Banking on Obama with Open Eyes: I'm Voting for the Black Man

Nativo Vigil Lopez
National President, Mexican American Political Association (MAPA)

The American people can now rejoice in one of the greatest blows against racism in its history - the election of President-elect Barack Hussein Obama. This is the culmination of a two-year campaign for the son of an immigrant African father and a white Irish-American mother born and raised in middle America Kansas. Obama qualified the election success as "a defining moment" for America in his victory speech.

No matter your take on his politics - either from the left or right - president-elect Obama will be considered an American epic figure. He has smashed the race barrier and the glass ceiling, and he did it not just with the black vote, but a quilt of votes from all races, national origins, ages, party affiliations, ethnic groups, and ideological inclinations. The vote count bears this out. But the story is also about white America that favored the Democratic candidate by 43%, a higher margin than that received by Senator John Kerry in his 2004 presidential bid. While blacks and Latinos can claim him as "our" president, the reality is that the combined votes of blacks and Latinos would not have been sufficient to sweep him into office. This speaks volumes for white voters who did not allow race to be a factor in their determination to select the new father of our country.

What mattered more to the voters, according to exit polls, was the economy - by a margin of 68%. Interestingly, the issue of immigration did not even rate as an interest of concern to the voters, notwithstanding the hardboiled anti-immigrant campaigning during the primary elections by the Republican Party.

The "Yes We Can" (Si Se Puede) slogan encapsulated the spirit of Americans across the board who wanted change, and fought for it with expressions of hope and reconciliation. It is a slogan taken straight out of the playbook of Cesar Chavez in mounting the movement to organize farmworkers in California during the 1960s. It is a slogan now chanted by Americans across the country to reflect their optimism about creating a different country, about creating change. It is an adamant and defiant chant, repeated by Obama before half-a-million celebrants in Chicago last night, which poses a positive determination of what will come. This is how Cesar presented his case at a different historic juncture.

We have overcome, the words uttered by an African American woman celebrating in Chicago after the announcement of the results, and overheard by a television commentator. This is the past tense of those words declared in a televised speech by President Lyndon Johnson in 1964 when he introduced the Voting Rights Act to the U.S. Congress - we shall overcome - words that he appropriately appropriated from the civil rights movement that demanded and struggled to obtain this legislation. It is said that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. openly wept when he saw and heard President Johnson on television repeat those words. He said that he never thought he would live to see a white man embrace this slogan. But King, like Obama 44 years later, was responsible for bringing together the political and social forces to create the opportunity and the moment.

This election reveals who we are as a people, and reveals this to the world. Does anyone ever remember when people throughout the world celebrated the victory of a U.S. presidential candidate as they did for the Obama victory as if to embrace him as their own president and their own victory? This is what the major media networks have reported.

Spike Lee characterized the moment as historic for the country, and that now we will reference U.S. history as BBO and ABO - Before Barack Obama and After Barack Obama. Doug Wilder, the former first black governor of Virginia, said he was "proud of America, and especially proud of Virginia." Pat Buchanan, an extremely conservative author and television pundit declared, "the Republican Party lost the Reagan Democrats in this election." Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., (D- Illinois), observed, "The genius of the Obama campaign was that he ran as an American who happened to be an African American."

The American electorate has grown as a result of this election cycle - an estimated 133 million people voted, eleven million more than in 2004, 64% of the eligible voters. Blacks increased their share of the electorate to 13%, two percent above their role in 2004. Some other figures help to understand the moment. Blacks voted for Obama by a margin of 95%, Latinos by 66%, and young voters also by 66% - in political parlance this is a super-majority. Latinos brought home the winning of the West by voting more than 2-1 for Obama in California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, New Mexico, and Colorado. The Latino support in Nevada - an important swing state - for the first black president of the nation was 74%. And, the united black and Latino vote in Florida was responsible for carrying this state. This Latino electorate performance smashes forever the racist myth rolled out by many media pundits after the Super Tuesday primaries in February that Latinos would never vote for a black man for president. Latinos proved them wrong - big time.

I'M VOTING FOR THE BLACK MAN

In December 2007, I attended an immigration conference in Houston, Texas. I took a taxicab to return to the airport, and struck up a conversation with the driver, an African American, and it eventually got to the elections. I asked him whom he was supporting for president. Without missing a beat, he responded, "I'm voting for the black man." He added that "the first 43 presidents have been white men, so why not give the black man a chance, he couldn't do any worst." The logic was compelling. One month later the Mexican American Political Association (MAPA), for which I serve as national president, celebrated its endorsement convention and the hundreds of delegates unanimously voted to endorse Senator Barack Obama for president. The organization formed MAPA FOR OBAMA chapters and joined the campaign. The members resolved to cast their lot with our black brothers and sisters and look forward to the "change we need" - the Obama campaign slogan.

Many tears were shed, including my own, at the sheer delight of hearing president-elect Obama pronounce his speech at Grant Park in Chicago. I am proud of my president-elect, proud of white America, proud of the black community who demonstrated leadership, patience, and discipline moving towards this election, and proud of Latinos who showed the world that it is willing to support a candidate for the content of his character and not the color of his skin. The latter was a confirmation of what I have always experienced in life.

Obama's victory speech was somber in my interpretation and he took great pains to lower expectations within the context of expressing optimism, accomplishment, gratitude, and reflecting on the historic moment in reference to Abraham Lincoln and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He staked out a laudatory posture of reconciliation and reaching across the isle in a big way. This is how he intends on governing in a too-fractured America.

Like many other Americans, I too am banking on Obama just as Obama banked on Latinos to win the West. There is probably no issue of great import to the country that could not be considered a Latino issue. Everything in his platform speaks to our needs - the economy, financial markets, a more progressive tax policy, homeownership, ending the war in Iraq, re-building the infrastructure, global warming, the development of alternative energy sources and ending our dependence on fossil fuels, universal healthcare, and certainly, comprehensive immigration reform. We have everything to benefit from this presidency, but it will more likely occur by continued organizing, mobilizing, and being present, and being counted.

We should have no illusions about the speed of change we need and want, or about the ability of president-elect Barack Obama to deliver. There will be great difficulties. President Bush will hand over a basket-case of a country, two wars, a half-a-trillion dollar budget deficit, a doubled national debt of $11 trillion, millions of home foreclosures, one million jobs lost during the last twelve months alone, and a economic recession that will only deepen. These are overarching challenges for any new president. But, these too are our challenges. And, from crisis comes opportunity.

Nativo Lopez Speaks at the 3rd Annual Latino Congreso - Volume 1

3rd Annual National Latino Congreso Begins Today!

The 3rd Annual National Latino Congreso begins today—the last large gathering of Latino leaders before the November elections.

Friday, July 18, 2008
For Immediate Release
Contact: media@wcvi.org

Latino Congreso Gathering to Launch Five Million Dollar Nonpartisan National Voter Effort

Hundreds prepared to dialogue with political leaders during three-day gathering to urge a commitment to drive Latino agenda forward in the next Administration

LOS ANGELES, CA – Bolstered by a recent study conducted by the William C. Velasquez Institute that found more than one million new Latino voters registered to vote during this primary season, convening organizations of the National Latino Congreso will use the third annual gathering to launch a massive voter registration and get-out-the-vote effort geared at adding an additional 1-2 million new Latino voters to the rolls in time to vote in November’s election.

"Latino leaders will use this gathering to organize and fund-raise to launch a massive nonpartisan voter mobilization campaign,” said Antonio Gonzalez, president of Southwest Voter Registration Education Project (SVREP). “Already more than 10 million Latinos are registered to vote in America, and our efforts will help drive that number up to between 11 and 12 million."

More than 1,500 participants are expected to join the series of town-hall meetings where discussions facilitated by nationally-recognized elected officials and experts on will cover voter registration, voter education and mobilization efforts, in addition to traditional issues such as education reform and immigrant rights, and issues of growing concern for Latinos nationwide including public health, urban greening, foreign policy, climate change, social security, and much more.

“The Latino agenda has always been diverse and Latinos comprise 15% of the total U.S. population, but little attention has been paid to this segment of the electorate,” stated Oscar Chacon, executive director of the National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities (NALACC). “We are interested in the well being if this nation as much as anybody else in America but we must ensure that the main candidates, presidential, congressional or otherwise, not only pay lip service to our interest, but deliver once they are elected.”

The Congreso is one of the most diverse and participatory gatherings of Latinos in the United States. Participants come from all walks of life, including grassroots organizations, community leaders, religious institutions, day laborers, environmental activists, student organizations, small businesses, labor representatives, and national elected officials. The working platform will build on the previous two years of work surrounding more than 158 resolutions which will be presented to the presidential candidates and other elected officials and candidates running for congressional, state, and local offices.

