Subject: M-I: THE JOURNEY-Nat. (Apr.13-20) (fwd)
Date: Sun, 12 Apr 1998 15:36:57 -0400 (EDT)
From: "hoov" <hoov-AT-freenet.tlh.fl.us>
forwarded by Michael Hoover
Forwarded message:
> Date: Sun, 12 Apr 1998 00:04:39 -0700
> From: cesaracruz-AT-juno.com (Cesar A Cruz)
>
> THE JOURNEY- National April 13, 1998-April 20, 1998
> Issue 4, Vol. 1
>
> this week in THE JOURNEY
>
> I. INS Raids Sparks Protests Manhattan,NY
> April-urgent
> II. Apache People Invaded by Police San Carlos,AZ
> April 10-curr.
> III. Natives Scorn Crazy Horse Monument Custer, S.D. April
> IV. Women's Solidarity Conference Havana, Cuba April
> 11-21
> V. Shedding My Prisoner of War Name creative writing
> VI. Aztlan- a 90s vision commentary
> VII. Puerto Ricans March to Nation's Capital Washington,DC July 25
>
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> THE JOURNEY- Human rights activist Cesar A. Cruz has created a weekly
> journal of culture, politics and self transformation. The Journey details
> important events, demonstrations and cultural gatherings that are taking
> place throughout the nation.
>
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> Manhattan, NY- INS Raids Spark Protests April
>
> Apr. 5--On Tuesday March 31st, the Immigration and Naturalization Service
> (INS) raided three Manhattan garment factories at 520 Eighth Avenue. INS
> agents detained more than thirty workers on suspicion of being in the
> United States without proper documents; one of them is being held under
> unreasonably high bail of $15,000 solely because he is exercising his
> right to not reveal his nationality.
> These raids come during a period of increased INS harassment in
> workplaces; the agency says that "worksite enforcement is a national
> priority." Apparently, processing applications for documented immigrants
> isn't: thousands of people approved for permanent residency have been
> waiting for their green cards for nine months because the INS hasn't
> gotten its expensive new card- printing system to work. Residency
> applications take years to process because of the agency's legendary
> incompetence.
> Bertha Wilson, from the Coalition for the Human Rights of Immigrants
> (CHRI), said: "The INS is a mess. But instead of getting its own house in
> order, it's harassing people who only want to work hard to make a decent
> living and support their families. The national priority for the INS
> should be to get off the backs of working people, cut down on its
> bureaucracy, and fix that computer system." CHRI says increased INS
> activity will not prevent illegal immigration and isn't intended to: the
> purpose of this repression is to keep undocumented workers from
> organizing.
> INS harassment, including workplace raids and excessive bail and fines,
> makes undocumented workers easier to exploit because workers who fear
> deportation are less likely to complain about or organize against
> employer violations like unpaid overtime, underpayment of minimum wage,
> unsafe working conditions or child labor.
> CHRI will hold an informational picket on Tuesday, April 7, from 5:30 to
> 6:30pm, outside 520 Eighth Avenue in Manhattan (near 36th Street). The
> Coalition calls on all supporters of human rights to write or call the
> INS and demand the release of the detainees, and an end to workplace
> raids. The INS can be reached at 1-800-375-5283 or by mail at 26 Federal
> Plaza, New York, NY 10278.
> The Coalition has held several earlier pickets protesting INS raids in
> Manhattan and Long Island City, and is now organizing a letter-writing
> and petition campaign. It is made up of several groups: the Latino
> Workers Center, the UNITE Garment Workers Justice Center, the NY
> Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador, the Nicaragua
> Solidarity Network, the National Employment Law Project, the Center for
> Immigrant Rights, War Resisters League-New York City, and Women's
> International League for Peace and Freedom-NY Metro. For more
> information, call 212-254-2591.
