News (Noticias) Tagged ‘activist’

Nationwide crackdowns against Cuban government opponents remain consistent.”*

Community activist and volunteer Connie “Paddy” Cisneros, the first Hispanic woman elected to the Colton City Council, has died. She was 70.

Mrs. Cisneros died Wednesday of complications from surgery, daughter Sheila Cisneros said. “*

An Ecuadorean college student who alleges her relatives were targeted for deportation because of her immigration activism said Friday they are again being punished by being placed into an expanded house arrest program.

Gabriela Pacheco’s father and sister were ordered to wear ankle bracelets to monitor their movements.“*

Last Thursday, independent, radical, revolutionary, activist Hip Hoppers Rodstarz and G1, two brothers known musically and in the movement as Rebel Diaz, were walking in the Bronx, NYC when they witnessed an all too common occurrence. Police officers from the 41st Precinct were in the middle of a sting against street vendors, aggressively confiscating the fruit and vegetables of a street vendor. “*

Frustrated by a steady flow of illegal Mexican immigrants into Arizona, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has decided to take matters into his own hands.

Arpaio dispatches teams of sheriff’s deputies into Hispanic communities where they stop people and arrest anyone who cannot prove he or she is a legal U.S. resident.

Now he faces an onslaught of criticism from Hispanic activists, local lawmakers and the Phoenix mayor, who call his crackdown on immigrants a clear case of racial profiling in which only people who look Hispanic are targeted.”*

No classroom building or dormitory at UCLA is named after Reginaldo Francisco del Valle. Nor does any plaza, fountain, auditorium or library wing bear the name of the state legislator and Los Angeles civic activist who died in 1938 at age 84.

The name does not register with most UCLA professors, and the school’s official history mentions Del Valle just once, only in passing.

Such an omission is historically and morally wrong, contends UCLA medical school professor David Hayes-Bautista. For the past several years, Hayes-Bautista has been crusading to gain recognition for what he describes as Del Valle’s crucial role in founding the state teachers college that later became the University of California’s first campus in Los Angeles.”*

Latino activists, workers and Portland City Council members celebrated the opening of a government-sponsored center for day laborers this afternoon.

The center, for now a trailer and an awning inside a parking lot owned by the Portland Development Commission, offers day laborers a safe and centralized place to seek work in landscaping and construction.

City leaders and activists are hoping they’ll congregate there starting Monday morning instead of their usual gathering spots — the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Interstate 84 and Southeast 6th Avenue and East Burnside Street.”*

He’s been described as Hitler and a member of the Klu Klux Klan by Hispanic critics and immigrant rights groups, but Sheriff Joe Arpaio prefers to see himself as an equal opportunities advocate. “We lock everybody up,” he says.

Arpaio, the self-styled “toughest sheriff in America” has ruled his fifedom in Arizona’s Maricopa County with a steely, zero-tolerance that has enraged human rights activists but delighted headline-writers the world over.

Demonstrations and picket lines follow his sweeps of largely Hispanic neighborhoods. He’s been criticized by mayors and the governor of Arizona.”*

No one has been brought to justice for the murders of two young indigenous reporters in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca in April, a case that has mobilised social activists and drawn condemnation from UNESCO.

Local indigenous authorities told IPS that two months after the murders, their communities have returned to “normality,” which for them means the presence of paramilitary groups, clashes between rival clans, and the absence of state security forces.

On Apr. 7, 22-year-old Felicitas Martínez and 24-year-old Teresa Bautista were ambushed and shot to death on a rural road in their municipality. The two young women were reporters for Radio Copala, “The Voice that Breaks the Silence”, a low power, small range community radio station that has been on the air since January.”*

But now the charreada, which is strictly amateur, is facing its biggest challenge. After criticism from animal rights and anti-rodeo activists, eight states over the last decade have cracked down on several events, most notably horse tripping, a centuries-old tradition that involves roping and snaring the front legs of a running mare and that can cause serious injury. As a result, no charros in the federation practice horse tripping.