“The Voting Rights Act is an important and necessary piece of legislation that continues to protect the voting rights of all voters throughout the United States, in particular those who have historically been denied or limited in their right and access to vote” stated Gina Montoya, Chief Administrative Officer of MALDEF. “Unfortunately, intimidation, disenfranchisement and strategic discrimination of low-income and minority voters continue today. Our community must be prepared to combat the coordinated efforts by those who wish to deny us our vote and voice in the political process this November,” Montoya added.

The Congreso will consist of interactive town hall meetings focusing on national/presidential issues on Day One, and Congressional and State/local issues Day Two. Discussions topics will include: justice for immigrants, war in Iraq, economy, climate change, trade and foreign policy, exclusion, public education, healthcare access and reform, community development, and poverty.

Confirmed speakers include Representatives Xavier Becerra, Assistant to the Speaker of the House of Representatives (CA), Raul Grijalva (AZ), Joe Baca, Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA), Ruben Hinojosa (TX), and Ciro Rodriguez (TX), Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, among others. Presidential Candidates, Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain, have both been invited as guest speakers to the “Latino Vote and the Presidency” fundraising lunch and dinner to be held on Friday, July 18, 2008

The Third Annual National Latino Congreso will be held at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel and the Sheraton Los Angeles Downtown Hotel. All activities are open to the public but registration is required at http://www.latinocongreso.org/. Members of the media wishing to attend the Congreso are requested to register at http://latinocongreso.org/media_registration.

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The National Latino Congreso is a multi-state effort convened by nine national organizations, including Hispanic Federation (HF), League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), Mexican American Political Association (MAPA), National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities (NALACC), National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), National Hispanic Environmental Council (NHEC), Southwest Voter Registration Education Project (SVREP), and William C. Velasquez Institute (WCVI). The Co-convening organizations include Earth Day Network (EDN), Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), and National Alliance of Craftsman Associations (NACA). Southwest Airlines is the official carrier of the National Latino Congreso.

MAPA and Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana Endorse 3rd Annual National Latino Congreso

The Mexican American Political Association (MAPA) and the Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana join the call of other conveners, co-conveners, and endorsers to welcome you to the Third Annual National Latino Congreso. Please look at our website now at http://www.latinocongreso.org/

Since 2006, the National Latino Congreso has brought together Latinos from all walks of life - from grassroots community members to national elected officials - to create a united independent Latino agenda on a variety of issues.

Help us welcome Senator Barack Obama on Friday, July 18, 2008 at the Bonaventure Hotel for dinner, and engage him on the issues that are important to our community. https://latinocongreso.org/registration.php.

Join us in engaging Senator John McCain in a discussion on the war, the environment, immigration reform, the use of torture, global warming, and other issues on Friday, July 18, 2008 at the Bonaventure Hotel for lunch. https://latinocongreso.org/registration.php.

The Congreso first broke new ground in 2006 with delegates from 20 states creating a platform of 70 resolutions. In 2007, delegates from 300 endorsing organizations and individuals from 15 states passed 98 additional resolutions.

The resulting 168 resolutions, created by Congreso delegates from over 500 organizations, encompass traditional issues such as educational reform and immigrant rights as well as issues of growing concern for Latinos nationwide - public health, urban greening, foreign policy, climate change, and much more.

Make no mistake about it - the pressing and urgent task before us collectively is to register to vote millions of new Latino voters, encourage those already registered to get involved in electoral campaigns, and mobilize our collective voter strength in the millions to make use of the vote on Election Day in November.

There is a role for every member of the family. Those too young to vote or those who haven't obtained citizenship status are important players in this campaign. They can make the difference in the mass mobilization of our community to march in the streets and march to the ballot box. This year we must move and act as one united family, and leave no one behind.

We welcome you to join MAPA or Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana and become a delegate or observer as we prepare our multiple delegations to attend and participate in all the town-hall discussions, debates, votes, and exchanges.

Join the many organizations that are conveners, co- conveners, and endorsers to the National Latino Congreso - http://www.latinocongreso.org/.

Willie C. Velasquez Institute * League of United Latin American Citizens * Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund * National Day Labor Organizing Network * Southwest Voter Registration and Education Project * National Alliance of Latin American and Carribean Communities * Hispanic Federation * Mexican American Political Association * Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana * National Hispanic Environmental Council

You and your organization can also become an endorser to the Congreso. Join us today in forging the broadest unity between Latino organizations in the United States.

Si Se Puede,

Nativo V. Lopez
National President

MAPA Joins San Diegans in Opposing Blackwater

STATEMENT

For Immediate Release
June 11, 2008
Contact Person: Nativo V. Lopez, National President (MAPA)
(714) 423-4800

"Today the Mexican American Political Association stands tall with San Diegans in opposing the presence of Blackwater USA (West) in Otay Mesa running along the U.S.-Mexico border. This is the equivalent of privatizing the functions of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement to enforce U.S. immigration laws, not much different from the manner in which our federal government has privatized the Iraq war.

"It is not just the manner in which Blackwater has set up camp in San Diego county to pursue its paramilitary affairs – a complete lack of public scrutiny, environmental review, public hearings, and transparency – but the very essence of this private mercenary operation is anathema to the existence of our democratic institutions. We oppose it on both grounds.

"There is no doubt in my mind that this is exactly why Blackwater, with the connivance of some local government officials, tiptoed secretly into the area, especially considering the successful public outcry of county residents in opposing the company’s previous attempt to build a 800-area training facility in Potrero, California, also near Mexico’s border.

"I would like to publicly congratulate and thank the patriots who are fighting for transparency and accountability, and the unmasking of Blackwater – Jeremy Scahill for his authorship of – Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army, and the local activists for their bravery – Carol Jahnkow, Martin Eder, Raymond Lutz, and Enrique Morones. It is only when good Americans come forward to fight for our democratic institutions that such are sustained and improved upon.

"What is our main objection to the existence of Blackwater in our country? Simply put, impunity. This paramilitary force, sustained by American taxpayers to the tune of multi-million dollar contracts, has operated with complete impunity in Iraq and other countries. The deployment of Blackwater’s forces domestically is a dangerous precedent that could undermine U.S. democracy. In fact, we are already observing that this is the case in San Diego. We concur with Michael Ratner of the Center for Constitutional Rights when he stated that Blackwater’s “actions may not be subject to constitutional limitations that apply to both federal and state officials and employees – including First Amendment and Fourth Amendment rights to be free from illegal searches and seizures. Unlike police officers, they are not trained in protecting constitutional rights.” These kind of paramilitary groups bring to mind Nazi Party brownshirts, functioning as an extrajudicial enforcement mechanism that can and does operate outside the law. The use of these paramilitary groups is an extremely dangerous threat to our rights.”

"When you consider Blackwater’s attempt to build a paramilitary base hugging the U.S.-Mexico border, it is quite apparent that the intention is to privatize border enforcement as this relates to drug interdiction and human smuggling. It is our view that this will only lead to more deaths along the border, a violation of civil, constitutional, and human rights, and greater difficulty on the part of those victimized to seek justice before our judicial system.

"We will continue to support and participate with the growing number of organizations, on both sides of the border, to oppose the presence of Blackwater in our communities. This is one time when the phrase, ‘not in my backyard’ aptly applies."

- Nativo V. Lopez, National President of the Mexican American Political Association

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The Mexican American Political Association, an advocacy organization, was founded in Fresno, California in 1963 and has chapters throughout California. It is dedicated to the constitutional and democratic principles of political freedom and representation for the Mexican, Mexican-American and Latino people in the United States. For more information, visit the MAPA website at http://www.mapa.org/.

Nativo V. Lopez is currently the National President of the Mexican American Political Association (MAPA) and Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana (HML), which requires of him full-time advocacy for the civil, human, labor, and immigrant rights of Mexicans, Mexican Americans, and Latinos throughout the United States. He has dedicated his life to these causes since his years as a high school student where he founded the first student movement organization, United Mexican American Students (UMAS). He was born in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles in 1951 to Mexican American parents, and is of both eighth-generation native U.S. born and immigrant stock. Nativo met the legendary immigrant organizer, leader, and advocate, Humberto “Bert” Corona, in 1971 and worked with him in various capacities for thirty years with the organizations Center for Autonomous Social Action (CASA), Hermandad Mexicana, and MAPA. He was a lead organizer in the 2006 pro-immigrant marches and was part of the creation of the National Alliance for Immigrant’s Rights (NAIR) in Chicago, Illinois. For more information, go to http://nativolopez.blogspot.com/.

