Category Archives: U.S. Ethnic Relations

The Boy Made of Lightning

Posted on May 16, 2012 | 3 Comments

I voted yesterday and it never fails; whenever I’m about to press “Cast Ballot” I feel this sense of power. I feel a sense that in this democracy, I do matter. And when turnout is expected to be low, damn right, I feel a lot more powerful.

When I’m voting, various things go through my mind. Like all those who fought on battlegrounds, and especially in the streets, for my right to vote. Along with my parents who instilled in me a love for voting, one name that comes to mind is voting rights activist, the late Willie Velasquez, founder of the Southwest Voter Registration and Education Project.

Velasquez is the subject of a children’s book based on his life and times, expected to be published on September 16, 2012. The interactive children’s book is by a collaboration of authors and artists led by novelist and journalist Barbara Renaud Gonzalez.

The boy made of lightning will be about 25 pages long.  It will include sound, photos, video, original music and local voices. A two-page glossary with links.

As our State Board of Education attempts to minimize the contributions of Latinos, it is becoming more and more important that we create a body of evidence that we existed in the making of Texas and America and that children everywhere be taught reality, rather than some fantasy. And Willie Velasquez’s life is one that should be taught as an example of what one can accomplish and how “one boy sets out to change the world.”

Excerpt:

One day something happened that Willie would never forget.

It had rained again.  That morning, Willie decided he would discover what caused the flooding once and for all.

“Vamonos!”  He told Rudy.  “Adventure!”

The night before, the drums in his head wouldn’t stop.

Why?Where?What?When?   Why?Why?Why?

He just had to know where the flooding began.

His mother let him go.  Once Willie started on something there was no stopping him.  They took some tacos and a rope just in case they found something interesting to bring home.

Excerpt from The boy made of lightning@2012

Of course, the development of this E-book for Ipad doesn’t happen as easily without your support. Visit the website and make a small contribution toward making this book a reality.

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Posted in Chicanos on Screen, Cultura Chicana, DC Ojo, U.S. Ethnic Relations

The Chron Visits Sharpstown

Posted on April 30, 2012 | Comments Off

Chris Moran at the Chron took some time out of his busy City Hall schedule to do this write-up on my new neighborhood–Sharpstown. While Moran reminds us of the various negative things in the area, such as crime and some blight, I cannot but agree with my Council Member Mike Laster.

District J Councilman Mike Laster, a longtime Sharpstown activist and resident, compares his community today to the Heights of 15 years ago and Midtown a decade ago.

There are many components to revitalization, Laster explained. “The first and most important one is changing people’s attitudes about your area.”

Laster and Acquaro point to bricks and blueprints as evidence that Sharpstown is poised for a revival.

I think Sharpstown does suffer from a PR problem, as much as any of the cosmetic problems. And the perceptions, as they come from different people even within the community, are quite different, too. It seems when there is a discussion about Sharpstown, people either skirt the issue or come close to blaming the diversity of the area for the problems, while also trying to appreciate it.

I attended an HD-137 candidate forum this weekend and one of the candidates brought up “the old Sharpstown mall,” now known as PlazAmericas, and how all of the anchor stores are long-gone. The problem is, most shopping centers in the area don’t have anchor stores either; such as those huge shopping centers in what is known as Chinatown. It may be for obvious reasons:  It’s a challenge for anchor stores to locate and market in shopping centers which market to specific groups.

Perhaps a major reconstruction of the area will open a door, as is being done to Chinatown. Some cosmetic improvements have also been done to the PlazaAmericas area. To simply point to the problem is not enough; if you want to improve an area, then you have to work on bringing in investors and businesses, as well as push government to provide the necessary resources–law enforcement, city services, etc.–to help a business community thrive and a community revitalize. I see that commitment from CM Laster and from various leaders who have resided in Sharpstown and have chosen to stay.

Moran points to KIPP and other private schools in the area, including HBU, which will be working on expanding some of their offerings. And those institutions reach a few people; however, the vast majority of students are in public schools and there must be a commitment to improve those–whether in Gulfton, Sharpstown or any of these areas. Good, safe school do not only provide an educational foundation, but they also provide a base for community relations–organizations, cultural events, and community activism. Without investment in the public infrastructure, changing people’s perception will be an even bigger challenge.

