Can I only be enraged with myself? It’s a Wednesday; I’m on my way to my sister’s court that is currently incarcerated at County for a traffic violation so I’m feeling violated and more furious than usual. My thoughts are a mess. A few years ago when I was cruising in my stick shift thinking I was the most feminist person I knew I was disgusted when I passed a couple with the “wife”/baby mama sitting in the back seat. Now here I am sitting in the back telling myself “Id rather be compassionate towards my daughter a dependent child than a nazi-fem.” Was I just rationalizing?

    My daughter has had five earaches in the past eight months that she’s been with us, out of the belly. Each time she gets a prescription for a twice a day for ten days liquid anti-biotic. That’s fifty times. Her father has never given her the medicine. I can list eight months worth of chores that come along with a child that he has lacked to be involved with, but you can imagine: bottle washing, remembering to get wipes at the store and doctors appointments, buying Tylenol, etc.

    I know its because he’s sexist. We are engaged. He is financially supportive. I love him. But he is sexist. His mom is like the mom on Everybody Loves Raymond. If that doesn’t explain enough Ill just say he is used to being taken care of. She cleaned his room when he was twenty-two. I am sexist too, cause I find myself hating men. I feel like I know they are all exactly like him, and my dad, and my grandpa, and the person who works in advertisement and created that sexist commercial stating normal guys don’t do nice things like give up watching a football game to wash their girlfriends fluffy dog. Cause you know “all guys love football, and all girlfriends are needy and have small puppies.”

    For sake of privacy, Ill say a friend. A friend I have, his wife was cheating on him. It was a bad ending to a short marriage with two small children. She left him and gave him custody of the children. She rarely sees them. His family is repulsed. They are in complete shock. What kind of mother doesn’t love her children? What kind of person could do this? Well. Men do this all the time. A socially conscious academic acquaintance once told me “90% of men cheat.” So men, they cheat. My grandfather had a whole other family. Big deal. No one talks about it unless they’re drunk. It’s normal. NORMAL. What kind of society are we that when the roles are reversed, we are appalled.

    There are two things that without I would not be who I am, and that would be devastating. Ethnic Studies and my mom. My mom being the most amazing strong spirited woman I know who in a sense has taught me more about feminism just from watching her be a single mom than any book I could dust off and read in the Women’s Studies section at a yuppie university.

    With Mother’s Day just passing and SB1108 constantly on my mind, I cant help but be more upset that we don’t even have Gender Studies in our Public Schools in Tucson and across the country. With so many leaders in the community and Raza movement being men, I sometimes feel I am the only make-up protesting, hairy-legged, furious feminist worried about the lucha and legacy of ladies everywhere getting’ no love!

    Am I just too light skinned to fully comprehend the anxiety and hate caused by racism? Or is the angst and apathy of gender issues “swept under the rug” by MOM’S old broom. Are ATTACKS towards women so much a part of us that we see racism and want to destroy it and see Nana slaving over the stove while Tata is watching TV and cant wait to eat. I’m angry. I couldn’t be angrier.

“You know you don’t have to be a woman to be a feminist. You should just fucking be a feminist. Really. & If you’re not a feminist, you should kill yourself. Because like where did you come from? Did you grow out of the ground? We are all here because of women and that’s enough too be feminist.”