MAPA and HML Annouces "Bert Corona Day" to be Observed in Los Angeles

STATEMENT

Thursday, May 29, 2008
For Immediate Release
Contact: Edward Headington
Edward@HeadingtonMedia.com

Cesar Chavez called him his mentor to us when we once met him in La Paz to spend the day and share experiences. He was the modern founder of the immigrants’ rights movement in the United States, and ironically, not enough of the immigrants currently fighting for legal status and respect for their human dignity, and the organizations that advocate for them, know about his life and work. The Los Angeles City Council yesterday declared today, May 29, 2008, Bert Corona Day, and the resolution “urges all residents to celebrate Bert Corona’s life and contributions by engaging in service, events, and actions representative of his legacy on his birthday…,” and that his day “shall be observed as Bert Corona Day in the City of Los Angeles and that the City of Los Angeles honors Bert Corona and his life, work and legacy.”

The resolution was introduced by Councilmembers Richard Alarcon and Jose Huizar, and in this they pay appropriate homage to a person who did so much to not only improve the conditions of life and work of immigrants, but also to increase political representation for Mexican Americans and Latinos. Alarcon and Huizar are the direct beneficiaries of his life’s work, and they acknowledge the same. Both represent districts that are probably amongst the jurisdictions that had the largest number of individuals who qualified for the 1986 amnesty, legalized their status, and seven years later obtained U.S. citizenship status and voted for the first time in their adopted country. Eventually three million previously undocumented migrants would do so. Latino political representation throughout the U.S., especially in the Southwest, would grow exponentially as a result from 1996 forward.

Mario Garcia, the author who collaborated with Bert Corona in the narration of his memoirs asks and answers the question, “Who is Bert Corona?” “To put it simply, Bert Corona is a Mexican-American labor and community activist, whom I have admired for many years. After collaborating on the writing of his life history, I admire him even more. Bert Corona is a Mexican-American whose life and political career correspond to many of the key themes and periods of twentieth-century American history, in particular those of the Mexican-American experience. His life and work embody the changing character of the Mexican-American communities in the United States.” (Memories of Chicano History: The Life and Narrative of Bert Corona, University of California Press, 1994)

Bert Corona was born in 1918 in El Paso, Texas from a family of revolutionaries, literally. The family fled Mexico during the revolution from their native state of Chihuahua like so many hundreds of thousands of other immigrants and refugees. Corona’s father had served as a military officer under General Francisco Pancho Villa, and was ultimately assassinated, as was the great revolutionary caudillo Villa. Garcia defines Corona’s generation as follows, “Having grown up along the border as the child of Mexican immigrants, Corona represented by the 1930s a new generation of Mexican-Americans who had been born or raised in the United States and who began to distinguish themselves from their immigrant roots. They were still mexicanos, but they were also American citizens. According to Garcia, Corona’s generation “became aware of an identity that resembled what W.E.B. DuBois referred to as the “double consciousness” of black Americans: the consciousness both of being black and of being American.” He refers to the Mexican-American Generation at that “which came of political age between the 1930s and the 1950s, “ and in particular, “Corona joined in the renewed struggles for social justice and first-class citizenship identified with this political generation.”

Corona’s life extended from his two years education at the University of Southern California (USC) on a basketball scholarship, the International Longshore and Warehousemen Union (ILGWU) where he served as an organizer and union officer, an enlisted soldier-paratrooper in the U.S. Army, and activist and founder of many organizations, some of which include the Mexican American Youth Movement (MAM) in the 1930s, the National Congress of Spanish-speaking Peoples (1930s), Community Service Organization (1940s), the Asociacion Nacional Mexico-Americana (ANMA) in the 1950s, the Mexican American Political Association (MAPA) in the 1960s, the Center of Autonomous Social Action (C.A.S.A.) in the 1970s, and the Hermandad Mexicana Nacional in the 1980s forward. He participated in the founding of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) and the National Council of La Raza, and many other organizations and coalitions.

Corona was born on the same day as President John F. Kennedy, but one year later, and died on January 15, 2001, the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – a curious historical coincidence.

He lived and worked long enough to realize many dreams, goals, and accomplishments, and observe, while directly participating in, the greatest spike of political representation for Latinos throughout the U.S.

Today we commemorate what would have been Corona’s 90th birthday and thank the Los Angeles City Council for their thoughtfulness in unanimously approving the Bert Corona Day resolution, and especially the initiative taken by Councilmembers Alarcon and Huizar. He along with Soledad Alatorre, Socorro Jimenez, Isabel “Chavela” Rodriguez, Rose Chernin, Humberto Camacho, and many other activists and leaders of that early period, were the founders of the modern immigrants’ rights movement, launched the first KNOW YOUR RIGHTS campaigns, organized mass mobilizations against invasive immigration raids and unjust deportations, fought to pressure the labor movement to eliminate all barriers to union organization of undocumented immigrants, publicly criticized Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, and the UFW to correct their position on the immigration question, and formed some of the first national coalitions to demand legalization and humane federal immigration reform.

Having worked with Bert Corona for more than a quarter of a century in both CASA and Hermandad Mexicana Nacional, I can say unequivocally that he would have graciously accepted the accolade, but would have firmly advocated for immigration reform on a municipal level – things that local elected officials (even those who authored the resolution) can immediately do without deferring to the U.S. Congress or waiting for “comprehensive” immigration reform at the federal level.

He would have spoken forcefully in favor of stopping the impounding of vehicles by police authorities due to the lack of a driver’s license. He would have proposed a municipal I.D. for anyone desiring one as a minimal and fair protection option to the state’s racist policy of denying a state I.D. and driver’s license to undocumented migrants – not dissimilar to the leadership demonstrated by the city of San Francisco. Corona would have insisted on strengthening Special Order 40, which in fact was enacted based on his personal advocacy with the Los Angeles Police Department in 1979. And, he certainly would have demanded much from those to whom much is given, the mayor and city council, to make the city of the angels much more immigrant and refugee friendly, a sanctuary as declared under Mayor Tom Bradley, an ICE-raid free environment, and recognize that the questions of affordable housing, access to universal healthcare, expansion of reasonably priced public transportation, and a fair wage for all workers in all industries are most definitely within the scope of municipal jurisdiction, and also intricately related to the question of fair and humane immigration polices and practices.

- Nativo V. Lopez, National President of Mexican American Political Association (MAPA) and Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana (HML)

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Nativo V. Lopez is currently the National President of the Mexican American Political Association (MAPA) and Hermandad Mexicana Latinomamericana (HML), which requires of him full-time advocacy for the civil, human, labor, and immigrant rights of Mexicans, Mexican Americans, and Latinos throughout the United States. He has dedicated his life to these causes since his years as a high school student where he founded the first student movement organization, United Mexican American Students (UMAS). He was born in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles in 1951 to Mexican American parents, and is of both eighth-generation native U.S. born and immigrant stock. Nativo met the legendary immigrant organizer, leader, and advocate, Humberto “Bert” Corona, in 1971 and worked with him in various capacities for thirty years with the organizations Center for Autonomous Social Action (CASA), Hermandad Mexicana, and MAPA. He was a lead organizer in the 2006 pro-immigrant marches and was part of the creation of the National Alliance for Immigrant’s Rights (NAIR) in Chicago, Illinois. For more information, go to www.nativolopez.blogspot.com/.

The Mexican American Political Association, an advocacy organization, was founded in Fresno, California in 1963 and has chapters throughout California. It is dedicated to the constitutional and democratic principles of political freedom and representation for the Mexican, Mexican-American and Latino people in the United States. For more information, visit the MAPA website at http://www.mapa.org/.

Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana (National Mexican Latin American Brotherhood), an advocacy organization for immigrants, was created in 1951 to achieve the development and integration of Latino immigrants that live in the United States. It is dedicated to improving economic and social opportunities of immigrants and their families, and maintains that a better future for children is an inalienable right. For more information, visit the HML website at http://www.hermandadmexicana.org/.

Latino Community Activists Rally Their Support for Mark Ridley-Thomas

ADVISORY

Monday, May 26, 2008
For Immediate Release

Los Angeles, CA –The Mexican American Political Association (MAPA) has endorsed state Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas in his race for Los Angeles County Supevisor. On Tuesday, May 27, 2008 in front of Chesterfield Square (1319 East 41st St. Los Angeles, CA 90011) at 10 a.m. over 30 Latino activists and community leaders will announce their support for Mark Ridley Thomas. The Latino activists are supporting Mark Ridley-Thomas because of his commitment to improving conditions for Latinos and working people.

With over 95,000 Latino registered voters, Latino voters will have a critical impact on the outcome of this election. “In every election Latinos are becoming an important factor in the outcome. We want to make sure Latinos know who Mark Ridley-Thomas is, what he stands for, and why Latinos must support him,” says immigrant right leader Angelica Salas.

Latino community activists working on issues of immigration, education, foster care, juvenile justice, gang intervention, transportation and housing are coming together to demonstrate their support for Mark Ridley -Thomas.

