de Mayo de 2007. Es necesario marchar, salir a las calles, tomar las ciudades, concientizar nuestro consumo de productos. Para lograrlo, el PRD considera fundamental la participación de todos los sectores sociales de México y de Estados Unidos. Llamamos a los sindicatos mexicanos y estadounidenses, a los grupos de derechos humanos de ambos países, a las organizaciones de base y los defensores de políticas de inmigración, a participar en esta movilización. Pues la protección de los derechos laborales y humanos son indispensables para alcanzar a imaginar un nivel de vida mejor. Es necesario hacer historia."
Finaliza la declaracion:
VIVAN LOS MÁRTIRES DE CHICAGO!
¡VIVA EL DIA DE LOS TRABAJADORES!
¡VIVAN LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS DE LOS MIGRANTES MEXICANOS!
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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Aztlannet_News/message/27613
Sat Feb 10, 2007 5:30 am
RR2001RR@aol.com
Patzin: Yolpahtli – Heart Medicine
by Patrisia Gonzales
Column of the Americas (c) Feb. 11, 2006
Patzin (Nahuatl for Respectworthy Medicine): a monthly feature on Indigenous medicine
Nuestro corazon es nuestra medicina. Our heart has medicine. Our antepasados believed our heart was the seat of intelligence. It was our house. What will we let in our casa? In ixtli, in yollotl, it is said in the huehuetlatolli, the old, old word, our original instructions, that a wise person had a heart and a face, specifically eyes and a face, therefore reason and wisdom. The heart in Nahuatl is the root of many words and takes on the meaning of essence and movement. Nahuatl teacher and writer Delfino Hernandez notes that yollotl and ollin, the word for movement, share the same root. To be in balance is to be like ollin, in movement. Historian Yolanda Leyva says yollotl (or yollo), the heart, represents memory.
For me, the heart is the place where Great Spirit resides; we cannot be "heart-dead." The two halves of our heart represent the duality necessary to create movement, life itself. El curandero Apolonario de la gente Maya says it represents the male and feminine energy in all beings. Heart disease is the greatest killer of women. Doña Enriqueta Contreras says that breast cancer is rooted in deep heart break. Many curanderas connect the woes of the heart with its proximity to the breasts and the lungs. Therefore, the heart is often treated with the uterus (the strongest organs in the body), the kidneys (for fear and vitality), and the lungs (where grief resides). According to medical historian Carlos Viesca, in Mesoamerican medicine the heart houses the
animating energy of the teyolÃa, which is hot in nature and provides the heart's vitality and organizes the human experience of imagination, rationality, and thought.
As Leyva notes, the heart is more than a biochemical organ. In fact, the physical is spiritual. "Consciousness was what was given to your heart to understand," Leyva said. Citing the ancient teachings, she says that to know things with your eyes means to know things with reason: "To see clearly and perfectly, I see it, making it reach my eyes."
Science has begun corroborating what our ancestors knew long ago, that intelligence is a balancing of energy between the heart and the brain. Those of us who have been violated by traumas often find that our hearts have shut down. It is hard to appreciate our lives. Or our
hearts get tight like a fist when we are angry. Most of us are so stressed, we think it normal. When we are stressed or angry, it is harder to access our higher levels of thinking. Through grounding our energy in our hearts or the energetic center in the middle of our chest, we are able to access higher levels of the brain, create emotional intelligence and calm our central nervous system.
The greatest prayer is that of appreciation and the prayers answered come from when we truly prayer from our hearts, and not our heads. To center ourselves through our heart is a powerful act that helps shift our focus from stressful problems to the beating muscle in our body and spirit. The Tigua elder Phil says the longest journey we will ever make is from our heart to our head, and back. This is the walk to our heart, our face.
Here is a method to ground your energy in your heart. I have used this for years for myself, in writing-healing circles and with others in their self healing. It is part of what I term yolpahtli (yollo pahtli or heart medicine): First, center your breathing in the middle of your chest. Place your hand there. Breathe, focusing in that area for about a minute. Repeat several times. Keep your eyes closed at first, though later, as you become more comfortable accessing your heart you
can keep your eyes open. Recall a time when you were happy. This will be your healing moment. Re-experience the feeling of joy while breathing from your heart center.
Remedios para el corazon: teas made of magnolia flowers, rosehips, pecan leaves, plus hawthorn will calm and strengthen the heart. Any tea that calms helps with anxiety and hypertension, especially for menopausal women, whose risk of heart disease increases with The Change: té de 7 azares, tila, verbena, passiflora, and motherwort (which calms without sedating.) Eat nopales, chile and amaranth. Also enjoy a cup of traditional Mexican chocolate, which has anti-oxidants and releases endorphins, or the feel-good hormones. Or eat fair-trade cacao or a small piece of dark chocolate.
For more information about the science of the heart, go to
www.heartmath.org
Gonzales can be reached at: Column of the Americas PO BOX 5093 Madison
WI 53705
XColumn@gmail.com 608-238-3161
It is archived at: hometown.aol.com/xcolumn/myhomepage/
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http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA021007.01B.guerra.1b4ce88.html
Web Posted: 02/09/2007 10:34 PM CST
Carlos Guerra: When it comes to Latinos' part, 'The War' is strangely amnesiac
San Antonio Express-News
If World War II was America's "last good war," for U.S. Latinos, it was what first made them visible — if only to a point.
Maggie Rivas-Rodríguez was the Dallas Morning News' border-area reporter in 1991 when she interviewed Pete Tijerina, one of the founders of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
"He said, 'All us old guys in MALDEF, and the GI Forum and LULAC were all World War II veterans,'" she recalls. Follow-up interviews led to her realization that it was the fight against the Axis powers that finally integrated Latinos into the military in significant numbers, and that the GI Bill created a nascent Latino middle class.
