a publication of the Esperanza Peace & Justice Center
San Antonio, Tejas
July/August 2014 | Vol. 27 Issue 6
le canta a San Antonio
Sunday August 31st @ Majestic Theatre
Pecados y Milagros was Lila Downs 7
La Voz de Esperanza July/August 2014 vol. 27 issue 6
Editor Gloria A. Ramírez Design Monica V. Velásquez Editorial Assistance Alice Canestaro-García Cover Photo Antonia Padilla Contributors
Maya Angelou, Antonia Castañeda, Alice Canestaro-García, Omer R. Galle, Zona Galle, Kristin Galle, Amy Wright Glenn, Tom Keene, Cynthia Kurkowski, Glenaan O’Neil, Susana Méndez Segura, Tomás Ybarra-Frausto
La Voz Mail Collective
Gloria Aguilar, Sandra Alva, Marisela Candelaria, Mario E. Carbajal, Monica De La O, Juan Díaz, Dan Graney, Araceli Herrera, Rachel Jennings, J’Vaughnii & Noalanii Karakashian and TK Karakashian Tunchez, Rachel Martínez, Ray McDonald, Angie Merla, Maria Porter, Blanca Rivera, Fernando Rosas, Vanessa Sandoval, Gracie & Guadalupe Segura, Argelia Soto, Angeli Vida
Esperanza Director Graciela I. Sánchez
LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • July/August 2014 Vol. 27 Issue 6•
Esperanza Staff
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Imelda Arismendez, Itza Carbajal, Marisol Cortez, J.J. Niño, René Saenz, Melissa Ruizesparza Rodríguez, Susana Méndez Segura, Monica V. Velásquez
Conjunto de Nepantleras -Esperanza Board of Directors-
Brenda Davis, Araceli Herrera, Rachel Jennings, Amy Kastely, Kamala Platt, Ana Ramírez, Gloria A. Ramírez, Rudy Rosales, Nadine Saliba, Graciela Sánchez
• We advocate for a wide variety of social, economic & environmental justice issues. • Opinions expressed in La Voz are not necessarily those of the Esperanza Center.
La Voz de Esperanza
is a publication of Esperanza Peace & Justice Center 922 San Pedro, San Antonio, TX 78212
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* We ask that articles be visionary, progressive, instructive & thoughtful. Submissions must be literate & critical; not sexist, racist, homophobic, violent, or oppressive & may be edited for length. * All letters in response to Esperanza activities or articles in La Voz will be considered for publication. Letters with intent to slander individuals or groups will not be published. Esperanza Peace & Justice Center is funded in part by the NEA, TCA, theFund, Coyote Phoenix Fund, AKR Fdn, Peggy Meyerhoff Pearlstone Fdn, Horizons Fdn, New World Foundation, y nuestra buena gente.
studio album. Among other themes, the album focuses on the violence that plagues Mexico. She believes that her music can help express the anger, frustration and fear that has wreaked havoc on Mexico. She has transformed the heartache that she has felt about the drug-related violence into music. Singing traditional songs of Mexico has allowed for a release of that pain. The addition of new songs reinforces the comfort of having a strong cultural identity that withstands and repels this violence. The music of Pecados y Milagros offers a much needed refuge for Downs and her audiences, particularly in Mexico. To reinforce that refuge, she turns to the humble sights of strength and decency that nurture the souls of Mexicanos daily and incorporates these into song — like that of women who grind maize and make tortillas. Of this she says, “I’m looking for the heroines and heroes of my time — one of them, I composed a song about —the women who make tortillas — they are the strength of our country and they work with their hands the sacred element of our sustenance in all of the Americas: corn.” This issue of La Voz de Esperanza is very much in tune with the themes that Lila has worked on with her music. Being from Oaxaca and having a mother who is indigenous, she has always prioritized the indigenous, issues of immigration and border issues. Recently, she began to speak out publicly against domestic violence. The first article in this issue (p. 3 & 4) is an exclusive to La Voz. Silent Victims, Hidden Crimes: Immigrant Victims of Violence (p. 8-10) by Glenaan O’Neil of The Texas Civil Rights Project. It focuses on immigrant women and the violence they often experience that keeps them under the control of abusive spouses for fear of being deported or losing their children. The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and the rights of migrant women are discussed. On another level, this issue also addresses violence against children in Ending Corporal Punishment: Why You Should Never Spank A Child by Amy Wright Glenn. Patricia Castillo of the P.E.A.C.E. Initiative suggested the article to people interested in pursuing the theme of spanking for Domestic Violence Awareness Month that occurs in October. The broader issue of violence against children is a subject I hope to explore in future issues. Violence against La Madre Tierra is also addressed in Fracking in the Eagle Ford Shale (p. 18 & 19) by Alice Canestaro-García and in March Against Monsanto (p. 15 & 16) by Cynthia Kurkowski. The latter is a report on a recent worldwide march against GMOs that are destroying the production of the earth’s natural foods and plants. At times, when Lila Downs begins a concert, she will make an offering to La Madre Tierra with a copita de mezcal. She is a strong advocate of Indigenous efforts to defend Mother Earth. The Puentes de Poder community school of the Esperanza will explore the topic of The Rights of Mother Earth in a summer school series. It will bring prominent mestiza thinkers to the Esperanza to educate us on this global movement. Find the complete schedule on page 20. Tributes, poems and announcements round out the rest of this issue. Lila Downs continues in her quest to work for social and cultural justice in her own music-inspired way. And we, here at Esperanza, continue, in our way, to work for social justice and cultural preservation. It will be wonderful to join forces with Lila Downs at the 2014 concert at the Majestic Theater, here in San Antonio. For more on Lila see pages 12 and 13. Hope to see you there to welcome back, once more, our now Tejanita, Lila Downs. u th
ATTENTION VOZ READERS: If you have a mailing address correction please send it in to lavoz@esperanzacenter.org. If you want to be removed from the La Voz mailing list for whatever reason please let us know. La Voz is provided as a courtesy to people on the mailing list of the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center. The subscription rate is $35 per year ($100 for institutions). The cost of producing and mailing La Voz has substantially increased and we need your help to keep it afloat. To help, send in your subscriptions, sign up as a monthly donor, or send in a donation to the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center. Thank you. -GAR VOZ VISION STATEMENT: La Voz de Esperanza speaks for many individual, progressive voices who are gente-based, multi-visioned and milagro-bound. We are diverse survivors of materialism, racism, misogyny, homophobia, classism, violence, earth-damage, speciesism and cultural and political oppression. We are recapturing the powers of alliance, activism and healthy conflict in order to achieve interdependent economic/ spiritual healing and fuerza. La Voz is a resource for peace, justice, and human rights, providing a forum for criticism, information, education, humor and other creative works. La Voz provokes bold actions in response to local and global problems, with the knowledge that the many risks we take for the earth, our body, and the dignity of all people will result in profound change for the seven generations to come.
Silent Victims, Hidden Crimes: Immigrant Victims of Violence
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by Glenaan O’Neil, VAWA Program Coadjutant, Texas Civil Rights Project abuser would tell her that the police would deport her. The threat of deportation became one of her abusive spouse’s most frequently used tactics of control against
Noelia. For example, if the food she cooked did not meet his approval or if she disagreed with him, they would get into an argument and then he would hit her and threaten to have her deported. It got to the point that he would threaten to deport her for most anything. Noelia had nightmares about being pulled from her bed at night and being sent back to Mexico — a country she could barely remember, many hours away from her young children. Noelia was the primary caretaker for her children. Though her husband never physically abused them, Noelia feared that if she was not present his anger might make him turn on their eldest son with whom he frequently butted heads. At the same time that she feared for her children’s safety if she was not present to protect them, Noelia knew the violence was becoming more
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oelia” is 32 years old, a homemaker, and the proud mother of three children. All of Noelia’s children were born in San Antonio, Texas. As U.S. citizens, Noelia’s children will never need to worry about being deported, a fear that haunted Noelia throughout her marriage to her abusive spouse. For 15 years, Noelia lived in in the U.S. without lawful immigration status and for 15 years she lived in constant fear of being removed from the U.S. by Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) officials. This is a fear her U.S. citizen children will never know. On the other hand, this fear of removal shaped Noelia’s life so deeply that she felt her only choice was to accept and endure her husband’s domestic violence. Noelia was born in the Mexican state of Chiapas. When she was six years old, her parents brought her to the United States. They went to live in Abilene, Texas. Noelia speaks perfect English, and everyone she knows and loves is in the United States – including her children. After she became a mother, her biggest fear was being removed from the U.S. and being separated from her children. The fear of separation from her family by removal was so powerful that even after her husband began to physically abuse her, Noelia thought it was better to live with the abuse than report it. Noelia met her husband when they were in high school. He was a nice guy, got along well with her parents, had good manners and a sweet smile. He was born in Abilene, a city where his family has lived for several generations. They dated through their junior and senior years of high school and then after high school. When Noelia turned 20, they got married. For the first few years, everything seemed normal but Noelia’s husband developed a drinking problem, began yelling at her, calling her names and eventually began hitting her. The first time her husband raised a hand to her, Noelia picked up the phone to call the police and he began to laugh. Noelia’s husband told her that if she dialed 9-1-1 the police would ask her for her immigration papers. He told her that if she did not have any, they would call Immigration and she would be removed from the U.S. He told her she would be sent back to Mexico and that she would never see their eight-month-old daughter, again. Noelia was horrified; being separated from her child is every mother’s greatest fear. Even though she was bleeding from her husband’s violence, she hung up the phone. Losing her daughter was the perfect threat to keep Noelia from calling the police. This scene would be repeated over and over as the years passed. Every time Noelia considered calling the police, her
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frequent, and more egregious with each and every passing year and she felt that the longer it went on, the more she was in real danger of losing her life. Terror kept Noelia silent. She was afraid to speak with her friends and neighbors about what was happening in her house. Noelia did not know if anyone would believe her – and worse, she feared that if they did, they would call the police and she would be deported (as her abuser had told her she would be so many times before). Noelia felt alone, and like there was nowhere for her to turn. Desperate, Noelia called the National Domestic Violence Hotline from a payphone. That day, Noelia learned a great deal about her rights, and about programs that exist to help people like her. Noelia was told that she might qualify for immigration status under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) because she was the abused spouse of a U.S. Citizen. VAWA was first passed in 1994, after community leaders helped Congress understand that abusive spouses were taking advantage of the familybased immigration system to oppress their immigrant spouses. Traditionally, in the family-based immigration system, U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents may file immigration applications for their qualifying family members (spouse, child, or parent). The person filing the application is called the “petitioner.” The petitioner has complete control over the application they submitted to immigration, even though they file it for another family member. This means that at any time after filing the application and before their family member becomes a Permanent Resident, the petitioner can change their mind. They can stop moving forward with the application, they can withdraw the application, or they can tell Immigration that they no longer want to help their family member. This is total control. Unfortunately, an abusive petitioner will use the immigration application process as another way to control their immigrant spouse, parent or child. VAWA includes certain immigrant protections for qualifying victims of domestic violence to control their own family-based petition. In this way, it takes the power and control out of the hands of the abuser. The process by which VAWA helps immigrant victims of domestic violence with Immigration application is called the VAWA “Self-Petition.” To qualify for a Self-Petition, the battered immigrant (“selfpetitioner”) must prove up all the elements in a normal familybased petition and must also show that they were a victim of domestic violence. For example, a Self-Petitioner must show that: the abuser is a U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident, they are either a child, parent, or spouse of the abuser, that they were abused by the family member with legal status, and that they are a person of good moral character. The VAWA Self-Petition is a confidential process and the abuser never needs to know about it. Noelia began to feel hopeful for the first time in a very long time and pursued VAWA in secret while still living with her abuser and her children. Since she did not have any other way to support her children, to provide them with food and shelter, she felt that this was her only option. But years of fear are hard to overcome, and Noelia was still afraid to call the police until the day her husband attacked her so brutally she went to the hospital. Noelia’s abusive husband told her that only U.S. citizens could call the police or go to the hospital. Despite growing up in the United States, Noelia did not know that in the United States, everyone — regardless of immigration status — has the right to access emergency services.