Latino grassroots leaders are calling on the Latino community to join in the efforts to get out the vote, and to vote for Mark Ridley Thomas on June 3rd. Civil Rights leader Nativo Lopez says, “This election is one of the most important elections affecting Latinos. The winner will have decisive influence over county programs serving Latinos such as health care, foster care, criminal justice, and transportation. We must not stay silent.”

Participating Leaders*: Angelica Salas, CHIRLA, Nativo Lopez, Mexican American Political Associaton, Marvin Andrade, ArturoYbarra, Watts Century Latino (Organizations for Identification Purposes Only)

Media Visuals: 30 people, banners, signs, speakers

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Nativo V. Lopez is currently the National President of the Mexican American Political Association (MAPA) and Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana (HML), which requires of him full-time advocacy for the civil, human, labor, and immigrant rights of Mexicans, Mexican Americans, and Latinos throughout the United States. He has dedicated his life to these causes since his years as a high school student where he founded the first student movement organization, United Mexican American Students (UMAS). He was born in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles in 1951 to Mexican American parents, and is of both eighth-generation native U.S. born and immigrant stock. Nativo met the legendary immigrant organizer, leader, and advocate, Humberto “Bert” Corona, in 1971 and worked with him in various capacities for thirty years with the organizations Center for Autonomous Social Action (CASA), Hermandad Mexicana, and MAPA. He was a lead organizer in the 2006 pro-immigrant marches and was part of the creation of the National Alliance for Immigrant’s Rights (NAIR) in Chicago, Illinois. For more information, go to http://nativolopez.blogspot.com/.

The Mexican American Political Association, an advocacy organization, was founded in Fresno, California in 1963 and has chapters throughout California. It is dedicated to the constitutional and democratic principles of political freedom and representation for the Mexican, Mexican-American and Latino people in the United States. For more information, visit the MAPA website at http://www.mapa.org/.

Isabel "Chavela" Rodriguez Presente!

IN MEMORIAM

Friday, May 23, 2008
For Immediate Release

On behalf of the Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana, the Mexican American Political Association, my personal and extended family, Soledad Alatorre, Maria Rosa Ibarra, and myself - all who personally knew and loved Isabel "Chavela" Rodriguez, I would like to extend my deepest condolences, love, and respect to the Rodriguez family for your (our) loss with the passing of one of the immigrants rights movement's matriarchs.

While deeply saddened by today's notice, I celebrate with so many others the recognition that she was a witness to the massive outpouring of protest and mega-mass mobilizations in favor of the rights of immigrants and workers over the past three years, a crowning moment and culmination of so many of her own years of participation, and by extension those of her own progeny, in the struggle for dignity and humane treatment of all people.

She was ever the strong hand, stern look, sly smile, hearty laugh, and comforting pillar of strength that conveyed encouragement and feminist courage, when feminism was not in vogue, to a movement still too dominated over the years, especially the early ones, by male leadership. She was a pioneer along with Bert Corona, Soledad Alatorre, Socorro Jimenez, Rose Chernin, Humberto Camacho, and so many other early leaders of the movement, the modern era immigrants’ rights movement, to stand up to the repression, raids, deportations, LAPD and Sheriffs’ cooperation with the INS (now ICE), police brutality, fraudulent practices of notorious notaries public, and who courageously demanded visas and dignity for all (before the term legalization or amnesty was invented).

There was not a major movement or event of political significance in Los Angeles from the 1960s through the 1990s that she did not participate in – from Casa Carnalismo (1960s), the Chicano Moratorium (1970s), the Dixon-Arnett anti-immigrant employer sanctions marches and KNOW YOUR RIGHTS education campaigns led by the Center for Autonomous Social Action – C.A.S.A., for which she served as board treasurer (1970s), Jesse Jackson’s presidential bids and the Rainbow Coalition (1980s), the approval of the Immigration and Refugee Control Act (1980s), the movement to defeat Prop. 187 and other anti-immigrant measures (1990s) and the massive push for U.S. citizenship status by the amnesty applicants (1990s).

You could always count on a warm meal and even a place to sleep at Chavela's home, and a good regañada if you behaved improperly. A serious stare and a word or two were enough for you to get the message. She was ever the referee during the many, but many sharp debates about the issues of the day, and the conciliator of hardened views and sides. I was privileged to have lived in Chavela’s household for almost two years during my late twenties, taken in if you will by the Rodriguez family, and appreciated the great respect she enjoyed from her grown children and the growing number of grandchildren. I felt right at home as with my own mother, and brothers and sisters. My marriage in Mexico at that time was blessed by her presence, and my family felt honored that she made the trip and enjoyed her company.

Isabel Rodriguez will be sorely missed. She lived a long and fruitful life, and bore the movement her share of committed activists. Their (our) continued tireless participation in today’s struggles will be her living legacy to our people’s posterity.

Nativo Vigil Lopez, National President, MAPA and Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana

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Nativo V. Lopez is currently the National President of the Mexican American Political Association (MAPA) and Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana (HML), which requires of him full-time advocacy for the civil, human, labor, and immigrant rights of Mexicans, Mexican Americans, and Latinos throughout the United States. He has dedicated his life to these causes since his years as a high school student where he founded the first student movement organization, United Mexican American Students (UMAS). He was born in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles in 1951 to Mexican American parents, and is of both eighth-generation native U.S. born and immigrant stock. Nativo met the legendary immigrant organizer, leader, and advocate, Humberto “Bert” Corona, in 1971 and worked with him in various capacities for thirty years with the organizations Center for Autonomous Social Action (CASA), Hermandad Mexicana, and MAPA. He was a lead organizer in the 2006 pro-immigrant marches and was part of the creation of the National Alliance for Immigrant’s Rights (NAIR) in Chicago, Illinois. For more information, go to http://nativolopez.blogspot.com/.

The Mexican American Political Association, an advocacy organization, was founded in Fresno, California in 1963 and has chapters throughout California. It is dedicated to the constitutional and democratic principles of political freedom and representation for the Mexican, Mexican-American and Latino people in the United States. For more information, visit the MAPA website at http://www.mapa.org/.

Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana (National Mexican Latin American Brotherhood), an advocacy organization for immigrants, was created in 1951 to achieve the development and integration of Latino immigrants that live in the United States. It is dedicated to improving economic and social opportunities of immigrants and their families, and maintains that a better future for children is an inalienable right. For more information, visit the HML website at http://www.hermandadmexicana.org/.

MAPA Endorses Tonia Reyes Uranga

RELEASE

The Mexican American Political Association (MAPA) has endorsed Tonia Reyes Uranga for the State Assembly District 54, which encompasses in whole or part the cities of Long Beach, San Pedro, Wilmington, Palos Verdes, and adjacent areas.

Tonia Reyes Uranga has the longest record of public service on behalf of working people in this district. She currently serves on the Long Beach City Council, 7th Council District.

We are convinced that she has the character and strength to stand up to the special interests in Sacramento who continue to oppose the greening and aggressive pollution reduction and clean-up of the Long Beach and Los Angeles ports. Pollution in the ports, trucks, airports, and the highways is devastating the health and well-being of all residents, but especially the most vulnerable, our children and elders. Tonia Reyes Uranga understands the problem and has the courage to address it.

The looming state budget crisis has given the governor the pretext to seek education and healthcare service cutbacks – to resolve the budget deficit on the backs of working people, the poor, elderly, disabled, immigrants, and children. These are most vital services to our community. Tonia Reyes Uranga has the strength of character to stand up to the governator and demand NO cuts in education and healthcare services.

It is for these reasons that MAPA endorses Tonia Reyes Uranga for State Assembly District 54 and urges you to vote for her on June 3rd, or much before by mail if you vote-by-mail.

Lastly, MAPA also ask you to VOTE NO on Prop. 98, and VOTE YES on Prop. 99. Prop. 98 is an initiative sponsored by landlords and property management companies to eliminate rent control and has been fraudulently presented to the public as an effort to protect private property rights.

On the other hand, Prop. 99 is truly an initiative to prevent government abuse in the use of eminent domain to take private property (homes, for example) for private development, and not necessarily for public use – schools, highways, and others. Prop. 99 is designed to protect the homeowner from government abuse. VOTE YES ON PROP. 99.

