Outgoing? Dynamic? Committed?

If you want to improve your leadership skills and give back to the Latino community
APPLY TODAY

La Raza youth leadership program believes in social justice, quality education, human rights, environmental justice and advancement of the Latino community.

Workshop Themes

• Leadership Skills • Public Speaking
• Latino/Mexicano/Chicano History
• Immigration
• Art/Culture • Health
• Community Organizing • Higher Education
• Critical Thinking • Institutional Racism

Program Information

• Application deadline – Nov. 20, 2009
• Program start date – Jan. 9, 2010

• Competitive application – only 30 slots
• Saturday workshops – 9am-3:30pm
• Program fee – $30.00
• High school students grades 10 -12 are eligible
• An outstanding participant will receive a $500 scholarship from CollegeInvest for their college education.

Additional Information

To apply online go to the website
www.larazayouth.org/leadershipapplication. For more information contact

Jenny Santos at 720-323-3885

Apply today at http://larazayouth.org !

Co-sponsored by The University of Denver’s Center for Multicultural Center, Office of Undergraduate Admission, and the DU Latino Center for Community Engagement and Scholarship and University of Colorado Denver, Office of Diversity & Inclusion, Office of Student Enrollment and Student Affairs, and Office of Admissions, Metropolitan State College of Denver.

HEY THERE! I was wondering when you were gonna shuffle out of your room. You were sleeping with the remote glued to your forehead. Here, have some coffee. Let’s scan the news and see what’s going on lately.

1

Firstly, you remember the post I made on Carlos’ taping the cops at El Gran Mercado? That story got picked up by larger media, which is cool. Dig:

MCSO YouTube Clip Sparks Outcry

Attorney Says It Violates First Amendment Rights

PHOENIX — A videotape that shows a Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office detective in a heated exchange with a cameraman has some people claiming the actions are a violation of civil rights.

The YouTube video shows a member of the sheriff’s office confronting a man shooting video of a crime sweep Saturday at Gran Mercado.

Yeah! People power! That’s great. One vato cruises the scene looking to protect his community, films some bullies at large, a few of us help spread the word, and next its in the major news.

It may be annoying and sort of empty a lot of times when CNN, for example, cranes its neck to the point of breaking to peer into the Twitter abyss all day. But in many senses the blurring of lines of media institutions between non-paid community-minded media makers and larger outfits is obviously very healthy for our society (as it is on any day that CNN almost breaks its neck.)

On a final note…isn’t it kind of silly when police try this one: “You can’t tape me because I’m protecting undercover officers!” Firstly, we know who needs protecting more times than not. Also, can we stop assuming we live in the past, where there aren’t cameras everywhere all the time? If not today, then tomorrow or the next, that line will just be laughable. Unless you live in East Oregon or something and are deep under cover in a errant Moose sting. Which probably happens more than reported.

2

Next, special segregated lectures being given to Teh Spix about bad grades and gang-banging:

ACLU investigating whether Hispanic students were singled out for poor test scores

The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas has launched an investigation into whether the Hispanic students in Gainesville High School were singled out for assemblies about low standardized test scores.

A parent complained to the Austin-based group that during classes on Sept. 17, calls went out over the school public address system instructing ninth-grade Hispanic students to report to assemblies, according to an ACLU news release.

The students were told they were responsible for the school “underperforming” on the standardized Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test and the school’s rating of academically unacceptable, lowest on the state’s four-tier accountability scale, the release said.

The talks also covered gangs and teen sexual activity, said Gouri Bhat, senior staff attorney for the ACLU of Texas.

3.

I’m sorry to wait so long to give this to you!

The 2009 Wendy’s^® High School Heisman^® (WHSH) race has begun! Wendy’s is on the hunt to find the next class of High School Heisman recipients – exceptional students who bring excellence in:

1. academics 2. athletics 3. and community service

To date, more than 188,000 high school students have represented their schools and been touched by the Heisman glory where only 1% has been LATINO. All eligible seniors may submit an application online through Oct. 1, 2009. The first 41,100 applicants will receive a free Wendy’s gift card randomly valued from $5 to $50.

From the completed applications, one male and one female winner will be chosen from each high school. The names of all applicants and school winners will be posted on the Wendy’s High School Heisman Web site on Oct. 22, 2009. For more information, students can visit www.WendysHeisman.com, call (800) 205-6367 or contact their local high school principal, guidance counselor or athletic director.

• Twelve National finalists will receive a gold medal, Heisman patch, $100 gift card, a $2,000 cash award for their high schools and an invitation to participate in the Heisman Weekend festivities in New York City from Dec. 11-13, 2009.
• ESPN2 will feature all 12 national finalists during the Wendy’s High School Heisman awards ceremony on Dec. 13.
• One male and one female will be named the 2010 Wendy’s High School Heisman national award winners during the awards ceremony in New York City.

