NewsTaco

By Ray Salazar, CNN

During Tuesday’s State of the Union address, President Barack Obama spoke about gun violence, and he continues the discussion in Chicago today. He recognized in his speech, “our actions will not prevent every senseless act of violence in this country.”

As a high school teacher in Chicago, I want to hear more than an acknowledgment that shootings are happening, that young people are dying violently and unfairly.  I want to hear his determination to push through Second Amendment politics and assure us his leadership will make our streets safer. We might not be able to prevent every senseless act, but we must decrease the desensitization that encourages only one-word reactions to shootings: “Again?”

My first teaching job in 1995 focused on troubled teens at an alternative high school on Chicago’s Southwest side.

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[Photo by The White House]

By Michael Tarm, Associated Press/USA Today

Authorities in Chicago are naming a drug kingpin in Mexico as the city’s Public Enemy No. 1 — a label first given to gangster Al Capone and one that hasn’t been used since Prohibition in the 1930s.

Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman is being singled out for his role as leader of the powerful Sinaloa cartel, which supplies the bulk of narcotics sold in the city, according to the Chicago Crime Commission and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Click on picture to read full story.

[Photo courtesy Animal Politico]

By Chris Bently, WBEZ

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[Photo by David Hilowitz]

By Fox News Latino

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[Photo by stephenhanafin]

PRESS RELEASE

Illinois is home for over 200,000 undocumented immigrants, and many of them drive without an IL driver’s license because they are barred from obtaining one.

As noted by conservative Republicans Sen. Bill Brady and Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran in their State-Journal Register editorial, offering a legal means for these immigrants to obtain a temporary visitors IL driver’s license will improve highway safety.

Cafe con Leche Republicans, a national pro-immigration GOP group, is proud to support Illinois Senate Bill 957. SB957 would authorize temporary visitor’s IL driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants who establish their identity with a valid foreign passport or consular document, and pass the same IL driver’s license tests required of all drivers. SB957 also requires they purchase insurance, and their temporary visitor’s IL driver’s license is invalid if they are unable to provide proof of insurance upon request of police. The temporary visitor’s IL driver’s license would include a statement prohibiting use for identity, addressing concerns about their use for work, voting, etc.

Cafe con Leche GOP is proud to join Sen. Brady, Sheriff Curran, and dozens of other Republican officials from across the Land of Lincoln in support of SB957. We are thankful for the support of House Minority Leader Tom Cross (R-Plainfield) and we encourage other members of the IL House GOP caucus to support the bill.

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About Us – Cafe Con Leche Republicans is a national organization of Republicans who welcome “New Americans”, defined as immigrants and family of recent immigrants. Our mission is to make America and the GOP, more welcoming to “New Immigrants” through political activism, “in-reach” and education within the Republican Party, and lobbying government to adopt more immigrant friendly policies. We also seek to bring more conservative and moderate “New Americans” to the Republican Party. These efforts will strengthen the GOP, and lead more Republicans to embrace welcoming policies for immigrants and their families. We have members nationwide, with chapters in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, and California. Our members and leadership are predominantly Hispanic, though we define ourselves by mission and guiding principles, not ethnicity, and we welcome all who share our goals. Our leadership is 100% Republican.

[Photo by ruffin_ready]

By Janell Ross, Huffington Post Latino Voices

In 2011, as Illinois politicians redrew congressional district maps, they exercised a power grab that was intended to protect those already in office or even gain more seats for Democrats.

Officials split some of the state’s growing Latino population between districts already represented by Democrats and those where they hoped to see Republicans lose. An incumbent Democrat like former Chicago-area Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. was supposed to have little problem holding a seat that for three decades has been held by an African-American. But in 2011, no one knew then that Jackson would spend a portion his term in seclusion trying to manage a mental illness. And no one knew that, after winning reelection earlier this month, Jackson would resign amid allegations of misappropriated campaign funds.