> Coalition for the Human Rights of Immigrants 339 Lafayette St, New York,
> NY 10012 tel 212-254-2591 fax 212-645-6243
> nicadlw-AT-earthlink.net
> http://home.earthlink.net/~dbwilson/chri
>
> ------------------------------------------------
>
> San Carlos, Arizona- San Carlos Apache People Invaded by Police April 10
>
> Call To Action is under seige from the San Carlos Police Department and
> the Gila County Sheriff's Office. Ten people are under arrest at this
> time in an attempt to crush the coalition. False arrests and charges are
> being made in an attempt to keep control of the failing corrupt
> government.
> The Tribal Administration Building was taken over by the San Carlos
> Apache Police at approximately 8:00 a.m. Ten people were arrested as the
> police tore down the door of the Tribal Chairman's office. The
> electricity was shut off and unconfirmed reports of the water cut off
> also.
> The police have barricaded themselves inside the building and have
> changed all the locks on the building. The Chairman has been asked for
> all his keys to be returned and his vehicle to be handed over.
> We condemn the actions of the Gila County Sheriff's Office in aiding the
> police force's abuse of power and inflicting terror on the San Carlos
> Apache People.
> We need all allies to protect the people at this time of an out of
> control government. Warrants are outstanding for all the leaders of Call
> To Action where the justice system has turned a deaf ear on legal avenues
> taken by the people to stop continuing abuse.
>
> WE ARE IN A STATE OF EMERGENCY.
>
> Charles E. Vargas
> Call To Action
> PO Box 68
> San Carlos, AZ 85550
> Tel: (520) 475-2579
> Fax: (520) 475-2870
> email: azperidot-AT-gila.net
>
> ------------------------------------------------
>
> CUSTER, S.D.- American Indians scorn Crazy Horse monument April 7
> By GWEN FLORIO -Knight Ridder Newspapers
> While he lived, the great Oglala chief Crazy Horse never let himself be
> sketched or photographed. Any reproduction of his image, he believed,
> would rob him of his spiritual strength.
> So today, more than a century after his death, some of his descendants
> are saddened by the massive likeness of him being blasted out of the
> Black
> Hills. The sculpture, when completed sometime well into the 21st Century,
> will be the world's largest, 563 feet tall, 641 feet long.
> The head itself, the outline of which has only recently emerged after 50
> years of work, is nine stories tall. All four of the faces at nearby
> Mount Rushmore would fit within it. The outstretched arm will be nearly
> as long as a football field; the pointing forefinger could flick aside a
> bus.
> The epic scale is meant to memorialize a people to whom epic wrongs were
> done. That is a nice sentiment, say some of those people. But it is a
> white person's sentiment -- one that would horrify the very man it is
> meant to honor. ``He was a simple person. He shied away from glory,''
> said Rosalie Little Thunder, whose family traces its roots back to the
> Oglala Lakota (or Sioux) leader who helped vanquish Gen. George Armstrong
> Custer's troops at the Little Big Horn.
> A monument ``is just not the Lakota way,'' she added. ``We do not
> memorialize the individual. And we do not tear up the earth.'' The
> sculpture, she suggested, is no monument at all to her ancestor, a man
> much admired for his refusal to sign treaties or surrender.
> Still, as more of the memorial's features emerge, interest in the project
> increases. Donations are increasing and that -- along with recent mild
> winters -- is helping the work progress more quickly.
> A sign at the memorial's entrance proclaims that neither state nor
> federal money has ever been used on the memorial. ``It is a monument to
> and for the Indian people,'' the sign adds.
> Maybe ``to'' the Indian people, corrects Lyman Red Cloud, grandson of the
> Oglala chief Red Cloud, a contemporary of Crazy Horse. But definitely not
> ``for'' them. ``These white people are not helping anybody,'' he said of
> Korczak's family.
> "They're just using Crazy Horse's name.'' This, despite the fact that the
> memorial complex contains a new Indian Museum of North America, and holds
> classes -- taught by Indians -- on Native-American arts and culture.