• Both winners will receive an additional $10,000 award for their respective high schools, a Wendy’s High School Heisman trophy, Heisman patch and a $500 Wendy’s gift card.

The Wendy’s High School Heisman, awarded in conjunction with the collegiate Heisman, is a joint program between Wendy’s and the Heisman Memorial Trust (host of the College Heisman Memorial Trophy since 1935.) Created in 1994, WHSH has set the standard for high school student-athletes and gained tremendous prestige in its own right. To date, more than 188,000 high school students have represented their schools and been touched by the Heisman glory.

——–

La fecha límite es el 8 de Octubre .

Además del premio nacional Heisman hay MUCHAS otras oportunidades de ganar premios tanto para los estudiantes como las escuelas. Con tan solo participar pueden ganar:

• Los primeros 41,000 solicitantes recibirán al azar una tarjeta de regalo de Wendy’s valorada de $5 hasta $50
• Si a lo menos  5 estudiantes de cada escuela someten una solicitud completa la escuela calificara para la oportunidad de ganar $500
• Ganadores de las escuelas recibirán una carta, un certificado, un parche de Heisman y una tarjeta de regalo de Wendy’s de $10.
• Veinte estudiantes (10 masculinos y 10 femeninos) de cada estado serán reconocidos como finalistas a nivel de estado y recibirán una carta, una medalla de bronce, un parche de Heisman y una tarjeta de regalo de Wendy’s de $25.
• Ganadores a nivel de estado – 102 (un estudiante masculino y un femenino de cada estado y del distrito de Colombia) – serán elegidos de entre todos los finalistas a nivel de estado y otorgados una carta, una medalla de plata, un parche Heisman y una tarjeta de regalo de Wendy’s de $50.
• Finalistas a nivel nacional recibirán una medalla de oro, un parche Heisman, una tarjeta de regalo de Wendy’s de $100, un premio de $2000 en efectivo para sus escuelas secundarias y una invitación para participar en las festividades de fin de semana de Heisman in Nueva York del 11-13 de diciembre del 2009.
• ESPN2 presentara a los 12 finalistas a nivel nacional durante la ceremonia de los premios Wendy’s High School el 13 de diciembre.
• Un estudiante masculino y uno femenino serán nombrados ganadores a nivel nacional del premio Wendy’s High School Heisman durante la ceremonia de premios en la ciudad de Nueva York.  Ambos ganadores recibirán $10,000 adicionales para sus respectivas escuelas, un trofeo de Wendy’s High School Heisman, un parche de Heisman y una tarjeta de regalo de Wendy’s de $500.

4

Give thanks for your food…but please put your name behind that thanks. This won’t take you long, and it will help protect fieldworkers.

The UFW has just kicked off a major organizing campaign in the grapes at Giumarra–the nation’s largest table grape company.Giumarra harvests approximately 1 out of every 10 bunches of grapes picked in the US.

We are trying to get 25,000 people to sign on online campaign petition by Oct. 1.

Giumarra has a history of intimidating and bullying workers & violating their rights.  In fact, back in 2006, a union election was thrown out by an administrative judge because of their unlawful interference. In addition, two farm workers have died of heat-related causes while laboring in Giumarra’s fields.

You’d think that Giumarra would have learned their lesson and quit putting workers at risk. Unfortunately not. Workers have come to us asking for help because Giumarra is back to its old tricks. Workers have asked us to help them in getting a union contract so they have protection against these abuses.

Giumarra is doing all they can to avoid hearing from the public on this campaign. They have blocked our ISP from delivering the e-mail to their domain. After our last campaign targeted their web page’s contact us form, they have blocked the form as well as taking down their facebook fan page & twitter page.

As a result we’re going with the old-fashioned method of turning in a petition as a press event. We kicked off an online petition on Labor day and are trying to get 25,000 signatures by the end of the month on our online petition that a delegation will hand in to the company.

Sign the petition, please!

[Related:"Nature's Partner" (Grape Grower) Oppressing Workers.]

5

Transforming Race: Crisis and Opportunity in the Age of Obama…

The Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity is pleased to announce the Call for Proposals for its second biannual conference, entitled Transforming Race: Crisis and Opportunity in the Age of Obama, to be held March 11-13, 2010, in Columbus, Ohio.

We seek innovative proposals that address any of three thematic tracks: Racial Dynamics and Systems Thinking; Race Talk; and Race, Recession, and Recovery. We invite practitioners, community organizers, scholars, researchers, and others to submit proposals for papers, entire panels, workshops, performances, fishbowls, and more!

