Juanito Burns of the Brown Berets de Nuevo Mejico (New Mexico)

The Brown Berets and other organizations are gearing up for a protest against Larry Whitten of the Whitten Inn in Taos, New Mexico to protest his controversial employment practices in which he required all of his employees to speak only English in his presence.  He even went so far as to require that employees either change their name to an English name or to pronounce their name in an anglicized manner. 

“Marco became Mark, and he even tried to make one Chicana change her name to Buckwheat,” said Juanito Burns, Jr. Prime Minister of Los Brown Berets de Nuevo Mejico in an interview with me. “Obviously the guy has problems.”

The Whitten Inn of Taos, New Mexico made national news a few days ago when the new owner chose to fire some employees that did not want to comply with the imposition of his culture over theirs. Since that time, the Brown Berets and other organizations have protested almost everyday in front of the hotel, while groups like LULAC and the ACLU have handled much of the legal and bureaucratic parts of the complaint.

They are all gearing up for a big protest on the 14th of November, in which other Brown Berets chapters, the Black Berets, LULAC,the ACLU and other groups will all march in protest of Whitten Inn. The March will begin at 11AM at the Century 21 Realty Office and end up right in front of Whitten Inn.

For his part, Juanito is calling for us Tejanos to orchestrate solidarity protests in Kerrville and Abiline, where the Whitten in has other branches. When I explained that it might be difficult considering that Abiline was almost as close to Taos as it is to my home town in Houston, he laughed. However, that didn’t deter him from continuing to call for a boycott on all Whitten Inns.

“Do what you can do, carnal. Publicizing the march is a big help,” he told me. Juanito takes on a gentler tone than one might expect. “I don’t hate Mr. Whitten. I feel sorry for him. I don’t think that he thought he was doing anything wrong.”

The Brown Berets will be providing security and personal details for some of the Raza coming down for the event. Generally, speaking, the march is a march against racism, said the Prime Minister. People of all races are welcome and expected. The one thing that he is hoping for is a public apology that the workers never got.  “We just want him to be human, to be a person,” the Prime Minister concludes.

Check out some of the coverage on the situation. The Brown Berets are pictured.

An open letter to all Raza activists and organizers in Taos, New Mexico:

Greetings,

I have read the reports regarding Larry Whitten and his activities at a hotel in your hometown of Taos.  It is regrettable, yet of little surprise, that white racists continue to try to impose cultural dominance over our people by having their employees change their name.  Whitten has commented that his pressure to anglicize the names of his employees was for the benefit of the customers, and he has also admitted to ordering that only English be spoken in his presence.

Please know that my capacity to offer material support from my own hometown of Houston, Texas is still somewhat limited.  However, understand that the moral support for your efforts to condemn this man and his practices could not be greater.  Whitten is from Texas.  I am familiar with his mentality.

In addition to any moral support that I may offer, I wish to offer my own perspective on the solution for you to consider.  This particular form of cultural dominance is nothing new.  We have seen this generation after generation.  I have specific stories handed down from my great-great-great grandfather (which have now been published) describing circumstances similar to the one that Whitten has created.

For generations we have continued to try to better our conditions by reforming racist gringos or by enacting laws which ostensibly better the situation, yet this sort of repression still exists unpunished.  These reformist tactics have failed miserably, as evidenced by the impunity that Whitten will face.  These tactics exist almost out of a natural, emotional reaction to do something to change the situation.

However, if we take emotion out of the equation and think rationally about this sort of repression, our best strategy should be to seek separation and independence in as many forms from these sick people.

Immense deals of effort and resource investment go into protesting and into law suits.  If all of the efforts and resources which might go into protesting and fighting Whitten were to go into collectively buying a properly-oriented Raza-owned hotel, then we might begin to see some change.  Continuing to try to reform people who do no even want us in our own homeland is a fool’s errand.  In a sense, Raza will do well to stop fighting the bosses and to become our own, collective, bosses.

On a national interview on CNN, Whitten claimed that the complainant, “Martin,” was perhaps one of the best employees and was being groomed as a manager for the hotel.  With so much talent, why would Martin and his associates continue to enrich a hotel owner who clearly is dismissive of their background?  Martin and his associates, along with your assistance, might do well to consider buying, as a collective, and with proper orientation, their own hotel.

It is my belief that if we take this attitude of separation and of independence and apply it to many of our community problems, that we will truly build long-term solutions.  Even if such long-term solutions are not the final solution, they may serve as the beginning of Our Restoration (O/R).

Our sacred, ancient ancestors used to plan seven generations in advance.  Planting these seeds of independence is not the easiest road of all.  In fact, it is the most difficult. 

Such a strategy requires great discipline, forethought and a healthy self-esteem.  However, I believe that should our community use strategic independence as a strategy, activists several generations down the line, will not be so apt to tell the stories that I tell about the repression of my great-great-great grandfathers.  Instead, they will tell of a seed that was planted which bore the fruit of independence for them.

In sum, I offer my moral support with whatever direction you choose to go in, even if that is a direction of reactive protests and of reform.  I offer my thoughts as a strategy to consider, and it is my hope that the workers at this hotel, will consider a plan to collectively purchase and run their own hotel, and that such a hotel be properly oriented.  

I congratulate you on your work so far, and may you always continue to struggle for what is just.

Hasta La Victoria,

Hector Antonio Tlacelel Chavana

La Raza Justice Movement

OurNewAnahuac.net

Facebook.com/hectorchavanajr