In a law that takes effect next month, Nebraska is also banning steer tailing, in which a charro grabs a steer’s tail, wraps it beneath his stirrup and flips the animal to the ground. The legislation grew out of abuses uncovered by the Omaha Humane Society at an unsanctioned arena, in which some horses had rope burns and torn tendons and were severely emaciated.”*

The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Latino civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S., announced today that presumptive presidential nominees Senators John McCain (R–AZ) and Barack Obama (D–IL) will speak at the 2008 NCLR Annual Conference held at the San Diego Convention Center, July 12-15. Other speakers at the Conference include San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, former NCLR President and CEO Raul Yzaguirre, CEO of Freddie Mac Richard F. Syron, New York Times best-selling author Alisa Valdés-Rodríguez and internationally renowned motivational speaker Samuel Betances.

“NCLR is excited to be in San Diego as we celebrate 40 years of strengthening America by promoting the advancement of Latino families. The presumptive presidential nominees and other government and business leaders speaking at NCLR’s Annual Conference will address a Latino community that is strengthening its political voice and engaging in campaigns, voter registration, and citizenship drives as never before,” said Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO.

The NCLR Annual Conference is the single largest gathering of its kind in the Latino community. More than 20,000 community organization leaders, activists, and volunteers; elected and appointed officials; members of the corporate, philanthropic, and academic communities; senior citizens; college students; and youth are expected to participate this year. A popular Conference attraction is Latino Expo USA with more than 250 exhibits from leading Fortune 500 companies, Hispanic-owned businesses, nonprofit organizations, colleges and universities, and government agencies.

Some highlights of the 2008 NCLR Annual Conference include:

Saturday, July 12

* The NCLR Diabetes Dash—a 5k fun run—will kick off this year’s Health Fair, which will provide free health screenings, information, and counseling on key health and lifestyle issues affecting the Hispanic community.
* A naturalization session, sponsored by ConAgra Foods, will provide information on the citizenship application process and step-by-step guidance on how to complete the required forms to become a U.S. citizen.
* Artists from MTV, MTVtr3s, and Sí TV along with NCLR youth leadership participants will participate in a youth-led Town Hall sponsored by GEICO and Microsoft that explores the growing influence of youth in the media.

Sunday, July 13

* A HOME Clinic, held in partnership with the San Diego Housing Opportunities Collaborative, will offer pro bono legal advice, housing counseling, and loan negotiation to help families facing foreclosure identify resources and assistance.
* A Town Hall presented by the Office of Minority Health and led by a panel of health experts, will address the need to reform a health care system in which millions of Latinos remain uninsured.

Monday, July 14
· Government and community leaders will come together in a Town Hall presented in part by Freddie Mac aimed at finding a solution to the national foreclosure crisis.
· The Heroes & Heritage Award for Valor and Service to Country will be presented to Sergeant Major Irene Zamora O’Neal.

Other workshops and activities will examine issues such as education, workforce development, community and family wealth-building, voting,juvenile justice, children’s health, the impact of immigration enforcement policy,and nonprofit management.

“Our Conference reflects the broad interests and involvement of Latinos in this great nation. We are working for better policies and programs in everything from education and health care to homeownership and financial security. When Latino families can get opportunities to advance, it strengthens America,” said Murguía.”*

“It’s with great sadness that we announce the passing of our mother, Isabel Rodriguez, 94, who died early Tuesday morning May 20 of natural causes at Alhambra Community Hospital,” said Jaime Rodriguez, an aid to state Sen. Ron Calderon, D-Montebello.

Isabel Rodriguez was born July 8, 1913 in Basis, a silver mining town in the Mexican state of Durango. She crossed the border of El Paso, Texas and came to Los Angeles residing in Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles. For a time, according to Jaime, she worked in the laundry department of the Los Angeles County General Hospital. A single parent, she was a strong willed and caring mother who along with her sons and daughter became an active and passionate supporter of the Latino Civil Rights Movement of the late sixties and early seventies.