Please visit our web site, http://transforming-race.org, for conference details and updates. To encourage widespread participation, please feel free to share this e-mail and attachment with your networks. Should you have any questions, contact Rebecca Reno at reno.34@osu.edu.

Download the Call for Proposals at: http://transforming-race.org/transformingrace_cfp.pdf

Okay, people, that does it for now. Sorry if you sent me something and I waited longer than you would have liked to post it. It was not intentional, if so. The valet tells me to thank all of you for your generous tips.

And myself, I’m off to brew another pot! Have a good one.

For Immediate Release: [Petition at Bottom]

Hard Hitting New Video Critical of DHS Immigration Inaction

Actions Planned Across the Country to Ask Sec. Napolitano to Focus on Comprehensive Immigration Reform, Not Bush-Era Enforcement Measures

Washington, DC – On the heels of several reports critical of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) enforcement and detention tactics, America’s Voice has created a new video demanding that DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano do more to reject the failed strategies of the Bush Administration and move forward on workable comprehensive immigration reform. Yesterday, grassroots activists in New York and Los Angeles launched events with the same theme. These grassroots actions will continue across the country for the next several weeks.

“Communities around the country are becoming increasingly frustrated with DHS’s continuation of controversial and ineffective Bush-era enforcement practices, and with good reason,” said Adam Luna, Political Director of America’s Voice. “President Obama promised a new approach to immigration, but recent developments suggest a gap between his promise of significant change and DHS’s follow through to fulfill this commitment.”

This video is based on a recently released public study of the U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency’s home raid operations by the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law of Yeshiva University, which found that immigration agents engaged in widespread constitutional violations over the course of several years. Some of the agents’ most egregious violations include entering and searching homes without legal authority, and seizing people without any basis other than their racial or ethnic appearance or limited English proficiency.

Although DHS deserves credit for shifting some enforcement priorities, and has dialed back the use of terrorizing residential and workplace raids as practiced under the Bush Administration, the Department has failed to investigate the widespread flaunting of the law by its agents. In fact, in response to the Cardozo report, whose findings were endorsed by leading law enforcement officials, DHS said only the following in an e-mail to the New York Times: “The men and women of I.C.E. are sworn to uphold the laws of our nation. We do so professionally, humanely and with an acute awareness with the impact enforcement has on the individuals we encounter. While I.C.E. prioritizes our efforts by targeting fugitives who have demonstrated a threat to national security or public safety, we have a clear mandate to pursue all immigration fugitives.”

According to Luna, “Imagine the outcry and the investigations that would be already underway if those who had their doors kicked in and guns pointed in their faces were rich and powerful. It should be no different for hardworking immigrant families caught up in a dysfunctional immigration system. That is why advocates across the country are raising their voices and demanding that the injustices of the past and the excesses of the present be confronted and changed by our public officials.”

Sign the Petition Now

ARIZONA’S SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO is the unholy patron saint of the disastrous 287(g) agreement, a patch-job stopgap of a law that deputizes local cops and gives them the extra work of acting as Federal immigration agents. Sheriff Joe Arpaio is, for sure, a crackpot or at least a racist and that is obvious. The Department of Justice is investigating him for civil rights violation and racial profiling—all of it nearly inevitable fallout from the 287(g) provision, even were this horrifically bad idea of a law wielded by non-crackpot sheriffs. It’s simply not a good idea to give police, who are (in ideal) in existence to help the community, the powers to enforce the borders of the nation—a job that is normally in the province of the military, and one seen as one of “National Security” at least since 2003, when INS withered away in the Post 9/11 atmosphere and ICE/DHS sprung up in its place.

At this point, almost all are in accord that 287(g), while perhaps once plausible on paper, is a trainwreck in how it is playing out amongst living people. It has been proven that the costs of 287(g) outweigh the benefit, the communities suffer, and one only need look to Arpaio’s district to see that actual “crime-solving is down and racial profiling and budget expenditures are way up.” [pdf report by Immigration Policy Center]. Who would possibly defend this program when the police themselves want nothing to do with it?

As the National Immigration Forum puts it, “287(g) has been the worst thing to happen to law enforcement since John Dillinger.”

It is no surprise, then, today’s news:

ADVOCATES ISSUE STATEMENT CONDEMNING OBAMA ADMINISTRATION’S
EXPANSION OF DHS’S FAILED 287(g) PROGRAM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 17, 2009

Media Contacts:
Adela de la Torre, Communication Specialist, National Immigration Law Center, 213.674.2832 (office), 213.400.7822 (cell)
Andrea Black, Coordinator, Detention Watch Network, 202-393-1044 ext. 227 (office), 520-240-3726 (cell)
Judith Greene, Director, Justice Strategies, 718-857-3316, jgreene@justicestrategies.net

Civil rights and community groups across the country denounce Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano’s plans to expand the highly criticized 287(g) program to eleven new jurisdictions around the country. The program, authorized in 1996 and widely implemented under the Bush Administration, relinquishes, with no meaningful oversight, immigration enforcement power to local law enforcement and corrections agencies.