> Red Cloud argues that such efforts mostly benefit whites. ``You go there
> [to the memorial] and all you see are white-skinned people, in and out,
> in and out, all day long,'' he said. ``They want to study about this
> Indian war leader, how he survived, how no white man could kill him, how
> it took
> another Indian to kill him.''
> But the curious, said Red Cloud, will never divine the true spirit of
> Crazy Horse from the information at the memorial.
> It is a spirit, he says, that remains alive today, that will not permit
> such a desecration as Korczak's memorial.
> ``You wait,'' he said. ``You watch. It's not going to work. His spirit
> will not let them use his name. His spirit isn't going to let that
> monument live long. It will be destroyed by lightning or whatever. It
> will crumble.''
> Such criticisms, said Ruth Ziolkowski ``bother me more than anything else
> . . . Korczak felt so strongly that this project gives [Indians] a sense
> of pride.''
> That is why the family set up a scholarship fund -- now $25,000 -- for
> Indian students in South Dakota, she said.
> ``One of the things Korczak wanted to teach is that it's a living
> culture,'' DeWall said.
>
> nicajg-AT-panix.com
>
> ------------------------------------------------
>
> Havana, Cuba-Women's Solidarity Conference in Cuba April 11-21,1998
> INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S SOLIDARITY CONFERENCE
> The Pope's recent visit to Cuba heightened American interest in the
> island nation and increased support for ending the 38-year economic
> embargo. The latest Pentagon report declares that Cuba is no longer a
> threat to U.S. security. Some 200 Americans will travel to Cuba in early
> April to attend the International Women's Solidary Conference to be held
> in Havana.
> For at least 100 American delegates, this will be their first visit to
> Cuba. Many plan to bring humanitarian aid and want to witness firsthand
> the impact of economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. Several delegates
> plan to publish reports about their experience and a handful hope to
> produce film documentaries.
> The International Women's Solidarity Conference will provide an
> opportunity for women from around the globe to come together and discuss
> critical issues facing women today...issues like education, healthcare,
> social security, sustainable development and violence against women. The
> event also represents an important follow-up to 1995 World Conference on
> Women held in Beijing. Approximately 2000 women from over 60 countries
> are expected to attend.
>
> Emily Thomas
> 448 State St, Brooklyn 11217
> 718.875-8155
> 718.875-8837 fax
> companyero-AT-mindspring.com
>
> ------------------------------------------------
>
> Shedding My Prisoner of War Name
>
> After my stepfather hit my mother for the last time in December
> of 1996, we almost went down in blows. I had to call the police…I have
> never had to call them or have wanted to do so for anything. In the
> closet I fear their immense power, and on the exterior I despise them for
> the same reason.
> It was a painful Christmas time.
> I began to reassess my life…I began to question why my father had left
> when I was two, and why my stepfather was such an asshole. I cried
> profusely. Without stop and without direction…
> I began to want to be as far away from them as possible. But I was them.
> I was the alcoholic, my father was, and yet I was going on three years
> sober. I was also the temper-mented stepson my step-father saw in his own
> shadow. I had to change…
> I found myself at a pay-phone crying like a baby without end. Babies seem
> to cry without fear of being judged and even if they are told to shut up
> or that everything is going to be all right they persist, 'y siguen
> sollozando' (and they continued crying.)
> Days later I found myself with a friend reading poetry in front of the
> old administration building where just a year ago a few of us sat
> choosing to starve ourselves for something we believed in…
> The question now was, what do I believe in now… It was the first time in
> my life that I truly spoke to the Great Spirit and begged forgiveness for
> all my mistakes… It was the first time I prayed without reciting 'el
> padre nuestro' ('Our father') or 'Ave Maria' (Hail Mary). There was no
> script to this one, no colonial memory chip…
> The fire I lit began to burn uncomfortably. It screamed
> deep-blues and frightening purples. I saw in it our people burning at the
> stake, and I just stood there idly by. So we sang, marched, and went
> without eating, so what. People were still dying. Not much had changed,
> except the stakes.