Now, with Jackson out and Illinois set to stage a special election in February, Jackson’s former district could end up being represented by a white Democrat from Chicago’s suburbs. And for the crowded field of mostly black candidates that have expressed interest in Jackson’s old job, winning support of Latino voters and at least a smattering of white voters may be the key to victory.

“Ironically, because of redistricting, what has long been a seat held by a black politician is going to require a black candidate that can bring together a kind of Barack Obama pan-ethnic coalition just to maintain the status quo,” said Laura Washington, a political consultant and former political science professor at De Paul University.

The situation in Chicago isn’t unique, political analysts say. In states such as California, Texas and Florida, black politicians who have long represented majority black districts have had to adapt their political messages and policy priorities to appeal to growing shares of Latino voters and push to have college towns and their legions of young, often liberal white voters drawn into their districts.

In the 1970s and 80s, political power struggles flared in cities around the country as whites decamped to the suburbs, said David Bositis, a senior political analyst at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. Minority voters were frequently divided among crowded fields of black candidates, leaving room for well-financed white candidates often backed by conservative business interests to win by narrow majorities, Bositis said.

That’s a pattern that dominated elections in cities like St. Louis for decades, according to Bositis. In the 1980s and 1990s, the number of black elected officials peaked in cities like Los Angeles. Then, in the 1990s and 2000s, cities like Baltimore and Gary, Ind. — a city which was then about 90 percent…

READ MORE HERE

This article was first published in Huffington Post Latino Voices.

Janell Ross is a reporter who covers political and economic issues at the Huffington Post, based in New York. Previously she worked as a business reporter at The Huffington Post and covered business, immigration, race and social issues at The Tennessean in Nashville. Janell also covered covered local politics, labor and higher education at The News & Observer in Raleigh and the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Janell earned a bachelor’s degree from Vassar College and a master’s degree from the Columbia University School of Journalism.

[Photo by chicagopublicmedia]

By Ray Salazar, NewsTaco

For the first time in my life and for the sixth day, I stood on strike by the high school where I teach. On August 31, for the first time in seventeen years, I wore red to support the Chicago Teachers Union. A few months before that, I gave my vote to authorize a strike; I belong to the over 90% of union members who voted “Yes.”

I’m still on the picket line because, at yesterday’s CTU meeting, even though 220 delegates voted to return to work today, 350 delegates voted not to.

So I stood on the sidewalk today thinking. As the second Monday of our strike continues, as we wait to hear if an injunction against the strike will force us back to work, as we wait for the Wednesday meeting where delegates vote again in favor or against continuing the strike, I ask myself, “What have good teachers gained from striking? And what have we lost?”

1. Good teachers gained an understanding of why we are here.

Quite simply, we are here because of our mayor, Rahm Emanuel. In a previous post, I wrote that when Emanuel came into office, he began a fight bigger than his ego. From the start, he insulted teachers, minimized what we do, and imposed questionable education leaders and school reform. Unlike our previous mayor who served twenty-two years and understood the invisible politics of our city, Emanuel is blind. Mayor Emanuel underestimated the force of organized labor. I don’t know if any political machine can repair the damage he’s done to himself.

We got to this point because Mayor Emanuel pushed for Senate Bill 7, which changed teachers’ negotiating powers, strike conditions, teacher evaluation, and the length of our school day. Illinois Education Association’s SB7 fact sheet outlines the changes. SB7 requires 75% of CTU members to authorize a strike; over 90% of us voted in favor last spring.

Last night, Mayor Emanuel argued that we are beyond our negotiating power; therefore, our strike is illegal. Catalyst Chicago Tweeted CPS’s press release about the injunction today, which specifies that SB7 “expressly prohibits the CTU from striking over noneconomic issues, such as layoff and recall policies, teacher evaluations, class sizes and the length of the school day and year. The CTU’s repeated statements and recent advertising campaign,” CPS argues, “have made clear that these are exactly the subjects over which the CTU is striking.” A judge will consider this Wednesday.