National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) But, while Noelia was hospitalized, two police officers came to interview her and ask her how she had been hurt. When she told them that her husband had done that to her, the police officers arrested her husband. Instead of deporting Noelia, they supported her. Noelia was surprised, and so relieved. Finally seeing her abuser’s lies and manipulations for what they were, Noelia gathered her courage, her children and what little money she had saved and left her husband for good. Noelia’s fears regarding contact with law enforcement are common misconceptions in the immigrant community. Immigrant victims are too often completely vulnerable to being deceived by their abusers. Many immigrants may be completely unfamiliar with laws and customs in this country, and may come from countries where law enforcement is corrupt or ineffective. Additionally, some immigrants may not speak English well enough to understand what social services are available to them or to communicate with first responders. However, victims of abuse or any form of violence should never fear dialing 9-1-1. Immigration status is legally irrelevant to obtaining help and protection from law enforcement, and police should provide an interpreter to all victims with limited English proficiency. Immigrant communities have long been hesitant to reach out to law enforcement, and in 2003, law enforcement lobbied Congress for a tool to build trust and incentivize immigrant victims to come forward when they are abused. In response, Congress created what is called the “U Visa” or “Crime Victim’s Visa” to encourage
In Memoriam
Still I Rise
You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may tread me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I’ll rise. Does my sassiness upset you? Why are you beset with gloom? ‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells Pumping in my living room. Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I’ll rise. Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes? Shoulders falling down like teardrops. Weakened by my soulful cries. Does my haughtiness offend you? Don’t you take it awful hard ‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines Diggin’ in my own back yard. You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I’ll rise.
1928-2014
Does my sexiness upset you? Does it come as a surprise That I dance like I’ve got diamonds At the meeting of my thighs? Out of the huts of history’s shame I rise Up from a past that’s rooted in pain I rise I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide, Welling and swelling I bear in the tide. Leaving behind nights of terror and fear I rise Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear I rise Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise I rise I rise.
—Maya Angelou, QEPD
maintained her silence and believed her abuser’s lies for so long. She wishes she had spoken out earlier about the abuse in her home, and accessed the services and programs that enabled her to leave her vicious husband behind and forge a better life for her children. Noelia says that she is free now, and that she and her family are blossoming. If you know someone like Noelia please pass along the National Domestic Violence Hotline (NDVH) number to them. If the immigrant victim of domestic violence is the child of a U.S. citizen or Permanent Resident or the parent of a U.S. citizen, please pass along the number, too. The NDVH is a toll-free number. NDVH has experts in domestic violence who are always available to speak to someone in many different languages. They provide resources, counseling, and safety planning. The number for NDVH is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). u Note: The Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP), a nonprofit foundation, promotes civil rights and economic and racial justice for poor and low-income people throughout Texas, with offices in Austin, Alamo, El Paso, Houston, Dallas and Odessa. If you are an undocumented victim of domestic violence seeking legal assistance, contact the VAWA Program at the Texas Civil Rights Project, 1-888-364-8277.
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immigrant victims of certain crimes to help in the investigation and prosecution of those crimes. Immigrants who are victims of qualifying crimes that occurred in the United States, who have suffered substantial harm as a result of that crime and who are cooperative in the investigation or prosecution of that crime may submit an application for “U Nonimmigrant Status” or the “U Visa.” Qualifying crimes include (but are not limited to) domestic violence, stalking, assault, sexual assault and gang-related violence. A full list of qualifying crimes is available on www.uscis.gov. “U Nonimmigrant status” allows victims to live and work in the U.S. for four years without fear of deportation and puts immigrants on the path to becoming Permanent Residents of the U.S. Thanks to VAWA, Noelia now has immigration status and employment authorization. She has received counseling and feels stronger than she has ever felt before. She has a job that allows her to support herself and her children and she plans to go back to school someday. It is a far cry from the life she lived three years ago. Then, like many other immigrant victims, Noelia felt vulnerable and helpless to change her circumstances. But now, the twin fears of violence and deportation no longer rule her life. Noelia no longer has nightmares about being separated from her children, and knows that if she ever needs them, the police are just a phone call away. Noelia’s biggest regret is that she
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On May 23, 2014 the Esperanza hosted a celebration of Rita Vidaurri’s 90th birthday at the Guadalupe Theater. Two of the many tributes of that evening are reprinted here for Voz readers.
The enduring influence of
Rita Vidaurri... by Antonia Castañeda
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It was from one-hour-a-week Spanish language radio programs and from the stories that recently-arrived Tejano migrant workers, whom we met in the labor camps, hop yards, and sugar beet fields of Eastern Washington state, that I first heard of La Calandria, Rita Vidaurri, in the early 1950s. Our fellow Tejanos regaled us with stories of seeing Vidaurri in a Tin Tan revue at El Teatro Nacional in San Antonio before they left pa’l norte, or at a club in the lower Rio Grande Valley. Though I never met her in person, I knew her music and voice through the stories that new and returning migrants remembered, hummed, played, danced to, and told and retold, time and again.
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The influence of Rita Vidaurri and other Tejana singers on my generation is immeasurable. In the distant Pacific Northwest, they helped us to retain our language. Their lyrics revealed our stories, contained our dreams, sang our sorrows, and healed our spirits. We came from the same place as they, our parents told us — de la misma mata, not only from South Tejas and San Antonio but from the same poverty. They taught by example — that if they could survive and thrive, so could we. From the late 1930s to the mid-to-late 1950s, Rita performed nationally and internationally in all major Spanish language musical venues. In Cuba, playland of wealthy Euro Americans during this same period, she toured with Celia Cruz, doyen of Cuban music; she toured in Mexico with orchestras and actors, and in San Antonio with Cantinflas, Tin-Tan, el Piporro, and the Mariachi de Tecatitlán. Beginning in 2002, as part of their long-term Arte es Vida project, centered on re-membering and recovering traditional cultural expressive arts, performance, and other art forms, the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center brought Vidaurri, then 78, back into the public performance sphere while celebrating Lydia Mendoza’s 85th birthday. With Vidaurri’s help, the Esperanza located other local singers of her era: Beatriz Llamas (“La Paloma del Norte”), Janet Cortez (“Perla Tapatia”) and Blanquita Rodríguez (“Blanca Rosa”); in 2007 they, along with Rita, became Las Tesoros del Westside. Since then, they have continued to perform in local and state community-based venues. Tonight, Las Tesoros are here, along with others, to pay tribute to “La Calandria” on her 90th birthday! ¡Feliz cumpleaños, Rita! u Bio: Antonia Castañeda, Tejana-born feminist historian, recently retired from St. Mary’s University, paid tribute to Rita with recuerdos from her own life. Antonia, with her husband, Dr. Arturo Madrid, has made San Antonio her home.
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El corazon recuerda... by Tomás Ybarra-Frausto
Tomás Ybarra-Frausto, Arturo Madrid, and Dudley Brooks at the celebration | Photo: Yvonne Zamora, MySa.Com
Performers Beatriz Llamas, Blanquita Rodríguez and Teresa Champion.
Bio: Tomás Ybarra-Frausto, pioneering scholar of Chicano/U.S. Latino Arts recently retired as Associate Director for Creativity & Culture at the Rockefeller Foundation in New York. He now lives in his hometown, San Antonio, with his partner, Dudley Brooks.
Buena gente volunteers, Gloria Aguilar & Josie Solis (in background), sign in attendees. | Photo: Yvonne Zamora, MySa.Com
Como siempre apreciamos toda la buena gente que nos ayudó llevar acabo esta celebración para Rita en sus 90 años ~ As always we are indebted to all the good people who helped make the 90th birthday celebration for Rita Vidaurri a success!!!
Did you ever appear on KCORAM, KCOR-TV, or KWEX Channel 41 ? ? Did Spanish language radio or TV make a difference in your life? Sarah Zenaida Gould at the Institute of Texan Cultures is collecting oral histories for a project on Spanish Language Media. If you have a story to share, please contact Sarah at sarah.gould@utsa.edu or 210-458-2312.
Rita Vidaurri, 4th from left with guitar.
