Conscience of a community activist

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Recently, I shocked a fellow worker and a few others by outing myself as a Latino community activist.  An “Activist” he said accusatorially. “You cannot be a Latino community activist and an advocate for other causes.”  Some people, he added may object to a person who has a strong commitment to a particular group. His response both surprised and offended me. While there is a good point in the sense that there is a negative side to being obsessive about commitment, we cannot forget that both he and I are committed to making sure the Civil Rights legislation of 1964 benefits all Americans –regardless of what the word preceding the hyphen appended before the word American and that is used so often and divisively in our diverse society. I am reminded that while some may color the word activist with a subjective shade, activism is at the core of the evolutionary rather than revolutionary change in our society.

Cesar Chavez remembered by colleagues at Imperial Valley College

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IMPERIAL, Calif.–Students, faculty, and friends gathered in the college center of Imperial Valley College to celebrate Cesar Chavez Day on Thursday. Opening the celebration, was a performance by Mariachi Mixteco, followed by guest speaker Esteban Jaramillo, a comrade of the late labor rights leader. Jaramillo participated in many marches with Chavez, and Chavez unionize farm labor. Jaramillo’s inspiration for wanting to help the farm-working community came from his father. “I worked in the fields with my father for one day,” Jaramillo said.