NewsTaco

La Raza Unida Party was established in Crystal City, Texas in 1970 by a group of youth, including José Ángel Gutiérrez and Mario Compean, both organizers for the Mexican American Youth Organization.

Founded as a third party alternative, the party aimed to fight for better educational and job opportunities for Mexican-Americans and improve their overall quality of life. The party gained prominence in several Texas communities through pursuing local city council and school board positions, and fielded candidates for governor in 1972 and 1974 and earned enough of the vote to qualify for some state funding.

The influence of the movement spread to Colorado and California, but the party struggled to achieve electoral success in bigger statewide races and lost much of its influence in many areas. It was reformulated the party to focus more on grassroots organizing among Latino, Chicano and Native American communities in the southwestern United States.

References:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raza_Unida_Party
• http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/war01
• http://www.pnlru.org/
• http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/utlac/00102/lac-00102.html

[Photo By The University of Kansas Libraries, Kenneth Spencer Research Library]

A preliminary report released by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis may add several Latino sites in New Mexico and Colorado to the National Park System. Specifically, the sites are located in the San Luis Valley, stretching for 122 miles from  south-central Colorado into northern New Mexico.

The report, “San Luis Valley and Central Sangre de Cristo Mountains Reconnaissance Survey Report” notes that this region is home to cultural sites dating back 11,000 years. Native Americans, Spanish and Mexican colonists, as well as white settlers passed through the region.

Salazar, who is from Colorado, requested the report to identify  “opportunities to preserve and interpret nationally significant American Latino heritage sites… As well as opportunities for conservation of the areas landscape, environment and natural resources.” Some interesting facts about the region:

• It includes 3,264,000 acres; 5,100 miles
• The area is 220 miles from Denver and 130 miles from Santa Fe
• Most of the land is privately held, in ranch holdings
• Colorado’s oldest documented town, San Luis is included
• And Colorado’s oldest church, Our Lady of Guadalupe, is also in the region
• The earliest inhabitants of the area hunted mammoths

This area is home to old traditions such as folklore, certain types of farming, religion, art, cooking and more, such as a version of Chris Tilly in Spanish still spoken by about 35% of this region’s population. Based on the report, Congress may decide to formally initiate a study of this area for inclusion in the National Park System. Read the full report here.

[Photo By USDI]

What does it cost to teach English to an immigrant child in the United States?

A state district court in Colorado may not have an exact amount, but it knows how much is not enough. That was the court’s determination in the Lobato vs. Colorado lawsuit that sought adequate funding for English language learners in that state.

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) served as plaintiff-intervenors, representing a group of parents who brought the suit. According to a MALDEF press release:

In a 189-page, scathing decision following a five-week trial in August of 2011, the court held that “the Colorado public school finance system is not rationally related to the mandate to establish and maintain a thorough and uniform system of free public schools. On the contrary, the public school finance system is irrational, arbitrary, and severely underfunded.”

So the court told the Colorado state legislature to go back and get it right; the money that they’re spending on at-risk English language learners is not enough to do the job. But the court didn’t stop there:

“the Colorado public school finance system is not rationally related to the mandate to establish and maintain a thorough and uniform system of free public schools. On the contrary, the public school finance system is irrational, arbitrary, and severely underfunded.”

The problem, as the court sees it, is that Colorado has undergone significant demographic changes, specifically in terms of children in poverty, ethnic minorities and English language learners. The state’s educational funding scheme has not kept up with the changes. The MALDEF release quotes the court statement:

“there is not enough money in the system to permit school districts across the State to properly implement standards-based education and to meet the requirements of state law and regulation. This is true for districts of every description – rural, suburban, urban and those with small or large student populations. There is not one school district that is sufficiently funded. This is an obvious hallmark of an irrational system.”

This is significant, because it forces the state of Colorado to reconfigure its education budget in a time of cutbacks and shortfalls. According to the Sunshine Review, a non-profit organization dedicated to state and local government transparency, the state’s education spending was set at $5.2 billion in 2011, and that doesn’t count the $7.8 billion total local school district expenditure.  But the state also had a structural imbalance of $500 million. The sunshine Review reports:

Governor John Hickenlooper in November 2011 called for cuts to public schools and universities to help close the budget gap. Specifically, the governor would reduce funding to K-12 schools by $97 million, approximately $160 per student.

But in the end, in order to comply with Colorado’s balanced budget mandate, education for K-12 schools was slashed by $250 million.