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Un verso popular dice: El rio corre, El viento pasa, El corazón recuerda… Esta noche, el corazón recuerda la estupenda trayectoria de Doña Rita Viduarri — cantante, mujer de negocios, ama de casa, y venerable presencia en los circuitos artísticos/musicales de nuestro pueblo querido... San Antonio. El corazón recuerda los años después de la Segunda Guerra Mundial y el crecimiento de San Antonio como una cuidad de la modernidad, con una bien establecida colonia mexicana. Durante esos años de los 40’s y 50’s... Doña Rita Viduarri triunfaba en giras artísticas por todo México y através de América del Sur. Algunos recuerdan sus actuaciones en las tardes de las variedades del Teatro Nacional y después en el fabuloso y elegante Teatro Alameda donde Rita Viduarri fue la gran cosentida del público, una grande e inolvidable diva y estrella. El corazón recuerda su resurgimiento y regreso a los escenarios en 2001 junto con las Tesoros de San Antonio- Beatriz Llamas, Blanca Rosa y Perla Tapatia. Juntas crearon un nuevo público para sus gran talentos musicales. Durante sus actuaciones, Doña Rita Viduarri siempre incluye la gracía, picardía y salero de chistes y decires que son el deliete de todos. Esta noche rendimos un muy merecido homenaje a Doña Rita Viduarri y su legado artístico. Al cumplir 90 años de edad todos nos unimos en desearle un million de Felicidades y Bendiciones... ¡En Hora Buena! Y muchos más días de estos... El rio corre, El viento pasa, El corazón recuerda… ¡Viva Rita Viduarri!
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Ending
Corporal
Punishment:
Why you should never spank a child by Amy Wright Glenn
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ot long ago, laws protected the “rights of men” to use physical force to correct or punish their wives. A husband’s ability to assert his authority through corporal punishment was accepted as a social norm. Due to the dedicated efforts of activists working to improve the status of women, legal prohibitions forbidding any form of “chastisement” are now commonplace in most countries around the world. This is a good thing. While men’s violence against women continues to be a serious public health concern, it is no longer justifiable in courts of law. It is time to extend this basic dignity to the world’s children. This won’t be easy. A significant shift in public opinion is necessary if America is to join the 31 countries that currently ban all forms of corporal punishment against their most vulnerable citizens. In the past, it was considered an act of government interference or encroachment to limit a husband’s use of force against his wife within the privacy of their home. Many Americans adopt this same attitude when it comes to corporal punishment against children. A parent’s “right to discipline,” specifically with the use of physical force, is a deeply held belief in our society. According to an ABC News poll conducted last fall, 50 percent of American parents admit to using corporal punishment at some point. Other surveys indicate that number is closer to 80 percent. The rationalizations provided that justify this behavior are based on the same authoritarian models of thinking that defended corporal punishment against women for centuries. For example, in all American states with the exception of Delaware, laws distinguish between legal or “reasonable” forms of corporal punishment and illegal forms deemed abusive. How many times in a row can an adult hit a child before it is labeled
abuse? What if a spanking leaves visible bruises? Can a child legally be hit with an object? Does a child have the right not to be slapped in the face? Such deliberations are reminiscent of 19th century legal practices that sought to limit, but not completely outlaw, intimate partner violence. For example, in 1824 the Supreme Court in Mississippi sought to restrict a husband’s use of force allowing only for “moderate chastisement in cases of emergency.” One wonders what events qualified as “emergencies” and how many
of corporal punishment are significant. Whether or not we argue that the use of force in the name of discipline violates a child’s inherent right to physical integrity, the short and long-term effects of corporal punishment alone warrant its abolition.
The Rights of Children
Some rights are inviolable. This means they can’t be taken away no matter how an individual behaves. The UN Declaration of Human Rights, composed following
Spot the Difference
domestic violence
assault
slaps across the face were considered “moderate.” Today, all forms of force used to control or punish women are prohibited. According to the Global Initiative to End all Corporal Punishment of Children, “it is paradoxical and an affront to humanity that the smallest and most vulnerable of people should have less protection from assault than adults.” Furthermore, decades of peer-reviewed scientific research reveal the negative effects
discipline?
. . . it's never ok the horrors of World War It, consists of thirty articles outlining rights that are to be regarded as universal. Among these are: the right to life, the right to be free from slavery or torture, and the right to freedom of thought and religion. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, currently ratified by 193 countries with the exception of South Sudan, Somalia, and the United States, specifically states that children have the right to be free from “all forms
up that way, with complete love, respect, physical punishment to discipline children. and understanding, that is how you try to Even in the absence of “severe child maltreatment” -- such as sexual abuse, treat people. neglect, or exposure to intimate partner violence -- physical punishments such as “pushing, grabbing, shoving, slapping, or hitting” lead to a statistically observable increase in mental disorders. Children who are hit as toddlers have lower IQ ratings than their nonspanked peers. According to Murray Straus, professor at the University of New Hampshire, children growing up in homes where they were slapped or spanked averaged a five-point drop in IQ. The “strongest link” between corporal punishment and IQ occurs when parents continue to hit their children into their teen years. Yet, “even small amounts of spanking” make a difference Straus warns. Furthermore, hitting a child puts her or him at a statistically greater risk of developing depression, substance abuse addictions, and aggressiveness. It teaches children that interpersonal problems can be legitimately solved with the use of force. Children who experience corporal punishment are statistically more likely to engage in future intimate partner violence and perpetuate the cycle by hitting their own children. The CMJA analysis found only one short-term positive effect of corporal punishment: “immediate compliance.” However, such compliance is short lived. Recent research conducted by psychologist George Holden at Southern Methodist University in Dallas reveals that in the majority of occasions, the offending behavior resumes within ten minutes of spanking. Last month, Holden and his colleagues released their findings from recordings made in 2011 that captured “real time” interactions between parents and children. In “Eavesdropping on the Family: A Pilot Investigation of Corporal Punishment in In 2012, the Canadian Medical Journal the Home,” published by the American Association (CMJA) published an analysis Psychological Association, Holden offers of over 80 studies documenting the effects a disturbing look into the workings of the of corporal punishment on children. Not average American household. one, not a single one, found any positive In consenting to be recorded, parents long-term effect and the list detailing the were told they were participating in a study short and long-term consequences would examining parent-child interactions. The concern anyone invested in public health. use of corporal punishment specifically was Corporal punishment is directly related not mentioned. The majority of participants to an increase in mental health disorders. in Holden’s study were white, married In their July 2012 statement entitled, mothers who had completed more college “Spanking Linked to Mental Illness,” the education than the majority population. American Academy of Pediatrics states This is important because previous that it is “strongly opposed” to the use of studies reveal that mothers with lower
According to the Global Initiative to End all Corporal P unishment of Children, “it is paradoxical and an affront to humanity that the smallest and most vulnerable of people should have less protection from assault than adults.“
The Research
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of physical and mental violence, injury, or abuse.” For this reason, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child actively works to end the use of corporal punishment and defines it as “any punishment in which physical force is used and intended to cause some degree of pain or discomfort, however light.” Honoring the rights of children is a human rights movement whose time has come. It couldn’t be more needed. “Harsh treatment of children is epidemic in all communities,” states Desmond Runyan professor of social medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. According to a 2002 study published by “Child Abuse Review,” 80 percent of American preschool children are spanked by one or both parents. Of children aged 8-9, one-half are hit with an object. In March of this year, researchers at the University of Michigan conducted a longitudinal study of more than 2700 new parents. They found that 30 percent of babies, children under one, were spanked by one or both parents at least once in the last month. According to the professors who headed the study, “spanking babies is particularly misguided.” In “The Discipline Book: Everything You Need to Know to Have a BetterBehaved Child – From Birth to Age Ten,” William Sears M.D. and Martha Sears R.N. reflect upon the language commonly used to describe corporal punishment. They note that when a child strikes another child, we call it hitting. When an adult strikes another adult, we also call it hitting. Yet, when it comes to an adult striking a child, so often the description is “softened” to “spanking.” Why? According to the Sears, spanking is a euphemism for hitting. We use this term to take the edge out of the guilt that arises from hitting those we are called to nurture with compassion. Not all parents need to use this euphemism. While they constitute a minority, there have always been children who grow up in homes free of corporal punishment. A 2004 US News and World Report Special Issue on heroes tells the remarkable story of Marion Prichard, a Dutch woman who hid dozens of Jewish children during the Nazi occupation of Holland. How did she find the strength to act so boldly at the risk her own life? Pritchard attributes her courage to the example of her father. “To my father, justice was everything. Not law and order, but justice.” She continues, “I was never spanked, never hit. I got all my questions answered. When you are brought
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rates of education more commonly rely upon corporal punishment. The children averaged four years of age. In the recordings, the hitting of children is commonplace. All of the parents knew they were wearing a microphone and yet, they didn’t censor themselves when it came to the use of physical force in the home. “So many parents believe in the technique
In order to end
on the self-reporting of parents, indicated that the average parent hit or spanked his or her child around 18 times a year. In these recordings, it’s clear that hitting or spanking is happening about 18 times a week. According to renowned child psychologist and attachment parenting theorist Dr. Laura Markham, parents often resort to the use of force when “flight or fight” energy is triggered. When this primal and reptilian function in our brain is activated, even a small child can appear as “an enemy.” Obviously, choosing to use the advantage of physical strength in moments of such clouded vision is unwise. In “Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids: How to Stop Yelling and Start Connecting,” Markham offers her readers helpful ways to discharge the fight or flight energy. In order to end corporal punishment, we must find skillful means of transforming the energies of frustration, rage, and overwhelm. The Sears note that if parents refrain from using corporal punishment when they are angry, “99 percent of spanking wouldn’t occur.” Once a parent calms down, more thoughtful and appropriate means of guidance or correction become apparent. Holden’s studies clearly reveal that parents too often act impulsively triggering a cascade of harmful consequences. Los Angeles based blogger Tracy Moore aptly notes that spanking is a “deeply misguided failure of patience, compassion, temper, and good ideas, and it is practiced and protected only by cowards.”
