For Immediate Release                                                                             

January 24, 2012                                                                                              
CONTACT:
Tony Diaz, Nuestra Palabra Director
AztecMuse@aol.com 

 
Houston writers & activists organize a caravan of Librotraficantes to smuggle contraband books back into Arizona!

Houston, Texas – Local literary nonprofit Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say is organizing The Librotraficantes Banned Book Caravan from Houston, Texas to Tucson, Arizona leaving Houston on Monday, March 12 and culminating in Tucson, Arizona Saturday, March 17.

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

The Caravan will be making stops in Texas, New Mexico, and, of course, Arizona.

Banned writers have embraced the caravan and will participate along the route, including Mac Arthur Genius recipient 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 Harpers; and best selling author Luis Alberto Urrea, who was the first to enthusiastically support the project through Twitter.

The caravan is intended to:

1. Raise awareness of the suspension of the Mexican-American Studies Program and the removal of banned books.
2. Promotion of banned authors and their contributions to American Literature, Non-Fiction and Poetry.
3. Celebrate diversity: Children of the American Dream must unite to preserve the civil rights of all Americans.

Founded in 1998, Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say has gone from the party hall of Chapultepec Restaurant to Exhibit Hall F of the George R. Brown Convention Center. Today, the entire city is our forum. When we began, we were told that there was not an audience for Latino literature. We are thrilled to say that today the largest book events in Houston are Latino events. We are proud to bring you Houston’s contribution to the Latino Literary Renaissance. WEBSITES:  www.Librotraficante.com and www.NuestraPalabra.org

Over the years, it has become apparent to me that our people have remained largely affected by the Spanish colonization and the subsequent occupations of our lands. Countless people have written about the effects that colonization has had on our identity, behaviors and power.

As evidence, we are perhaps one of the only peoples in the world who continue to identify ourselves by name with a colonizer. We follow classic mal-adaptive behaviors cited by colonized people all over the world, and we are powerless in our own lands. This, though, is not a message about our problems. Rather, it is a message about how we can fix them.

The first step toward any solution is education (consciencia y conceiencia), education regarding our law, history, spirituality, political and economic situation, defense, gender relations and more. As long as we look at our different problems as separate issues, we will continue to bandage the symptoms, when we truly need to take a medicine that will treat the root of the illness.

A church can naturally offer a holistic education for all of these concerns. More than anything, it can offer a worldview that will challenge our current situation and promote possibilities of new answers. Such a message can be consistent and accessible through a weekly service.

Why a church, instead of a community group?
“Church” is an inexact word to describe this vision. Most, if not all, of the current ceremonies are rooted in pre-Cuahtemoc traditions. This means that they were developed at a time in which colonization had not yet hit our lands. Consequently, they were not designed to deal with today’s results of colonization. They were designed to honor the Creator amongst a group of people who already have some knowledge of the beliefs. These traditions are beautiful, and they have captivated me for more than a decade. However, they do not address one of our community’s biggest problems today—that the vast majority of our community does not have the basic knowledge of their purpose, much less their deeper meaning. We do not currently have a ceremony wholly dedicated to the people and their understanding of themselves. The Church service’s primary mission is just that, to reach more people with our message and to create a method of delivery for this message, as we offer our prayers in a newly designed service.

Egalitarianism
It has become more popular to support a perspective of egalitarianism and consensus-based models. A church, or any ideology, which seeks to provide answers does not seem to fit this model. Nevertheless, there are people in our city who have developed a great deal of knowledge of the Red Road over the past ten to fifteen years. They know far more about Mexicaoytl than 99% of the population in Houston. This is simply a fact. I understand that there may be a hesitation to promote the idea that a group of people may have more knowledge than others, but again, it is simply a fact. There are people in Houston who are looking for guidance, looking for answers, looking for leadership. They are not looking to be asked for their opinion. They are looking and asking for your knowledge. Imagine going to a mechanic for help and being sat down in a circle and hearing, “what do you think our first step should be in fixing your car.” Sometimes, people want guidance, and we hope to provide some. This notion does not mean that we do not have anything to learn or that we should not listen or that we hope to simply pour ideas into people’s heads. What it does mean is that there is a place for leadership and a flow of knowledge from those who know to those who need.