Our CTU President contributed to our situation, too. In a press conferencemade available online April 2011, President Lewis referred to SB7 as “historic” and said she had to “love the process” (she speaks at 17:46). She said that the conversations leading up to SB7 allowed for “ideology to meet reality.” She said, “If all bills work like this, it’s gotta be a good thing.” When she returned to the CTU House of Delegates, however, they disagreed. A couple of weeks after that press conference, CTU released a statement demanding changes. It was too late. SB7 became law soon after.

2. Good teachers, however, lost lots of public support.

Mayor Emanuel is not a likable guy. But neither is President Karen Lewis many times. While Lewis had the power to unify and mobilize 30,000 of us, she failed to secure the public’s trust. At press conferences, Lewis comes off antagonistic. Someone who worked with Lewis as a teacher described her to me as “bombastic.” And in front of the mic, she is.

Two Sundays ago, Lewis and CTU failed to give us and the public clear, specific, and repeatable demands. At the September 9 press conference announcing the strike, Lewis told a reporter not to prioritize the issues she presented. CTU succeeded in making this strike inclusive but failed by making it vague.

Early last week, one colleague’s doorman told her he remembers the 1987 teachers’ strike: “Oh, parents will support you the first few days,” the doorman said. “Then they’ll turn on you.” Last night when the strike was extended, many did.

Emanuel coined “strike of choice” and used it regularly. Now, his office is using “delay of choice.” It’s sticking. And CTU is stuck trying to regain public support. If we had gone back to the classroom today, we would have secured it. Emanuel would have remained the bad guy in all of this. Now, Chicago Public Schools teachers don’t look so good either.

3. Good teachers realized the importance of their teacher voice.

Good teachers should be responsible for making decisions that directly affect our profession and our students. Business people can contribute financial decisions. But when it comes to the classroom, good teachers need to be involved. So many conflicting priorities fall on us from the area, district, state, and D.C. that we must shout: “STOP! Let a good teacher tell you what’s working and what’s not.”

CTU mobilized us to flood local parks and downtown streets. Too many of us, however, are hiding inside our red t-shirts and silencing ourselves. I keep hearing, “We have to remain united. We can’t show any weakness.” We’re afraid of someone thinking differently. When did thinking differently make a person weak?

In last week’s post, I invited all CPS teachers to explain why they teach. I wanted to combat the negative advertising against us. Over eight hundred people read the post in only a few days. Over two hundred “liked” it. I’m thinking a good chunk of them were teachers. Yet less than ten teachers used their teacher voice to post a response in our defense.

Last Wednesday on B96, two striking teachers used their teacher voices to compete for a Girls Night Out cruise on Lake Michigan. The callers expressed how stressed out they were from striking and how they needed a chance to party with the B96 crew and a mob of their friends. One of the striking teachers won the right to party. We cannot use our teacher voices against us.

As with all professions, we have a small percentage of ineffective professionals. Good teachers know who the bad teachers are. We need to help each other grow. But we also need to be professional enough to use our teacher voice and say to a colleague, “This is not the right profession for you.”

With the strike, we proved that school reform is needed. Parents, more than ever, want a seat at the table. Two parents started their own organization: Chicago Students First.

The reforms, however, are complicated. More picketing won’t make reform happen overnight or gain us the respect we need to lead these. Isn’t that what we really want—respect?

We united. We defended our profession. We used our strike to negotiate a reasonable agreement in tough economic times. If CTU could have gotten a better contract, I believe they would have.

With my teacher voice I’ll quote a mayor who sadly passed away during his administration. Mayor Harold Washington at his inauguration repeated, simply, what Chicagoans needed to hear then and what we need to say now—“Let’s go to work.”

[Photo by mpeake]

By Real Chalk, Gozamos

Do you want to know what I am fighting for?

On Thursday, a student in my 8th period class was in tears…she was afraid of the looming weight and rigor of the work that she had coming this year in her classes (she is taking all honors classes and two AP). When the bell rang, I walked her to her next class, her hands covering her face as she kept telling me how scared she was. I looked her in the eyes and told her I believe in her. That she is a fantastic writer. That no matter what obstacles are in front of her this year, whether it be her struggle with English as a second language or anxiety of failure, no matter what…I told her that I would be there for her to make sure she succeeds. She smiled, and although she wasn’t completely at ease, it made her feel better to know she wasn’t alone in this fight. She later stopped by after school, and another teacher and myself spent around 30 or 40 minutes after school talking with her and affirming her limitless capacity for success.