"A light bulb went on over my head" about a story yet untold. But scholarly work on this topic was all but nonexistent, and usually limited to "a chapter, or a part of a chapter in a book."
In time, she left reporting.
And by 1999, she had married, started a family and earned a Ph.D. when she joined the faculty of UT's School of Journalism. But "that one big story you just can't get out of your mind" was still untold, she remembers.
While teaching an oral history class, she organized the U.S. Latino & Latina World War II Oral History Project, whose staff and volunteers have now interviewed more than 500 Latino and Latina veterans from many states and Puerto Rico.
Many of their stories are included in "A Legacy Greater than Words," the project's first book. Classroom materials have also been developed.
But their task is still complicated by the lack of basic facts, like how many Latinos served during the war.
"The numbers range from 250,000 all the way to 750,000 (because) the military didn't keep track of Latinos the way they do now," she says. "We see discharge papers that under race sometimes say 'Mexican,' sometimes 'white,' or sometimes they say 'N/A.'"
What is known is that 13 of the hundreds of thousands of Latinos — who served in all the military branches and fought in every battle theater — earned Medals of Honor.
As word of the oral history project has spread, so has the project's backlog of requests — often from family members "who realize the importance of getting it done quickly" — for them to take oral histories of aging World War II veterans.
The project's shoestring staff, volunteers and interviewed veterans have also become regulars at events that focus on the contributions of America's rapidly shrinking "greatest generation."
It was at a meeting in New Orleans' World War II Museum last fall that Rivas learned about "The War," Ken Burns' seven-part epic that will air on PBS in the fall and will be followed by releases of a major book, a soundtrack CD, educational packages and a DVD box set.
"Carmen Contreras Bozak, who was a WAC during World War II, asked if women were (included in the 60-plus interviews) and the producer said that no, (only) women in the home front," Rivas says. Neither has Burns included Native Americans or Latinos in his series.
"'We're not really looking at individuals' ethnic-group experiences, except for Japanese Americans and African Americans because of their experiences,'" one producer told them, suggesting, Rivas says, that "Latinos' experience wasn't rich and unique, and it was."
Rivas also adds that she won't be satisfied if Burns "finds and interviews someone named Garza and inserts it into this thing because it is being billed as a definitive look at World War II in our country.
"We need the Latino perspective included across the board; in that overall picture," she says. "But there is a much bigger, longstanding issue: Why do Latinos continue to be excluded from PBS specials and general history books across the board?"
If you think Burns' and PBS' blind spot is limited to Latino veterans' contributions, however, consider this: "The War" will premiere nationally on Diez y Seis de Septiembre.
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To contact Carlos Guerra, call (210) 250-3545 or e-mail cguerra@express-news.net. His column appears on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
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http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/newsbyid.asp?id=55334&cat=Magazine&more=/magazine/
January/February 2007, HISPANIC BUSINESS Magazine
MAOF Pursuing Funds From Private Sector
Hildy Medina
The Mexican American Opportunity Foundation is looking to use its reach to educate as many low-income families as possible on everything from avoiding junk food to opening a checking account – and it's hoping corporate America will lend a hand.
MAOF, one of the largest Hispanic-serving nonprofits in the country, serves more than 100,000 Californians each year on a $57 million budget derived from state, federal, and county sources. All but 2 percent of the organization's funding comes from government sources.
MAOF President Martin Castro would like to change that.
His goal is to see 25 percent of its budget come from the private sector.
"We're always looking to grow our organization," he says. "Even though we're one of the largest in the nation, we know that any time that you have federal, state, or county grants those grants are not forever."
When founded by Dionicio Morales in 1963, MAOF aimed to empower Mexican Americans by providing much-needed job training to help get better paying jobs. Today, it provides a wide range of human services, including preschool and childcare for 8,000 children each day and programs for the elderly.
The nonprofit has grown in large part due to CalWORKS, a welfare-to-work program. Many families participating in the California program are single mothers with two or more children. Many cannot afford childcare and, as a result, do not have jobs and remain dependent on government assistance.
"(CalWORKS) eliminated a major barrier, which was child care," Mr. Castro says. At the time the program was introduced, MAOF was one of a few nonprofits providing subsidized childcare in Los Angeles County.
"That's where the organization really grew," Mr. Castro says.
Today, the organization has more than 40 facilities in seven counties throughout California.
MAOF is now in a prime position to offer more services and workshops on topics such as nutrition and financial literacy.
"We have a ready-made client base," Mr. Castro says. "We feel that we can expand to offer a wide variety of services that our community needs and the government is not funding."
Hispanics suffer from disproportionately high rates of diabetes, obesity, and high cholesterol, says Mr. Castro, who hopes additional funding will allow the organization to hire more health and financial literacy educators.
"With corporate America we can expand and offer services like financial literacy services and health education and anything else that will empower the community," he said.
The few corporate sponsors the organization has partenered with have made an impact, Mr. Castro says.
HSBC-North America paid for a new computer lab and also underwrote the creation of monthly financial literacy courses that cover everything from basic banking to home ownership. In 2006, Kraft Foods paid for Spanish-language nutrition-based workshops.
In return, the corporate sponsors are allowed to put their logos in the classroom and have programs bear their name.
"We're actually promoting their companies with the communities they serve," Mr. Castro says.
Down the road, he would like to see MAOF leave a bigger footprint and spread out to other states. "It's our vision: To be known as the nation's premier provider of services for Latinos."
Source: HISPANIC BUSINESS Magazine and Hispanicbusiness.com,
Copyright (c) 2006 All Rights Reserved.
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