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corporal punishment, w e must find skillful means of transforming the energies of
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frustration, rage, and overwhelm. and are not defensive about their use of it,” Holden states. “They erroneously believe it’s a useful technique to raise well-behaved kids.” The recordings clearly reveal the parents hit children out of anger and frustration, not in a calm and collected state of mind. Rather than using physical force only as a last resort, or in response to breaking a major infraction, the recordings reveal that parents slap or spank their small children -- one as young as 7-months-old -- within 30-seconds of a warning and for “extraordinarily mundane offenses” such as “sucking their fingers.” Rather than following various guidelines offered by pro-spanking advocates, such as hitting a child no more than twice in a row, the recordings reveal that parents hit their children repeatedly. In one incidence, a child was hit 11 times in a row leading to a cascade of protesting shrieks and coughing. Most disturbingly, Holden confirms that the use of corporal punishment is much more common than parents admit. Previous research on the subject, based
Ending Corporal Punishment
Like most Americans, I grew up in a home where the use of force to correct misbehavior, or discharge frustration, was commonplace. My parents were acting well within the dominant social norms of the day when it came to using the advantage of their physical power in order to “teach a lesson.” Generally, they relied on more peaceful means of disciplining but when the energies of sheer overwhelm and chaos threatened the tenuous harmony of our household of nine, corporal punishment offered my parents a means of bringing a momentary semblance of order to the fray. Such order comes at a price. Fear
rather than respect enters into the hearts of children when the larger-than-life people they depend on for their basic needs purposefully harm them. While a parent certainly has the power advantage, might does not make right. It took time to realize that the practice of hitting children is passed on through generations. Stories about the violence my father lived through as a boy helped me put important pieces together. It wasn’t until I became a mother that I consciously took the time to research the subject. The more I learned, the more I vowed never to raise my hand against my son even if this act is done in the name of discipline.
Is this so strange?
Imagine hearing a man declare that no matter how frustrated or angry he may become in relationship with his significant other, he vows never to lift his hand in anger. Today, such an approach to marriage or partnership is affirmed. We look back at the laws in the past that justify the use of force against women as hurtful, archaic, sexist, and wrong. Future generations will look back at our own laws regarding children in the same light. They will be shocked to imagine that corporal punishment against children was ever legal. The Sears tell the story of a mother named Joan whose toddler becomes “withdrawn” after “several months of spank-controlled discipline.” For example, he avoids her eye contact and prefers to play alone in his room. “My child now fears me and I’ve lost something precious,” Joan laments. Banning corporal punishment against children reflects a firm commitment to human rights for all, including the smallest and most vulnerable. In addition, we safeguard children from the seriously adverse effects of physical punishment and model to them the value of patience, kindness and creative problem solving. For the sake of each child’s individual future and the well-being of our collective human family, let us not lose something precious. u Bio: Amy, the voice for “Motherhood Spirituality, and Religion” on Philly.com is also a columnist for Holistic Parenting Magazine. Her first book is the highly acclaimed Birth, Breath, and Death: Meditiations on Motherhod, Chaplaincy, and Life as a Doula. See www.birthbreathanddeath. com • Note:This article was first published online at Philly.com and is reprinted with permission.
In Memoriam
Vincent Harding by Omer R. Galle with Zona Galle and Kristin Galle
Note: This is a story of our connection with one of the lesser known giants of the Civil Rights Movement, Vincent Gordon Harding, a close friend of Martin Luther King, Jr. Vincent died in Philadelphia on May 19th at age 82. Our friendship with him began at the University of Chicago in 1959.
V
incent Harding was born in Harlem on July 25, 1931. Reared by his mother, Mabel Lydia Broome, a domestic worker, they moved to the Bronx when Vincent was a youth. After graduating from Morris High School, he received a B.A. in history from the City College of New York and a master’s in journalism from Columbia. In 1953, he was drafted into the US Army and served for two years as “private first class” at Fort Dix, New Jersey. He said that his time in the army transformed him into a pacifist. After the army, he was accepted into the graduate history program at the University of Chicago. There he met Elmer Neufeld, a Mennonite, who was also working on a PhD (Philosophy). Elmer invited Vincent to the Woodlawn Mennonite Church located at Woodlawn and 46th St. This was a transformative meeting for Vincent and the Mennonites. He joined Delton Franz as co-pastor of the Woodlawn Church and found the pacifist community he had been seeking. The Mennonite Church found an inspiring and influential figure in preaching non-violence and civil rights. The Woodlawn Church building and two residential buildings
cont'd on page 14 . . .
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1931-2014
were all that was left of the Mennonite Biblical Seminary, which had started in 1945 when it was almost all white. By the mid-50s, it had become totally African American and moved to Elkhart, Indiana. The buildings and church were kept by the General Conference Mennonite Church to start up an independent, interracial church in that area. The white population of the church were a combination of young Mennonites attending graduate school at the University of Chicago plus youth doing voluntary service in the church and elsewhere (as an alternative to the armed forces). African Americans attending the church were primarily from the local neighborhood and worked in the city. Vincent and Delton and three other church members, (2 black and 3 white men), made a trip to the South the summer of 1958. Vincent said that while the church in Chicago was developing into a real, loving, interracial community, they wanted to explore whether such relationships could happen elsewhere in the South. In Alabama, they stopped in Montgomery and visited Coretta and Martin Luther King, Jr. Before they left, King told Harding that, with his background as an African American Mennonite and a pacifist, he should come south to help in the battle for civil rights. My wife and I first met Vincent when we moved to Chicago in the fall of 1959 to begin graduate school. We lived in a small apartment next to the Woodlawn Ave. Mennonite Church. Vincent was living on the 3rd floor. The basement had cooperative laundry facilities and a shared freezer so many conversations between Zona and Vincent occurred there. Omer sang in the choir and taught a high school Sunday school class. The class included the niece of Elijah Mohammed, leader of the Black Muslims, whose mansion was near the University of Chicago. Omer walked by it daily on his way to the University and to work at the Population Research Center. Elijah Mohammed’s family had been members of the Woodlawn Mennonite Church earlier, but the brother had subsequently passed away (his funeral was at the Woodlawn Mennonite church), and the family no longer attended the church. Vincent met Rosemarie Freeney during this time. We well remember their wedding. Rosemarie belonged to an “Old Mennonite” church in another area of Chicago, and was the first African American we had seen wearing a white “prayer cap” (similar to what Amish women wear). She shed that eventually, after they moved to Atlanta. We moved out of our apartment at 46th on Woodlawn in 1961. At about the same time, Vincent and Rose moved to Atlanta to start a “Mennonite House” around the corner from where Dr. King lived. Vincent became one of Dr. King’s close advisors. For the next three years, the Hardings became deeply involved in the civil rights movement in the South. Vincent was jailed for his activities in the Albany, Georgia area where Dr. King visited him. According to Vincent, King asked, “What are you doing in there?” Vincent responded with, “What are you doing out there?” Vincent and Rosemarie moved back to the Chicago area in 1964, so that Vincent could finish writing his dissertation on Lyman Beecher, the Protestant minister, the antislavery advocate and father of Henry Ward Beecher and Harriet Beecher Stowe. In 1965, Vincent was invited back to Atlanta to become chair of the department of history and sociology at Spelman College where he continued in his role as friend and advisor to Dr. King. Along with the civil rights movement, the growing involvement in Viet Nam by the U.S. concerned both men. Dr. King asked
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le canta a San Antonio
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The Esperanza Peace and Justice Center invites you to experience the soul, the passion, the movement of a Lila Downs concert as she sings to San Antonio for the fourth time. This time she sings at 7pm on st
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Sunday, August 31
at the historic
Majestic Theater. In order to prepare you for the 2014 concert, let’s take a journey in time and review her three previous concerts.
2004: We introduced Lila Downs to San Antonio in a free open-air concert the
evening of October 2nd at the Guadalupe Plaza. It opened with “La Voz del Campo” — Rita Vidaurri. Artisan and information booths were scattered throughout the plaza. Lila exemplifies what the Esperanza does — organizing around multiple issues and communities through the arts. Using her voice and songwriting skills, she has brought together communities from different races and ethnicities; different languages and cultures, and informed audiences on a variety of social justice issues (and continues to do so). She blended the ancient, the native and the new to get her social messages and musical aesthetics across. At her first concert, the audience watched and listened intently. When Lila sang La Iguana — she transformed herself on all fours, flicking her tongue, jerking her head side-to-side singing. The audience was delighted. The 2004 concert was her only Texas appearance on her Una Sangre/One Blood Tour after winning her first Grammy. A convivio at the home of Antonia Castañeda and Arturo Madrid made Lila feel like a part of la gente of San Antonio.
2009: In March of 2009, the Esperanza staff and buena gente took things up a
notch by presenting a free concert with Lila Downs at the Sunken Garden Theater. The larger venue allowed for a mercadito and food booths on the expansive grounds. A full line-up opened the concert including Las Tesoros de San Antonio, Mariachi Las Alteñas and Azul Barrientos. The 2009 concert was an add-on to the Shake Away Tour featuring the Grammy nominated CD. It was a smash hit! Every seat outdoors was occupied and the grounds were covered with blankets. Lila revealed her feelings about San Antonio in an interview published in La Voz saying: “Texas is the place I feel most at home, in a way, and at the same time, I feel the most emotional...”
2012: In March 2012, the Esperanza sponsored the Lila Downs concert at Laurie
2014: When Lila sang in 2012, she had just begun her Pecados y Milagros tour. This double Grammy CD is
now touted as Lila’s best — with traditional Mexican songs interpreted a la Lila (the best, yet!) plus new songs written, arranged and produced by her, and her husband, Paul Cohen. While the 2012 concert was extraordinary, one has to wonder what awaits us in 2014, now that the tour has been extended and is fine-tuned. Having performed all over the U.S., the Americas and Europe and collaborated with world renowned musicians, Lila is now in the process of introducing her newest CD, Raíz, a collaboration with Niña Pastori of Spain and Soledad of Argentina. This album transmits the color, passion, and folkloric sound that is the roots music of Spain, of Argentina and of Mexico through the voices of these fine cantantes. This time we shall be transported to our own mestizo roots with música that will speak to the very core of our being. No doubt, we will experience and confront our own pecados y milagros / sins and miracles as Lila Downs sings to San Antonio. ¡No se lo pierdan!
