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I celebrated Pioneer Day amongst friends, at Jon and Jen’s 8th Annual 24th of July Celebration.

Two of my mentors and Elders of the Hispanic community were there. Although we come from opposite ends of the political spectrum (I am Republican and they are Democrats), only on a couple of occasions have they held that against me. The other 97% of the time they have treated me as a son and have looked out for me and mentored me for over a decade, as we have addressed social justice issues within our communities.

In the Latino / American Indian community we honor our Elders for both the ancestral memory they represent and for their sacrifice and contributions to our communities.

As I rode the TRAX train home last night, my mind wondered to a time over a decade ago when I was fighting the Salt Lake City school district because they were not educating the large influx of English Language Learners that were coming into the district at that time.

Early on in that battle, I was invited to a meeting with the superintendent, Darlene Robles. It was Frank Cordova who called me and with a sense of urgency warned me:

“at tomorrow’s meeting with the superintendent,
you will be walking into an ambush”

He was right, the room was filled with close to 20 community leaders and they took me to task for “besmirching the reputation” of then, Superintendent Darlene Robles.

My argument, that I was more concerned about the children in my community than I was about the superintendent’s reputation fell on deaf ears that day.

I will however, always be grateful to Frank for giving me the ‘heads up’. The ostracism I felt after leaving that meeting would have been more acute had Frank not forewarned me. I had just met Frank a couple of weeks before this meeting.

At the time, I was serving as the chair of the Glendale School Community Council and the President of the local LULAC council that served as a Spanish speaking PTA for the Glendale parents.

The situation at Glendale Middle School continues to get better and improvements in student achievement continues to climb.

Today’s student’s at Glendale are sensitive to the bad reputation that they feel their school suffers from.

In large part, the poor reputation of Glendale Middle School should be placed at the feet of the adults that in days gone by ran the school and the district.

Here is a letter and an op-ed I wrote back in 2001 detailing the challenges we were facing back then:

PDF Link to 2001 Letter to SLTA President

PDF Link: There is No Such Thing As an Illegal Human Being

Last night, Frank said:

“why are we in 2013, still talking about the same issues in education that we were talking about 20 years ago?”

That question has swirled in my mind all night and was still on my mind when I woke up this morning.

Simply put, I believe that we are not utilizing the opportunities that have been given us by those that have gone before us. There was a time when all a Latino could do is protest and do sit-ins in the superintendent’s office in order to bring attention to educational deficits.

That was a time when a Latino could not get elected to public office. Guess what? Now we can get elected. What are we doing with those opportunities? What are we doing with doors that those before us have opened for us? Those Latino’s of my generation stand on the shoulders of stalwarts like Frank and Archie, I include another of my mentors in that tribute, John Florez.

As a nation, we are now closing the chapter on the anti-immigration hysteria that was seeping the country. Highlighted by Arizona’s 1070 which made All Raza (the people), All Latinos –suspects in their own land. To some degree we have taught our neighbors and politicians that in indigenous cultures, migration is part of a people’s evolution and spiritual journey.

We now owe it to our Elders you have proceeded us and more importantly to the rising generation and as the Hopi say ALL OF MY RELATIONS, to confront the ‘mask of falsehood’ and address the injustices of a poorly administered public education system in our day.

It is our Elders who have taught us that our greatness comes from how we live as a human being. They have shown us that the greatest authority anyone can have is the human spirit, that ordinary people can speak with a moral voice.

Mañana is Now
The title of a song I heard back in Texas –it’s a tribute to Cesar Chavez.

I share it with you as a tribute to the Cesar Chavez’s of Utah. Men like Frank Cordova, Archie Archuleta, John Florez and the other Elders of our day (men and women).

The song was written in the form of a prayer –a girl praying to God, expressing the hopelessness she felt and that her people did not know where to turn to for help –until that brave brown man proved that we can….

Mañana is Now = The time is Now

Link to Song:

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As Frank Cordova is fond of saying:

“Keep the Faith, Keep Hope Alive, and Viva La Raza!”