Carlos J. Licea

Carlos J. Licea is an independent journalist (unaffiliated) journalist from Southern California. His photos and written work appears in Amigos 805.com and other publications. He is a veteran newsman who has worked in California, Florida and Puerto Rico; Managua, Nicaragua; Maracaibo, Venezuela and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He is a Latino community activist, advocate for people with disabilities and avid photographer. He is writing a book "Stroke of Luck" about his experience in recovering from a stroke. A passionate man of letters, he speaks and writes in English, Spanish and Portuguese. He is a graduate of the University of Florida School of Journalism with a Certificate in Latin American Studies.

Conscience of a community activist

By Carlos J. Licea | June 10, 2011

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.