Tickets Available Now Esperanza, 922 San Pedro M-F 10am-7pm, 210.228.0201
Majestic Box Office, 226 E. Houston M-F 10am-5pm, 210.226.3333 or www.ticketmaster.com (extra charges apply)
Help Support and expand the work of esperanza
Become a sponsor with a donation of $150* or more and receive: one front and center seat for the concert and an invitation to join Lila Downs at our post-show convivio with food, drinks and music! *You can also become a sponsor by becoming a monthly donor of $13 or more.
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Auditorium at Trinity University. By this time Lila was internationally famous. We charged admission, but kept it affordable. The concert, Dueña de la frontera / Woman without Borders kicked off Esperanza’s 25th anniversary. Lila’s repertoire reflected the breadth of her cultural activism with música indígena y tradicional de Oaxaca as in her album, Tree of Life/Árbol de Vida, música with migrant /border issues as in Border/ La Linea, música about mujeres activistas as in Una Sangre/One Blood and música in the tradition of Lydia Mendoza that began her 2012 Pecados y Milagros tour with a 7th studio album. The album won Grammys for Best Regional Mexican or Tejano Album and for Best Folk Album. Lila was becoming an International Chicana. At this concert, the palpable connection to Lila Downs was felt when she sang a soaring Cucurrucucú Paloma recognized by everyone. That evening, Lila burst out singing Paloma Negra with Eva Ybarra on accordion at a convivio in the home of Tomás Ybarra Frausto and Dudley Brooks. She was now one of us! Rancheras, corridos y muy pronto conjunto!
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...Vincent Harding cont'd from p. 11
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Harding to write up notes that eventually became the speech Dr. King gave at the Riverside Church in Manhattan, New York on April 4, 1967. It became known variously as “Beyond Viet Nam,” and/or “A Time to Break the Silence”. In the speech, he argued that what the U.S. was doing in Viet Nam was morally wrong. “A time comes when silence is betrayal,” he said. “And that time has come for us in relation to Vietnam.” He added: “If we continue, there will be no doubt in my mind and in the mind of the world that we have no honorable intentions in Vietnam. If we do not stop our war against the people of Vietnam immediately, the world will be left with no other alternative than to see this as some horrible, clumsy and deadly game we have decided to play.” The speech, which articulated a relatively unpopular position then, touched off a firestorm. In an editorial titled “Dr. King’s Disservice to His Cause,” Life magazine called it “a demagogic slander that sounded like a script for Radio Hanoi.” The NAACP described the address as “a serious tactical error.” Despite the furor around “A Time to Break Silence,” neither Vincent nor Dr. King disavowed the address. But Vincent would come to have profound regrets about having composed it for Dr. King.” It was precisely one year to the day after Dr. King gave this speech that that the bullet which had been chasing him for a long time caught up with him,” Vincent said in a 2010 interview: “And I am convinced that that bullet had something to do with that speech. And over the years, that’s been quite a struggle for me.” After King’s assassination, Coretta King asked that Vincent help her found the Martin Luther King Jr. Documentation Project and Memorial Center in Atlanta. He became its first director. In 1969, Vincent became the founder and director of the “Institute for the Black World” in Atlanta, dedicated to defining the field of Black Studies. By 1979, Vincent and Rose were at Pendle Hill (the Quaker Center outside of Philadelphia). In the summer of 1979, Zona and our daughter Kristin attended a retreat they were holding at Pendle Hill for some of the more seasoned civil rights veterans and younger people to ponder the connection between spirituality and social transformation, and where the civil rights movement should be heading. In 1981, the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado, invited Vincent to join their faculty as “professor of religion and social transformation” and according to Vincent to “teach anything you want to teach in whatever way you want to teach
it.” He remained until his retirement in 2004. While at Iliff, he continued to speak across the nation (and the world) as an advocate of equality, social transformation, and peace. The next time we made contact with Vincent was when he came to Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas in January of 2010 to be part of the 50th anniversary celebration of Dr. King’s speech. King had spoken there in 1960 about how sometimes it is “necessary to be maladapted” to the world around you in order to bring about needed change. Fifty years later, Vincent continued to push for such “maladaption.” The last time we saw Vincent was in September, 2012 at the 70th anniversary celebration of the founding of Koinonia, the Christian Intentional Community outside of Americus, Georgia. Former President Carter was the first speaker at the Conference on Friday and Vincent was the last on Saturday. We shared a meal with Vincent and met his close friend from Atlanta, Aljosie. They were flying off to the Middle East after the meeting, so we drove to Plains, Georgia (Carter’s hometown) to purchase a copy of Carter’s book on the Middle East to give to them before we separated. Vincent also founded, with his first wife, Rosemarie Freeney Harding (who died in 2004), the “Veterans of Hope Project” at Iliff, which collected stories of past civil rights workers and used those as an outreach project to train young activists, especially African Americans, Chicana/os/Latino/as, and Native Americans working for peace. The Veterans of Hope Project “encourages a healingcentered approach to community-building … and an appreciation for the value of indigenous and folk wisdom for contemporary times.” (See www.veteransofhope.org/) Despite having retired from Iliff School of Theology, Vincent continued to be very active working toward peace and reconciliation speaking at various places and working on projects like the Veterans of Hope Project. With his new wife Aljosie (whom he married in December of 2013), he helped launch the “National Council of Elders,” a mentoring group to train young social activists. In these last meetings with him (in 2010 and 2012) we continued to be impre ssed with his clarity of purpose to continue the struggle for equality and social transformation in the world, and his concern for both the poor and for young people. Vincent and Aljosie were staying at Pendle Hill in May where Vincent was planning to write his autobiography. He became ill and went to the University of Pennsylvania hospital in Philadelphia where he died from a heart aneurism on May 19th. His spirit lives on in the many people he loved and influenced. u Bios: Omer, Professor Emeritus in Sociology at U.T. Austin, and Zona, a Social Worker Emeritus, live in North Newton, Kansas. Kristin, Interim Pastor at Friedens United Church of Christ in Geronimo, TX lives in Brenham. Thanks to Kamala Platt who made this tribute possible.
Vincent Harding, historian who co-wrote MLK's "Beyond Vietnam" speech
Editor’s note: Unbeknowst to many San Antonians, there is a move in our city against the increasing efforts of corporations to push genetically modified foods into our bodies. Rise Up San Antonio, March Against Monsanto, took place on May 24, 2014 with two marches along Broadway as part of a global effort to put a stop to GMOs. What follows is an account of that day and why we should all get involved in this effort.
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by Cynthia Kurkowski, March Organizer
The Blame Game When I tell people I march against Monsanto, they automatically assume I am a paranoid conspiracy theorist. I am neither. I am not being paranoid when I think Monsanto is out to harm me or doesn’t care about saving the world. They’ve stated their feelings quite openly on the record. Read for yourself: “Monsanto should not have to vouchsafe the safety of biotech food. Our interest is in selling as much of it as possible. Assuring its safety is the FDA’s job” - Philip Angel, Monsanto’s director of corporate communications. Nor am I paranoid about my government dismissing its role as protector of our food supply. Read for yourself: “Ultimately, it is the food producer who is responsible for assuring safety.” — FDA, “Statement of Policy: Foods Derived from New Plant Varieties” In fact, the FDA is deliberately lying and misleading consumers about GMOs. In its online statement, it compares GMOs to plant hybrid breeding and then goes on to say there is no evidence that show GMOs are harmful and the pesticides “do not pose unreasonable risks of harm to human health or the environment.” Maybe consumers should start watching their backs. Why, you ask, would FDA lie to us? Why would the FDA protect Monsanto and other agribusinesses? Because the FDA is a revolving door for Monsanto executives. They go back and forth between Monsanto and the FDA. Monsanto executives, who most likely have stock in
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groan as the first drops of rain spatter across my windshield. The rain shower, no matter how light, will keep people at home. Hundreds will blame the innocent raindrops for not Marching Against Monsanto, again. A second groan escapes my lips as I realize most of my posters will melt in the rain. I shrug. No matter. We have three waterproof banners, two bullhorns and a very committed group of activists who will make up for soggy posters and fair weather supporters. I turn on the Rock Monsanto music video to psych myself up as I drive into town to lead San Antonio’s third March Against Monsanto, part of the global march taking place in 400 cities in 52 countries across six continents. In the US, small towns and big cities participated in 47 states. I shake my head as I think: How did I get here? I marvel at the fact that I am on the frontlines of this historical global fight for food freedom. What began as a conscious effort to feed my family wholesome food has evolved into an acute awareness of how big business is intentionally poisoning our food supply. (Yes, they know. Monsanto knew in 1937. 1937! Let that sink in.) My first reaction to the news of genetically modified food was excitement. The nerd in me thought about the new varieties of fruits and vegetables and, yes, ending world hunger. Then I heard that genetically modified food involved the unnatural addition of pesticides WITHIN the seed and the environmentalist in me questioned it. The mother in me screamed when I learned GMO corn was created with the sole purpose of exploding an insect’s stomach when they ate the corn. “Food shouldn’t kill.” It’s a no brainer. Yes, I know my child is not an insect, but eating pesticidesaturated corn for years will damage the gastrointestinal system. GMO proponents like to point to independent studies. What they fail to notice is that these studies never test for over 90 days. They also fail to notice the paper trail leading from these studies to Monsanto and other agribusinesses. The grave assumption people make is that the FDA has deemed GMOs safe for consumption when, in fact, they don’t even regulate them. GMOs fly under the radar because back in the Reagan era, Monsanto persuaded the administration to declare GMOs produce as natural because they grew from seeds — never mind that the
seeds have unnatural deadly chemicals in them or that the plants grown from Monsanto seeds cannot produce seeds! There is nothing natural about GMOs, which is why they call them “Frankenfoods.” Most GM crops are grown on large industrial farms and then processed into hundreds of other ingredients that show up in our food as corn syrup, soy lecithin, canola oil, cottonseed oil, or the sweeteners used in soups, spreads, and sauces— even infant formula. GMOs are not just seeds. The definition of GMO has grown to include any unnatural harmful chemicals and additives in food products. This includes the growth hormones, antibiotics, cancer-causing artificial sweeteners, dangerous food coloring, and industrialborn preservatives to keep food “fresh” or from sprouting/budding, for instance. Bud Nip is a chemical that is sprayed on produce to keep it from budding. Then there are the misleading ‘health-wise” GMOs. These have healthy sounding names like “antioxidant” to preserve food or keep foods from turning brown.... as certain foods like apples do when exposed to oxygen. That’s why the sliced apples in kids’ meals never turn brown. The uninformed label reader would view the antioxidant as a good ingredient, assuming that it is the natural antioxidant our body needs and never suspecting the ingredient is a chemical additive.
