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Mostrando las entradas con la etiqueta Arizona. Mostrar todas las entradas
Mostrando las entradas con la etiqueta Arizona. Mostrar todas las entradas

lunes, 16 de febrero de 2015

Exhibirán el documental "Underwater Dreams" en el Latino Cultural Center


Quienes no ha visto la película "Spare Parts" (estrenada a mediados del mes pasado en cines), esta semana tienen la oportunidad de ver la historia de los cuatro estudiantes de una preparatoria de Arizona que triunfaron inesperadamente en un concurso de robótica a nivel nacional.

jueves, 15 de enero de 2015

"Spare Parts": Un retrato justo y necesario (de los latinos)


SANDRA VELÁZQUEZ

 A Jamie Lee Curtis le bastó con leer el artículo que Joshua Davis escribió en Wired Magazine -"La Vida Robot"- para convencerse de que valía la pena hacer una película a partir de la inspiracional historia de cuatro estudiantes indocumentados de Arizona, que guiados por su profesor de preparatoria conquistaron una competencia nacional de robótica superando al Instituto Tecnológico de Massachusetts a mediados de la década pasada.

jueves, 3 de enero de 2013

No Dreams -The Case of Ruben Navarrete



By Rudy F. Acuña

I usually ignore people who take cheap shots in order to make themselves look intelligent. However, Ruben Navarrete’s column titled, “If I offended demanding DREAMers, I'm not sorry” crossed the line. My gut reaction was who gives a dump? But I guess I do.

Navarette begins his column in his usual self-congratulatory way: “Even for someone who has written more than 2,000 columns over the last 20 years, sometimes the words come out wrong.”

I have known Ruben for those two decades, and my impression is that he is always trying to impress you. The first words that came out of his mouth when we first met were that he had graduated from Harvard as if that somehow qualified him as an expert.

At 25 Ruben wrote an autobiography A Darker A Shade of Crimson. It was about telling us he was from Harvard.

The Amazon promo says that Navarette spent “his turbulent years as a Mexican-American undergraduate at one of the nation's most prestigious universities.” According  the piece, the autobiography was Navarrette’s “declaration of independence, spurning the labels `people of color' (offensive) and ‘Hispanic’ (too general), preferring ‘minority’ and ‘Latino.’” (Four years before that he had been a Chicano).

In A Darker A Shade of Crimson, Ruben brags how he confronted bigotry. Ruben pulled himself up by his own bootstraps.  Ruben was a self-made boy, got straight A's, a valedictorian, and his efforts alone got him into Harvard. Affirmative action and the sacrifices of others had nothing to do with it.

I could not believe that this was the same chubby kid that I met a couple of years before who tried to impress me with how Chicano he was – high fives and all. Ruben was Mr. Aztlán.

The tone of Navarette’s article offended my sense of history, and no one should mess with Chicana/o history.

I know that I am getting old. And my memory is not what it used to be. However, I remember witnessing firsthand students, educators and organizations pressuring Ivy League universities to admit highly qualified minorities. Even Michelle Obama, an excellent student, was reputed to have taken part in a sit-in at Harvard in 1988.

However, Ruben thinks he is exceptional, and the sacrifices of others had nothing to do with his admission. He was a boy genius from Sanger, California.

Perhaps at one time Ruben could be forgiven for his historical myopia. He was once a young man who wanted to make it. He had a dream of being someone. Of being called Mr. Harvard. But last month he completely blew any credibility he once had.

Navarette preached, “I know just what a lot of those so-called DREAMers deserve to get for Christmas: a scolding. There are good and bad actors in every movement and the bad ones -- if not kept in check -- can drag the good ones down with them.”

He continues, “Having declared their intention to better themselves, some in the DREAMer movement now insist that they're entitled to better treatment than run-of-the-mill illegal immigrants. You know, like the hardworking and humble folks who cut your lawn, clean your house or care for your kids. In fact, the DREAMers seem to suggest they're due a reward for good behavior.”

Then he gets nasty, “Gee, kids, can we get you anything else? Maybe free massages the next time you stage a sit-in? These kids want it all” …While they probably don't realize it, their public tantrums are turning people against them and hurting the chances for a broader immigration reform package.”
Some might call this a cheap shot.

This man who says he has written “more than 2,000 columns over the last 20 years,” offers no solution while playing to the xenophobes. Indeed, other than he went to Harvard, what has he accomplished?

Most recent research shows that people deprived of entering the dream phase of sleep “exhibit symptoms of irritability and anxiety.” Their brains stop growing. This is what has apparently happened to Ruben.

On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King gave his famous “I Have A Dream” Speech. Like all visionaries Dr. King wanted a more perfect society.  The reverend spoke of the gap between the American dream and the American lived reality and how white supremacists violated the dream. The reaction of his fellow Dreamers was “Now.”

The response to Dr. King was not all positive. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) expanded their COINTELPRO operation against the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and targeted King specifically as a public enemy of the United States.  Some accused Dr. King of provoking enmity between the races.

Dr. King was scolded in the press. Called a troublemaker, and certainly his civility was questioned. In the end, history has judged him as it will the Dreamers.