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Nativo V. Lopez is currently the National President of the Mexican American Political Association (MAPA) and Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana (HML), which requires of him full-time advocacy for the civil, human, labor, and immigrant rights of Mexicans, Mexican Americans, and Latinos throughout the United States. He has dedicated his life to these causes since his years as a high school student where he founded the first student movement organization, United Mexican American Students (UMAS). He was born in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles in 1951 to Mexican American parents, and is of both eighth-generation native U.S. born and immigrant stock. Nativo met the legendary immigrant organizer, leader, and advocate, Humberto “Bert” Corona, in 1971 and worked with him in various capacities for thirty years with the organizations Center for Autonomous Social Action (CASA), Hermandad Mexicana, and MAPA. He was a lead organizer in the 2006 pro-immigrant marches and was part of the creation of the National Alliance for Immigrant’s Rights (NAIR) in Chicago, Illinois. For more information, go to http://nativolopez.blogspot.com/.

The Mexican American Political Association, an advocacy organization, was founded in Fresno, California in 1963 and has chapters throughout California. It is dedicated to the constitutional and democratic principles of political freedom and representation for the Mexican, Mexican-American and Latino people in the United States. For more information, visit the MAPA website at http://www.mapa.org/.

HML, MAPA and Southwest Voter to Hold 2nd District County Supervisor Candidate Forum

ADVISORY

Thursday, May 15, 2008
For Immediate Release

Los Angeles, CA –The Mexican American Political Association (MAPA) and Hermandad Mexicana Lationamericana (HML) joins Southwest Voter Registration Education Project to host a candidate forum for the 2nd District County Supervisor seat to replace outgoing Supervisor Yvonne Burke. The election is Tuesday, June 3rd.

Who – Latinos and other voters living in the 2nd supervisorial district

What – Candidate Forum with Councilman Bernard Parks and state Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas

When – Saturday, May 17, 2008; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Where – Lennox Middle School, 11033 Buford Avenue, Lennox, CA 90304

Why – This is the only large, predominantly Latino forum of its kind for this important election.

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Nativo V. Lopez is currently the National President of the Mexican American Political Association (MAPA) and Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana (HML), which requires of him full-time advocacy for the civil, human, labor, and immigrant rights of Mexicans, Mexican Americans, and Latinos throughout the United States. He has dedicated his life to these causes since his years as a high school student where he founded the first student movement organization, United Mexican American Students (UMAS). He was born in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles in 1951 to Mexican American parents, and is of both eighth-generation native U.S. born and immigrant stock. Nativo met the legendary immigrant organizer, leader, and advocate, Humberto “Bert” Corona, in 1971 and worked with him in various capacities for thirty years with the organizations Center for Autonomous Social Action (CASA), Hermandad Mexicana, and MAPA. He was a lead organizer in the 2006 pro-immigrant marches and was part of the creation of the National Alliance for Immigrant’s Rights (NAIR) in Chicago, Illinois. For more information, go to http://nativolopez.blogspot.com/.

The Mexican American Political Association, an advocacy organization, was founded in Fresno, California in 1963 and has chapters throughout California. It is dedicated to the constitutional and democratic principles of political freedom and representation for the Mexican, Mexican-American and Latino people in the United States. For more information, visit the MAPA website at http://www.mapa.org/.

Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana (National Mexican Latin American Brotherhood), an advocacy organization for immigrants, was created in 1951 to achieve the development and integration of Latino immigrants that live in the United States. It is dedicated to improving economic and social opportunities of immigrants and their families, and maintains that a better future for children is an inalienable right. For more information, visit the HML website at http://www.hermandadmexicana.org/.

The Southwest Voter Registration Education Project (SVREP) is the nation’s largest and oldest Latin voter participation organization. Its mission is to empower Latinos and other minorities by increasing their participation in the American democratic process. SVREP does this by strengthening the capacity, experience and skills of Latino leaders, networks, and organizations through programs that consistently train, organize, finance, development, expand and mobilize Latino leaders and voters around an agenda that reflects their values. Thus, SVREP's motto: "Su Voto Es Su Voz" (Your Vote is Your Voice). For more information, visit the SVREP website at http://www.svrep.org/.

Solidarity Statement Concerning Guatemalans in Detention after ICE Raid in Postville, Iowa

The following can be attributed to Amalia Anderson, Carlos Ariel, Axel Fuentes, Reginaldo Haslett Marroquín, and Ana Nájera Mendoza.

STATEMENT

For Immediate Release
May 14, 2008

"No one should be subjected to arbitrary arrests, detention or exile". – Article 9, Universal Declaration of Human Rights

“Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedure as are established by law.” – Article 9, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

As Guatemalans (by birth and by family origin) living in the United States we strongly condemn the Postville, Iowa raid--the largest single-site enforcement operation of its kind in the history of the United States. Of the 390 workers reportedly detained, nearly three hundred are from Guatemala.

According to statistics from the United Nations, over 125 million people throughout the world live and work outside their countries of origin. Human migration is a global phenomenon fueled by war, persecution, economic and social inequality, environmental disaster, and poverty. International migration will continue until the underlying causes forcing people from their homelands are eliminated.

As Guatemalans, we are too familiar with Human Rights violations and their lasting effects. During our country’s 36-year long civil war: 200,000 people were killed or disappeared and as many as 1.5 million people were displaced internally or forced to flee the country. U.S. funding and training underwrote the war – leaving the country in shambles and forcing many to leave. Those of us able to publicly sign this letter and our brothers and sisters sitting now in detention centers and unable to sign this letter, came to this country fleeing the effects of the U.S. funded, civil war. As over three hundred Guatemalans now sit in detention in Iowa, we ask you to grieve with us and protest the obvious irony.

According to the U.S. Constitution, all people residing in the United States, regardless of their immigration status, are entitled to due process of law. The United States is committed to principles of democracy and fairness, yet hundreds of people are detained--frequently without access to counsel and without contact from their families. Many are terrified at the possibility of being returned to a home they may no longer know, or where they will be unable to earn a living wage. In the case of Guatemala, we mustn’t forget theadditional challenges of returning to a country devastated by decades of civil war. The U.S. policy of detaining and deporting people does not address these realities.

The recent Postville Raids raises questions about the continued role the United States government plays in the lives of Guatemalans. Unlike the war years, however, we now have the opportunity to ensure that core U.S. values of democracy and fairness prevail! On behalf of our brothers and sisters in detention—we call for transparent, fair and humane treatment in accordance with our U.S. constitutional norms of due process and equal protection. We believe that all human beings in this country have a right to be treated with dignity and respect, even in situations of detention and arrest. Though nothing can undo the destruction caused by the civil war in Guatemala, we are currently presented with an opportunity to stand up and not allow the legacy of our government’s past to continue in the present and the future. Fellow Guatemalans, join us!

For more information and/or to add your name please contact Regi Marroquín at regimarroquin@hotmail.com and Amalia Anderson at amalia1609@gmail.com or 651-269-1781

May Day Op-Ed

Below is an op-ed of mine running in today's Los Angeles Daily News.

Reason we march on May Day

The immigrant vote will reach unstoppable heights in four short years across California's political landscape _ a veritable big-foot electorate, according to a recent study commissioned by the Grantmakers concerned with Immigrants and Refugees.

Fully one-third of California voters by 2012 will be immigrant voters _ naturalized U.S. citizens and permanent residents eligible for citizenship _ and their teenage U.S.-born children. The implications of even greater growth for Los Angeles city and county are abundantly clear. But these numbers can be deceiving if not matched with organized action and political will.

So why do we march this May Day, considering these very promising demographic projections? If history teaches us anything, it clearly demonstrates that numbers alone do not translate into political power. The political muscle necessary to make substantive policy changes favorable to immigrant working families devolves from organization of the numbers exercised repeatedly toward very specific ends. And the oxygen pumping up these muscles is civic education plus experience.

We continue to wage costly battles over too many issues related to the social well-being of our families. The list is long, and much remains as a legacy of the nasty 1990s in California _ denial of driver licenses, higher education, financial aid, health-care access, business and professional licenses, employment authorization. We also struggle against overt forms of state terror, including wanton workplace and neighborhood raids by the Immigration and Ice Enforcement, the arbitrary impounding of vehicles (which constitutes the outright seizure of personal assets), a growing number of police checkpoints in multiple jurisdictions, and the increased cooperation between ICE and local police authorities throughout the country.

The most recent example is the Arizona Legislature's approval of legislation mandating local law enforcement enforce immigration laws. Thankfully, the state's governor vetoed it.

Notwithstanding a decade of political gains and increased electoral representation for Latinos at all levels of government, we have not secured sufficient political strength to curb the aforementioned practices. The prospects of these issues being resolved in favor of immigrants and their children within another presidential term is highly probable, provided the numbers coalesce politically at the ballot box and in the street. It is not simply the vote juxtaposed to street heat. Both tactics are absolutely relevant to any credible social movement for change, although the change is not an iron-clad guarantee.

Take the elected leadership of the city of Los Angeles, for example. It is the embodiment of diversity and liberalism _ the greatest number of Latinos, blacks, Democrats, gays and liberal Jews probably ever in its storied history.