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Monsanto, are writing the rules for NOT regulating Monsanto. What a wicked web they weave!
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truly understand what GMOs are and their impact on our health, farmers and our environment, you can’t close your eyes to it. That is what I find most What people think I do fascinating about the food revolution: Once people see – and what I really do. really see – what’s happening to My friends think I run from protest our food supply, they cannot help to protest. This spring found us waving but get involved or dramatically signs at the entrance of an agribusiness change how they eat. They conference and again in front of the can’t close their eyes to what is National Organic Standards Board as the happening. They feel compelled chairman exerted his “right” as federally to make changes. They can’t appointed agent to eliminate safeguards watch their children eat Monsanto protecting the organic standards. But sweet corn or GMO snacks. these events are the exception to the case. Most evenings Barbara New supporters are known to throw out food and weekends you will find me on the Internet posting Orvalle, once they realize what GMOs are. That says news and studies to educate and enlighten the masses co-organizer something about the passion and conviction of unknowingly consuming toxic dinners. Part of my time of March Against this movement. There’s no going back for me. I is also spent reaching out to other No GMO activists Monsanto, am committed to the cause and working to unite to organize and strengthen our efforts. My goal is to San Antonio Texas No GMO organizations to work together engage people in GMO discussions to educate them to introduce GMO labeling legislation. We and, most importantly, erase the misconceptions When I first learned the launched a petition to show our politicians and the blatant lies the GMO industry is telling truth about GMOs, about that we are serious. I will not be stopped the media and its consumers. Mainstream media Monsanto, I knew the issue was until I feel my children and grandchildren is harder to educate. Local news organizations one that I couldn’t ignore. How can shop with ease and confidence that have ignored us. Why? For obvious reasons. GMO could I? The health of my family what is marketed as food, is food. I’m not supporters are big advertisers. and our planet depends on it. perfect. I try to eat as much organic as I The entire week leading up the May 24th That day I made a promise to can. It’s expensive though. I stay away from march, I spent every night emailing and tweeting the obvious processed foods and I read the protect my family, promote news reporters our event flyers, press release, news labels to avoid buying GMO-laden products. GMO awareness and to make alerts, quotes, interview contacts, and links to our I do crave my Big Red and I do give in to the community page, group page and event page. I a difference. Today I am so craving once in a while. But I know the Big even sent them the Texas Label GMO petition our grateful to have met so Red is bad for me. That’s the difference. group started. We did get 15 seconds of fame this many others along the GMO food producers deceive consumers by year - literally - but the news footage and article way with the same saying they are safe when more and more studies were riddled with errors and the cameraman who we mission. are emerging to prove GMO’s harmful marched past didn’t film the group until an hour – deadly – effects. GMO food producers after the march when many had left. The article spend hundreds of millions fighting the was so inaccurate that it didn’t even post the labeling of their products. If they have correct name for the founder of the national March nothing to hide, then I say, label them. Against Monsanto. That’s just plain negligence Europe, Russia, China and many others and horribly irresponsible reporting. The fact is have banned GMOs. Yet, the US encourages the news stations and the local newspaper didn’t us to eat them. Consumers need to wake care that residents in the 7th largest city in the up and look around. Why are we the only United States were marching against Monsanto nation thinking GMOs are safe to eat? and fighting to label/ban GMOs. As one GMO activist said: “If you’re Don’t call me ungrateful. I was very grateful aren’t angry, you’re not paying attention!” that they screwed up the article because it gave Texans need to get angry. our group the opportunity to set the GMO record To learn more about the movement, straight. The day after, we staged a full attack search March Against Monsanto San on the news comment section and challenged Antonio on Facebook and you’ll find the non-believers. I believe we converted a few. the community and group pages. Please, That’s all it takes. If you can open the eyes of also sign the petition demanding Texas one person, you can convert a family. Once you Label GMOs. u
Oh America, happy birthday. Happy remembering how we declared our independence from the world’s most powerful rule. Happy remembering how we proclaimed our freedom from the very idea of empire, when we declared “all humans are equal,” when we pronounced that governments get their powers from the consent of the governed when we deemed it our right and duty to overthrow any rulers who impose on us empire and the ideas of empire. Today, on this your birthday, we declare again our independence from empire and from the notions of empire:
—from the doctrine that those with weapons, technology, wealth and the largest markets are the ones who deserve to survive, we declare our independence —from the idolatry that money is the most important value, we declare our independence —from the supposition that the production of material goods is more important than the production of healthy and normal people, or the preservation of neighborhoods and the building of community, we declare our independence —from the conviction that property is sacred, and property ownership is an absolute right, we declare our independence
—from the notion that the need to control requires that some dominate others, we declare our independence
—from the inference that in organizations or nations great size is proof of power and value, we declare our independence
—from the belief that the rulers may use us to achieve their goals, we declare our independence
—from the opinion that institutions are more important than people, we declare our independence
—from the prejudice that nature equips men better than women to dominate, and some races and classes to dominate, we declare our independence
—from the pomposity that there is no higher value or being or power than the state, that if there is a God, God is the protector and patron of the state, we declare our independence
—from the assumption that imperial ends justify the use of any means, we declare our independence —from the dogma that violence is redemptive, that violence is the only language enemies understand, we declare our independence.
Happy birthday America! And, here is to the day when you will enjoy independence from your own empire! * With language and ideas from Engaging the Powers, by Walter Wink, Fortress Press, 1992.
by Tom Keene July 4, 1994 (with thanks to Walter Wink*)
songwriter and musician (most notably the button accordion), was a pioneer of conjunto music in the 1940s. His band, Los Pavos Reales, were major stars of conjunto. He wrote hundreds of songs that made many musicians famous. Among his hits were Todos Dicen, El Borrachito, Acordeones de Oro and more. He also popularized the use of dual harmonizing accordions with his brother, Eddie “Lalo” Torres García. He is survived by his 3 children: Clara Sánchez, Paula Molina and Salvador García Jr. His wife, Aurora died in 1965. Born in Seguin on June 15, 1933, Pavo was one of 10 children, 8 of whom became musicians. Heartfelt condolences to his family and the conjunto community.
—Que en paz descanse.
P
avo was the most prolific creator I knew. His colorful life gave him plenty to write about. When I was driving around with him, he’d be composing songs in his head. He didn’t read or write, but he had a great memory and a good ear. Sometimes, I’d ask him what he did at Lerma’s when he was young. He told me many stories. Le gustaba decir “cuiden al viejito.” Everyone knew that meant paying tribute to him by buying him a warm beer. Cold beer made him shiver. It was a way for him to remain in the old days, before anyone had refrigerators. I once told mom that he was the only one that made me want to cook for him. I’ll miss his potato soup recipe the most. Hopefully, he’ll get the recognition he deserves in death. —Susana Segura
1933-2014
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Salvador “Pavo” García,
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by Alice Canestaro-García
LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • July/August 2014 Vol. 27 Issue 6•
M
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ost people get this — that “those hell-bent on making money must not then negligently unmake the earth: thus, no industry is above federal clean air and water laws, nor has the right to inflict cancer with its paycheck, nor devastation on treasured community resources.” 1 Robert S. Becker said that this essential, common sense idea was held by “True political mavericks like Diane...” referring to Diane Wilson, the Texas environmental activist who has put her life on the line many times for her shrimping community / Mother Earth. Becker concludes: “Is this logic too hard for chemical companies and public officials — or what?” Evidence shows that the stampede against the fouling of Mother Earth / Pachamama is building. Here are a very few examples of this trend, with more appearing daily: Inaction on environmental & energy standards being replaced by some action: Note President Obama’s June 2014 stand on climate change, wanting a price on the cost of carbon emissions, and his proposal to strengthen Environmental Protection Agency rules to curb carbon emissions; also, his awareness of the people being more aware of climate change than their elected leadership, and people’s willingness to “reward politicians who talk ... honestly and seriously about this problem.” Although our country lags behind others, notably Costa Rica and Germany, in energy wisdom, Thomas L.Friedman says, “change America, change the world” and adds ... “when awareness of climate change is becoming more pervasive, this E.P.A. ruling should give a real boost to clean power and efficiency innovation and make our country more resilient, healthy, secure — and respected.” Also note that President Obama spoke of “the quadrennial defense review — [which] the secretary of defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff work on — identified climate change as one of our most significant national security problems.” 2 Sealed settlements / sealed lips: Fracking fouls water, damages property, a n d
ruins human health, but because the norm is that settlements silence those who protest, people are not coming forward; “According to Matt Sura, an environmental attorney in Boulder, Colorado, ‘Because they [energy companies] have bought everyone’s silence, they often state that they haven’t damaged anyone.’”3 But, in April 2014, a ... “$2.95-million civil verdict by a six-person Dallas jury is thought to be the first of its kind in the nation.” This could be the beginning of a trend to publicly award hefty damages against those who flaunt sensible regulations that preserve public health, potable water and breathable air— even if, according to the letter of the law, they are exempt. 4 Drawing the line for Pachamama: To quote Diane Wilson, “We’re losing ground. This planet is losing ground. So things need to happen and they need to happen quick. Our message should be — loud and clear — there comes a time when the home needs protecting and the line needs drawing and anybody that dares cross it acts at their own peril.”5 Fracking in the Eagle Ford Shale, Air does not respect city limits was one of the themes cited during the tour of Eagle Ford Shale6 fracking sites and was reinforced the following day in the San Antonio offices of Congressional Representative Pete Gallego. Both events were organized by Dani Neuharth-Keusch, Field Associate with Environment Texas. That Sunday morning, we gathered and were soon driving through the heaven that is the countryside and small towns of South Texas. Throughout the day, our tour guide, who has watched the changes occur in their home region as fracking has “boomed” on their landscape, and studied to understand the industry since 2009, told what is happening in towns such as Cuero, Cheaptown and Nordheim via real peoples’ life stories. What is most effective is speaking truth to power, getting a good lawyer, shining a spotlight on frackers shameful behavior aka bad publicity. We saw flares that quiet Sunday, and there was truck activity going to dump sites and disposal wells. We saw various kinds of color-coded trucks used in the fracking process (condensate trucks, waste disposal trucks) and noted their roughening effect on the roads we travelled. But not only the roads are damaged in the fracking process. Disclaimer: I am an ecocritical visual artist, not a scientist; still, I strive for accuracy. This is a very brief, basic account of a nearly 12-hour tour, touching on some Photo: Kathy Glass, 350SanAntonio.org
of the major questions that we had, and some concepts new to us, such as The Land Man, surface rights, mineral rights, set-backs, flare / dirty flare, condensate, salt water / saltwater disposal well. And the promised, much-vaunted, jobs. We asked, “Where are all the jobs?” We asked about workers’ rights, legal protection for the water and air. Laws that protect our lungs. And property rights, the effect of fracking on livestock.