Since its inception the program has drawn sharp criticism from federal officials, law enforcement, advocates and local community groups. A February 2009 report by Justice Strategies, a nonpartisan research firm, found widespread use of pretextual traffic stops, racially motivated questioning, and unconstitutional searches and seizures by local law enforcement agencies granted 287(g) powers. Justice Strategies recommended the program be suspended. “We found evidence that growth of the 287(g) program has been driven more by racial animus than by concerns about public safety. The expansion of this deeply flawed program cannot be justified before a thorough test of corrective actions shows solid proof that they have been effective,” reports Judy Greene, Director of Justice Strategies. A March 2009 Government Accountability Agency (GAO) report, criticized DHS for insufficient oversight of the controversial program.

Also in March, the United States Department of Justice launched an investigation into Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona, to determine whether Arpaio is using his 287(g) power to target Latinos and Spanish-speaking people. In Davidson County, Tennessee, the Sheriff’s Office has used its 287(g) power to apprehend undocumented immigrants driving to work, standing at day labor sites, or while fishing off piers. One pregnant woman—charged with driving without a license—was forced to give birth while shackled to her bed during labor. Preliminary data indicate that in some jurisdictions the majority of individuals arrested under 287(g) are accused of public nuisance or traffic offenses: driving without a seatbelt, driving without a license, broken taillights, and similar offences. Such a pattern of arrests suggest that local sheriff’s deputies are improperly using their 287(g) powers to rid their counties of immigrants, by making pretextual arrests that are then used to forcefully deport people. “We need only look at the example of Maricopa County to understand the devastating effects the increased 287(g) program will have on our communities,” said Chris Newman, Legal Programs Director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network. “The Obama administration must recognize that the 287(g) program is predatory and ripe for corruption and profiling that will harm community stability and safety for everyone.”

The Police Foundation, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and the Major Chiefs Association have expressed concerns that deputizing local law enforcement officers to enforce civil federal immigration law undermine the trust and cooperation of immigrant communities, overburdens cities’ already reduced resources, and leaves cities vulnerable to civil liability claims. “When victims and witnesses of crime are afraid to contact police for fear of being jailed or deported, public safety suffers,” said Marielena Hincapie, Executive Director, National Immigration Law Center.

Napolitano’s July 10 announcement that DHS has granted 11 new jurisdictions 287(g) powers stunned advocates who had been expecting a major overhaul of – or end to – this failed program. “DHS is fully aware that the abusive misuse of the 287(g) program by its current slate of agencies has rendered it not only ineffective, but dangerous to community safety. It is surprising Napolitano did not simply shut this program down. Expanding this failed program is not in line with the reform the administration has promised,” said Andrea Black, Coordinator of the Detention Watch Network.

Signatory Organizations:

A Better Way Foundation, New Haven, CT
All of Us or None, San Francisco, CA
Border Action Network, Tucson, AZ
Center for Constitutional Rights, New York, NY
Center for Media Justice, Oakland, CA
Detention Watch Network, Washington, DC
Families for Freedom, New York, NY
Florida Immigrant Coalition, Miami, FL
Grassroots Leadership, Austin, Texas
Homies Unidos, Los Angeles, CA
Immigrant Defense Project, New York, NY
Immigrant Justice Network
Immigration Law Clinic, UC Davis School of Law, Davis, CA

Immigrant Legal Resource Center, San Francisco, CA
Judson Memorial Church, New York, NY
Justice Strategies, New York, NY
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, San Francisco, CA
Main Street Project, Minneapolis, MN
Media Action Grassroots Network, Oakland, CA
National Day Laborer Organizing Network
National Immigration Law Center, Los Angeles, CA
National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, Boston, MA
Partnership for Safety and Justice, Portland, Oregon
Project Rethink
Southern Center for Human Rights, Atlanta, GA

Pass it on!

I WAS ON a White House debriefing conference call on Friday (on immigration reform) and actually did much tweeting on it. (Talk about sentences you never thought you’d write….). I’ll post some of those as well as talk about my own thoughts, hopes, and fears on the matter tomorrow.