As I have often pointed out when I arrived at San Fernando Valley State College, there were barely fifty students of Mexican origin at the college. Students opened it up by demanding and often being discourteous. They were the children of “the hardworking and humble folks who cut your lawn, clean your house or care for your kids.” They dreamt of a better life, of escaping low paying jobs much the same as Navarette escaped Sanger.

 Like Dr. King the Dreamers have led a nonviolent struggle and practiced civil disobedience to bring attention to the injustices in our society. For the information of Ruben Navarette, civil disobedience is an American tradition dating back to the Boston Tea Party and the abolitionist movement.  Today’s Dreamers follow in the footsteps of other American Dreamers, which is probably hard for Navarette, suffering from intellectual insomnia, to fathom.

 Aside from the equitable argument that the Dreamers are entitled to a path to citizenship because they came to the United States through no fault of their own – most were minors when brought here by their parents—there are more compelling reasons. In spite of living in poor neighborhoods and often attending decaying schools, they have displayed considerable initiative and perseverance in pursuing their education and being good citizens in their community.

I argue that they came to the United States not through their own fault but because the United States has not been the best of neighbors.

Mexico has a population of 115 million people. Most of Mexican immigrants migrated to the United States because of economic reasons. The North American Free Trade Agreement has been a disaster to the small subsistence farmer driving millions off their farms. Relatively little technical aid has been given to Mexico to help build its infrastructure whereas the United States is pumping in hundreds of millions of dollars to induce the Mexican government to purse a failed War on Drugs that has devastated the country.

The Nation Magazine reported “Beyond the undiplomatic opinions … the WikiLeaks cables revealed the astonishing degree to which the United States exercised its power and influence at the highest levels of the Mexican government. In some cases it appears that an essential part of the decision-making process on matters of internal security is actually designed not in Mexico City but in Washington. For Mexicans, the cables have reinforced once again that famous adage ‘Pobre Mexico: tan lejos de Dios, y tan cerca de los Estados Unidos.’ Poor Mexico: so far from God and so close to the United States.”

In the case of the Dreamers from Central America, the U.S. wrecked the economy of those countries and spent billions tearing them up. Lately, the U.S. has been exporting made in the U.S. gang members to El Salvador.

One might say the migration of the Dreamers was in most cases induced.

This debate could go on forever. But for Navarette’s information, the actions of the Dreamers that Navarette objects to are the ones that got him into Harvard. The Dreamers never would have gotten this far if they had relied on the Ruben Navarettes.  Most of them have worked hard, gotten good grades and not gotten swallowed up in the apathy that often paralyzes the poor. They dare to dream, and refuse to take less by just existing. Perhaps Ruben should re-read A Darker Shade of Crimson and remember how it was to dream.

jueves, 18 de octubre de 2012

Debate presidencial: Romney, el cínico en jefe

Maribel Hastings
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Cuando por fin el tema migratorio hizo su aparición en un debate presidencial, el contendiente republicano Mitt Romney le hizo honor a su título de cínico en jefe al mantener su postura de criticar al presidente Barack Obama por no concretar una reforma migratoria integral que ni Romney ni los republicanos apoyan, por decir que no planifica rodear a 12 millones de indocumentados para deportarlos, aunque su asesor migratorio, Kris Kobach, arquitecto de la SB 1070 de Arizona, sea el autor del concepto de hacerle la vida tan imposible a los inmigrantes que opten por autodeportarse, como apoya Romney, y más aún, por una vez más mencionar que su padre nació en México como hace cada vez que le conviene.

martes, 9 de octubre de 2012

Sondeo: Latinos en Arizona apoyan abrumadoramente a Obama sobre Romney

Maribel Hastings/America's Voice

Maribel Hastings
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Si sólo dependiera del voto latino, el presidente Barack Obama podría pintar al conservador estado de Arizona de azul, porque cuenta con un sólido 72% del apoyo de los electores hispanos que afirman votarán por el mandatario, comparado con apenas el 11% que dijo estar seguro de votar por el republicano Mitt Romney, según la más reciente entrega del sondeo de Latino Decisions para America’s Voice.

jueves, 27 de enero de 2011

El legado de César Chávez es un asunto aparte

Profr. Roberto R. Calderón

César Chávez nació un 31 de marzo, en Arizona
En Texas, durante los primeros días del año nuevo recibimos la noticia que el representante estatal Tyron D. Lewis (R-Odessa), abogado por profesión, presentó una propuesta de ley (HB 505) en la que busca reemplazar el Día de César Chávez (marzo 31) como un día oficial feriado por otro de su propia invención. A este último le ha titulado “Texas Hispanic Heritage Day” (Día de la Herencia Hispana en Texas) y en vez de caer en el 31 de marzo (fecha que marca el cumpleãnos de Chávez) será el 16 de septiembre. Quiéralo o no el estado, quienes celebramos el 16 de septiembre ya lo hacemos sin tener que obtener el permiso de quienes gobiernan. Y de que resulta redundante y falso el ejercicio que pretende Lewis no cabe duda.

viernes, 23 de abril de 2010

Civil Right Leaders to Arizona Gov: Veto SB1070


HoyDallas.com/NCLR

WASHINGTON, DC -- Leaders from the nation's leading civil rights organizations have sounded the alarm over the misguided immigration bill in Arizona. They pointed to the widespread use of racial profiling that will likely result, the overly broad license it gives police to stop citizens and non citizens, and the high costs for the state's economy and taxpayers.