Isn’t Church A European Concept?
Yes. Church is not the most appropriate word for this vision, but for now, it is the quickest way for me to express my idea. I think it is useful at this stage because it speaks in a language that our people understand. If we promote the idea as a “Mitote Teokalli,” I don’t think most people would understand the concept enough to take a second look. And, since this concept is for the people above all else, we hope to speak a language that our people understand.

Who is welcome?
People of all colors who come with an open heart are welcome to come. One of the primary purposes of the proposed church is floricanto, to spread the beauty of our true culture/spirituality. Even so, all human nations, including our own, have adopted people from elsewhere. With the understanding that the goal is to be adopted by or to understand our culture/spirituality, we welcome all.

I’m not sure if this is right or if it’s for me/other commitments.
I fully expect that some will come down this road with us, to find that it is not for them, for whatever reason. Keep in mind, that we are still exploring this idea. Nobody has committed to starting this church, only to begin some prayers and talking circles about it. If you find that it is not for you, either because of the leadership style, time commitments, beliefs or whatever, you can stop coming, no hard feelings. For now, I invite you to hear some of these ideas and to share yours.

Isn’t Religion Oppressive?
It has been used by oppressors, but it has also been a thorn in the side of oppressors.

Invitation
I would like to invite you this Sunday, November 13th at 3PM to a prayer discussion about this idea. If you may be able to help in anyway, either as atl-cihuatl, malintzin or by opening prayer or by offering cantos, please let me know. We are hoping for this help and your experience. Please bring your spiritual armas and anything for the altar. If you can come, please let me know, just for a basic head count. I am expecting a very small crowd, perhaps five people, but I hope that you may be among them.

-Hector

Houston Unido/United–

Occupy Houston has passed a proposal for an anti-police brutality
march in solidarity with the Oakland General Strike/Mass Day of
action.

We’ll meet 11:30 am, Wednesday, Nov 2, at Tranquility. Then at noon,
we’ll march to the Harris Country Sheriff’s office at 1201 Franklin.

If you can help get the word out to other interested groups, please
do. And if you can make it out, even better! Unfortunately, we’re
still working on flyers/press info–so if you would like those
materials, let me know and I can forward them to you once they’re
available.

Thanks,

-Jim

I would like to open this letter by recognizing your recent efforts to shed light on the cases of many problems that many middle class United States citizens have begun to feel lately.  The unemployment, the disenfranchisement from the political process and, in many cases, the dispossession of personal and real property all have their roots in imperialistic capitalism and corporate greed, a point which your movement has not shied away from.  You have identified the source of the problem to a great degree.  For this, I commend you.

At the same time, I feel compelled to share some thoughts with you.  I do not write this letter as a critique.  Instead, I hope that this will serve as somewhat of a contribution, however modest.

I would like to first point out that while corporate imperialism has recently affected the white middle class a great deal, many peoples, like the Chican@/Mexican@/Ixachilanka have been historically and chronically victimized by similar branches of imperialism.  For five hundred years, we have been survivors of the worst genocide in history called the American Holocaust.  Some estimate that we lost one hundred twenty million people due to white European occupation of our lands and their extermination policies.  Today you are protesting the same force which masterminded the American Holocaust.  That force is a mix of imperialism, greed and racism.

In fact, in one way or another, many of your leaders are beneficiaries of the imperialist legacy that we have continued to deal with for five centuries.  I point this out not to condemn you, in particular, but rather as a suggestion that your movement address the historical cost perpetrated by the same powers that you now protest.  Moreover, rather than simply addressing the historical legacy, it is my hope that you would strive to advocate for some form of reparations, along with your other demands.  If it is to be a truly inclusive and comprehensive movement for justice, this is necessary.  To fail to account for the historical legacy left by our common enemy, is to limit the benefits of your movement to a more narrowly defined constituency.