-Margaret Cho

    Despite Arizona Rep. Russell K. Pearce pretensions of defending American values, he is not a very well educated person -- which would not matter much if he were not pretending to be so. In academe, there is a written rule that you can get dismissed from your employment if you lie or misrepresent your education or job experience on your resume. The same principle applies to appointed officials. On his resume Pearce implies that he has legal training -- something that the record does not show. He was a justice of the peace and, although there are fine JP, the position does not require legal training. On his resume, Pearce says that he attended* *Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. Did he attend a seminar there or did he attend Harvard? At the very best this is disingenuous since in order to attend a university one has to be admitted based on grades and graduate records examinations. According to my sources Pearce was never a matriculated student at Harvard. But he implies that he attended. In another instance, he lists Motor Vehicle Legal and Law College implying he was a student there. I googled this listing and could not find a campus; I could not find a listing for an ABA accredited school by that name. Neither is Pearce a member of the Arizona bar. From my sources the Arizona Judicial College, Supreme Court of Arizona, reviews justice and judges and per say does not grant degrees. Pearce's sole educational experience is at the University of Phoenix where he received a B.A.in Management. I could not tell whether he received this degree online or during regular sessions. This would not matter if Pearce was not pretending to having attended schools offering advanced courses. Perusing his resume the name Harvard jumps out at you. However, Harvard fully checks out the student's undergrad grades and Graduate Record Exams. Given this questionable record it is doubtful whether Pearce is a legal expert or a historian. How then can Pearce judge what is accurate history if he does not have the minimal qualifications? In a previous article I pointed out that Pearce could not distinguish equations from textual matter in my book Occupied America. The only thing that I could find to his credit is that although Pearce wears his flag pin in full view, he does not claim to have served in the armed services which he apparently dodged.

Rodolfo F. Acuña, Ph.D

California State University at Northridge

818 831 0453

racuna@csun.edu

    I think some of the Arizona legislature waste taxpayer dollars.  They consistently introduce legislation that does not benefit anyone, such as legislation to allow people to carry guns to schools or bars.   Now with the attempt to ban ethnic studies, the AZ legislature looks like a group that ignores real issues.  SB 1108 is nothing but grandstanding, meaning a way for Russell Pierce to gain favor from hateful commentators such as Bill O'Reilly.  School districts should be allowed to conduct education in anyway that improves students' ability to bring justice to their communities and society in general.  If this education includes ethnic studies or women's studies, then so be it.  The AZ legislature should allow local communities autonomy over educational processes while supporting ways to enhance student empowerment.  Instead of suppressing educational and cultural rights, the AZ legislature should focus on dealing with real issues confronting Arizona -- water shortage, failing economy, insufficient educational funds, renewable energy sources, housing crisis, and non-existent transportation plan.

Julio Cammarota, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

The University of Arizona

César E. Chávez Building  Room 224   

Tucson, AZ 85721-0023

   The legislation appears aimed largely at the Tucson Unified School District , whose "Raza Studies" program has annoyed some people. Tucson resident Laura Leighton read lawmakers sections of some books used in classrooms. She said the sections promote hatred.

If the proposal becomes law, however, it would have a statewide reach. And that concerned even some lawmakers who voted for it, saying the language of what would and would not be prohibited is "vague.

Tucson school officials have said the program under attack has helped Hispanic students improve their academic achievement by building pride and focusing on their cultural heritage.

But Pearce, who wrote the measure, said the program doesn't stop there. He said taxpayers are funding "hate speech paid for by tax dollars.

And Pearce said some of the teachings amount to "sedition" by suggesting that the current border between the United States and Mexico should disappear, with Mexico — and Hispanics — taking over the American Southwest.

Leighton had specific problems with a text titled "Occupied America," a book touted by its publisher as examining Chicano history from the coming of the Spanish in 1519.

She read one line that said "kill the gringos." Another talked about a plan to take back the U.S. Southwest and deport all the Europeans. A closer look at the book, though, showed the line about the gringos was a quote from someone who was referenced. And that plan to take back the area was not urging current action but instead describing one pushed by Mexico in 1915.

Leighton, however, said she and others who reviewed the course work believe it is unacceptable.

"We find hate and revolution is being taught in their books," she told legislators. "We found a denigration and disparagement of American values, and a subversion of our history.

Anna Graves said she believes schools are promoting a double standard with such programs.

"If we were to have a group of white citizens teaching white culture only for the white children, it would be totally and absolutely inappropriate in a country that is a country of diversity," said Graves, a Mexican immigrant who is now a U.S. citizen.