For now I’ll crosspost the New America Media (NAM) op ed I was sent by NAM and asked to publish. And I’ll also say that I’m definitely more in line with NAM’s op ed than I am with the strategerizing from some of these cats that were on the phone call or even with Chuck Schumer and his whole Sound Meaner When Talking About Immigrants line. (Not that he doesn’t deserve support for what he’s doing to advance this issue in the first place (Yay Chuck!) but I’m really hoping he’s not doing it for strokery but because he knows he is representing the ideals of the US, the wishes of his constituents, and more importantly, doing what is  humane and right among humans.)

As a final note, I’ll add that the White House, the advocacy orgs, Chuck Schumer, and reportedly, President Obama personally are all quite confident they will act upon legislation late this year or next year. (That phrase about “late this year or next) is used a few times, so I tend to think the WH plans on actually moving the legislation next year, but still—). Also on board are the major union leaders like AFL-CIO. It’s a pretty rare atmosphere, it seems. So that is very exciting. Again, there’s more to say on all of this, but I don’t want to get out in front of this op ed too much more. It’s a good op ed and isn’t afraid or too shy to stand up for the whole moral enchilada. So that’s a refreshing and welcome change.

Time for Immigration Reform Is Now

The White House and members of Congress must move quickly on enacting a just and humane immigration reform package that will reunite families, reinvigorate the economy, and remove the term “illegal or undocumented immigrants” from the dialogue in this country. Ethnic media, which reaches over 60 million adults in the United States, calls on Congress to move decisively on immigration reform because there are few issues as important to the nation’s well-being as an overhaul of the inefficient, inhumane and economically debilitating immigration system. More importantly, we are also urging our readers and viewers to contact their Senators and Congressmen and let them know that immigration reform must be a national priority.

The immigration system is broken not just for 12 million undocumented immigrants, but also for specialized workers blocked from joining the American economy because of narrow quotas, and mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens who must wait for years before being reunited with their families.

Our nation needs comprehensive immigration policies that will replace a broken system of raids and roundups with one that protects all workers from exploitation, improves America’s security and builds strong communities. It’s time to end the division between workers, which has allowed big business to exploit both sides. Clearly, working-class citizens and immigrant workers have much in common – dreams of better homes, education for their families and quality healthcare.  There is more that brings us together, than separates us.  United we can be a strong force for change, changes that that bring more workforce safety and humane conditions.

Immigration is often portrayed as an explosive, divisive issue. In reality it’s not. Since the repeal of the national origins quota system in 1965, which discriminated against certain immigrants, a consensus has been building towards an immigration system that respects the country’s core values. These include economic opportunity, equality under the law regardless of ethnic background, and an embrace of the world’s most innovative, energetic and ambitious workers. Now, with the country facing serious competition from workers abroad, it’s more important than ever to create a world-class immigration system. It’s for the good for families, good for communities and good for America.

THAT SOUND YOU HEAR is the moan of the Newspaper industry as readers abandon the pulpy, stinking ship in droves. The newspaper industry is trying to rebrand, reshape, go “Web 2.0,” install pay-barriers, dress up advertisements as front page images….all kinds of fun stuff. Hasn’t quite occurred to them that newspapers had, somewhere along the line, come to be seen as a way for us to read provoking thought, to read the truth about our world, to inform us. Somewhere along the way, the corporate masters thought the People were too stupid to notice when the Paper was gutted  of essence, and instead offered either advertisements or word-collections that served as advertisements. For war, for government control, for wiretapping, for torture….

Well, this itself is old news, of course. That’s why the blogosphere has taken off and in part, why some bigmouth like myself can gain a platform that grows larger every day. That, too, is why groups like the Commonweal Institute are introducing new projects such as this one:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Commonweal Institute Announces Progressive Op-Ed Program

Summary: Commonweal Institute, a Northern California-based think tank, will produce and distribute weekly progressive op-ed columns, available for publication in print and online news outlets.

Menlo Park, California (June 16, 2009) – With the goal of providing an opportunity for local and national news outlets to publish opinion and commentary from a progressive political perspective, Commonweal Institute—a Northern California-based think tank—announced today it will produce and distribute weekly op-ed columns starting July 1, 2009.

Commonweal Institute Fellows, public intellectuals who have organically developed large audiences and authority in their field through their blogs, publications and academic work, will write the columns on a rotating basis. …

Commonweal Institute’s op-ed columns will be available for reprint free of copyright restrictions, with the only requirement that the authors be identified as Commonweal Institute Fellows.

Among the topics that will be covered in the op-ed columns: Sustainable Living (food, design, architecture and urban planning); Corporations and Society (civil justice, labor rights and transparency); Progressive Strategy (psychology, progressive political infrastructure, the conservative movement); Justice and Equal Rights (LGBT rights, gender equity, immigration and racial justice).

So I’ll link you when those come out, or just keep an eye on it.

Finally, a heartfelt thank you to the Commonweal Institute, and a big WASSSUP? to my fellow, er,Fellows.