Chronic unemployment, an issue for some in the Occupy Movment, is not unique to the United States.  In many countries all over the world, chronic unemployment is due in large measure to US intervention in vulnerable countries.  This is often done at the behest of capitalist and imperialist interest in these countries.  In 1933, Major General SD Butler reported to Common Sense “I helped make Mexico, and especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenue in. I helped pacify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers.”  People of color all around the world feel the full force of this continued policy.  Relative to the other consequences of war, unemployment is a small problem in these countries, which often is created at the hands of the same crony capitalists that you are protesting.

One of the demands at the national level of the “occupy” movement is an end to the electoral disenfranchisement of voters.  History teaches us about the chronic disenfranchisement of minority voters in the US.  Poll taxes, reading requirements, ancestry requirements, directed toward racial minorities have been the norm in this part of the world for longer than they have not been. 

Furthermore, on September 11, 1973 the US collaborated in the removal of the democratically-elected President of Chile.  In 2002 crony capitalists conspired to kidnap the democratically-elected president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez.  In 2004, democratically-elected president of Haite, Jean-Bertand Aristide, was forcibly removed from office and whisked away in a US aircraft.  In 2009 democratically-elected Nicaraguan president, Manuel Zelaya, was removed in a coup, which also seems to have been orchestrated by US officials.  As you protest the recent changes in voter ID requirements and the manipulation of voting machines, please know that we have survived these, and many more incidents too numerous to mention.

Finally, many of your supporters are outraged by the recent mass of home foreclosures, often accomplished by fraudulent documentation.  As a Mexican in the US, I can tell you that we are reminded yearly of the extra-legal appropriation of Mexican lands by US imperialists to the tune of lands from Texas to California.  It goes without saying that Northern Natives also suffered the dispossession and forced removal from all of their lands, also at the hands of the same class of people that you protest today.

In this letter, I picked out a few demands generally vocalized by the occupy movement, but our experience, as a people of color, has an added layer and added history in virtually all of your demands.  It is my hope that if the movement will strive for true inclusiveness, the movement will be open to an added layer of complexity, history, and contemporary and historical needs and demands. 

It is not simply the inclusion of people of color that will make the difference. Instead, the inclusion of our experience, perspective on and solutions to the same beast that you fight today will truly speak to the inclusiveness of your efforts.

Adelante En La Lucha,

Hector A. Chavana Jr.

OurNewAnahuac.net

The concept of a union is vivid in the minds of many people. As an individual, it is difficult to bargain with the company. As a group, they are forced to listen, or you strike.

It is a very similar concept with this new group. Instead of walking off the job, we have a “vote strike” by withholding votes in certain races. Of course, there are many more strategies, just as in union organizing. Come check out our small group, and share your ideas.

Anyway, we are having a meeting this Saturday (tomorrow). Sorry for the late notice, but we are working on communication, and we can use your help on this. 3-5 at Tejas, and all progresistas are welcome.

“The Case of Joe Campos Torres” is a documentary film about one of the most infamous cases of police misconduct in Houston history. Produced at KPRC-TV, Channel 2 in Houston in 1978 by Tony Bruni and written and edited by Carlos Calbillo, this documentary feature is reported by John Quiñones, now of ABC News in New York City.

Shot on location throughout Houston, this film chronicles the event and subsequent community protest meetings and community/police department negotiations and the legal actions taken by the Torres family against the Houston Police Department.

The writer/editor, Carlos Calbillo will be present for Q&A after the film. Members of the Torres family and representatives of the Houston Police Department have been invited to the screening and may also take part in the Q&A.

To be screened on Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 7PM at the Houston Community College Northline Campus, 8001 Fulton St. Houston, TX 77021

FREE and open to the public.

This weekend, I was invited by some friends of mine to visit Cleveland, Texas.  The trip was not a leisurely one.  We were invited to meet with a community which had been affected by a horrific incident-the gang rape of an 11-year old by a group of men.   This young girl was lured to an isolated location, where men from the age of fourteen to twenty seven years of age took turns having sex with her on different occasions.  I was also informed that in later incidents, members of the same group threatened to kill this young girl if she did not return to the same location to be raped again.  If this isn’t enough of a tragedy, this child, her parents and the community quickly became victims of an ensuing media circus. 