This is why I teach. I came into this profession because my teachers that I had, most notably Curt Maslanka and Peter Gagliano, took time out of their own lives to invest into mine. These teachers did not receive raises or commission for each student they reached. I didn’t get paid for that extra 40 minutes I spent with my student after school helping her realize her potential for greatness. It was something that came out of the goodness of our hearts, and it’s something that calls us to become teachers: the desire to make an impact in someone’s life.

If you know any teachers, you know that we don’t go into this profession for the money. And yes, the summers off are nice, but it is never the incentive. The incentive is what happened to me Friday morning when that very same student came to me with a big smile on her face…ready to take on the world. She ultimately decided to keep her Honors and AP classes the way they were, and she told me that she never felt more confident to take on the challenges that awaited her.

Hopefully you have had a teacher in your life that invested in you, believed in you, or inspired you to become who you are today. We are fighting to keep inspiring students and to continue doing what we love. If our rights are taken away (if we work for an unjust system that works us to the bone only to get rid of us when we become too much of a financial liability) then I am afraid we will never get the chance to make an impact in anyone’s life. Ultimately, we are fighting for what is right; if we can’t teach our students that if you find something that you love, and you believe in it with all your heart, then you should do everything in your power to fight for it…if we can’t teach them THAT…then we will have missed out on the single greatest impact that we could ever make as educators.

This article was first published in Real Chalk.

[Photo by mpeake]

By Ray Salazar, NewsTaco

Now, it looks like I will have lived through two Chicago teachers’ strikes: one as a student, one as a teacher.

After months of contemplation, after many conversations with friends, I’m in.  On Friday, August 31, I will wear red in support of the Chicago Teachers’ Union for the first time in my 17-year education career.

Our strike date is set for September 10 because Chicago Public Schools leaders and the mayor want us to continue working a longer day for free.  They do not respect us as professionals.  They do not understand what good teachers do.

When I was in college, I accompanied my mom to Mexico when her mother died.  We spent most of the hurried flight sitting next to each other silently.  My mother is a strong woman who came to Chicago at fourteen and was failed by the educational system.  She has a sixth grade education; she is the most intelligent woman I know.

In Mexico, we buried my grandmother.  We prayed.  Days after, aunts and uncles and cousins continued thinking about my grandmother and began conversing about other people, other things.  My mom and I found out one of my cousins fought with her husband regularly.  He was an alcoholic.  He abused her verbally.  He put her down for working.  She is a teacher.

One evening, in a small home with many bedrooms, I overheard my mom, my aunt, my cousin talking.  Despite my mom’s deep sadness, her boldness had not waived.  “Defiende tu carrera,” my mother, who still wishes she could have gone to college, quietly–boldly–told my cousin.  “Defend your profession.”

I recite my mother’s advice silently when I must invoke her boldness to speak up or speak out.

I said it to myself when I faced Chicago Public Schools CEO J.C. Brizard and CTU President Karen Lewis face-to-face at a Chicago Tribune event last year after my writing won an essay contest.  Neither educational leader liked my questions that night.  But I asked.

I disagreed and disliked the Chicago Teachers’ Union rhetoric and decisions many times over the last 17 years—I’m honest.  CPS leaders have disappointed me many times, too.

I still don’t agree with everything.  I’d like to exchange some ideas and propose some solutions to the CTU and CPS leaders.  Maybe one day I’ll get the chance.

But for now, I will wear red.  The mayor, the CEO, the non-educators, and too many CPS leaders outside of the classroom misunderstand the demands on teachers today.  They demand what is questionably best for students and expect the impossible from good teachers.

