Watsonville Brown Berets turns 15, takes new approach http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_12167069?source=most_viewed
By DONNA JONES - Sentinel Staff Writer Posted: 04/17/2009 WATSONVILLE - Most known for political protests, the Watsonville Brown Berets' latest project promotes pedal power, and, in the process, self-reliance. The Brown Berets Bike Shack, launched last year at the Friday downtown farmers market and now housed in a warehouse behind a former furniture store at 555 Main St., is part of the group's growing emphasis on community sustainability as it turns 15. The Berets will celebrate the anniversary with a dinner and dance April 25. Proceeds benefit the Bike Shack. "We have this evolving mentality that we'd rather give ourselves and our young people something to work for rather than against," said Jenn Laskin, a group leader. "It's hope. It's trying to work on things for a healthy community ... a community that we want to live in." The Berets were founded in 1994 in response to gang violence. Founders, including City Councilman Luis Alejo, drew on a defunct 1960s-era Chicano rights organization of the same name - though the group welcomes youth of all races - as well as the nonviolent teachings of Cesar Chavez and Martin Luther King Jr. for inspiration. Its first project, the annual Peace and Unity March commemorating community members lost to violence, continues to this day. The group also stresses education, and numerous members who joined in high school have returned to work in the community after college. Its political activism has received the most attention, however. Militant stands on issues ranging from naming schools to immigration and its help in electing progressives like Councilman Manuel Bersamin have riled more conservative community members. Alejo said people talk about providing alternatives to gangs. The Berets does it. "They focus on their education, fixing their schools and service to their community," Alejo said. "They are creating a new cadre of young leaders. We need more groups doing this type of work." But lately, the group has lowered its political profile, though members have been active on the fringes of protests over school budget cuts. Laskin and fellow organizer Tomas Alejo, Luis' brother, said a trip to a Los Angeles neighborhood fighting to save a community garden a couple of years ago led to a more "holistic" and collaborative approach. The group has allied with groups like Santa Cruz-based Resource Center for Nonviolence, and offered support to an independent Brown Berets group in Fresno and a new startup in Salinas. At the Bike Shack, where community members can get help working on their bikes, the practical is joined with the political. Chris Alonso, who manages the shop, said it attracts a diverse group. "We have low-rider bikers, youth into BMX cycling, campesinos who ride their bikes to work. One guy brings his kids Tuesdays and Thursdays to ride around the parking lot," Alonso said. "It creates networks. They start organizing. That's a beautiful thing." -- If You Go Watsonville Brown Berets WHAT: Dinner and Salsa Dance celebrating groups 15th anniversary and featuring presentations, live entertainment and a silent auction. WHEN: 7-11 p.m. April 25. WHERE: Universalist Unitarian Congregation of Santa Cruz County, 6401 Freedom Blvd., Aptos. TICKETS: $25, or $15 dance only. CONTACT: 238-5290 or www.brownberets.info . --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sixties-L" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sixties-l?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