Nonetheless, there are various issues in Sharpstown, and these are the same issues that affect most other neighborhoods in Houston–crime, blight, slow progress on economic development, etc. And as various entities partner up to improve the area, there needs to be some sort of cheer squad to pump up the positive aspects of the area:  its diversity–ethnic, cultural, and economic–and even small business opportunities. And it will take the most important part of Sharpstown to get this done–its people.

My neighborhood has a little bit of everything and nothing made me feel more hopeful than driving by a low-income apartment complex which has been improved and seeing its residents hold a community garage sale and car wash to raise money to keep improving their little community. And that’s just one instance of many that can make any Sharpstown resident feel hopeful.

I’m looking forward to Sharpstown’s process of revitalization–the process, not just the end product.

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Posted in City of Houston, Consumer Affairs, Economy, K-12 Education, Mayor Parker, U.S. Ethnic Relations, Your Wallet

Spread the Word: May 1st March!

Posted on April 26, 2012 | Comments Off

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Posted in Count Me!, DC Ojo, DREAM Act, Immigration, La Familia, LatinoVote '12, U.S. Ethnic Relations, Violence Against Latinos

The DC Playing Catch-Up MegaPost

Posted on March 28, 2012 | Comments Off

Note:  It’s been a busy couple of weeks–on the work and on the personal side. But there’s no doubt that it’s a time full of change and excitement. So here’s me playing catch-up commenting on various things.

Work Stuff (Note: I’ve been helping both of these candidates)

The end of last week and the beginning of this week were quite busy. Last week, candidate for 14th Court of Appeals Julia Maldonado held her kick-off fundraiser at the Cadillac Bar. A great crowd launched the campaign, which will be a busy one for Maldonado, whose position represents ten area counties, including Harris.

After a busy weekend attending the Texas Democratic Women’s luncheon and the Victory Fund Brunch, candidate for Congress-District 7 James Cargas held his kick-off fundraiser at Theo’s in Montrose. Hosted by various leaders in the Greek community, Cargas utilized the opportunity to present his stances on various issues, including a call for added research funding for the Texas Medical Center. Cargas is busy this week attending various events for the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association in Washington, DC.

We’re getting close to sixty (60) days until election day, so it’s about time you all start paying attention to the candidates again. Stay connected.

The Kingwood Commies

Yes, that was a club I founded and I must say Mike Sullivan never attended a meeting.  Hold on. The whole commie story is about regulating electric rates in Kingwood? So, the District A member was just meddling in other districts again?

The Big Announcement is Coming!

I think I’ve told enough folks my big announcement already, but I’ll save it for Monday anyway. Needless to say, change is a-coming!

King Street PACtriots?

That’s right. A judge ruled today that the local teabaggin’ voter suppression group, the King Street Patriots is a PAC, not a nonprofit. I mean, c’mon! All of their events feature right-wing Republinuts, their agenda is right up there with the GOPs. They certainly haven’t invited me to speak. [Laugh hysterically.] My friend Anthony was right on:

“The King Street Patriots have been operating as a political entity while blatantly ignoring the laws every other political entity has to abide by,” said Texas Democratic Party spokesman Anthony Gutierrez in a statement. “It is time for this Republican front group to drop the facade, disclose their donors and start operating within the law.”

The Nightmare Act

Republatino Marco Rubio is now doing the bidding for the right-wing on their version of the DREAM Act–without the DREAM. Basically, he wants to provide legalization without actual citizenship–or any benefits of a naturalized citizen. The Republican Party hates Latinos–let’s just tell the truth, Marco. (I wonder if John Culberson has told him to simplify his name to Mark, yet.)

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Posted in Bigots and Liars, TDP Convention 2012, Texas Dems 2012, U.S. Ethnic Relations

Feds Reject Texas Photo ID Law

Posted on March 12, 2012 | Comments Off

The Department of Justice rejected the Texas Republican-created photo ID law, as Hispanic registered voters were more likely than non-Hispanic voters to lack one of the required IDs to vote.

The department on Monday said Texas did not meet its burden under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act and failed to show that the law will not discriminate against minority voters.

Michael Li at Texas Redistricting has a great analysis of the decision and some Q & A on it.

In its letter, DOJ noted that “according to the state’s own data, a registered Hispanic voter is 46.5 percent, and potentially 120 percent, more likely than a non-Hispanic voter to lack … [the required] identification” and that “[e]ven using the data  most favorable to the state … the disparity was statistically important.”