Until we get the official word on or after September 10, I and my fellow Chicago Teachers’ Union members must remember–we are not on strike.  Our students deserve a high-quality education every day they are in school with us. We must fulfill our responsibilities to them until we go on strike and then every day after it ends (if we strike).

Also, we still cannot follow each other blindly. We must stay united AND we must ask each other the hard questions to make sure we are still thinking critically about our moves.  Just like good teachers do in the classroom, union leaders and members must reflect each day:  What worked?  What didn’t?

Today, I will wear red.  Throughout this struggle, with the Chicago Teachers’ Union, I will defend our profession.

By Terry Carlton, Gozamos

Originally from New York, art schooled and stationed for the time being in Baltimore, and back here with us in Chicago for the week, we bring you the visionary street artist, urban boundary pusher, and overall awesome guy known as Gaia. His moniker forces you to do some research not only on art, but on issues that communities and humanity face on a daily basis. His work first slaps you in the face with stunning technical detail and tried and true craftsmanship, but then you start to peel back the seemingly limitless layers of Gaia’s work, and you are greeted with unparalleled attention to the issues of the geographical areas he attacks with his visual onslaught of history, culture, and a real futuristic-vibed realization of the past’s importance in the present.

Already relatively legendary at a young age, the sky and beyond the stars is absolutely where the limit lies for Gaia, who takes his name from the great mother of all, although the translation of Gaia to earth is of unknown origin. Fitting, isn’t it?

When Gaia visits a city, he engulfs himself in the history, gets to know the people, the culture, the food, the very makeup of what fuels it; he becomes the city, he offers himself as a sponge, ready to absorb any and all of its offerings. This is something I appreciate and admire on such a high level, because when I travel anywhere, I try to do the same thing. Only difference being, Gaia gives something back other than his footprint, and that something tends to be physically temporary, yet philosophically permanent for those fortunate enough to come in contact with his connection. That being said, the permanence of what he’s creating off thecorner of 16th & Halsted is truly a sight to see. We may have reached a tipping point, friends.

Gozamos hung out with Gaia along the railroad tracks to talk about art, city life, gentrification, the histories of Pilsen, food, painting, street art, traveling, a bunch of shit…I could listen to him for hours…but alas! The man’s got work to do!

Without further adieu, we bring you the sense of wonder that is Gaia. Please enjoy.

Dude is deep. Dopely deep…

This article was first published in Gozamos.

Terry represents Gozamos with a self proclaimed punk rock writing background and lifestyle of an underground, enigmatic essayist, poet, not-yet established novelist, musician, and overall wordsmith. He claims to write for the people, and in turn, will change the world for the better. He is Chicago born and bred-a peace loving, revolution starting, thought provoking, bread baking, trivia winning, playlist creating, poem producing, song singing, top ten list drafting, bandanna collecting, basketball playing, iced coffee drinking, organic supporting, globe trotting, Virgo vegeTERRYn, urban hippie hip hop head here to enlighten and enhance earthlings and the like to infinity and beyond! 

By Monique Costello, Gozamos 

Summer conjures up emotions of carefree days and uncomplicated meals. Running through sprinklers and washing cars mean more than slaving in a hot kitchen. It just feels like the right time to simplify life.

At the beginning of summer, a jar of sweet and hot pepper relish came to me as a secret ingredient. Admittedly, this seemed like a challenging ingredient. Most people would agree that this is an item enjoyed as is; nothing really needs to be done to it.

But my goal with secret ingredients is to make an actual recipe out of it, so I needed to pull out my thinking cap. Summer lovin’ means it had to be elementary, like tossing in a pasta dish that has the versatility of being served hot, cold or room temperature.

My love for all things pickled and relished is not a secret. I’ve been known to eat spoons of tangy, fiery and vinegary substances directly from the jar. I did question whether the sweet side of the relish would be too sweet for a savory pasta dish, but coupled with the chewy pasta, hot pepers and the salty cheese, it worked great.

Boil pasta and mingle the ingredients. This recipe couldn’t be easier! And it’s an all-weather kind of dish to boot. Perfect for picnics with no fear of mayonnaise sitting in the heat. Fat and Happy just pushed the easy button for you.