I AM HAPPY to announce that The Sanctuary (ProMigrant.Org) will be receiving an award that, in 2006, Hillary Rodham Clinton described as  “the equivalent of the “Pulitzer Prize” for journalism (including New Media this year) in ethnic media! I leave it to politicians wielding impressive phraseology for various reasons to convince you that the award is quite that important, but nonetheless. We are very proud to be recognized for the work we do at our little human rights agenda community.

I will be in Atlanta, Georgia for the NAM National Ethnic Media Expo & Awards event June 3 -5 to receive this award on behalf of my compas and separately, to do some talking on New Media as I’ve learned to use it and think of it.

If you live nearby, holla at me so we can meet up! And of course, gracias to New America Media. You cats do some fine work, and moreover, ya sure know a good thing when you see it.

Crossposted to The Sanctuary

THE SANCTUARY EDITORS (who successfully solicited Presidential Candidate Obama to clearly outline his position on immigration policy while running for president) have issued a position paper on the Luis Ramirez Murder.

We’ve taken our time with it, writing it over a few days. We have been very disappointed overall with how this story is being framed. This is not just another “hate crime.” This is not a disparate event to be mingled and mixed with every biased attack. As La Mala puts it over at VivirLatino:

Seems li[k]e every org and their mother want to take the recent injustice in the Luis Ramirez murder case and use it for toned down cries for justice separated from the multiple places that breed the kind of hate and disrespect that led to the crossroads we as a community find ourselves at now.

This is not just a tool to be used to leverage the current hate crime bill before the House and then call it even. This crime and subsequent unjust court ruling is a call to look over an entire system which has built a permission into our culture, an imperative and a directive to harm that is now being taken up all over and resulting in killings like that of Luis Ramirez.

Below is the full post.

___________________________________________________________________________

THREE THINGS immediately shock the conscious soul upon learning about the murder of Luis Ramirez. The simple manner in which he died is the first of those.

Ramirez, a father of three, was beaten to death in the streets of Pennsylvania by as many as seven young men who were at the end of a night of drinking. The motive? Judging by the slurs heaped upon him along with the many blows to his body: apparently nothing more than being out at night while Mexican. The teens who ganged up on Ramirez came upon him walking with a young woman, reportedly his girlfriend’s sister. Obviously bringing threat, they asked him what he was doing out at that time of day. Then they set upon him. In the end it was a final hard kick to the skull which left the 25-year-old father convulsing on the concrete with fatal brain damage.

The police arrived shortly after the attack but rather than jump into hot pursuit of the white criminals, they chose instead to search Latino eyewitnesses for weapons, claiming that following the guilty parties simply wasn’t their “priority.”Ramirez’s attackers weren’t arrested for another two weeks, even though eyewitnesses at the scene knew who they were without a doubt.

The second stomach-churner is the jury’s decision to exonerate Ramirez’s killers from the charges of third-degree murder, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, and ethnic intimidation, leaving to stand only the reduced charge of simple assault. This, despite the testimony of Eileen Burke, a retired police officer at the scene. Burke testified that at the end, the murderers yelled to Ramirez’ girlfriend “You effin bitch, tell your effin Mexican friends get the eff out of Shenandoah or you’re gonna be laying effin next to him.” This, despite two of the accused men themselves admitting to yelling “go home you Mexican [expletive]” at the scene of the crime.

Yet somehow, in the face of these facts, the all-white jury ruled there was no evidence of “ethnic intimidation.” According to a CNN report, town residents were quick to explain and downplay the actions of this violent group of “star students and football players” as “just an alcohol-fueled confrontation among kids.” They furthered their argument by reciting “a litany of attacks allegedly perpetrated by Latinos against Anglos.” Perhaps they could have saved time and breath by saying The spics had it coming.

The third, overarching, shocking reality thrown into sharp relief by the murder of Luis Ramirez is how easily an environment of violently xenophobic rhetoric and targeted hate has normalized a modern-day lynching to the point that it is absorbed and diluted with barely a blip into the everyday news cycle and into public consciousness. How effortlessly a subhuman category of being is constructed and subsequently reviled. How a verdict has been passed on just how to deal with this synthesized Creature, and how effective that virulent messaging has been evidenced in a death like this one and in a pattern that plays out in various towns, cities, and states across the country. Seemingly unconnected cells of hatred hammer the dominant culture’s sentence down upon a targeted group, and the system nods and winks when all is done.