One particular note, also caught by Li, was how the law would effect people of limited means.

An applicant for an election identification certificate will be required to provide two pieces ofsecondary identification, or one piece of secondary identification and two supporting documents.  If a voter does not possess any of these documents, the least expensive option will be to spend $22 on a copy of the voter’s birth certificate.  There is a statistically significant correlation between the Hispanic population percentage of a county and the percentage of a county’s population that lives below the poverty line. The legislature tabled amendments that would have prohibited state agencies from charging for any underlying documents needed to obtain an acceptable form of photographic identification.

Yes, even when amendments were put forth to “lessen the blow,” as I’ve stated it, the Republicans rejected them. The case now goes to a three-judge panel for further consideration, but for now, it is delayed.

This law has nothing to do with voter fraud, as virtually no fraud has been found at polling locations. When as few as 1 million registered voters could be affected, it is quite obvious what the intent of this law is–to suppress the vote of Hispanics, African Americans, the Elderly, and people of limited means. It is about Republicans selectively shredding parts of the the Constitution and decisions on Civil Rights for their own benefit.

Quotes of the Day:

State Senator Jose Rodriguez (D) El Paso

“Today’s decision to block Texas’ voter ID law will ensure that the voices of Hispanic voters across El Paso, West Texas, and our state, will not be ignored as a result of highly partisan attempts to deny them the right to vote. The Department of Justice sent a clear message that it will not tolerate a law which infringes on the constitutional rights of Texas minorities, especially the millions of Hispanics in our state.

“Once again, despite several requests for evidence to the contrary, state leaders were unable to prove that the voter id law would not adversely impact minority voters.  As the Department of Justice’s analysis shows, Hispanic registered voters, in particular, are less likely to have photo identification or the ability to acquire photo identification because of obstacles, such as the lack of transportation.  This is why I voted against passage of the law.

Texas Senator Rodney Ellis (D) Houston

“There are more UFO and Bigfoot sightings than documented cases of voter impersonation,” said Ellis. “After years of testimony and debate, supporters of Texas’ voter ID law still cannot prove their case that voter impersonation is even a minor problem in Texas.  We, unfortunately, have plenty of evidence that it will disenfranchise legal student, elderly, African American and Hispanic voters.  The Department of Justice saw that evidence and made the right decision.”

More to come, I’m sure.

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Posted in Bigots and Liars, Chicano Politics, Houston Dems '12, LatinoVote '12, President 2012, Texas Dems 2012, Texas Lege, U.S. Ethnic Relations

Librotraficantes Launches Trip at Casa Ramirez

Posted on March 12, 2012 | 1 Comment

An energetic crowd turned out to support Tony Diaz and his Librotraficante crew this morning at Casa Ramirez Folk Art Gallery, a popular Heights storefront for culture and literature. The caravan takes with them a payload of contraband books to Arizona while creating various Underground Libraries throughout the Southwest.

The historic weeklong journey includes stops in San Antonio and El Paso, Texas; Mesilla and Albuquerque, N.M., and culminates in Tucson, Ariz., touting a celebration of Quantum Demographics, or multifaceted cultural unity, by highlighting Mexican American, African American and Native American literary works along the route. On St. Patrick’s Day, Saturday, March 17, we’ll host a huge literary celebration of El Batallion San Patricio at 6 p.m., celebrating Irish and Mexican collaboration of the past.

The entire schedule is available online at www.Librotraficante.com.

Librotraficante is part of a response to recent laws in Arizona created to abolish Mexican American Studies programs. In some schools, books have literally been taken out of classrooms and stored away, thus banning them. Librotraficante has collected books and will traffic them into Arizona to ensure books are available to students.

“Arizona made me a Librotraficante,” said organizer and author, Tony Diaz, who has also brought together various banned authors who have donated to this cause.