> The rest became clear. I have always been proud of the nopal that rested
> atop the crown on my head. 'Mis raíces' (my roots) are not something I
> ever wanted to cut off.
> However, through false Catholic indoctrination I had become all too
> accustomed to feeling guilty and falling to my knees at the hands of the
> oppressor. Now the only oppressor was me, towards me.
> I had become all too accustomed to speaking two colonial tongues, both
> from Europe. Both foreign to me and my people.
> I had become the fortunate college kid, of Indian descent, who would fill
> the undisclosed color margin in a sick capitalistic world lost in its own
> confusion and chaos. I was being bred by an institution to become the
> poster child for the new 'Horatio Alger' cereal.
> I, the 'rancho,' (ranch, village) boy, turned 'barrio' (ghetto) nerd
> survived the concrete jungle by knowing the lingo, but steered clear of
> the 'bid pedos' (the big sh-t), except for a few 40oz. (ounces) of pain,
> or at that time of pleasure.
> I stood face to face with my past, and with my future but my present
> seemed hollow and empty. I knew how I felt. I was a zero. An unknown. The
> one who constantly wanted more. The one who read and read, asked and
> asked, to get more history, more cultura, more pride… and I was still
> searching, still trapped, still longing…
> It was time for me to formally introduce myself to me…
> My name was/is César Alonso Cruz Gómez Villafaña. My name tells of
> generations of conquest.
> Villafaña was my great grandfather's last name. He was a tall Spaniard
> with deep blue eyes. He raped my great grandmother.
> Gómez was my grandfather's last name. He beat my grandmother 'til she had
> the courage to take him on, the Bracero Program, an International border,
> and two governments seeking to keep her down.
> Cruz was my father's name. A middle class city boy from
> Guadalajara who sought to marry a poor rancho woman, my mother, from
> Juchitlán.
> All men. All conquest. I, still a slave…to patriarchy, to power, to
> privilege, to self.
> I was unaware of it at the time, but I forged a new beginning. Months
> later I realized that if I was to transform, to grow, to be, I needed to
> reach further.
> An elder walked towards me and handed me prophecy.
> Teolol-the nahuatl (Aztec language) word for zero, for the unknown, but
> also for the balance of positive and negative energies was to
> become/transform me, was to strip me of my slave name, and lead me on a
> path towards liberation.
> This elder never even mentioned the word. His eyes told me to search for
> it…and his heart helped me to find it. So I began to play with a pregnant
> thought… What would I do? Let it sit for nine months without care,
> without nutrients?
> Could I be incapable of delivering a new birth? Or would I abort…I'm
> reaching three months now and I'm scared. For I am facing 500 years of
> colonialism.
> But I know that I'm not alone… I would like to introduce myself to myself
> once again. My name is César Teolol. Now came the test…
> As Geronimo ji-Jaga (formerly known as Pratt) was released from
> physical incarceration, I was asked by a Spanish reporter to share some
> thoughts on the matter…
> After doing so, he asked, "please state your name and the
> organization you represent":
> I replied, "Teolol…" hmmm…(he replied)
> "….and I represent the Xinach" (the seeds, las semillas)
> The reporter, a mirror image of me, seemed puzzled, like my aztec
> ancestors in 1519.
> I smiled and replied, it need not be important and walked away…
> But, I leave you, my friend, with this explanation for it needs
> to be told… it is important, we cannot walk away.
> They must know we are returning from our coma,
> the nova' cocaine' has worn off, and the roots of the tree have not been
> chopped.
>
> Cueponizqueh in xochime
> uan in cuauhtiame
> quitahmachiotizqueh
> mo mina xoxoctic.
>
> (the flowers will grow
> and the eagles
> will adorn
> the sacred earth and its blue skies.)