"I absolutely deplore people who come from another country and do not want anything to do with the culture, the language or anything that has to do with the government," Graves continued. She said such border crossers are in this country to send back money to relatives elsewhere and "are not here to provide loyalty.

That kind of attitude ignores the United States as a "culture of diversity," said Rep. Peter Rios, D-Dudleyville.

"What is the downside of students' learning about their culture along with the American culture, value and mores?" Rios asked. Graves said nothing — as long as it's not just Hispanic culture being taught.

Graves said it's the job of parents to teach children about their own ethnic background and culture.

"Not everybody had what you had," Rios responded. "So some of these children have to pick up some of this positive self-image building at the school, because they're not getting it at home; they're not getting it in the barrios of the neighborhood.

And Rios suggested there was a reason to have programs aimed at teaching Hispanic youngsters about their heritage.

"At the end of the day, we all know the history books are written by the victors," he said. "And we didn't win too many of our battles coming from a Hispanic culture.

Pearce said nothing in the legislation precludes teaching about various cultures. What he opposes, he said, are the "hateful, despicable comments" becoming part of public education.

What would become illegal, Pearce said, are "race-based" classes.

"Nobody would stand here, I suspect, and try to defend the KKK teachings at a Tucson school or anywhere else," he said.

Lawmakers should butt out of the controversy, said House Minority Leader Phil Lopes, D-Tucson. He said decisions of curriculum should be left to local school boards.

But Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Gilbert, said lawmakers are entitled to regulate the use of tax money taken from Arizonans and "demand that our publicly funded education teach and inculcate our youth, our children, with the values that make America what it is, the greatest and most free nation in the world.

Biggs, however, conceded that the language describing what would be prohibited is "somewhat vague" and probably needs work.

It's more than vague, said Rep. David Schapira, D-Tempe. He questioned, for example, what it means to "overtly encourage dissent" from the values of American democracy and Western civilization.

Lobbyists representing school boards and superintendents signed in to indicate opposition to the measure but did not speak. Nor did Sam Polito, who lobbies for TUSD, saying it made no sense to try to derail Pearce's bill in a committee he chairs.

● Reporter Rhonda Bodfield contributed to this story

ADRIAN LAURENZI

As a white student at Tucson High, I have found my Raza Studies class one of the most worthwhile and enlightening experiences yet.

The class has improved my writing dramatically, with encouragement to write what I feel is relevant and important to me.

Raza Studies isn't like English classes I have taken. In this class, I never feel as if I have to write what the teacher wants to hear.

Nearly every assignment is open-ended; the only requirement is to use critical thought rather than regurgitate someone else's work.

In his May 21 guest opinion, John A. Ward charges that Raza Studies imposes racism or chauvinism - even hatred of whites. That is a severe fallacy.

We do learn parts of our past not typically taught in American history. And as with much of human history, some of it is disturbing and unjust.

But Chicano and Native American history should not be hidden from us.

Schools teach us about the Holocaust, about the American Revolution, even about slavery.

Yet they almost completely ignore the history that took place right under our feet in Tucson.

History is supposed to help us understand what made us who we are today.

Our history with Mexico and Indians is intrinsic to who we are today.

In trying to censor or eradicate Ethnic Studies from our schools, Tom Horne shows he clearly does not value history.

Contrary to the assumptions of Horne, Arizona's superintendent of public instruction, I have experienced only love and respect as a white student in Raza Studies.

These classes have enriched my life, and I am honored to have had the opportunity to take them.I am saddened to think misconceptions may be keeping students away from these classes.Students are far more involved, interested and passionate in my Raza Studies class than in the Honors English class I took as a sophomore.As for concerns that Raza Studies are biased, let's face facts. Education always has been and always will be inextricably linked with some bias.One cannot cover 230 years of American history in one year. Someone selects what to include and what to omit.The same is true with classes in English and literature. The selection of limited reading material also invokes some bias.