David Hinojosa, MALDEF Southwest Regional Counsel, called the court’s decision courageous:

“We hope the General Assembly will see this as a wake-up call and live up to its responsibility under the Colorado Constitution by fully and fairly funding educational opportunity for all school children, including Colorado’s most vulnerable.”

[Photo By marxchivist]

Former Colorado congressman and virulently anti-immigrant personality Tom Tancredo has filed paperwork to form the American Legacy Alliance, a political action committee that has one purpose: stemming illegal immigration and repealing the 14th Amendment, you know, the birthright citizenship one. The idea is to raise an unlimited amount of money to this end.

When the Denver Post wrote about the website for the PAC earlier this week, it appeared that the website was working, today however the site returns an error message. The cached screenshots on Google, however, include jingoistic language that seems to split people in this country into the “us” and “them” category. The photos on the site of blonde, smiling faces seem to add another dimension to this division.

Here’s a sample of some of the language from the site:

• Your children and grandchildren are going to inherit a very different America than the one you live in today. [As in the 2010 Census?]
• English will give way to the hodgepodge of languages spoken by those that chose to ignore what few immigration laws remain.
• The rule of law will only exist to protect the rights of those that break the law and exploit the system. [Like, say, immigrants, or what?]
• Western civilization will only really exist in the history books, if they are allowed to learn about it. [Don't suppose this may be referring to Arizona's ethnic studies fight?]
• Defeat The Obama Amnesty [What amnesty?]
• And they will use everything, even America’s own values, to succeed. [So now immigrant success stories are scary?]

So, the idea is to raise an unlimited amount of money towards this end. If the photos, the language and the money doesn’t scare you into becoming involved in 2012, I’m not sure what will.

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD.

Colorado Congressman Mike Coffman is calling for the rejection of portions of the federal Voting Rights Act calling for providing voters with ballots in more than one language. Coffman said he would introduce legislation to repeal Section 203 of the 1973 VRA because it is an “unnecessary and unfunded” mandate that might prove to be a financial burden for some jurisdictions.

What’s worse is that Coffman is a former secretary of state in Colorado. The Denver Post reported that Coffman is set to introduce the legislation because of:

the situation facing county clerks across Colorado. Eight counties already must provide ballots in Spanish as well as English. Two counties must provide interpreters for Ute tribal members in southwest Colorado.

Sixteen more Colorado counties are expected to receive federal orders this month that they will need to provide Spanish ballots. Costs for those could run as high as $350,000 if they were required in a large county such as Arapahoe.

Such legislation could, ultimately disenfranchise Latino and other voters, with the economic troubles facing the country currently, it remains to be seen if this type of legislation stands a chance to make it into law.

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD.

A group that hopes to conserve the Colorado River and surrounding environment, Nuestro Río, is set to hold several events today in Albuquerque, Denver and Las Vegas to spread their message. The group notes on their website:

 A new Hispanic coalition is raising concern about dangerously low water levels in the Colorado River as they mark the 89th anniversary of the Colorado River Compact, an agreement that allocates water rights for the river. With dwindling water supplies and recent drought conditions, a tri-state mobilization to call for immediate action to save the river has been launched by Hispanic activists in three Western states. Chronic drought, climate change and increased demand are drying up the Colorado River Basin and threatening environmental and economic health of the region.

The Colorado River flows 1,450 miles through seven states (AZ, CA, CO, NM, NV, UT, WY) and Mexico. The river is essential to the nation’s food supply, as it irrigates 15% of the country’s crops and feeds 13% of its livestock. Additionally, the river provides drinking water and recreational opportunities for communities throughout the Colorado River Basin. Hispanics now represent a sizeable and growing proportion of the population impacted by the Colorado River Watershed. As Hispanics continue grow as a powerful voice in the political landscape, recent national polls indicate that environmental issues are a top priority for Hispanic voters.

Nuestro Rio, a growing network of Hispanics in the West who use their collective voice to educate communities about the history of Hispanics and the Colorado River and to advocate for a healthy river for generations to come, is mobilizing the Hispanic community in three states – Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico – to commemorate the 89th anniversary of Colorado River Compact by calling on Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and the Obama administration to address water usage issues.

The group is also circulating a letter with a petition to enact policy change around the river. For more information about the group check out their website or Facebook Page.

