And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: From: "CATHERINE DAVIDS" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Organization: The University of Michigan - Flint To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Fri, 20 Aug 1999 08:34:36 EDT MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: Re: Political Trenches Bring Results FROM UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE FOR RELEASE: WEEK OF AUGUST 20, 1999 COLUMN OF THE AMERICAS by Patrisia Gonzales and Roberto Rodriguez GETTING INTO POLITICAL TRENCHES BRINGS RESULTS Last week, 11 Puerto Rican political prisoners were offered clemency. In addition to their many grassroots supporters, three members of Congress have long fought for their release. The offer has its drawbacks because it comes laden with unacceptable conditions that limit their freedoms. Yet it minimally shows that the White House has acknowledged the existence of political prisoners, or that the prisoners have been incarcerated long enough. The United Nations recognizes Puerto Rico as a colony. As such, the international community recognizes the right of colonies to decolonize. That's what the 11 were charged with: conducting a bombing campaign to liberate their island. Although Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), Rep. Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.) do not condone their actions, which resulted in no injuries, they do recognize that the activists were politically, rather than criminally, motivated. The three are scheduled to meet with the president shortly to press for their unconditional release, plus the release of four others who also have been imprisoned for 19 years. The news broke after we had just returned from the Latino Academy, sponsored by the San Antonio-based William C. Velasquez Institute and the Southwest Voter Registration Project (SVRP). During the academy, which exists to develop political leadership, word also arrived that 13 farmworkers had been killed in central California. A moment of silence reminded the 75 participants why they had all gathered there: to go into public service and change laws that institutionalize the notion that some people naturally deserve less from democracy and less from our booming economy. The academy is a national nonpartisan training school for community organizers, as well as prospective and current elected officials. This is done, said Andrew Hernandez, former director of SVRP, with the knowledge that after the rage subsides regarding any injustice, honest lawmakers are needed to change laws. We had gone there skeptical, and perhaps a bit cynical, believing, like many people, that politics and honesty don't exist on the same page. The academy, in fact, is not simply about electing people into office, but also about creating leadership. This country has seen the rise of community leadership -- a great many of them women -- as a result of the civil rights movement. The ongoing hate movements fomented in California and Washington, D.C., against immigrants, bilingual education and affirmative action -- which are increasingly manifesting themselves in hate crimes -- has reinvigorated this kind of leadership, particularly among people of color across the country. In a democracy, the struggle to fully participate in society and the struggle for human rights should not be only from the bottom up. It should include politicians who are willing to take a moral stand, such as the three representatives. In effect, the academy exists to fill that vacuum. Hernandez is adamant about the need to get people of good conscience elected because "losing changes nothing." However, he added: "If it's about getting a job, we don't want you elected. It's about doing a job. ... The idealists are our conscience, who keep us honest and in check. But in the end, someone still has to get into the trenches, run for office and change the laws." Traditionally, there has been a reticence by community activists to run for office because they see a dissonance between holding political office and having moral leadership grounded in community. Yet increasingly, idealists are entering that electoral world. Perhaps the three representatives offer hope to prospective candidates who will be a new kind of politician that will assert leadership based on their convictions, a leadership that will take on hard issues such as racial profiling and law-enforcement abuse. Michelle Garcia from Albuquerque, N.M., who participated in the advanced community organizing track, said that she would consider running for office "if it would lead to the bettering of the Latino community." But she doesn't feel she's cut out to be an elected official. She said she has too much passion and integrity. (Will someone please tell her that she's the kind of politician this country needs?) "To be a leader, you need to love the people," said Juan Maldonado, chair of SVRP. And there, we did meet many prospective candidates who fit that requirement. As an example, University of Texas graduate student Sara Torres, who works at the Las Americas Refugee project in her hometown of El Paso, Texas, said she indeed would consider running for office. "I get motivated when I see other Latinos running." COPYRIGHT 1999 UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE * Catholic Charities in Fresno is still raising money for the 13 farmworkers. They can be reached at: 149 Fulton St. Fresno CA 93701, 559-237- 0851 * Gonzales & Rodriguez can be reached at: PO BOX 7905, Albq NM 87194-7905, 505-242-7282 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ UPDATES: CAMP JUSTICE http://shell.webbernet.net/~ishgooda/oglala/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