The only way to limit such inherent bias is to learn a multitude of perspectives from as many different types of people as possible.When we limit our students to the same European authors and only the textbook version of history, we perpetuate narrow and biased viewpoints.My Raza Studies literature class provided me with new perspectives from authors not usually read in high school.We read world-famous plays such as "Zoot Suit" by Luis Valdez. We read nonfiction works such as "The Devil's Highway" by Luis Alberto Urrea.

We even read and compared American poets with contemporary hip-hop. That may sound odd, but both use imagery, metaphors and assonance to brag about themselves.

Contrary to some people's perceptions, Raza Studies is not exclusive. It brings students together to create a sense of community reflecting important cultural values.

Perhaps people think this course is an elitist and exclusive class for Chicanos to learn their history and literature.In truth, this course allows students to view school in a completely different context, one that is much more inviting and fulfilling.

The communal atmosphere is quintessential to effectively educating students.

I've seen students cry with joy invoked in them by this program.

One said, "Instead of just feeling like I was a part of school, for once I felt like school was part of me."This value of community isn't prevalent in the education typically favored in our school system.As a European American student accustomed to traditional schooling, I needed time to fully appreciate and adjust to this novel approach.

Yet I was welcomed with open arms from the beginning and embraced as part of the community.Through Raza Studies, I have come to embrace the ideology in the poem "You Are My Other Me" - that we all share a common humanity regardless of race, gender or ethnicity.This idea has enriched not only my education, but also my personal life.

A good education requires learning literature from a great diversity of cultures and perspectives, including African-American, Asian and Chicano.A good education is about diversity.Raza Studies should be praised for teaching students, brown, black and white, about a culture that has been largely ignored in the school system.

Adrian Laurenzi took Raza Studies at Tucson High Magnet School.

By Selina Rodriguez

SPECIAL TO THE ARIZONA DAILY STAR

Tucson, Arizona | Published: 06.12.2008

    As the daughter of two teachers, the value of higher education was instilled in me at an early age. However, receiving a fair and equitable education is a continuing challenge for my family and I.

Beginning in elementary school, I attended Tucson Unified School District schools. All of the schools were located in what are considered "high stress" areas of town. These schools were overcrowded, underfunded, had a high turnover rate of faculty and administrators, and were plagued with deteriorated infrastructure.

All of these factors and the iniquitous low expectations contributed to a less-than-favorable educational experience for me and many of my classmates.

For many of my classmates and friends, these factors became a self-fulfilling prophecy and the majority did not graduate from high school or attend college. My experience of having continued the pursuit of a higher education is the exception rather than the norm.

During my junior year at Cholla High School, I took a class that continues to impact my life. This elective course, which many of the faculty looked down upon, was titled "Hispanic Studies."

Some of the school staff even tried to talk me out of taking the course, but I did not let their opinions deter me from deciding what was best for me.

Today, that class has expanded and grown to become part of TUSD's Mexican American/Raza Studies Department. I feel blessed and fortunate to be a graduate of this program.

Although I had always been considered a model student — being on the honor roll every year and never missing a day of school — it was not until I took Augustine Romero's class that I truly found my identity.

TUSD's Raza Studies is not a divisive program. Raza Studies provided me with a sense of community, empowerment and sense of direction. This class taught me skills that are not taught in textbooks.

Instead, my Raza Studies mentors taught me to think outside the box. This program has not brainwashed me, but has helped mold me into a critical and conscious person. I have also learned to have compassion and respect for my community.

I have witnessed many social inequalities and barriers, such as unequal access to housing and education and environmental hazards in poverty-stricken neighborhoods.

Raza Studies helped open my eyes to these barriers. It also helped me develop confidence and encouraged me to pursue a master's degree in urban planning from UCLA.

As I look forward to this new chapter in my life, I am positive that I would not be where I am if it were not for my high-school Chicano Studies course or for TUSD's Mexican American/Raza Studies staff and community supporters of the program.