Racial Perspective

One of the most attractive parts of the story for mainstream media types is that the victim of this rape was a so-called Latina.  All of the accused are black.  Traditionally, there is little else that attracts mainstream media more than racial problems, especially when the two sides are people of color. 

Quanell X, a local activist, staged a town hall meeting in Cleveland to discuss some points of concern with the situation.  Many people involved in social justice and human rights have learned to be guarded with the criminal justice system.  Having protested cases like Pedro Oregon’s murder at the hands of HPD in the nineties to most recently the detention of babies in immigrant jails like Hutto, I understand the apprehension of other activists when it comes to issues of criminal justice. In general, Mr. X is correct in questioning law enforcement’s process with people of color. 

In his speech, he clearly said that any adult who had sex with a child should “have his butt whooped” and go to jail.  He also said that he told one of the accused who had admitted to his crime that he had to pay for his crime, even if the accused did not know her age, and he scolded black elders for losing control of their neighborhood.  He said that those who admitted their involvement did the right thing, and that those who were involved needed to pay for their crime. 

However, he made some other statements, which many people, including myself, interpreted as blaming the victim and her parents.  “This rape did not happen one night. It did not happen in two days, this was going on over a protracted period of time so I have to ask the question if this young girl did not live in that neighborhood…(if she was) so much experiencing sex with so many African -American men (sic)…where was her mother.” 

I spoke to Quanell X about his comments for this piece.  He was adamant that he did not intend to blame the child.  “She is a baby,” he said.  “If these brothers are guilty of what they stand accused of, they are worthy of death.”  He repeated that phrase for emphasis.  However, he stood by the assertion that the parents bear some responsibility. 

I am relieved that he does not blame the victim, but I do not see the parents as being negligent in this case.  The NY Times reports that she was an honor student, and local witnesses claim that her siblings were as well.  Even if they were negligent, I don’t know that it would be accurate or correct for them to bear any responsibility for having been manipulated, even if that manipulation spanned a few months.

 Women’s perspective

As I heard Quanell X’s comments with a female listener, she quickly responded, “How can he say she was having sex?  She was being raped.” That sums up the sentiment of many women who have been following this case.

In Cleveland, Yolanda Navarro Black, made it clear that “CHILDREN CAN’T CONSENT TO SEX.”  She explained that it was not as much a racial incident, as it was a women’s issue.  Nothing else matters, except for the fact that a minor child had been raped by adult men.  It doesn’t matter whether the child thought she wanted to.  It does not matter how the child dressed.  It does not matter whether her parents were respectable or not.  “A child can’t say yes.”

A group of women organized a press conference to reiterate the same message.  They made it clear that this was not so much a racial incident, as it was a women’s issue.  

“We’re talking about race, why?” said Councilwoman Jolanda Jones in an interview about the press conference.  “I was a victim of rape at eight years old, and I didn’t report it until I was twenty one.  Part of the reason was because the rapists threatened to kill me and my family members.”  Reportedly, this is how the Cleveland rapists convinced the child to return to be victimized again.

Sylvia Gonzales, LULAC’s National Vice President for the Southwest, is preparing to take up a collection and to fundraise for the victim’s family.  “They are very much in need due to this incident,” she says.  She can be reached at 832-283-5752.

I applaud these women for putting ethics first and for questioning a strong personality in defense of women and family, before any man did the same.

Organizing/Bigger Perspective

In the end, I believe that race is pertinent.  Quanell X says that he believes that three of the accused are innocent.  From my experience, it is plausible that three out of the nineteen black men could be charged with insufficient evidence to support these charges. It is also plausible that race could play a part in their charges.  While I strongly object to his take on the victim’s family, I believe in due process, and that the guilty should spend a lifetime paying for their crimes.

For my part, I told the good people in Cleveland, that it was extremely important to have a standing organization which is prepared to deal with all injustices as they come.  Injustice exists most often when the people fail to organize in its own self-defense.  I encouraged them to begin meeting with the aim of preparing themselves for the likely event that justice might not be served in this or in many other cases to come.  Previous preparation is the key to fighting injustice.