Some Answers & Vocabulary Defined The Land Man is likely the first person property owners meet in the fracking process. He offers money for mineral & surface rights. As I understand it, these rights in turn are sold to a broker. These middle men can make much more money than the property owners. Some landowners’ surface rights and / or mineral rights had been bought up a generation or two ago, so they made no money and had no say. “Jobs?” “Driving through,” was the answer. Not local people.
Water: Millions of gallons of water are
used for each well. According to Dani, “110 billion gallons of freshwater have been used in Texas since 2005, which is 141 times the volume of the Cowboys’ Stadium. And 260 billion gallons of waste water were produced in 2012 alone.” See “Fracking by the Numbers” from Environment Texas for additional information.7 Dani issued us Fracking Action Camp Activist Kits. My “favorite” fact from that is: Texas fracking has produced 40 million metric tons of global warming pollution since 2005. There ARE requirements for oil pipelines going through aquifers: a steel pipe encased in another steel pipe encased in concrete. There is no law requiring oil & gas companies to test their waste to see if it is toxic, so technically, nobody “knows” how toxic it is or if it is radioactive ... nobody is required to know.
Set-backs
state the distance a fracking site must be from buildings designed for human occupancy. It is important to have set-backs so that a fracking site is not able to be legally built at the city limits or across the street from a school. Otherwise, you’ll see flares outside of your town’s high school window.
can cause damage to the nervous system when inhaled. Hydrochloric acid eats asphalt. Condensate is forbidden from spilling onto streets ... but it does. The identity of chemicals in proprietary chemical mixes are protected by law. Lungs, not so much. Little flags along the roads mark where pipelines were laid. But pipes shift as the lands shift. One way to dispose of some wastes is to pump them into the ground, rather deeply (6k feet), but not encased in anything.
“Salt water”
sounds innocent enough, but it can explode. According to about.com8, a saltwater disposal well is where the water from oil and gas well production is discarded. Called “saltwater” euphemistically by industry, this fluid is considered hazardous waste because of its high salt content, hydrocarbons, and industrial compounds.
We heard about the earthquakes in Azle, Texas.9 For some operators, it is cheaper to operate illegally than to retrofit. They just pay the fines & keep on going. They don’t pay city taxes. We wondered why the towns don’t protect themselves better by just moving their “Welcome” signs farther out and get deeper set backs. We visited a landowner whose family’s and property’s health were threatened by two proposed large open-pit waste disposal sites. Of concern is the potential spread of toxicity from the waste site to the family’s property. Educational displays made by the landowner showed maps and labeled photos of rainfall. According to one picture of rainwater flowing in rivulets, just 1.1 inches of rainfall within one hour could be problematic — and rains of 5 inches per hour had fallen in the recent past. Deep concerns for grandchildren were voiced. As our tour wound down, the guide said, “I’m pleased to see that there was NOT ONE dirty flare today.” There were a number of flares photographed during the tour. Still we had to ask about fracking: Why? Answer: Money. In Conclusion: Closing Loopholes and Ending Arbitrary and Needless Evasion of Regulations We went to Pete Gallego’s office as a follow-up to the tour, having seen with our own eyes and smelled with our own noses the state of the Eagle Ford shale areas, Photo: Kathy Glass, 350SanAntonio.org to encourage the representative to support HR 2825, The CLEANER Act [which stands for Closing Loopholes and Ending Arbitrary and Needless Evasion of Regulations]10. Gallego’s staff told us that the Representative’s hometown, Alpine, Texas had clean air ... until recently. After all, air does not respect city limits. q
Bio: Alice Canestaro-Garcia is a visual artist & representative of Energía Mía. An earlier version of this article first appeared in The Alamo Sierran e-Newsletter in April, 2014. | * Footnotes available upon request at lavoz@esperanzacenter.org
LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • July/August 2014 Vol. 27 Issue 6•
Trained crews, living in man camps, are moved around as sites are set up / depleted. Workers wear hardhats but they don’t wear masks or breathing apparatus. Concerned about our own lungs (since, to quote from a Fracking Kit fact sheet, “... test results show fracking flowback emissions are dangerous toxins, not ‘steam’”), we kept the van windows rolled up most of the time, and only got out three times : for a restroom / lunch break; to meet a land owner; and only once, to walk near an interesting site taking photos. As the van drove up to another site, Dani began to roll her window down to take a photo, but instantly rolled it back up as a harsh smell blew in.
Condensate
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Esperanza Peace and Justice Center presents de Poder community education summer the 2014 Puentes series on
the Rights of Mother earth
Led by indigenous women, this global movement provides a philosophical and legal alternative to the Western framework that regards land as property. This alternate vision has informed efforts around the world to halt fracking and other industries that damage the earth.
In this special series, come listen to noted indigenous and mestiza thinkers from all over the hemisphere; tour the Eagle Ford shale; watch film screenings; and talk with organizers working to ban fracking in communities worldwide. All at no cost to you! What are the “Rights of Mother Earth”?
Sat, July 5 at 7pm
Plática @ Esperanza, 922 San Pedro
Sun., July 6 at 11am
Local Organizing for the Rights of Mother Earth
LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • July/August 2014 Vol. 27 Issue 6•
Small group discussion @ Casa de Cuentos, 816 S Colorado
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Nina Wilson, co-founder of Idle No More talks about the “rights of mother earth” within the framework of a Native perspective, Idle No More, First Nations-Canadian relations and the importance of defending our waters.
La Mujer, Continuadora de los Tiempos (Women, Keepers of Time)
Sat, July 12 11am Small group discussion 7pm Plática
Both @ Esperanza, 922 San Pedro
Luz Maria de la Torre (Kichwa elder, Ecuador) addresses Rights of Mother Earth as an indigenous cosmovision focusing on the value of the feminine world within Andean philosophies, as well as women’s roles as keepers of time and culture. Note: Primarily in Spanish – English translation available
Rights of Mother Earth as a Global Movement
WED, August 27 at 6pm
FRI, Sept 26 at 7pm
Film Screening & Plática @ Esperanza
sat, sept 27 at 11am
Small group discussion @ Casa de Cuentos
Eleanor Bravo, Southwest organizer for Food and Water Watch, will share insights from working with communities in Dallas and Los Angeles to ban or restrict fracking. Following her platica, the documentary “Rooted Lands/Tierras Arraigadas,” will be screened. It focuses on a New Mexico county of Hispanos that has become the first county in the US to ban fracking.
“Fracking 101” Tours of the Eagle Ford Shale
JUNE 29, JULY 27, AUG 24
Small group discussion @ Casa de Cuentos
LAST SUNDAYS
Sister Elise Garcia, formerly of Sister Farm, attended the 2014 Global Rights of Nature Conference in Ecuador and will share insights into how the global rights of nature movement can inform organizing in San Antonio.
Sister Elizabeth Riebschlaeger from Cuero, Texas leads fracking tours leaving at 10am from Esperanza at 922 San Pedro Ave. and returning at 5pm. Please bring a lunch and drinks. Call 210.228.0201 for info.
2nd Annual
Gitana Revolucion
Celebrating the Spanish Gypsy’s Historia y Arte
The Esperanza Peace and Justice Center is thrilled to welcome back the incomparable Silvia Salamanca for the “2nd Annual Gitana Revolución: Celebrating the Spanish Gypsy's Historia y Arte,” July 25-26. Salamanca digs deep into the Gitana psyche and history to define and present a fascinating plática/lecture over the backstory and history of the “Raza Calé” (Spanish Gypsy people) while demonstrating a smoldering mind+body+music balance derived from the particular eras and distilled from the roots of various genres into this unforgettable experience. Salamanca held last year’s audience spellbound during the first “Gitana Revolución” as her physical fluidity astonished and infused the audience with her compelling vitality. Salamanca communicates Gitana history not only verbally with her knowledge
and wit, but also embodies the Spanish/Gypsy/Arabic fusion with delicate strength and articulate movement to exude the quintessence of sparkle, spice, sensuality, and substance. The 2nd Revolución promises to surpass the first. Opening Friday evening will be Giomara Bazaldúa of Zombie Bazaar who is offering a free Panza Fusion workshop introducing traditional belly dance drills and core, textured moves of Panza Fusion. Zombie Bazaar is currently accepting donations toward the goal of competing and representing San Anto at Yaa Halla Yall in August. Silvia Salamanca is an internationally acclaimed performer and instructor from Mallorca, Spain, now living and working in Houston, Texas. She has earned world-wide accolades and is the Director of Shunyata Belly Dance, www. silviasalamanca.com
For info: 210.459.6660 or giomarabaza@yahoo.com
July 25-26 @ Esperanza, 922 San Pedro FRIDAY, 7PM Free Workshop: Panza Fusion w/ Gio of Zombie Bazaar FRIDAY, 8PM $5 Plática: The History & Dance of the “Raza Calé” w/ Silvia Salamanca SATURDAY, 8PM $8 Performance w/ Silvia Salamanca, Zombie Bazaar, Ballet Folklorico de Navarro, Desert Moonbeams, Erin Gillespie, Las Panzantes, Rose Movement Studio, Shimarella, Totem, Zak & Aida, and Dum Tek Support @ Southwest Workers Union, 1416 E. Commerce St., 78205 FRI & SAT Dance & Drum Workshops, prices vary TICKETS @ EVENTBRITE.COM search 2ND ANNUAL GITANA
REVOLUCIÓN
Las Ofrendas + VeryThat + SWU present
Saturday, July 12, 2014
workers union 5-9pm @ southwest 1416 E. Commerce, San Antonio, 78205
Join us for a magical evening mercado featuring an all mujeres
hand-made marketplace, community-building workshops,
traditional healers & female-centered performances! Honoring all that is beautiful about our shared & ancestral wisdoms. We celebrate our culturas where mujeres have crafted livelihoods, created alternative economic systems, and handed down tools for self-empowerment, community healing, and regeneration for centuries. NEXT EVENT: Aug. 2nd, 2014 | Mujeres Mercado collaboration with Martinez St. Women’s Center, details TBA! ::: | ::: | ::: To become a featured artist in our upcoming events contact us at mujeresmercado@gmail.com or FACEBOOK: Mujeres Mercado
LA VOZ • July/August 2014 Vol. 27 Issue 6•
la cultura cura
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* community meetings *
Amnesty International #127 info. Call Arthur Dawes @ 210.213.5919.