Participating in Banned Book Bashes and Cultural Caucuses along the route are Sandra Cisneros, who kicked off our fundraising efforts by making a generous donation; Guggenheim Fellow Dagoberto Gilb, whose work recently appeared in the New Yorker and Harperssimultaneously; and best selling author Luis Alberto Urrea, with multiple titles found on the banned book list, was the first to enthusiastically support the project through Twitter.  Other literary giants participating in the Librotraficante Caravan include Rudolfo Anaya, whose seminal novel BLESS ME ULTIMA is banned; Denise Chavez, FACE OF AN ANGEL, who is hosting the caravan in Mesilla, N.M., and who organizes the Annual Border Book Festival; Lalo Alcaraz, creator of the syndicated comic LA CUCARACHA and who coined the phrase “Self Deport”; and Rene Alegria, founder of Boxing Badger Media and www.mamiverse.com, who attended one of the impacted high schools in Tucson.

“Politicians in Arizona have become experts in making humans illegal. We did not do enough to stop that, thus that anti-immigrant legislation spread to other states such as Alabama and Georgia. Now, these same legislators want to make thoughts illegal. If we allow this to happen, these laws, too, will spread. Other branches of ethnic studies will be prohibited, and other states will follow suit,” said Tony Diaz, author and director of Nuestra Palabra, organizer of the Librotraficante Caravan.

For more information and donate to the cause, please visit http://www.librotrafricante.com.

 

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Posted in Cultura Chicana, Higher Education, History Lessons, K-12 Education, LatinoVote '12, Para La Gente, Somos Tejanos, U.S. Ethnic Relations, Wise Latinas

Supremes to Decide Affirmative Action: A Perfect Storm

Posted on February 22, 2012 | Comments Off

It really does look like a perfect storm–well-coordinated and perfectly positioned, time-wise.

The Supremes will take on the issue of Affirmative Action at colleges and universities in the fall–around the time of the elections. It is scary to think that the Supreme Court could have a hand in turning back the clock; however, the attack against diversity is nothing new.

Ever since Dumbocrat AG Dan Morales opened the door to attack through his awful interpretation of Hopwood, the right-wing has been relentless. Any white kid who didn’t get into UT was given the right to blame any brown or black kid for blocking them from attending, it seemed. Forget that ones experiences could make that person a better candidate, or yes, even forget that Texas was becoming a lot more diverse, particularly when it comes to college admissions.

Back to the perfect storm, the Supremes are already taking on some hot topics regarding diversity, so “race” will be in the news from now on as arguments and opinions fly about. What adds to the worry is this:

But there have been changes in the Supreme Court since then. For one thing, Justice Samuel Alito appears more hostile to affirmative action than his predecessor, Sandra Day O’Connor. For another, Justice Elena Kagan, who might be expected to vote with the court’s liberal-leaning justices in support of it, is not taking part in the case.

Kagan’s absence probably is a result of the Justice Department‘s participation in the Texas case in the lower courts at a time when she served as the Obama administration’s solicitor general.

I can already see the responses or excuses, like “we are colorblind,” or “we don’t need it anymore,” or “things are better, you should be happy with that.”

And those are just the nicer ones. Don’t even read the comments in the Chron

Ultimately, this just shows how important elections really are. There is no sense in waiting to see what the decision may be; it’s just time to get out the vote!

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Posted in LatinoVote '12, National Democrats, SCOTUS, TDP Convention 2012, Texas Dems 2012, Texas Lege, U.S. Ethnic Relations

Re-Committing To Voter Registration

Posted on February 13, 2012 | Comments Off

There’s no doubt that 2012 is weighing heavily on our minds. With Republican-led voter suppression efforts becoming law around the country, the intent of these efforts is obvious. It’s what we don’t see that we should be worried about, according to my good friend Stan Merriman, who had this op-ed in the Chron.

The Harris County tax assessor-collector has re-created the equivalent of a regressive poll tax by maximizing the time and travel costs of voting. He forces most voters in Harris County to reapply over and over. He then decides whether to allow a citizen to remain on the registration rolls by a secretive purging operation that, even after the lawsuits by the Democratic Party mentioned in the Jan. 30 article, remains largely obscured from public scrutiny. No increase in the voter rolls for this dynamic and growing community is the result.

The Tax Office suspends or cancels voter registrations based on something like a credit check. The office calls it a live check; it sends personal identification information into a so-called “fusion center” and, from there, to where nobody will say. In any case, the unreliable information returned from various sources is used to disqualify or misdirect voters. This is not subject to audit and barely subject to appeal. You the voter just show up at the polls to discover when it is too late to do anything about it that you are not qualified to vote. Just making a simple change of address is difficult and risks cancellation. Voter registration in Harris County is really a lifetime reregistration process costing millions their right to vote and the county millions of dollars.