I encourage all those making assumptions about the department to make arrangements to visit a Raza Studies classroom, read the academic journal articles written about the department, or talk to parents and students who have experienced the department. Hopefully, after any or all of these experiences, critics will be able to understand why we believe it is critical to think outside the box.

By George B. Sánchez

ARIZONA DAILY STAR

Tucson, Arizona | Published: 06.13.2008

    While Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne spoke Thursday about why he thinks TUSD should eliminate its Ethnic Studies Department, Geovanna Valencia, 18, stood nearby with a sign that read "Tom Horne needs a hug."

The two had never met, but Valencia said she wanted Horne to visit with students in TUSD's Ethnic Studies Department, even though he continues to call for an end to the program.

Horne's press conference — and one TUSD staged directly beforehand — drew hundreds of people to district headquarters, 1010 E. 10th St., on Thursday morning.

Although the first press conference, which drew about 200 people, was orderly, Horne's, with about 100 people attending, descended into a shouting match among the crowd of adults and students. While opposing political entities, from conservative talk radio hosts to local Democratic officeholders took sides, many students attended, too, and said watching adults who have never been to their classes discuss them was disconcerting.

"Watching it was sickening, like the feeling you get before a fight, when you don't know what's going to happen," said Armando Sotelo, a 19-year-old graduate of TUSD and its Ethnic Studies Department.

TUSD officials have released nine cohort studies that show Raza Studies students outscored their peers in reading, writing and math on the AIMS test, Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards.

In the 2006-07 school year, for example, 55 percent of juniors who hadn't passed the math portion of AIMS in prior years did so while enrolled in Raza Studies classes at four high schools. Meanwhile, only 18 percent of students at those schools who weren't enrolled in Raza Studies classes passed that same portion of AIMS.

Students in the Social Justice Education Project, under the Ethnic Studies Department, had a higher graduation rate than their peers, another study showed.

TUSD officials cited community support for the programs and non-quantifiable virtues, such as self-empowerment, intercultural dialogue and exposure to others' experiences, that they impart to students.

Horne, in contrast, called the department racist and divisive and said schools should focus on individual achievement rather than group and ethnic experience. He didn't question the academic benefit of the program, but the "values" he said it instills in students.

The event wasn't the first time Horne has raised questions about the department.

In November, he filed a public-records request with the district, asking for information on funding, training and curriculum. One month later, Horne concluded his inquiry and conceded he had no power to change what is taught in Tucson schools.

Horne told reporters Thursday he wanted to draw attention to a program he believes should be abolished.

Following the press conferences, a handful of students sat in the shade of a tree and reflected.

"There was never a moment in the class when I didn't feel completely welcome," said Clare Healy, 18, a recent graduate of Tucson High Magnet School. "The classroom was a safe haven for me."

Horne — who has never visited an Ethnic Studies class — is invited to see for himself, she said. "We would drop anything to have a civilized discussion about education with him," Healy said.

Students said the frustration of listening to Horne criticize a program he admittedly understands only through secondhand remarks and an overview of the curriculum drove some of them to lose their cool and participate in the unruly back-and-forth yelling that began when Clyde Phillips, 87, interrupted TUSD's press conference to accuse district officials of treason.

Horne's press conference, the students said, seemed nothing more than a media event.

"I think it was silly he even came. When someone asked a question, he said he would only take questions from the media," said Tanya Lozano, 18, a recent Rincon High graduate.

"If he wanted to talk to the media, he could have called them himself from Phoenix, instead of doing it here."

During the press conference, Horne said students in the class had been indoctrinated, something students said was offensive. They said the critical thinking encouraged in class gave a name to the racism and sexism they say they already experience daily. The classes are voluntary and open to all students, they said.

"They weren't forced on us," said Jose Estrella, 18, a graduate of Rincon High School who made the "Tom Horne needs a hug" sign. "We wanted them."