However, the city is not as friendly to immigrants as one might think. Immigrant raids continue to abound, vehicles are regularly impounded, sweat shops are more the norm than the exception, and the poverty index remains high. The city is no longer considered a sanctuary as once touted by Mayor Tom Bradley in the 1980s. More than 94 percent of the private work force is neither represented by a union nor enjoys a collective bargaining agreement, the schools are a laboratory of failure for immigrant youths, and the prevalence of gangs is greater today than a generation ago _ disproportionately concentrated in immigrant neighborhoods. This is why we continue to march.

May 1 is a "shout-out" not just to the adversaries of immigrants' social integration and progress. Its footprint on California's political map will only get bigger. Nevertheless, it is just as much a shout-out internally to the immigrants themselves. The lesson to working people today is that nothing changes without a fight, a struggle and a purposeful movement by collections of people with a common cause. And if they don't pursue their dream in an organized fashion, life goes on as before and they remain objects of history, not subjects. Numbers alone are not enough _ organized action and political will have to be marshaled together.

Nativo V. Lopez is the national president of the Mexican American Political Association and was a lead organizer of the historic immigrant mass marches of 2006. He also blogs about Latino, immigrant and other issues at http//nativolopez.blogspot.com.

Some Thoughts on Hate Speech

I participated in a panel discussion yesterday at Cal State Long Beach called "Hate Speech, Hate Crimes and Far Right Movements." Joining me on the panel were Heidi Beirich of the Southern Poverty Law Center, Randy Blazak, Director of Hate Crimes Research Network, Brian Case of Lamba Legal and Kevin O’Grady of the Anti-Defamation League.

Below are my prepared remarks:

Pope Benedict XVI will be in Washington, D.C. tomorrow and the media is awash in analyzing the church, its demographic present and future, the trajectory of the pope, and the swirling controversy of sexual abuse that has plucked more than $2 billion from the church’s coffers. This is the same pope who was previously responsible for guarding the doctrine of the church and almost single-handedly ban liberation theology and its advocates from the pulpit. And, who would have thought a generation ago that Latinos would constitute a third of the church faithful today, and according to a recent Pew Institute report, nearly half of American Catholics under the age of 40 are Latino, predominantly of Mexican origin. This is like saying that the future of the Catholic Church in the U.S. is premised on the continued existence and growth of the Latino community, particularly the immigrant stock of this community – typically the most fervently loyal and pious.

Why is this of any importance in relation to the theme of today’s panel discussion? Well, it wasn’t too long ago that Catholics were the targets and victims of the same type of hate speech, hate crimes, and the invective of the far right movements across the U.S. landscape. Italian, Irish, Polish, and other southern European immigrants came to our shores, passed through Ellis Island, were greeted by Lady Liberty, and brought with them their religion, their customs, their country ways, their diet and foodstuffs, dress, language, ethic and habits – dropped into the growing cauldron of all other immigrants that comprised the rapidly expanding industrialized base of the still very young United States. The Know-Nothing Party was as much an anti-immigrant far right movement as it was anti-Catholic. It claimed that Catholic immigrants could not be loyal to America, but instead owed their loyalty to a foreign sovereign, the pope who sat on his throne in the Vatican.

Does this sound familiar with today’s speech in relation to the speech about loyalty of the new immigrants in post-9/11 America? Who are the new targets and victims of such speech?

Should we be concerned about the far right movements and groups such as the ill-labeled Minutemen, and all the border vigilante derivative groups? Absolutely. But of greater concern to me is the growing monopolization and concentration of the media in fewer and fewer corporate hands, particularly electronic media – radio and television. These are all licensed entities by our government. That means that we, the public taxpayers, own the public airways, but license them through the Federal Communication Commission to private parties (and few publicly owned stations). This is where the principal propaganda damage is committed against the American people. This is where the most aggressive assault on reason, science, and intelligence occurs in our country.

Similar to the demographic shift occurring in the Catholic Church, this is a national phenomenon in every facet of social life, and I would say that now it cannot be stopped, notwithstanding the construction of the infamous border wall and the projected 20,000 border agents positioned along the Mexican-U.S. international divide, the combined vigilante groups and the anti-immigrant, anti-Mexican, and anti-Latino tirades of Lou Dobbs, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, and other hate speech media hosts and commentators.

This unstoppable tendency was dictated by the restructuring of the U.S. economy beginning in the 1970s and accelerated during the 1990s. This was sped up with the initiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a “free” trade treaty signed between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, which went into effect on January 1, 1994. Something else occurred on that date, which was the immediate and proximate response to this neo-liberal agreement. This was the rise of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation in Chiapas, Mexico, and the broad social movement of indigenous peoples throughout the Western Hemisphere.

Thirteen years later we have palpable evidence of the results. Millions of jobs evaporated from America and three million Mexican farmers and their families were thrown off their lands, and they joined the migrant trail north to unite with millions of other migrant cheap labor demanded by U.S. industries.

In 1988 the U.S. Department of Labor, under President Ronald Reagan, published a report titled ‘Workforce 2000.’ This report predicted the shifts in the U.S. workforce by the year 2000. It predicted the massive colorization and feminization of the workforce, the aging of white workers, the massive influx of immigrants – legal and undocumented – and the growth of less English-speaking and less educated workers. It foretold the serious under-supply of skilled workers, and laborers generally, in different industries and diverse geographical regions of the country.

It warned about a 20 million-worker shortfall by the year 2000. And it made numerous recommendations to address this not too unique American development. Western European countries are experiencing something similar.

Well we are now in 2008 and there is an estimated 12 to 15 million undocumented migrant laborers in the U.S. today. There are two other phenomena that continue to fuel immigration to the U.S. that are rarely if ever acknowledged. One, over the next fifteen years some 70 million workers – the most educated, professionally prepared, and skilled workforce in U.S. history – will voluntarily leave the world of work. This is the so-called baby-boom generation that will retire. It will be extremely difficult to replace them. Second, since 1972, with the Roe vs. Wade decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, approximately 45 million abortions have been performed, and as Pat Buchanan, right-wing author and television pundit, agonized in his most recent book, ‘State of Emergency: Third World Invasion and Conquest of America,’ the advent of the pill (birth control) wreaked havoc on the country’s reproduction and growth.

The fact of the matter is that this has led to a population growth deficit in the U.S., which means that the native-born population is not reproducing itself in sufficient numbers to re-supply the workforce for the continued growth of the economy and sharper competitiveness vis a vis other industrialized nations and the developing competitors, China, India, and Brazil.

At the end of the day, as we like to say - we are here and we are not going anywhere (aqui estamos y no nos vamos).

The economy is becoming more and more dependent on immigrant labor, and this flies in the face of the Dobbsian ugliness espoused nightly on CNN. Irrespective of his rants, over 62 percent of Americans polled, and that includes those who identify themselves as Republicans, support some form of regularization of the undocumented. We are winning!

Immigrant and Civil Rights Orgs Urge Rejection of Zine/Smith Motions

Special Order 40 Press Conference
Monday, April 14, 2008
11 AM @ LAPD Parker Center
150 N. Los Angeles Street, Los Angeles

Contact - Manuel Criollo
323.243.9304

Immigrant and Civil Rights Organizations Urge Mayor Villaraigosa and LA City Council to Reject Councilmember Zine and Smith’s Motion to Dismantle Special Order 40

Los Angeles, CA. The Labor Community Strategy Center, the Mexican American Political Association and Hermandad Mexicana Lationamericana and other civil and immigrant rights organizations will hold a press conference in front of the LAPD headquarters at Parker Center to urge Mayor Villaraigosa and L.A. City Council to strongly reject Councilmember Zine and Smith’s motion to amend Special Order 40.

The “tough on crime” posture of many City leaders is fostering right wing anti-immigrant conservative forces in the region. It’s twisting the tragedy of violence in the streets and advancing policies that will weaken civil liberties and give LAPD carte blanche to racially profile Chicanos, Latinos, immigrants and young people of color.

Mayor Villaraigosa, L.A. City Council and Chief Bratton − Maintain and Expand Special Order 40. Make Los Angeles an Immigrant Sanctuary City! We want to recognize that many city leaders and the leadership of LAPD have been very vocal in their support to sustain Special Order 40, which is an important base line of unity. There is already troubling collaboration between ICE, LAPD, LASD, and the L.A. County District Attorney against suspected immigrant gang members and the communities they live in. While Mayor Villaraigosa’s March 27th letter to ICE concerning the negative impacts of workplace raids is an important statement, we strongly oppose any open ended invitation for ICE to crack down on so-called “immigrant criminals” as suggested by his letter. It has been well documented that during the mass “anti-immigrant crime” sweeps led by ICE in October of 2007, scores of people taken into custody were collateral arrest of immigrants innocent of any offense. We urge an unequivocal and sound rejection to the Zine/Smith motion, to assure all immigrants that they will not be targeted but protected inside the borders of the City of Los Angeles.