______

The process of defining a subhuman class and institutionalizing discrimination and violence against that group is not new. How quickly and conveniently some of us allow our collective memory to cover its own tracks. Parasite, diseased, leeching, dangerous, over-breeding, vermin. These terms and this imagery have been deployed for ages, on various groups of people, on various pieces of land, in the service of various endeavors; and always to bring about the same ends. To demonize and dehumanize a group of people so that other people come to understand that the social compact with the demonized group is broken; that discrimination and violence against the dehumanized class now carries no moral consequence. That is the meaning of this latest ruling by an all-white jury in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania. Racial murder of a Mexican carries the same consequence as walking up to a white person and punching them in the belly: simple assault.

The notion of a categorically subhuman class of persons who exists below the rules and obligations the rest of humanity warrants is as simple as it is ugly. Ugly like the prison at Guantánamo, where unfortunate bodies from the Middle East are deprived of anything resembling the law, ideals, or morality most Americans feel they deserve by mere existence. Ugly like Abu Ghraib. Ugly like the prisons in Baghdad and Bagram, where atrocities appear to be the norm. Even as our government promised that it was “fighting Them There” in order to prevent “Them” from coming “Here”, an ideology of dehumanizing terror was propagating and swelling in our own ranks and within our own borders; an ideology which devalues “Hajis” in the same way that it foists hatred upon Mexicans and all others who sound or appear somehow Latin American.

The murder of Luis Ramirez-like the murders of Marcelo Lucero and Wilter Sanchez and Jose Sucuhañay-are but logical steps in the process of defining a subhuman class of ALIEN and inciting anti-Latino violence, which will continue unless marked changes are made in our society. Changes in the immigration dialogue. Changes in the way pundits frame and discuss the issue. Perhaps even more importantly, changes to the fashion in which both Republicans and Democrats pitch and move legislation. The entire “Enforcement Agenda” that directly links immigration status (and thus all Latinos) to criminality, discussed coolly by seemingly rational voices on both Right and Left, is but the socially and politically acceptable umbrella which shields crimes like the murder of Luis Ramirez. The ubiquitous message resonating from coast to coast of this continent, across which peoples of Latin American descent have been migrating back and forth for thousands of years, is that we are in the crosshairs. And that we deserve to be in those hair-trigger sights.

______

Though it is necessary and a good thing, it is not enough to pass H.S. 1913, the current Hate Crimes bill that has cleared the Senate and is now headed for the House. Nor is it adequate to simply pass the D.R.E.A.M Act (though, again necessary, so please sign), and/or to legalize the immigrants who are working and raising families in the US, and be done with it. These things must be done, and soon. But we must not rest there.

First, we must demand a satisfactory accounting find its way to this unresolved injustice. (Please sign the petitionto add your voice.) Next, we must be honest about what has happened here in our nation; about how this gathering animosity has manifested in various ways to result in a targeting of one class of people; about how segments of our current culture and business world stand to profit from maintaining the status quo, despite the harm. We must think of how we can personally lend a hand in changing this in our own communities and social circles. Finally, we must change on a much larger scale, very particular and practical elements of this manifestation.

Continuing to reinforce and advocate for the image of a permanent criminal and essentially subhuman class of people by maintaining Immigrations Customs and Enforcement (ICE) in its current form; the raids that rake psychological gashes into entire communities, the booming detention center industry, stopgap measures like 287g, virulently anti-Spanish language and anti-Mexican rhetoric blasted out over acceptable media outlets, as well as continuing to build up a heavily militarized border-this can end in nothing but more violence against and deaths of Latinos/as in the US, and on a growing scale.

There are those who turn away from trying to alter the course of something seemingly so large, or who simply grow more cynical and bitter with each new injustice. They would have you believe the US will never learn, that this government and this culture are incapable of remembering or acting on the very important lessons from which we bear national scars already; lessons that would prevent us from repeating yet another harm against yet another group of people of color; but in new ways and in a new year.

The Sanctuary Editors reject such a view in favor of self-empowered, self-organized social change. We know it will not be easy to turn this tide. But we must. Such a change is incumbent upon all of us and we will all pay a price if we do not succeed, with both a further loss of life, and our own humanity. We must pass humane legislation, and demand that true justice play out in our courts. We must insure that civil rights be protected. We must loudly expose and forcefully challenge any pundits or politicians who are constructing a subhuman class with their words and actions, and as bloggers and activists who fight for human rights, we must hold our fellow activists equally accountable to take a strong stand on the right side of the bright line drawn by this tragedy. Luis Ramirez will never come back to his family. Let us ensure that his life was not lost in vain.

Oregon’s first probable case of swine flu was identified late Wednesday following testing by the Oregon State Public Health Laboratory. The probable case was in a Multnomah County adult female who consulted her physician after experiencing flu-like symptoms, according to Dr. Mel Kohn, head of the Oregon Public Health Department. The woman, who was not hospitalized and is recovering normally, had contact with someone who had recently traveled to Mexico and been exposed to the swine flu there, he said.