>
> Slowly I began to shed my prisoner of war name. It was all in due time,
> all in due time…
>
> mexica tiahui- (onward children of the sum)
>
> César A. Cruz Teolol ( zero)
>
> ------------------------------------------------
>
> COLUMN OF THE AMERICAS by Patrisia Gonzales and Roberto Rodriguez
> AZTLAN DRAWS IRE OF ANTI-IMMIGRANTS
>
> About once a week, someone calls us "Aztlanistas." It's supposed to be
> some sort of McCarthy-type insult. Aztlan, according to our accusers, is
> another Quebec.
> Accordingly, we're also accused of supporting the
> "separatist" organization, MEChA, or Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de
> Aztlan -- a national student organization that promotes education and
> defends the rights of Chicanos/Mexicans and Central and South Americans.
> We find their work honorable and their philosophy misunderstood.
> Aztlan as a 1960s political idea sought to reclaim the original homeland
> of the indigenous Mexica or Mexican/Chicano people. Thirty years ago,
> Aztlan was symbolically represented by the lands lost by Mexico when the
> United States warred on its neighbor in 1846.
> A generation later, a new idea of Aztlan is emerging,
> particularly among the young members, that they're part of a
> pan-indigenous spiritual nation, not necessarily part of a geopolitical
> entity. As an anonymous Xicana from Michigan wrote to us last year:
> "Aztlan is everywhere I've ever walked."
> While some still cling to the 1960s expression of Aztlan, its
> new adherents are not nationalist, nor do they support patriarchal ideas
> that relegate women to supporting roles. Many are women who spell Chicana
> with an X, symbolizing their indigenous roots. Theirs is not a separatist
> movement. Aztlan has re-emerged in response to this population,
> Mexican/Latinos, being dehumanized to the point where today many of this
> country's problems are attributed to them.
> This feeling of being under siege has created a spirit of unity and a
> spiritual kinship with people from all of the Americas.
> To some, the idea of Aztlan indeed sounds like Quebec's
> separatist movement. Yet, this population did not elect to be designated
> and treated by the government as a permanent lower caste of minorities
> and aliens. Nor have they chosen to be segregated by corporations as the
> "Hispanic market."
> Interestingly, this "segmentation," because it involves hundreds of
> billions of dollars, is not seen by mainstream society as separation, but
> rather as part of the American way.
> For those who have been marginalized, viewing themselves as
> part of a spiritual nation is both dignified and liberating. Many view
> themselves as
> partaking in a process of self-identity, not bound by government or
> corporate definitions, which they see as contributing to the systematic
> eradication of their culture. Many consider the U.S. Census Bureau's
> designation of this population as "white" a throwback to an era of shame
> and a continued effort to obliterate the Indian or African within them.
> To outsiders, the aforementioned ideas may seem
> unintelligible, but they aren't. All it takes is a little knowledge to
> understand why this population gets angry when the government and school
> textbooks erase their history. They view the ripping away of their roots
> as the first step toward their delegitimization and as lending credence
> to the idea that they're foreigners.
> For many, Aztlan is simply about bringing a dignity to
> themselves at a time when they perceive a full-scale attack against their
> culture via an encirclement of forced assimilation policies. And the
> irony is that these policies – which manifest themselves in national
> movements against immigration, affirmativeaction, bilingual education and
> ethnic studies, plus the militarization of theU.S./Mexico border -- are
> essentially fueling that quest for dignity.
> Having a MEChA background should be a source of pride, not
> consternation. or example, not long after Norma Chavez led a six-mile
> march on behalf of the nited Farm Workers Union -- in 110-degree heat in
> El Paso, Texas -- she was lected to the state house of representatives in
> 1996. And Antonio
> Villaraigoza, Joe Baca and Gilbert Cedillo -- MEChA members at UCLA in
> the 1970s -- are now California Assembly members. Villaraigoza, the
> speaker of the assembly, who is being honored at this year's national
> MEChA conference at UCLA this month, runs one of the nation's most
> powerful state bodies. And yet, he's been derided by foes as undeserving
> of the post because he was once a MEChista. Antonia Hernandez, president
> and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational
> Fund (and former MEChA member), will be keynoting the
> conference.