We Believe that Black and Brown Unity Must Be Built to Oppose the Growing Criminalization of Racialized Poverty and the Mass Incarceration of Black and Latino Communities – A Root Cause of the Violence in our Communities. We understand and empathize with the family of Jamil Shaw II, all life is precious and any loss of our young people is a tragedy. We believe that this type of violence is rooted in the accepted institutionalized racism, poverty and the growing criminalization that our communities and young people experience daily. One of the main culprits is the ballooning prison system that encourages racial antagonism between Black and Brown youth, as their number swell in segregated prison cells across the state. That tensions is tragically playing out in our streets and neighborhoods. The Zine/Smith amendment of Special Order 40 will unleash a heighten police presence and harassment of whole communities, an experience that both Blacks and Chicanos have known all but to well.

The gang database is the most racially subjective, secretive and punitive tool of local police enforcement. An open ended policy such as the Zine/Smith Motion which claims to target suspected “undocumented” gang members will have negative impacts on heavily populated immigrant and Latino neighborhoods. Policy experts have documented that the criteria local police agencies use to identify so-called gang members is highly subjective and racially driven. For example, in 2003 its been documented that approximately 47% of African American men in Los Angeles County between the age of 21 and 24 had been logged into Los Angeles County gang databases. The worst aspect of this process is its secretiveness – the vast majority of people logged into a gang database have no knowledge of their presence in the database.

We Want a 1,000 More Jobs, 1,000 Less Police! 1,000 More Librarians, 1,000 Less Police! 1,000 More Buses, 1,000 Less Police! From our perspective the growing anti-immigrant climate in the Country is closely related to the prioritization of police expansion and the over reliance on suppression and incarceration. The adaptation of these negative policies by the City of Los Angeles is reflected in the upcoming 2008-2009 budget discussions. We urge Mayor Villaraigosa and the LA City Council to support the reconstruction of the social safety net, help build healthy and environmentally sustainable communities and not to maintain and expand the police force “at any cost.” The real victims of the current prioritization will be Black, Latino and immigrant communities who bear the brunt of the social costs of unemployment, escalating cost of living and dwindling social services, further pushing our people into a vicious cycle of hopelessness, violence and mass incarceration.

HML and MAPA Join Others in Protest against Zine/Smith Amendments to Special Order 40

The Mexican American Political Association (MAPA) and Hermandad Mexicana Lationamericana (HML) supports the Labor Community Strategy Center and other civil and immigrant rights organizations in urging the Mayor of Los Angeles and the City Council to reject the Zine/Smith amendments to Special Order 40. There will be a press conference tomorrow morning (Monday) at 11 a.m. in front of the LAPD headquarters at Parker Center to discuss the issue. I will not be present but below is my statement:

“The ‘tough on crime’ posture of many city leaders is fostering right wing, anti-immigrant forces in the region. It’s twisting the tragedy of violence in the streets and advancing policies that will weaken civil liberties and give the LAPD carte blanche to racially profile Chicanos, Latinos, immigrants and young people of color.

“I join others in calling upon Mayor Villaraigosa, the L.A. City Council and Chief Bratton to not only maintain Special Order 40 as written, but also to expand it. Los Angeles should be made to be a Sanctuary City for immigrants. While Mayor Villaraigosa’s 27 March letter to ICE concerning workplace raids is an important statement, we strongly oppose any open-ended invitation for ICE to crack down on so-called ‘immigrant criminals.’ It has been well documented that during the mass ‘anti-immigrant crime’ sweeps led by ICE last October, scores of people taken into custody were collateral arrests of immigrants innocent of any offense. As such, we collectively urge an unequivocal and sound rejection of the Zine/Smith motion, to assure all immigrants that they will not be targeted but rather protected inside the borders of the City of Los Angeles.”

Bert Corona and the MLK Legacy

(Bert Corona - 1968)

Today's 40th anniversay recognition of the day when a great American hero was prematurely taken from us we reflect on how much has been accomplished in changing America and how much has yet to be accomplished. Brother Corona was how Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. greeted legendary labor, civil and immigrants' rights organizer and pioneer, Bert Corona, when he accompanied Corky Gonzalez and Reies Tijerina, both legendary Chicano civil rights leaders in their own right, when they visited Dr. King in Washington, D.C. in preparation of the Poor People's Campaign in 1968.

As Bert Corona conveyed the story on various occasions to younger confidants over the years, Dr. King worked very hard, in what came to be the final phase of his work, to broaden the composition and the theme of the civil rights movement and evolve it into a true people's movement for economic rights - what he called the common ground and common place to move America forward. Today we refer to this as inclusive organizing, nothing less than forging strategic alliances between constituencies of commonality.

Dr. King had invited Bert Corona, Corky Gonzalez, Reies Tijerina, and other leaders to Washington to discuss how to reach out to Chicanos, Mexican Americans, Hispanos, or as Corky would declaim, "whatever we call ourselves," in his famous poem, "I Am Joaquin," as part of the Poor People's March and what was projected to develop into a sustained campaign to radically change the country. Dr. King was not referring to tactical allies for one march, but contemplating the possibility of a strategic alliance for a prolonged fight of poor and working class whites, blacks, browns, Native Americans, and Asians.

Corona always spoke fondly about that meeting and how Martin Luther King referred to him and the others with respect and in a collaborative spirit. He shared the experience with reverence and always seemed to bow his head slightly and speak in a lower tone. It was evident that Corona was deeply touched by the encounter, but more by the ugly reality that their collaboration was not realized with the assasination of Reverend King.

We share these two articles with you, one, by Jesse Jackson, and the other, by Martin Luther King III, as we reflect on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

__________________________

MLK’s Legacy Is Alive and Well

Jesse Jackson
Op-Ed - New York Daily News
April 3, 2008

Friday, we honor the 40th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s martyrdom. King was a unique dreamer who planted a universal vision in all of our minds; an orator who turned words and sounds into works of art and liberation anthems.

Rev. King dreamed, but more critically he marched; he organized; he acted. He turned the race “conversation” into revolutionary legislation that would strike down centuries of slavery and segregation: the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court Decision; the ‘55 court decision validating the Montgomery Bus Boycott and Rosa Park’s refusal to sit at the back of the bus. From the marching feet in Selma came the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Down the highway to Montgomery came the Voting Rights Act of 1965. And from the Chicago rallies came the 1968 Fair Housing Act, the last of the monumental civil rights legislation that sprang from King.

I had the privilege of working with King on his last journey, launching Operation Breadbasket and taking the movement north to Chicago. His fateful trip to Memphis in April 1968 was to lead onward to the Poor People’s Campaign in Washington. At the Rev. Jim Lawson’s urging, King agreed that the Southern Christian Leadership Conference must connect with the striking sanitation workers fighting for better working conditions and the right to a union.

We arrived in Memphis on April 3 to make plans for a march scheduled for April 8. In his last public address that evening, given at the Mason Temple Church of God in Christ, Rev. King not only rallied supporters for the march, but he noted the importance of “withdrawing economic support” as a means of taking protest to the next level.

“As Jesse Jackson has said, up to now, only the garbage men have been feeling pain; now we must kind of redistribute the pain,” he said.

Quite ominously Rev. King ended by saying, “I’ve looked over, and I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the Promised Land…I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”

Then on April 4, 6:01 p.m., as the shots rang out from across the street from the Lorraine Hotel, King fell to the ground on the balcony.

While much focus is on the metaphorical imagery of the “dream,” the content of King’s journey is found in the focus of his last major project - the Poor People’s Campaign - which King envisioned would be a journey for concrete, measurable racial and economic equality. It would be a new peaceful, nonviolent movement for jobs or an income, comprehensive health care, an end to the war in Vietnam and a transfer of resources to a new war on poverty at home. In essence, establishing a human rights “floor beneath which no American should fall.”

Were he alive today, King would call for an end to the war in Iraq, and to transfer the $1 trillion war expenses to a new war on poverty at home. He would call for enforcement of civil rights and fair housing laws, and comprehensive government assistance to protect homeowners and end the foreclosure crisis. He would press for equal, high quality education and health care for all Americans.

Rev. King would no doubt rejoice in the prospect of the first African-American or woman as President of the democracy he helped to forge, with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton conduits through which a better and more mature America is expressing itself.

Today, King would not let anything or anyone “turn us around.” He’d keep on dreaming and organizing to transform inequality into “Equanomics” - race and economic equality in employment, education, empowerment and entrepreneurship for all Americans. He’d show us courage to face down fear, he’d help us work with love for equality and turn anger to peaceful action. That’s the Rev. King I knew, and the one I wish were here with us today.