[Photo By Wolfgang Staudt]

Colorado’s Republican representative Doug Lamborn recently called President Barack Obama a “tar baby,” which he later said he didn’t know was a racially derogative word for African-Americans. He later said what he really meant was “quagmire.” It’s like the time the Kansas politico said we should shoot immigrants from helicopters — or the time that the Alabama politician said we should deal with immigrants by doing anything short of shooting them.

Words matter, and when politicians break loose with this kind of violent rhetoric directed very pointedly at Latinos and African-Americans, calling it racism is pretty easy. Lamborn’s statement went something like this according to The Huffington Post:

Now, I don’t even want to have to be associated with him. It’s like touching a tar baby and you get it, you’re stuck, and you’re a part of the problem now and you can’t get away.

Taking into account the blatant disgust Lamborn seems to feel for the president, it’s safe to say this is a pretty racist statement — unless you live in his head. This is what The Root had to say about the whole affair:

The term “tar baby” has origins going back to an 1881 Uncle Remus story by writer Joel Chandler Harris and can be used to imply that a situation is difficult to solve. It has recently developed more derogatory connotations related to African Americans.

Lamborn, who has been called the most conservative member of Congress, was of course only familiar with the “difficult to solve” definition. And he’s already decided that the president will accept his apology, telling the Denver Post, “I am sure that he will not take offense and that he’ll be happy to accept my apology because he is a man of character.”

The country is in dire straits right now, we were barely able to pass the debt ceiling legislation to keep our economy on its wobbly track, and we’re not even out of this recession yet. Even as we ramp up to the 2012 election knowing that Latinos are going to be key voters across the country, the rhetoric used in politics is racist and derogatory.

But, I give The Root’s Jenée Desmond-Harris kudos for making an excellent point: given that Lamborn is one of the most conservative voting members of Congress, the words he uses to describe Obama are probably the least of the president’s problems.

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD

[Image By E.W. Kemble]

At the recent NALEO conference in San Antonio, Texas News Taco had the opportunity to ask U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar about President Obama’s campaign and the importance of Latino voters to his victory.

Salazar told us that, just as Latino voters were essential in 2008, they will be essential in 2012. What’s more, he highlighted the appointment of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, advances in education and the employment of many Latinos, women and other diverse hiring practices within his own realm of the Interior Department, as well as across the Obama Administration.

Thoughts?

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD

[Video By News Taco; Photo By Obama-Biden Transition Project]

Looking at the most recent Census data allows us to obtain a clearer picture of how, precisely, Latinos are growing as a population in this country. However, looking at this data in graphic form can often be much more insightful. Below is a chart I compiled from Census data and an accompanying map.

The data from the Census are compiled in a chart below:

*Note: Over half of the U.S. Latino population lives within California, Texas and Florida.

Joseph P. A. Villescas, Ph.D. is an independent consultant, writer and instructor who conducts extensive investigations on Latino and other multidimensional populations that explore trends in their educational development, media consumption, internet usage, voting behaviors, racial categorization, organizational capacities and readiness for future leadership roles in community settings. He is also the founder and owner of Villescas Research, Media & Instruction, LLC.

[Image By News Taco]

Thought it would be another good time to look at redistricting around the country and how that’s affecting Latinos. We’ve written about some recent cases:

• Nebraska
• California
• Texas and Texas
• Illinois

And then there’s this that we found in the news:

• One out of five of Colorado’s residents are now Latino, and that’s puzzling members of the reapportionment panel working on redistricting.
• In Illinois, there’s only one Latino district that’s been drawn.
• Latinos in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin are readying for a fight, just in case.
• One out of every four people in Nevada is Latino and they may not get a congressional seat. It’s complicated.
• There’s still a question of whether Latino voters are being packed into districts to cut off their power.
• There’s all kinds of crazy stuff happening in Texas, where some Latino districts were removed, and others were added.
• Florida is having issues, too.

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD

[Image Courtesy Census]

Getting at just exactly how, and by how much, the Latino vote will affect elections across the country in 2012 is a little confusing. Luckily, we have the super duper political science expert who literally wrote the book on the subject — Professor Luis Fraga of the University of Washington — to help us get to the answer.

News Taco spoke to Fraga recently and he told us that the Latino vote is more important than ever, not just because Latinos make up more than one-third of the populations of big states like Texas and California and they are a growing part of the electorate, but also because in tight races, Latino voters can make or break candidates.