> All are examples of human beings who have not betrayed their
> principles and who today carry on their human rights battles in halls of
> power. There's no dishonor in that or in believing in Aztlan.
>
> COPYRIGHT 1998 UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE
>
> ------------------------------------------------
>
> Washington,DC- Puerto Ricans March to Nation's Capital July 25
>
> March to Washington DC-1898-1998 Struggle For Independence
> One hundred years after the invasion, our people have affirmed once and
> again that our identity is unique in the World. Our firmly rooted
> culture, our traditions, our music and our language all represent our
> resistance to assimilation. Aware of the significance of this centennial,
> we are sure that as a people we will continue to exist and rejoice in the
> strength of our national identity and culture.
> On the other hand, it is imperative that at this juncture we demand that
> our unalienable right to a true process of self- determination be
> respected.
> During the hundred years that U.S. Congress has dominated our political
> fate, they have never authorized a plebiscite that abides by modern
> international law guidelines, where our people may clearly express their
> aspirations regarding the status of our island. It is further of great
> importance that the U.S. Congress understands that our unalienable right
> to self-determination extends to all Puerto Ricans regardless of where
> they reside.
> No people can effect their right to self-determination freely while their
> political prisoners are held behind bars. Puerto Rico has fourteen
> daughters and sons who are in federal prisons due to their activities in
> support of Puerto Rico's independence. Most of these men and women have
> served eighteen years, yet not one of them was found guilty of causing
> loss of life to another human being. It is time to bring them home!
> For these reasons we call for all Puerto Ricans and friends of the Puerto
> Rican people to help bring about a Jornada Nacional, to commemorate the
> invasion of Puerto Rico in 1898.
> >From San Francisco to Orlando, From Boston to Washington D.C. we should
> reflect on the historical significance of this date and make a commitment
> with this effort by helping to organize and to mobilize to the activities
> that will be part of this Jornada Nacional "98.
> A Century after the Invasion, we still march as a Nation!
> There will be activities in the following cities: Boston, Chicago,
> Philadelphia, San Francisco and New York. The major mobilization will
> take place in Washington D.C. which will include: an overnight vigil in
> front of the White House July 24-25; a mass at noon in the National
> Cathedral on the 25th; followed by a procession to the White House,
> where activities will close with a political rally and a concert by
> Andres Jimenez
> Those who cannot make it to Washington D.C. should participate in the
> local activities!
> For more information e-mail- Jornada98-AT-aol.com
> The Comite Nacional Puertoriqueno in Chicago, Cleveland, Philadelphia,
> San Francisco, New York, Washington D.C. and Boston sponsors these
> activities.
>
> ------------------------------------------------
>
> THE JOURNEY- Human rights activist César A. Cruz has created a weekly
> journal of culture, politics and self transformation. The Journey details
> important events, demonstrations and cultural gatherings that are taking
> place throughout the nation. There are three versions of the journey.
> THE JOURNEY-
> (1)Southern California, (2) Northern California, (3) Nationwide
>
> ----IF YOU HAVE ALREADY SUBSCRIBED, PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO SOMEONE WHO
> HASN'T... each one, teach one...
> Stay strong and brace yourself for THE JOURNEY up ahead.
> THE JOURNEY, 1998
>
> Subscription rates: simple and to the point
> $1 per issue… 4 issues per month
> 2 months - 8 issues $8
> 4 months- 16 issues $16
> To order a print copy of THE JOURNEY send a self-addressed #10 envelope
> and a check or money order written out to Cesar A. Cruz c/o
> THE JOURNEY
> 13419 ESMOND AVE.
> NORWALK, CA. 90650
>
> Cesar A. Cruz
> CesarACruz-AT-juno.com
> 714.423.6923 (voice, pager)
> THE JOURNEY
> To Comfort the Disturbed, and To Disturb the Comfortable
>
> _____________________________________________________________________
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