“*

Property owners Jaim Nulman and Avelyn Welczer want to demolish the historic home of the legendary Juana Briones de Miranda so they can build a modern suburban dwelling in the hills of Palo Alto. The couple has also refused to repair earthquake damage the house sustained in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, despite terms of the contract under which they purchased the home a few years after that temblor.

Today activists gathered near Santa Clara County Superior Court to celebrate a victory that is a big step toward saving the house at 4155 Old Adobe Rd. Judge Leslie Nichols ruled on June 6 that the house may not be torn down until an environmental impact report (EIR) is prepared by the city. “*

Lawrence Mayor Michael J. Sullivan is calling on two Latino activists to issue a public apology for making what he deemed “racist comments” in a Globe story concerning his proposal to create a city administrator position.

In a letter sent to local media and elected officials, Sullivan said he was “alarmed and appalled” by “divisive quotes” made by Giovanna Negretti, executive director of ¿Oíste?, a statewide nonprofit working to elect Latino political candidates, and former city councilor Carlos Matos. Matos, who is considering a run for mayor, and Negretti had questioned Sullivan’s initiative to create the post before the 2009 mayoral election - just when demographic changes could result in the city electing its first Latino mayor.”*

When the National Puerto Rican Day Parade said it would honor composer Mike Amadeo this year, many people around his venerable music store in the Bronx thought it was not only well-deserved but long overdue.

“At last! It’s about time!” shouts long-time Bronx community activist Lorraine Montenegro, who has known Amadeo for decades.

“There is not a single Latino musician who has not received help from him.””*

A new law that went into effect last month allows law enforcement officers to impound uninsured vehicles. Leaders of the state’s Latino community have waged a media campaign to get the message out to Utah’s undocumented residents, says Latino community activist Tony Yapias.

“I haven’t talked to anyone whose car has been impounded. But we’ve been working within the community to make sure we get the word out to the Latino community, especially the 24 percent or so who don’t have insurance,” Yapias says. “So we are making sure that we’re letting everyone know that they should get insurance or their car will be impounded next time they’re stopped by law enforcement.”"*

At age 19, Jane Garcia, who at the time was a beautician and mother of three, decided it was time to join the fight for Latinos to get their voices heard.

Forty years later, the southwest Detroit native can look back on a career that’s challenged and changed the city’s Catholic Church, the public school system, the state’s political parties, federal, state and city government and corporations.”*

Rick Ufford-Chase, founder of BorderLinks, is moving on after shining a light on contentious border and immigration issues from his Tucson home for 20 years.
“This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, to leave this part of the world,” he said a few days ago.

Ufford-Chase, 44, leader of the national Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) from 2004-2006, and Kitty Ufford-Chase, 41, his wife of 19 years, are making final preparations for their move to New York at the end of May.”*

Annie Loyd is a longtime community activist who last year decided to run for Congress. What she learned during her efforts surprised and saddened her, and she recently dropped out of the race to focus on some of the issues that came up.

Key among them is illegal immigration, more importantly, how the community is dealing with it.

Loyd said she has found a role as an immigration activist, going to all the locations where Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has conducted anti-immigration sweeps, where she attempts to keep the peace.”*

A broad coalition of activists will gather Wednesday, May 28 in New York City to express support for Puerto Rico’s embattled teachers and schoolchildren, to protest the decision of SEIU’s leadership to launch an attack on the existing teachers union and to exhort SEIU to cease this activity.

Rafael Feliciano Hernandez, President of the Federacion de Maestros de Puerto Rico (FMPR — the Puerto Rican teachers’ union) will be joined at the event by members of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), CUNY’s Professional Staff Congress (PSC), SEIU, the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) and other local labor leaders, along with the National Nurses Organizing Committee (NNOC), community and religious organizations, local student activists, and concerned relatives of Island students.