Jackson is founder and president of the RainbowPUSH Coalition.

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Speaking Truth to Poverty

Martin Luther King III
Op-Ed - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
April 3, 2008

It has been 40 years since the last sermon my father gave at the National Cathedral in Washington, when he called upon our nation’s leaders to eradicate poverty once and for all, explaining that, “There is nothing new about poverty. What is new is that we now have the techniques and the resources to get rid of poverty. The real question is whether we have the will.”

Today, as our nation continues to be plagued by a poverty that is inexcusable when coupled with record riches amassed by the wealthy, the challenge that consumed my father toward the end of his life has remained comfortably entrenched within the realm of rhetoric and not action.
I therefore call upon all our presidential candidates to take a vow that, within the first 100 days in office as commander in chief, he or she will appoint a cabinet-level officer whose responsibility will be to make a measurable impact on eradicating poverty and allow more Americans to move up into our middle class.

A poverty cabinet member is necessary today more than ever. Our next president will be taking over a government that faces virtually the exact same poverty rate my father found so appalling back in 1968. The U.S. Census Bureau reports the current poverty rate is just over 12 percent, as it was in 1968, while the number of people living in poverty has grown from 25 million to more than 36 million, including 12 million children. Even worse, a family of four with two children and an annual income of $21,027 is not even considered poor by our government’s reporting standards. Many people have become immune to these statistics, but we cannot wait for another Katrina to truly grasp that America is awash in poverty.

The work of the cabinet officer must transcend the ceremonial. His or her principal focus must be highlighting successful programs working at the local level, developing new, more accurate measurements for poverty, and setting benchmarks for success by which the administration will be judged.

We can look to the leadership of Mayor Michael Bloomberg for developing the Office of Financial Empowerment within the Department of Consumer Affairs of New York City, which utilizes strategic partnerships and innovation to educate, empower and protect low-income New Yorkers. Going far beyond New York’s model, the national poverty office would investigate public policy that could boost income, increase savings, encourage asset building, protect consumers and work to bring about systemic change in the war on poverty. An emphasis would be placed on coordinating with the public, private and civic sectors to develop institution-based and action-oriented solutions while setting measurable benchmarks for success. This isn’t just about speeches. Just as America created a middle class through deliberate action once before, we can take the steps to restore opportunity to all our citizens again.

Finally, the office would develop more accurate measurements for poverty that wouldn’t overlook the family of four barely surviving on $21,000 a year. With real data, the office can generate meaningful reports on the causes and effects of poverty that will raise the profile of poverty as a national issue and highlight successful anti-poverty policies that can be promoted to Congress, the president and the public. In a nation heavily influenced by our market-based principles, we pay attention to what we can count. So it’s time to start counting correctly.

My father spent his life in the trenches of a war that poses a true threat to our peace and security as a nation. He fought the war on poverty with the sanitation workers in Memphis, and he was moved to continue that fight as he witnessed barely clothed children in Marks, Miss., and a mother in Newark, N.J., raising her children in a rat-infested apartment.

Four decades have come and gone, but as I have traveled the country continuing the fight on poverty, I have seen firsthand that the poverty remains the same.

I urge our nation, our citizens, our businesses, our government and our presidential hopefuls to remember my father’s caution in his final sermon: There is no such thing as a conscientious objector in the war on poverty.

Martin Luther King III is an international human rights activist and chairman and CEO of Realizing the Dream Inc.

MAPA and HML Applauds Los Angeles City Council on Immigration Resolution but Calls for Action on Stopping Raids

RELEASE

Tuesday, March 26, 2008
For Immediate Release

MAPA and HML Applauds Los Angeles City Council on Immigration Resolution but Calls for Action on Stopping Raids

MAPA and HML call for immediate action opposing local raids against the work place and neighborhoods: Eliminate impounding of vehicles for no driver’s license; Declare Los Angeles a Sanctuary City; and Issue municipal IDs to any resident desiring one

Los Angeles, CA. The Mexican American Political Association (MAPA) and the Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana (HML) applaud the Mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, and the City Council for approving a council resolution opposing the oppressive SAVE ACT and the general declaration of opposition to enforcement-only measures by the federal government.

“This is a good start but more urgent action is required by city leaders,” declared Nativo V. Lopez, National President of MAPA and HML.

The local elected leadership of Los Angeles can do much more to protect its residents against invasive enforcement action by the Bush administration at both work-places and neighborhoods. In February 2008, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raided the Van Nuys-based computer company Micro Solutions Enterprises and arrested 140 workers and illegally detained dozens of others against their will. This is the type of raids, which target work-places, displace workers, separate families, and create a state of terror in the community.

The increasingly repressive environment created by such wanton enforcement actions requires an opposing environment of protection, sanctuary, and defense for the working families that comprise our community and work-places.

MAPA and HML call upon Los Angeles’ political leadership to take the following steps to demonstrate good faith to the millions of immigrants who have chosen to live, work, pray, and education themselves in this city, and the millions of others who also claim the city of Los Angeles as their home.

1. Demand that the federal government cease and desist from any further work-place and neighborhood ICE raids, an immediate moratorium, until the U.S. Congress approves fair and humane immigration reform; City leaders should convene an urgent meeting with officials of the Department of Homeland Security, the Justice Department, and ICE to demand that no further raids such as that which occurred at Micro Solutions Enterprises recurs in Los Angeles;

2. Immediately approve a new policy to cease the impounding of vehicles simply due to the lack of a driver’s license in accordance with a Ninth Circuit Federal Court decision already very familiar to the City Council and Mayor’s office;

3. Declare the City of Los Angeles a sanctuary city, similarly as was so declared by Mayor Tom Bradley during another period of anti-immigrant hysteria, and during which Mayor Bradley demonstrated extraordinary courage and political will, and therefore, begin to create a welcoming and protective environment to immigrants;

4. Approve a policy to issue municipal I.D.s to any resident desiring or applying for one irrespective of immigration status, income, age, or homelessness circumstance as a humane and fair public policy approach contrary to the efforts by others to criminalize individuals and de-identify them out of existence due to circumstances many times not in their control.

5. Establish an office of immigrant and refugee affairs to address the myriad needs of the immigrant communities of the city from both a policy and program dimension, and approve appropriate staffing considering the billions of dollars of contributions represented by the immigrant work-force, businesses, and investments accrued to the city.

These are elementary first, but urgent, steps that the city’s political leadership must take to demonstrate good faith, will, and commitment to those who have so endowed this great city. These are steps within the jurisdictional domain of our city fathers and mothers – and not so easily deferred to the federal government, or until the federal government takes action, which in most cases becomes the new pretext to do nothing, but issue laudable platitudes or even verbal rebuke.

We are surely living in difficult times, but however any elected official may feel the heavy burden of public service on his or her shoulders, make no mistake that the weight of society’s problems are never as burdensome as those bore by the immigrants, especially those chosen by circumstances and life to be wanting of legal documentation at the moment. These are the least of these my brethren for whom we are called upon to raise our voices in unison and solidarity that really matters – the kind that changes policy and circumstances of life.

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Nativo V. Lopez is currently the National President of the Mexican American Political Association (MAPA) and Hermandad Mexicana Latinomamericana (HML), which requires of him full-time advocacy for the civil, human, labor, and immigrant rights of Mexicans, Mexican Americans, and Latinos throughout the United States. He has dedicated his life to these causes since his years as a high school student where he founded the first student movement organization, United Mexican American Students (UMAS). He was born in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles in 1951 to Mexican American parents, and is of both eighth-generation native U.S. born and immigrant stock. Nativo met the legendary immigrant organizer, leader, and advocate, Humberto “Bert” Corona, in 1971 and worked with him in various capacities for thirty years with the organizations Center for Autonomous Social Action (CASA), Hermandad Mexicana, and MAPA. He was a lead organizer in the 2006 pro-immigrant marches and was part of the creation of the National Alliance for Immigrant’s Rights (NAIR) in Chicago, Illinois. For more information, go to http://nativolopez.blogspot.com/.

The Mexican American Political Association, an advocacy organization, was founded in Fresno, California in 1963 and has chapters throughout California. It is dedicated to the constitutional and democratic principles of political freedom and representation for the Mexican, Mexican-American and Latino people in the United States. For more information, visit the MAPA website at http://www.mapa.org/.

Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana (National Mexican Latin American Brotherhood), an advocacy organization for immigrants, was created in 1951 to achieve the development and integration of Latino immigrants that live in the United States. It is dedicated to improving economic and social opportunities of immigrants and their families, and maintains that a better future for children is an inalienable right. For more information, visit the HML website at http://www.hermandadmexicana.org/.