The specimen from this case was sent to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for further characterization, with final results of testing expected in several days. “It is very likely that this test will be confirmed by the final step of laboratory testing,” Kohn said. “So we are not waiting – we are treating this as a case of swine flu.” “Our first priorities are to provide information to people to help them protect themselves and to slow the spread of this new strain of flu virus,” said Dr. Gary Oxman, health officer for Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties. State and local health departments continue to operate at high alert.

The state public health lab continues to receive new cultures from health care providers. So far the other cases have tested negative for flu’ but Dr. Kohn said it is likely that there will be additional cases in the future. “We have expected to see a case in Oregon and the public health system is responding well,” Dr. Kohn said. “Oregon’s state and local public health officials are working together and with federal officials to slow spread of the disease and to continue to protect the public. The complete press release is posted to the Secure HAN under Alert Details.

Event Status: Actual
Jurisdictional Level: State
Sensitive: No
Sent By: CDC HAN
Organization: OR Dept of Human Services
Email: Han.Oregon@state.or.us

Time Sent: 4/30/2009 10:42:07 AM

Mobilize for May 1

March 5:00 PM from Union Square, NYC
Assemble Broadway and 15th
Defend Workers’ Right to Fight Back

Legalization for all! No limits on the right to strike and organize

Workers can’t fight layoffs, cutbacks and wage cuts if they fear deportation and detention and if laws block their rights to form unions and to strike.

Make the Rich Pay: Decent Jobs For ALL

Tax the rich and corporations to pay for a massive direct government jobs program—expanding housing, education, health services.

Budget cuts, concessions by workers, layoffs all deepen the crisis by cutting demand for goods and services. No budget cuts! Instead we need to create jobs and expand demand by taking money from the rich, who created the crisis.

Democratic Control of Finance

Permanent government ownership and control of all banks and other financial institutions– run by democratically-elected boards.

Trillions for bank bailouts just gives money to the same bankers whose policies are gutting the economy. WE need to control the financial system, not leave it in the hands of a pack of billionaires. The people must vote on where we put our own tax dollars.

How can we win these demands?

The same way people in the last Great Depression won Social Security, unemployment compensation, huge government jobs programs like WPA—by mass demonstrations, by General Strikes like those in San Francisco, Minneapolis and Toledo, by sit-down strikes (plant occupations) and by organizing everyone—fellow workers, neighbors, and friends. “Make the Rich Pay” Coalition

taxtherichnyc@gmail.com, NJ May 1 Coalition info@njmay1.org, NY-NJ Rapid Response Network

Info: 504-520-9521

Movilízate Para el Primero de Mayo

Reunete a las 5 PM

en Broadway y 15th St. Union Square

Defiende los Derechos de Obrero

Legalización para todos! Sin Limites en el derecho de organizar y hacer huelgas

Obreros no pueden resistir los despidos, ajustes y cortes de salarios si temen deportación y si las leyes bloquean sus derechos de formar sindicatos y hacer huelgas.

Exigir que los Ricos Paguen por Trabajos para Todos

Impuestos para las Corporaciones y Los Ricos, para financiar un programa masivo. De obras publicas – expandiendo vivienda, educación, y salud

Cortes del presupuesto gubernativo, concesiones de los obreros, y despidos, todos profundizan la crisis, cortando demanda por bienes y servicios. No más cortes del presupuesto gubernativo. En vez de cortes necesitamos crear puestos de trabajos y expandir demanda, tomando el dinero de los ricos, quienes crearon la crisis.

Control Democrático de Finanzas

Propiedad permanente gubernativo y control de los bancos y otras instituciones financieras–dirigidos por consejos elegidos democráticamente

Billones y Trillones  de Dólares Para Salvar a Los Bancos, solamente devuelve dinero a los Banqueros Corruptos cuyas políticas están destruyendo la economía. Necesitamos controlar el sistema financiero, no dejarlo en las manos de una banda de millonarios. El Pueblos debe decidir en que se utilizan los impuestos que pagamos. Esto seria  Democracia!!!

Como podamos ganar estas demandas?

De la misma manera que el pueblo en la última gran Depresión gano seguridad social, seguro por los desempleados, y grandes programas de obras públicas como el WPA—Por medio de grandes manifestaciones, por medio de huelgas generales como las de San Francisco, Minneapolis y Toledo, Por medio de ocupaciones de fabricas. Y organizando a todos—obreros, estudiantes, vecinos, y amigos.

La Coalición de Exigir que los Ricos Paguen, NY-NJ Red de Respuesta Rapida, NJ May 1 Coalición info@njmay1.org

Info: 504-520-9521