The North Prairie Sweet and Hot Relish was a secret ingredient from Marty and Jenny (much appreciated!). You can find this on line or pick up a similar jar at your nearest grocery store.
Sweet and Hot Pepper Relish Pasta

• Dried pasta (1/2 box)
• Sweet relish (a few good spoonfuls)
• Colby or cheddar cheese, cubed (handful)
• Parmesan cheese (enough to grate over the top)
• Basil (roughly 5 fresh leaves)
• Olive oil (a good drizzle)
• Pepper and salt (as needed)

Boil the pasta according to package directions and drain. Pour the pasta in a large serving bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Add a big spoon of sweet relish, the torn basil, cheese and fresh black pepper. Toss well. Top with fresh grated parmesan cheese. Serve while warm or let cool — your preference.

This is one of those easy recipes. Don’t complicate it by trying to measure out the ingredients. Just toss and taste. Add more or less of something based on your taste preference.

Fat and Happy Food Blog Tips and Techniques: I used a gluten-free pasta from Whole Foods (made from potato flour and soy) for this dish. Choose your favorite pasta brand.

For more recipes, go to Monique’s blog: FatandHappyBlog.com

This article was first published in Gozamos.

Monique Costello writes the Fat And Happy blog about  food, recipes, cooking, baking, drinking, eating, friends and the amazing City of Chicago! As the former owner of Monkey Bean Cafe and Bistro, she loves to create recipes from scratch. Send her an unusual ingredient and she’ll create a recipe for you! 

[Photo by Gozamos]

By Antonio Zavala, Voxxi

At 27 years old Jose Luis Gutierrez left his home in Michoacán Central Mexico for the United States and became one of 250,000 Michoacán immigrants living in Chicago.

Desperate to pass on their traditions to their U.S. born children, Michoacán immigrants united through two organizations, Federacion de Clubes Michoacanos de Illinois
 (FEDECMI) and Casa Michoacán, to host a month-long celebration called Presencia Michoacana that offers educational programs, music, art, culture and civic participation to engage their youth.

“It hurts us and worries us,” Gutierrez told VOXXI in an interview. “This celebration is like a cultural offensive to rescue the identity of the Michoacán people.”

Presencia Michoacana began in 1997 as a week-long celebration and has steadily grown to an entire month held from mid-May to mid-June in Chicago suburbs

Michoacán– the ninth largest state in Mexico– is the world’s largest supplier of avocados, has the world’s largest Monarch butterfly sanctuary in El Rosario and was home to historical figures like Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla who taught college in the state’s capital of Morelia.

Many Michoacán immigrants have given back to their home state through Mexico’s “Tres por Uno” program in which the Mexican government pays two-thirds of the cost for projects such as remodel an aging civic plazas, rehabbing town churches or creating greenhouses in Michoacán.

Gutierrez said Casa Michoacán was founded in 2004. The organization “has become a very

important center for all immigrants,” Gutierrez said.

Last year local immigrants initiated 27 projects to help their towns back home. This year, so far, Gutierrez said there are 22 similar projects.

Dignitaries such as Fausto Vallejo Figueroa, the current governor of Michoacán, will participate in this year’s celebration and Mexican soccer player Pavel Pardo, who currently plays for the Chicago Fire, will receive the “Siervo de la
Nacion” award.

Presencia Michoacana, which began 15 years ago as solely a Chicago affair, “Now has crossed over into the suburbs where gigantic communities of immigrants from Michoacán live,” said Zoraida Avila, program director for Casa Michoacán.

“It helps us to get a new generation of young people to keep learning about the 
important things about our state,” Avila said.

This article first appeared in Voxxi.

An anti-Latino business, Eva Longoria, Selena, use of the word “undocumented,” the Alamo, Alabama’s immigration law, Mitt Romney, Luis Gutierrez and more made our list of the top stories on NewsTaco this week.

