Chicano journalists discuss latino/a history

By Rachel Edelman
Daily Staff Reporter

A combination of political and personal issues currently affecting the latino/a community were discussed Friday evening as Chicano journalists Patrisia Gonzales and Roberto Rodriguez spoke to a group of 60 people.

Gonzales and Rodriguez, who are married and work in Albuquerque, write a syndicated column, Latino Spectrum, which is published in 30 newspapers nationwide. "Gonzales & Rodriguez: Uncut and Uncensored," a collection of their columns, was recently published. Their work involves attempts to expose Americans to latino/as and broaden the public's conceptions of the ethnic group.

Gonzales spoke about the need for men and women to work together to achieve peace and social progress, as well as the need to challenge violence in society.

"How many times have we become emotionally violent towards another?" Gonzales asked. "We react in anger, we attack ourselves - simply because we don't agree."

Gonzales is the country's first latina syndicated columnist and has been writing a book about Mexico's emerging human rights movement, titled "The Mud People: Anonymous Heroes of Mexico's Emerging Human Rights Movement," for the last two years.

"Do we honor nonviolence the way we honor armed struggle?" she asked. "I think we should begin to honor peace and peaceful struggles ... If we have not come to the point where we cannot hold back arms with our bodies, then we have to evolve as a people."

Rodriguez, who received a standing ovation for his speech, discussed affirmative action, representations of Mexicans in the media, and various laws that are directed at immigrants.

Rodriguez is a senior writer at Black Issues in Higher Education and wrote "Justice: A Question of Race," which chronicles two police brutality trials stemming from a physical beating Rodriguez suffered by L.A. County Sheriff's officers in 1979.

Rodriguez said the United States is in a "period of anti-rights" toward immigrants, particularly Mexicans and Central Americans.

"What is at stake is the very definition of what it means to be human," he said.

Rodriguez discussed the implications of anti-immigration laws such as Proposition 187 in California, which banned public education for illegal immigrants.

"A human being can be deemed illegal simply for migrating," Rodriguez said. "No human being is illegal."

Rodriguez also spoke about the lawsuits filed against the University that target the use of race as a factor in the admissions process and the effect that they may have across the country.

"Incidentally, all eyes are on Michigan today. California and Texas have taught us that segregation can be instituted as legal," Rodriguez said. "Maybe what happens in Michigan will reverberate around the country."

Audience members said they were moved by Gonzales' and Rodriguez' personal accounts.

"It was a very uplifting speech in the sense of letting people know that there are struggles that should not be forgotten," said LSA junior Jesse Perez.

The event, sponsored by MECha, the Student Affairs Programming Council, the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs, the sociology department and the latino studies program was part of Chicano History Week, which ended yesterday with a mural dedication.

02-16-98