Many believe new voter identification rules will suppress turnout, but whatever effect they may have is dwarfed by the huge voter suppression caused by our registration process.

There are solutions.

He goes on to give some simple, common sense solutions, so read the rest of the article.

Meanwhile, a voter group has filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas for some of these practices.

The latest lawsuit filed in the Southern District of Texas courts names Texas Secretary of StateHope Andrade and takes aim at the state’s new mandatory training for all volunteer registrars – in which almost anyone who handles a voter’s application as part of a registration drive has to complete training before he or she can be “deputized” to operate in any Texas county. A spokesman for Andrade refused comment.

Population growth in Texas exceeds most other states, while many voter registration rolls throughout the state remain stagnant. As of January, 12.9 million Texans had registered to vote -up just 2 percent from January 2008.

There’s no doubt that this is all part of a pattern to suppress voting opportunities for Texans across the political spectrum. Through some spies, I’m hearing of other things that may be launched soon to cut folks off the rolls. I’m sure we’ll be hearing more about this in the near to not-so-distant future.

More than ever, voter registration will play a major role in the 2012 elections. It’s time to recommit to ensuring Texans remain on the rolls.

It’s time to “true the democracy,” don’t you think?

Stay connected!

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Posted in Bigots and Liars, Chicano Politics, Count Me!, DC Ojo, Harris County, Houston Politica, LatinoVote '12, Redistricting '11, U.S. Ethnic Relations

Professor Acuna Sounds Off on Arizona

Posted on January 30, 2012 | Comments Off

Dr. Rodolfo Acuña, Professor Emeritus of History at Cal-State Northridge, sounded off in The Progressive on Arizona’s recent banning of Mexican American studies courses, books, and materials, asking the question:  When do you start to count?

When the great Muhammad Ali was asked how many sit-ups he did, he responded, “I don’t count my sit-ups. I only start counting when it starts hurting. That is when I start counting, because then it really counts. That’s what makes you a champion.”

These words resonate in Tucson, where Latina/o students are fighting for an education by sitting-in in the office of Tucson Unified School District Superintendent of Schools John Pedicone, walking out of classes, demonstrating, and taking to the streets.

Students are dispelling the myth that Mexican Americans do not care about education; they have started counting because it hurts. They know the difference between having subject matter that is relevant and having those books warehoused, between having teachers who believe in what they are teaching and sitting through classes where teachers go through the motions.

Read the rest here.

I agree with Professor Acuña when he says that the purpose of this is to intimidate other groups who may want to fight back against injustice. And as he says, this is about keeping Mexicans in their place–without a sense of history, without a sense of self. When liberals begin to realize what this is all about, then we can have a conversation about “Latino outreach” in politics. Otherwise, we’re just grasping at whatever is left.

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Posted in Chicano Politics, DREAM Act, Houston Dems '12, Houston Politica, Immigration, President 2012, TDP Convention 2012, Texas Dems 2012, U.S. Ethnic Relations, Violence Against Latinos

Houston Group Will Venture in Knowledge Trafficking

Posted on January 26, 2012 | Comments Off

One of my favorite literary nonprofit groups, Nuestra Palabra:  Latino Writers Having Their Say is getting into the trafficking biz:  Knowledge trafficking, that is.

Many of you have heard that along with banning Latinos, generally, Arizona is doing away with ethnic studies programs, thus, banning Latino-created literary works, including works by highly renowned authors like Sandra Cisneros and Guggenheim Fellow Dagoberto Gilb.

Nuestra Palabra is organizing The Librotraficantes Banned Book Caravan to Arizona. March 12 – 17.

The caravan will be filled with authors and activists who will be taking banned books back into Arizona, to give away. The bus will be filled with authors who were banned, new authors, as well as other advocates concerned with preserving First Amendment rights of Equal Protection and Freedom of Speech.

The Caravan will be making stops in Texas, New Mexico, and, of course, Arizona. More stops will be listed as they are finalized. More will be added as funding permits.

It’s time for Texas to support this effort. You may make your contribution at Librotraficante.

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Posted in Bigots and Liars, DC Ojo, La Familia, U.S. Ethnic Relations, Violence Against Latinos