Depending on voter registration and Latino voter mobilization, in competitive elections Latino voters who vote as a block can be the deciding factor. Which is to say, if 20% to 70% of Latino voters vote the same, they can decide the race either for the Democrats or Republicans. Fraga gave us some examples:

• African-American voters tend to vote 90% as a bloc
• Latino voters in places like New York or New Jersey usually vote 70-75% for the Democrats
• In Texas, Latinos vote either 60/40% for the Democrats or 70/30%
• In California Latino voters usually go 60% for the Democrats (sometimes as high as 70%) and 20% for Republicans

The point being that, in a very close election (say, Senator Harry Reid from Nevada), a Latino voting bloc can make the difference. Fraga gave the example of California Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer, who won re-election in part due to Latino voters, as well as Republican Senator of Florida Marco Rubio, who won there due in part to Latino voter support.

So in 2012 how will Latino voters be crucial? Latino voters will be crucial to tight elections for both parties in New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado and Florida. Which, Fraga told us, means that the bottom line is this: Latinos are important in critical elections, they will continue to grow in importance as an electorate, and in a tense political climate this importance only grows.

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD

[Video By News Taco; Photo By Mykl Roventine]

We at News Taco have been doing our best to keep you informed of redistricting battles affecting Latino population areas (really redistricting affects all Latinos everywhere, but that’s a pretty tall order…) So we thought today would be a good day to do a little roundup of these redistricting battles across the country.

• Pennsylvania: Philadelphia’s Latino population grew by 60,000 to 12.3% of the city’s population, but only one of 26 house seats are filled by a latino. Latino leaders are trying to make one city council district and two state house districts Latino districts.
• Nevada: A Latino has never been elected to the U.S. House, there are two Latinos in the state senate, eight in the assembly and the first Latino governor was just elected last fall. Democrats are proposing 12 assembly districts with a 30% Latino population while Republicans are proposing eight districts with 50% or more Latinos.
• Colorado: Republicans are trying to keep the districts mostly the same, Democrats are trying to create “competitive” districts with more-or-less equal numbers of Republicans, Democrats and independents.
• Nebraska: Democratic (Latino) voting power is to be diminished.
• Texas: A plan recently passed by the state house dilutes the power of Latino voters the state senate is set to create their own redistricting plan in the near future. State Rep. Joaquín Castro tells News Taco, ”Delegations should look like their constituency.  The redistricting bill that passed the house does not reflect the current population growth in our state. Ultimately, the districts will probably be decided by the courts.”
• California: The California Citizens Redistricting Commission is holding meetings across the state. For more info click here.
• Arizona: The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission is a non-partisan entity that draws the maps; a meeting today discussed what docs would be used to make that happen.
• Florida: The drawing of the maps is set for this summer, but millions are being set aside to fight potential lawsuits over them already.
• New York: The battle is on.
• New Mexico: The legislature will deal with it in the summer.

Hey, I know I didn’t get everything and some of you out there may have hot tips, if so, feel free to post comments or email us at tips@newstaco.com.

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD

[Photo By TUBS]

Latina Polly Baca announced Monday that she will run for Democratic Chair of Colorado. She’s of Mexican-American descent and was the first Latina to be elected to Colorado’s House of Representatives and Senate. On the The Mario Solis Marich Show Monday she announced she would seek the office (see below).

Polly Baca Just announced on the show that she will run for CO State Party Chair! Tune in at http://www.gotomario.com/

January 10, 2011 7:10 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@marioradio

marioradio

[Image Courtesy Facebook]

Monica Marquez became the first Latina, and openly gay, member of the Colorado Supreme Court Saturday. She’s super smart, educated at Yale and Stanford, and her father, retired Colorado Supreme Court Judge José D.L. Marquez, swore his daughter in. Marquez is 41, in a relationship and her father became the first Latino appointed to the Colorado Court of Appeals.

I think this is a huge step because Colorado always seems to be on the precipice between crazy anti-Latino politicos like Tom Tancredo and very pro-Latino ones like Ken Salazar. The fact that Marquez will be on the Supreme Court is a big deal for Latinos in that state because, as issues like Prop. 8 in California have shown, these types of courts wield a lot of power and affect many people.

Having a Latina lesbian on the Supreme Court could, at least hopefully, inform important decisions in Colorado that would not only affect Latinos in that state now, but for years to come. Congrats to Marquez and we look forward to watching her career and future.

[Image Via Huebi]