See www.oasanantonio.org or (210) 492-5400.
Bexar Co. Green Party: Contact 210.471.1791 or bcgp@ bexargreens.org
People’s Power Coalition meets last Thursdays. Call 210.878.6751
Celebration Circle meets Sundays, 11am@SA Garden Ctr., 3310 N. New Braunfels @ Funston Pl. Meditation: Weds @7:30pm, Quaker Mtg House, 7052 Vandiver. 210-533-6767. DIGNITY S.A. gathers @ 5:15 pm, mass @ 5:30 pm, Sunday @ Beacon Hill Presbyterian Church, 1101 W. Woodlawn. Call 210.340.2230 Adult Wellness Support Group sponsored by PRIDE Center meets 4th Mondays, 7-9 pm @ Lions Field, 2809 Broadway. Call 210.213.5919. Energía Mía meets as-needed for the time being. Call 512.838.3351. Fuerza Unida, 710 New Laredo Hwy. See www.lafuerzaunida.org or call 210.927.2294 Habitat for Humanity meets 1st Tues. for volunteer orientation, 6pm, HFHSA Office @ 311 Probandt. The NOW SA Area Chapter meets 3rd Weds. @ 6:30pm at Esperanza. | 210.802.9068, Email: nowsaareachapter@gmail.com, FB/ satx.now
LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • July/August 2014 Vol. 27 Issue 6•
Proyecto Hospitalidad Liturgy meets Thurs. 7pm, 325 Courtland.
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SA Women Will March meets yearround. Call 210.262.0654 or see www.sawomenwillmarch.org Metropolitan Community Church services & Sunday school @10:30am, 611 East Myrtle. Call 210.472.3597 Overeaters Anonymous meets MWF in Spanish & daily in English.
Be Part of a
Progressive Movement in San Antonio
PFLAG, meets 1st Thurs. @ 7pm, University Presbyterian Church 300 Bushnell Ave. Call 210.848.7407. Parents of Murdered Children, meets 2nd Mondays @ Balcones Heights Community Ctr, 107 Glenarm See www.pomcsanantonio.org. The Rape Crisis Center 7500 US Hwy 90W. Hotline: 210.349. 7273/210.521.7273 Email: sgabriel@ rapecrisis.com The Religious Society of Friends meets Sundays@10am @ The Friends Meeting House, 7052 N. Vandiver. 210.945.8456. S.A. Gender Association meets 1st & 3rd Thursdays, 6-9pm @ 611 E. Myrtle, Metropolitan Cmty Church. The SA AIDS Fdn 818 E. Grayson St. offers free Syphilis & HIV testing, 210.225.4715|www.txsaaf.org. SGI-USA LGBT Buddhist group meets 2nd Sat. at 10am @ 7142 San Pedro Ave., Ste 117. Call 210.653.7755. Shambhala Buddhist Meditation classes: Tu. 7-8pm & Sun. 9:30am12:30pm, 257 E. Hildebrand Ave. Call 210.222.9303. S.N.A.P. (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests). Contact Barbara at 210.725.8329. Voice for Animals: 210.737.3138 or www.voiceforanimals.org for info SA’s LGBTQA Youth Group meets Tuesdays from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at University Presbyterian Church, 300 Bushnell Ave. See fiesta-youth.org
¡Todos Somos Esperanza! Start your 2014 monthly donations now! Esperanza works to bring awareness and action on issues relevant to our communities. With our vision for social, environmental, economic and gender justice, Esperanza centers the voices and experiences of the poor & working class, women, queer people and people of color. We hold pláticas and workshops; organize political actions; present exhibits and performances and document and preserve our cultural histories. We consistently challenge City Council and the corporate powers of the city on issues of development, low-wage jobs, gentrification, clean energy and more. It takes all of us to keep the Esperanza going. What would it take for YOU to become a monthly donor? Call or come by the Esperanza to learn how. ¡Esperanza vive! ¡La lucha sigue!
THANK YOU TO ALL THE BUENA GENTE WHO DONATED DURING the recent Big Give S.A. & Give Out Days of Giving.
We raised approx $10,000 to help sustain and expand our programming & organizing. Call 210.228.0201 or email esperanza@esperanzacenter.org for more info
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Notas Y Más July/August 2014
The MALCS 2014 Summer Institute, Mapping Geographies of Self: Woman as First Environment will be hosted by Northern New Mexico College at the El Rito Campus in Española, NM, July 30-Aug. 2. Pre-conference Heritage Arts workshops are Mon., July 28 and Tues., July 29 for participants wishing to explore the culture of northern New Mexico. Packages include class fee, meals and lodging. | www.malcs. org or malcsnm2014.com Registration deadline is Friday, July 11. The XVII World Congress of Criminology of The International Society for Criminology will be held in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, MX at the Cintermex Congress Center August 10-14 on Gangs, Trafficking & Insecurity: Empowering the Community. | www.criminology2014.com
Brief news items on upcoming community events. Send items for Notas y Más to: lavoz@esperanzacenter.org or mail to: 922 San Pedro, San Antonio, TX 78212. The deadline is the 8th of each month.
The American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE) and Educational Testing Service (ETS) announce the Outstanding Dissertations Competition for all who’ve completed a dissertation focusing on Hispanic(s) in higher education or any Hispanic who has completed a dissertation in social sciences from Dec. 2012- Aug. 1, 2014. Deadline: Aug. 15, 2014 | www.aahhe.org/Dissertation
The Julian Samora Research Institute celebrates its 25th anniversary as a Latinofocused research institute by hosting a nationwide conference, Latinos in 2050: Restoring the Public Good Oct. 30-Nov. 1. Nationally-known and emerging scholars and researchers will be participating in panel discussions on health disparities, business ownership, service delivery gaps, and more! Check: www.jsri.msu.edu/events/25years
The Bancroft Seminar on Latino & Borderlands History that gives feedback on work in progress on Latino and Borderlands History is accepting proposals for review tentatively for November 7th and May 1st. Contact coordinators: David Montejano <montejano@berkeley.edu> and Genaro Padilla <gpadilla@berkeley.edu>.
LULAC Council #22198, Orgullo de San Antonio meets every 3rd Wednesday at 6:30pm at the Luby’s Cafeteria Alamo Room, 911 Main Ave.. The purpose is to establish open and positive communication between the LGBTQ and Latino communities promoting social and economic opportunity and full equality for ALL. Contact: salgbtlulac@gmail.com
depends on buena gente like you who can raise funds or write or call your city council representatives to allocate funds for its restoration. SAVE & RESTORE LERMA’S!
LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • July/August 2014 Vol. 27 Issue 6•
The San Antonio Club of the Communist Party USA is meeting again — Sunday, July 13th, 3-5 pm, at the Bazan Public Library, 2200 W. Commerce. Featured speaker is “Didi,” a young Nigerian immigrant member of the LGBT community and staff writer for El Paisano (UTSA student newspaper). She’ll speak on public transportation issues here in San Antonio: VIA, the bus system, streetcars and more. As we move away from a fossil-fuel economy, more people will rely more and more on public transportation, WHAT KIND OF WORLD DO YOU WANT? Contact: Hernando 210.396.6394.
Check www.savelermas.org or contact Susana @ Esperanza, 210.228.0201.
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Preservation Texas 2014 Most Endangered Places List Lerma’s Nite Club in San Antonio, Texas
Among the 12 sites that Preservation Texas, Inc. named to its 11th annual list of Texas’ Most Endangered Places is our own Lerma’s Nite Club, 1602-1612 N. Zarzamora St. Evan Thompson, executive director of Preservation Texas commented,
“It’s important to express that historic preservation is not just about architectural landmarks. It’s also about restoring social and cultural landmarks. The role that Lerma’s played in terms of its cultural heritage is a principal goal.” This honor gives Lerma’s a bit more leverage in the effort to preserve and restore this historic conjunto night club. The restoration of our National Register Landmark in the heart of the Westside
LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • July/August 2014 Vol. 27 Issue 6• 25 th Annual Mercado de Paz / Peace Market Nov. 28 & 29, 2014
Vendor
Sunday August 31st @ Majestic p. 12-13
Applications
Gitana
Revolucion
Available August 1st
July 25-26 @ Esperanza
Join us for our monthly concert series...
p. 21
Due October 1st
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Saturday August 16th 8pm
Portraits of Extraction in Eagle Ford and Beyond
An exhibit featuring photographs, visual art, installations, literary arts, and performance—all focused on the fracking frenzy of S. Texas and beyond.
EXHIBIT ENDS AUGUST 31 @ Esperanza Peace & Justice Center | Gallery Hours: M-F 10am-7pm
The 2014 Puentes de Poder community education summer series, sponsored by the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center presents:
the Rights of Mother earth June 29th - September 27th In this special series, come listen to noted indigenous and mestiza thinkers from all over the hemisphere; tour the Eagle Ford shale; watch film screenings; and talk with organizers working to ban fracking in communities worldwide. Full Schedule on p. 20 Vicki Lunell Baggett