SB 1070, a bill passed by the Arizona legislature in the name of helping law enforcement and making neighborhoods safer, currently sits on the desk of Governor Jan Brewer, who is being urged to veto it because it threatens community safety.

The leaders called the Arizona law dangerous and unconstitutional, and it renews the urgency for Congress and the White House to move forward with comprehensive immigration reform.

lunes, 19 de abril de 2010

La Cámara de Comercio Hispana de los Estados Unidos rechaza ley anti-inmigrante de Arizona

Servicios de HoyDallas.com

WASHINGTON-- La Cámara de Comercio Hispana de Estados Unidos (USHCC, siglas en inglés), en representación de cerca de 3 millones de negocios de propiedad de hispanos y más de 200 cámaras de comercio hispanas locales en toda la nación, expresó su grave decepción ante la legislatura estatal de Arizona de aprobar una ley que amenaza la seguridad de las comunidades de Arizona y resulta en la práctica del perfil racial de los latinos. 

De ser aprobada como ley por la gobernadora Jan Brewer, S.B. 1070, el proyecto de ley llamado "Vecindarios seguros", requeriría que la policía local y estatal persiga a toda persona sospechosa de ser un inmigrante indocumentado, en lugar de preocuparse de mantener nuestras comunidades a salvo de delitos violentos. La legislación tuvo la oposición de los jefes de policía de todo el estado, pues definitivamente desalentaría a los inmigrantes y sus familias de reportar delitos o de servir de testigos.

Los partidarios de la legislación citaron la ropa, la música o el acento como indicadores que deberían impulsar a una investigación delictiva. Estas sugerencias son alarmantes para los individuos y organizaciones que representan a la comunidad hispana así como para los americanos de todo origen. Comenzando con los jefes de policía y sheriffs en todo el estado, el Consejo Nacional de la Raza (NCR) y la Unión Americana de Libertades Civiles (ACLU), existe una concordancia expandida de que esta ley resultaría una muy mala política y vigilancia ineficaz.

"Comprendo la frustración de un sistema inmigratorio quebrantado, pero esta no es una solución. Necesitamos desesperadamente un reforma migratoria exhaustiva que en lugar de asegurar la frontera, garantice la provisión de trabajo estable cuando y donde sea necesario y normalice el estatus migratorio de millones de familias inmigrantes muy trabajadoras que contribuyen a la prosperidad de nuestra nación", dijo Javier Palomarez, presidente de la Cámara de Comercio Hispana de Estados Unidos. "Evidentemente, el Gobernador debe vetar esta legislación mal enfocada que mina la seguridad de todas nuestras comunidades".

"Como californiano, recuerdo cuando el gobernador Wilson presionó la Propuesta 187, sinceramente espero que la gobernadora Brewer aprenda de los errores de la historia: atacar a toda la comunidad hispana en un fervor por imponer las leyes migratorias civiles no funciona y tiene consecuencias políticas significativas", dijo David C. Lizarraga, presidente del directorio de la Cámara de Comercio Hispana de Estados Unidos.
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United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Dismayed at Arizona Anti-Immigrant Law

The United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC), representing the interests of nearly 3 million Hispanic-owned businesses and over 200 local Hispanic chambers of commerce nationwide, expressed its grave disappointment at the Arizona state legislature for passing a law that will jeopardize the safety of Arizona communities and result in the racial profiling of Latinos.

If signed into law by Governor Jan Brewer, S.B. 1070 -- the so-called "Safe Neighborhoods" bill -- would require state and local police to pursue every person suspected of being an undocumented immigrant, rather than keeping our communities safe from violent crimes. The legislation was opposed by police chiefs from throughout the state because it would certainly discourage immigrants and their families from reporting crimes or serving as witnesses.

Supporters of the legislation have cited clothing, music or an accent as details that should prompt a criminal investigation. These suggestions alarm not only individuals and organizations representing the Hispanic community, but Americans of every background. From police chiefs and sheriffs throughout the state, to the National Council of La Raza and the American Civil Liberties Union, there is widespread agreement that this law would make for very bad policy and ineffective policing.

"I understand the frustration over a broken immigration system, but this is not the solution. We desperately need comprehensive immigration reform instead to secure the border, ensure a stable labor supply where and when necessary, and normalize the status of millions of hard-working immigrant families that contribute to the prosperity of our nation," said Javier Palomarez, President of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. "Clearly, the Governor must veto this misguided legislation that will undermine the safety of all our communities."

"As a Californian, I remember when Governor Wilson pushed Proposition 187. I sincerely hope that Governor Brewer will learn from history's mistakes: Attacking the entire Hispanic community in the zeal for enforcing civil immigration laws does not work and has significant political consequences," said David C. Lizarraga, Chairman of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.