"La Reconquista!" Is In Full Effect!

Villaraigosa's victory in L.A. was 15 to 25 years in the making, bruh. Latino activists have been working towards this goal and other electoral gains since the late 1970s, if not beyond. I know, because I encountered and funded a number of them back in my days in the “wonderful world of philanthropy.” We're talking about an army of grassroots organizers, statisticians and demographers, poltical scientists and sociologists, and, of course, attorneys -- all down for the cause of Latino empowerment. The genesis of this movement began with the effort to organize farmworkers during the 1960s. Remember Cesar Chavez, and "Boycott Lettuce," Grapes, or whatever was your produce of choice?

Then in the 1970s, a man named Willie Velasquez took the torch and applied lessons, tactics learned during time spent in the South with SCLC, SNCC and other black suffrage groups and lead Latinos into the electoral arena. Velasquez died at a relatively young age (in his late 40s, I believe) and you don't hear much about him because he toiled in obscurity in the Southwest U.S. In voting rights circles, however, he was considered a visionary and was revered by Latinos, Afros and Anglos alike. Unlike some in "our community," Velasquez didn't buy into the "messiah" syndrome, and believed totally in the concept of building a movement. For a parallel among African-Anerican activists, think of Bob Moses and Septima Clark. Like them Velasquez, tutored and trained scores, if not hundreds of activists (especially Latino activists), who have gone on to fight the good-fight.

There is one key point that must remember in comparing Black and Latino activism -- that is, basically what we are really discoursing on here. There's one factor that explains why Black "progress" has seemingly petered out, while Latino momentum continues onward. It's not the relative youth of the movement, and it’s not about the natural progression of blacks into the so-called middle class. It's really about one thing and one thing only: It's the land! Call it Aztlan, call it "Califas," call it whatever you want -- it is all about reclaiming their "homeland."

Ponder that notion for a moment. . . . "reclaiming their homeland." It's a powerful and unifying concept, when you think about it, and it will take more than a few government jobs, some set-aside contracts, and more than few mansions and yachts to quell the momentum.

I think back to my undergraduate years at Stanford . . . and think about some of the Mexican-American students, (that's basically, who we're talking about here) and what they were about. They possessed "groundedness" that comes from being "home." Action not talk. More about substance, than image. Sure Casa Zapata had its share of loudmouth “militants” and poseurs, but by and large most of them carried themselves with a sense of mission. I'm not talking about any grand schemes or designs either, just simply taking care of business. That's essentially the underlying sentiment of El Presidente Fox's comments last week, huh?

But I digress. . . . Anyway back to Willie Velasquez and the Mayor-elect of LA. . . .

The progeny of Velasquez recognized that in order for Latino (Mexican) empowerment to occur, they needed to address the conundrum that is immigration. For Blacks in American, the cross to bear is slavery; for Mexicans it’s "the Border" . . . and immigration. (Check out John Sayles' movie "Lone Star" sometime for some thought-provoking entertainment and commentary on the issue.) People have been traveling back and forth across the border for years, since . . . oh, the 1840s. And people really didn't give its much thought because the "wetbacks" never really settled that far 50-100 miles into the U.S. interior.

Now fast-forward to the mid-20th Century with the Braceros program, when "Big Agriculture" needed workers to tend their super farms. Since slavery was abolished with about 70 years earlier, this country's historic pool of low-cost labor no longer existed. So they went down to Mexico, recruited them some able-bodied men and put 'em to work in the fields. No bennies, no rights, just a few dollars to send back to village. Nothing more, nothing less. It worked with the Chinese and the railroads, a century earlier. Why wouldn't it work this time? The only problem was that there wasn't a big huge ocean to prevent these workers from going back home to fetch their families. The only thing between the Mexican conscripts and home was a little spit of water known as the Rio Grande. So one thing led to another. . . and they settled in the States. No citizenship, no rights. . . just a job and a beachhead to a better life.

People really didn't notice until the late 1970s, when huge Mexican enclaves began springing up in places like Southeast Chicago, and Grand Rapids Michigan. The Mexican activist community -- Velasquez's progeny -- knew the time, and began organizing in these far reaches of the U.S. Policymakers in D.C., began to take notice as well, and began talking about immigration "reform." Eventually, they realized that they couldn’t send all the "illegals" back so they came up with the Simpson-Mazzoli Act of 1986, and set up the amnesty process, an accelerated six-year naturalization process, that ultimately would yield upwards of 10 million voters.

While working in the “wonderful world of philanthropy,” the thing that impressed me about the Latino activists that I dealt with was their technical and tactical sophistication. I recall back in 1991 or 1992 while attending a workshop on redistricting sponsored by the Lawyer's Committee on Civil Rights in New Orleans, hanging out in the lobby of the Fairmont hotel waiting in the lobby for my line-brother Will to pick me up, and marveling at the contrasting MO’s of the Latino and black activists? . . . Well put simply, the brothers from the NAACP, Urban League, etc. were simply there for the party. Most of them didn't give me the time of day until they found out I was from a foundation. It was like some of them were simply there on a scouting trip for the Essence Music Festival. No substance whatsoever. Meanwhile, the reps from the Latino groups (MALDEF, SWVREP, etc.) were all about the business -- communicating a vision, articulating a strategy, and working to set a gameplan in motion. Unlike "our people," they had a sense of mission, and their agenda in order, and had their eye on the prize. . . . Villaraigosa becoming mayor is but an intermediate step to that objective.

Meanwhile, the Reverend Jackson is off for an audience with El Presidente Fox. He'll comeback from this junket with a case of Pace Picante sauce, and a contract for the Mexican jumping bean concession in urban markets. On the following Saturday, during his weekly address at Operation PUSH, the good Reverend will declare the mission a success. Later that evening, Vincente Fox will go to bed and chuckle to himself for nearly 30 minutes, before falling fast asleep.

"La Reconquista" is in full effect, bruh!