Most of the people who turned out Thursday did so to support TUSD, though several dozen held signs espousing stricter border-control measures and expressing anti-Mexican sentiment.

"They kept telling us to go back to Mexico," Estrella said. "We came here to talk about the program, not immigration."

During the press conference, Horne said he believes in individual rights, multiculturalism and inclusion of different perspectives in history and literature classes. Students say they've found that in the Ethnic Studies program.

"This is about community," Healy said. "In class, we say 'Tu eres mi otro yo,' Spanish for 'You are my other me.' "

Horne shook hands with 18-year-old Adam Perez and agreed to a conversation with the students, but they don't believe it will happen. Nonetheless, they said, the invitation stands.

"The doors are open, and he is welcome," Lozano said.

By Julio Cammarota

SPECIAL TO THE ARIZONA DAILY STAR

Tucson, Arizona | Published: 06.14.2008

    The National Latino/a Education Research Agenda Project began in 2000 as a national initiative to promote innovative, community-based research and programs to meet the needs of Latina/o students within the United States.

The project's board is composed of several nationally recognized scholars who have made significant contributions to the development of Latina/o education. We have also produced an important volume on the topic: "Latino Education: An Agenda for Community Action Research."

Our most recent review of the current state of Latina/o education has led to the revelation of the success of the Tucson Unified School District's Mexican American/Raza Studies program. Throughout the eight years of studying and writing about the national landscape of Latina/o education, we have encountered few public school examples that actually match the TUSD program's capacity to improve Latina/o students' educational experiences and thus academic achievements.

Research supports the Raza Studies approach of immersing students in a culturally and historically relevant curriculum that engages them in learning by recognizing their families and communities' contributions to the development and progress of American society. Any exclusion from the historical record signifies to students that they too are excluded, and thus their thoughts and ideas are irrelevant to their own success and the success of this country.

We were shocked to learn that Arizona legislator Russell Pearce has proposed a bill, Senate Bill 1108, that would effectively remove state funding from any public school course not promoting "American values, capitalism and the teachings of Western Civilization." This bill also takes aim against any education that "overtly encourages dissent" or "denigrates American values."

Those courses deemed "un-American" would be forced to surrender materials to state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne. Another provision of SB 1108 bans any organization in public schools, community colleges or universities "based in whole or in part on race-based criteria."

There is no secret that SB 1108 is Pearce and Horne's attempt to shut down TUSD's Mexican American/Raza studies. 

As a nation, our greatest strength derives from those acts of inclusion inspiring the goodness of our humanity — the abolition of slavery, women's suffrage, desegregation, the civil rights movement, bilingual education and multicultural education. Schools that teach to this strength will produce students who are forward-thinking, open-minded and ready to nurture the American citizenry.

TUSD's Mexican American/Raza studies helps students not only to achieve academically but preserves the qualities of an open, inclusive society, notably enshrined in our nation's most revered symbol of freedom — the Statue of Liberty.

This time TUSD's Mexican American/Raza Studies program is holding the light of liberty with its culturally and historically inclusive curriculum. Nothing could be more beneficial to the health of our democratic society than to learn about and hear from the voices of those previously silenced in the traditional, dominant record.

Not only Latina/o students, but all students will jump at the chance to learn if given the proper opportunity to be heard. Let us no longer ignore students and thus diminish their educational opportunities by silencing their past, present, and future contributions.

Following the lead of TUSD's Raza Studies, we must continue to listen to and acknowledge students' multiple and diverse experiences and histories, which will bring them into the fold and allow them to make positive contributions and grow not against but with us.

National Latino/a Education Research Agenda Project members fully support TUSD's Mexican American/Raza Studies program and its approach of valuing and studying students' cultural and historical realities. We are also steadfastly against SB 1108 or any legislation that would ban multicultural, inclusive education.

Write to Julio Cammarota at julioc@email.arizona.edu.