We definitely had an eclectic mix of stories this week, I recommend you check them out, if briefly. Thanks for sticking with us out yet another week, hope to see you back soon!

Sara’s Top Pick:

• CafePress Removes Anti-Mexican Products Page
  

Culture:

• Eva Longoria Creates Foundation For Latinas In Need
• Using “Undocumented” At Oscars Just The Start Of A Big Change
• Latinos With College Degrees Rises By 80 Percent
• Selena’s Music Is Back, But It’s Not Better
• Revisiting History On The Anniversary Of The Battle At The Alamo
• When Gentrification Goes Wrong: Chicago Bakery’s Racist Snafu

Politics:

• Alabama’s Law Backfires, Creating A New Civil Rights Movement
• Mitt Romney Planning Nationwide SB 1070 Legislation
• Luis Gutierrez Slams Mitt Romney Over Calling SB 1070 A “Model”

[Screenshot And Video By NewsTaco]

By Jose Cruz, OurTiempo.com

Last week In less than 48 hours a controversy erupted within the Humbolt Park community of Chicago. Local Bucktown bakery Tipsy Cake owner Naomi Levine’s insensitive comments about the community in a video went viral. The controversy highlights some very pertinent issues about the gentrification of Latino neighborhoods in places like Chicago and elsewhere.

By Wednesday a large group of protestors gathered for a press conference outside of the bakery in response to Levine who said in the interview: “I started out of my condo online, and then I bought a bakery in Humboldt Park in 2006, and there were just too many gunshots in the cake, so we decided to leave after five years.”  Another issue that drew outrage was the name of one of her pastries — “Humboldt crack bars.” Levine said she gave them that title “when neighborhood police officers started knocking on the bakery door late at night asking for ‘crack.’”

The rally cry was sounded and after massive amounts of negative feedback in the press Levine issued an apology on Facebook that has since been removed.

The Tipsy Cake outrage speaks volumes to issues of gentrification that our taking place in Latino communities across the country. We should ask the honest question: Would Levine’s comments been as inflammatory had they been made by a Latino business owner who had moved their storefront one neighborhood over to improve business? I don’t think so; they probably would have never made the press. But it is commonplace for a community to critique itself and somehow, although hypocritical, okay for us to act in a way that outsiders do not. Being part of a community for an extended period of time gives you the right to speak and even critique that community.

I grew up in Chicago, lived for over a decade and still own property on the Border of Humbolt and Logan Square. My rehabbed loft was one of the first constructed in this community that has been undergoing gentrification for the last two decades. As a member of this community, we welcome the new businesses and changes that are leading to higher property values. What made the statement of Tipsy Cake such a rallying issue was a simple lack of smart public relations and the community pressure seemed to force the owners hand into issuing an apology.

The good news is that things are changing. You can go out on any given night to an upscale bar in Humbolt, Bucktown or Logan square and find Latinos side-by-side with their “gentrifying” neighbors. Any notion of “Hipsters get out” will inevitable be dispelled by the reality that some of those hipsters are part of a new generation of Latinos who may rather drink a micro-brew and listen to the Black Keys than toss back a Modelo while listening to Hector Lavoe (personally I like both).

The Tipsy Cake controversy should be seen as a win for the community, in so far as all businesses need to respect the neighborhoods they move into and understand their deep cultural history. It was a beautiful thing to see our community come together on and off-line to give public exposure to Levine’s comments. But as the “historic community” we have a duty to critique ourselves. An old friend took one look at the picture from the protest outside of Tipsy Cake and bluntly asked — “Who is that kid in the red hat, why isn’t he in school today?”

Jose Cruz is a Puerto Rican/Irish multi-city/multi-hat guru at OurTiempo.com. An online entrepreneur, Jose is the in house editor and writer. With a background in politics and a career that includes a law degree, the Clinton White House and managing and developing websites geared at the Latino community, his tastes are as diverse as his work. Just at home diving into a Chicago Deep Dish Pizza to munching on a Fish Taco in East LA. Twitter: @JoseCruz2000

[Photo By Veronica Ocasio]