WHAT: News Conference Insisting SEIU Cease Attacks on Teachers Union

WHO: Puerto Rican, Labor, Education, Religious and Progressive Activists

WHEN: Wednesday, May 28, 10:30 am

WHERE: Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration, 475 Park Avenue South
at 32nd Street

SEIU — facing a well-publicized internal battle — begins its Convention in Puerto Rico next week in the shadow of its attempt to take over the Island’s 42,000-member teachers’ union. SEIU’s “raid” comes on the heels of sustained efforts by the Puerto Rico Teachers Union (FMPR) — united with parents and students — to fight against:

– horrific educational conditions
– privatization of schools
– the negative effects of “No Child Left Behind”
– government assaults on democratic school leadership committees
– repressive labor laws
– abysmal salaries — monthly average of $1600 with living costs higher
than those in the US.

After nearly three years of working without a contract, the teachers unanimously voted to strike in a mass union meeting of over 7,000 members in November 2007. While negotiations continued, sources report that SEIU leader Dennis Rivera was meeting with Puerto Rico Governor Anibal Acevedo Vila.

According to the New York Daily News, the Governor told Rivera that the teachers’ union is “yours to take.” Previously El Diaro-La Prensa reported that Rivera had discussed the teachers union with Acevedo in addition to possible SEIU monetary support for the Governor, who has recently been indicted on corruption charges.

The Puerto Rican government declared the teachers’ strike illegal, based on the vote alone — the actual strike was not called until late February 2008 — and moved to decertify FMPR. Almost simultaneously, SEIU announced that the Island’s union of school principals and supervisors was affiliating with SEIU — and would attempt to take over the teachers’ union.

In the aftermath of the 10 day strike that paralyzed the nation’s public schools with unprecedented support and participation from teachers, students and parents, FMPR continues its work as the representative of the Island’s teachers, negotiating with the government over school conditions while fighting for recognition as the bargaining unit.

The Delegate Assembly of New York City’s United Federation of Teachers (UFT) declared solidarity with the Puerto Rico teachers and voted unanimously to “support the Puerto Rican teachers in their struggle to be treated with dignity.” CUNY’s Professional Staff Congress (PSC) resolved to “participate in strike support efforts and solidarity with the striking teachers of the FMPR.” The struggle was discussed at NYC’s Central Labor Council, and the California Federation of Teachers, having sent funds already to support FMPR, plans to urge the AFT to do so as well.

SEIU leadership is in the midst of a tremendous internal struggle with sectors within the union advocating for greater member democracy. As these members engage President Andy Stern and other leaders inside the Convention Hall — ironically to be held in Puerto Rico — FMPR teachers will surely protest what they view as SEIU’s sabotage of the struggle for quality education on their island nation. SEIU leaders’ apparent collusion with the government/employer of teachers in Puerto Rico echoes similar accusations of what critics characterize as a recent trend toward “sweetheart deals” with employers in the private sector on the mainland.

Here in NY, 1199/SEIU, one of the international’s locals with an exemplary reputation as a progressive union, recently launched a series of attempted raids against the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), which represents Registered Nurses. These raids occur as NYSNA’s nurses battle hardened employers who are attempting to diminish nurses’ power as they advocate for quality care for their patients, further escalating the inter-union wars on the mainland.

Rather than destabilizing already difficult situations faced by unions — particularly in a nation such as Puerto Rico that has its own particularities — SEIU’s leaders need to focus on their members as they grapple with the difficult questions that face trade unionists today.
“*

The Democratic nomination could hinge on 30 party activists who meet Saturday to determine whether to seat delegates from Michigan and Florida. And the sole Texan on the rules committee – a Hillary Rodham Clinton supporter – made clear Tuesday that he’ll put the party interests above hers.

“Absolutely,” said Jaime Gonzalez Jr., a personal injury lawyer in McAllen and a superdelegate. “I’ve been a Democrat all my life. There will be more election cycles. Protecting the integrity of the system is of the most importance.”"*

A series of protests in East Los Angeles, known commonly as the Chicano Blowouts, roiled Southern California in opposition to unequal conditions in Los Angeles-area schools.

What began with a dissatisfaction in education became a conflagration of issues whipped together in a turbulent time. Civil rights, the Vietnam War and Chicano equality created a volatile cocktail.

A local teacher named Sal Castro courted history. He stirred students and organized protests, and was ultimately arrested for his role.”*