I am an ambitious and motivated youth

I wonder if they know what I am capable of or if they fear me

I hear the negative comments regarding us and what we want to achieve

I see a new generation…a generation of youth that is bold and strong yet has many faces

I want them to respect us if not respect us at least fear us

I am an ambitious and motivated youth

I pretend that the challenge that lies ahead is already accomplished and we are only improving it

I feel my blood burn with anger because I see no change

I touch the books filled with knowledge that will guide me through the struggle

I worry that things will never change and we will always be stuck in this rut as if it were quick sand and we are doomed to keep sinking until our bodies are left lifeless and out of breath

I cry because we are not being listened to or being took in consideration

I am an ambitious and motivated youth

I understand that nothing will happen if we do not educate ourselves any further

I say we grasp every single bit of information, literature, guidance, and wisdom and take it with us as if it were our weapon and we are stepping into battle!!

I dream of the day when our harvested blood and sweat will pay off and we see the day we are no longer looked upon as a lost cause or part of the problem

I try to keep my focus as sharp as a razor’s edge ready to carve change into the future!!

I hope one day when I am no longer walking this earth that there will be someone or many someones inspired by our actions...much like how iconic figures such as Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Cesar Chavez, and so many others inspire this young generation

I am an ambitious and motivated youth!

I AM A MEXICAN AMERICAN.

I AM PROUD TO BE IN THE UNITED STATES.

I AM A GREAT SUPPORTED OF MEXICAN GETTING THERE EDUCATION AND GAINING POWER

I WONDER IF OUR GOAL AS A "RACE" IS TO GAIN POWER??

WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO WITH IT? WHAT WILL BE DIFFERENT?

I SEE OUR PEOPLE RINNING THIS CONTRY AND BEING SMARTER AND POWERFUL THEN EVER

I HEAR OUR PEOPLE ASKIN QUESTIONS AND GETTING EDUCATED

I WANT TO BRAKE STEREOTYPES AND PROVE THAT WE ARE SO MUCH BETTER

THEN WHAT OTHER SAY

I AM THE NEW RACE

I PRETEND NOT TO HEAR ALL THE NEGATIVE BULLSHIT THAT OTHERS SAY TO

US JUST TO PUT US DOWN

I FEEL THAT WE WILL BRAKE THROUGH AND RUN THIS PLACE

I TOUCH EVERYONE WITH THE KNOWLEDGE I HAVE

I WORRY THAT THIS MUGHT JUST BE A VITIOUSE CYCLE AND OUR TURN WILL END

I CRY WHEN I SEE THAT SOMEONE HAS SCREWED UP THERE LIFE BECAUSE

THEY LET STEROTYPES DEFINE THEM

I AM ONE OF THE STRONG

I UNDERSTAND THIS BATTLE OF POWER IS NOT GOING TO BE EASY

I SAY "YES WE CAN" THE WORDS ONCE SPOKEN BY CESAR CHAVEZ

I DREAM OF THE DAY THAT EVERYONE IS TREATED WITH RESPECT

I TRY TO STAY POSITIVE

I HOPE WE CAN COME TOGETHER AND HELP EACH OTHER

I AM ALEXANDRA SALAZAR PART OF THE MEXICAN CULTURE AND TRYING TO

MAKE A DIFFERANCE.

I Am From

I am from a house of good cooking that you can smell before you even get

home, video games that sit and gather dust and a t.v. that is always on when

no one watches it.

I am from a Virgin Mary statue sitting in front of the house, work equipment

that was used only once gaining no use, and rakes and shovels always at

rest.

I am from a hood with schools where kids don't play because older kids take

over, circle K's and corner stores where you find your typical homeless and

drunk. A neighborhood where no one is ever out.

I am from a grandpa who can make you laugh and where you can listen to the

same story time and time again without getting upset.

I am from enchiladas and burritos for breakfast lunch and dinner.

I am from a house that is MY HOME.