Author's Diary - Raul Ramos y Sanchez

In fight for Hispanic vote, GOP dispenses with English-Only

2012-01-28T09:14:00.001-05:00

Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich have publicly endorsed making English the official language of the United States. But it's funny how quickly both candidates will drop that stance so popular with many in the GOP base when they're on the stump for Latino votes. The Spanish-language political ads below are two recent of examples of principles taking a back seat to political expediency.

Mitt Romney Spanish-language TV ad:

Newt Gingrich Spanish-language radio spot:
http://mycmag.kantarmediana.com/Radio/201465904.wav

I hope supporters of English-only laws remember that banks, businesses, educational institutions and local government agencies that offer other-than-English language options have reasons for doing so that are as valid as those of these candidates. Then again, logic and fairness may have little effect on a movement like "English-only" which is primarily an expression of xenophobia.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

Gingrich's plan: Court Hispanics while bashing Blacks

2012-01-26T06:39:00.000-05:00

Do not underestimate Newt Gingrich. He is a cunning political strategist who understands the demographic death spiral facing the Republican party -- and he clearly has a plan.

Gingrich knows the Republican candidate in the November election will fail without support from U.S. minorities. Yet the GOP base will not nominate a candidate who supports issues popular in Latino and Black communities like immigration reform or affirmative action. So Newt's course will be to split the difference. He plans to court the Latino vote and brazenly bash Blacks to placate the base.

As we saw in the South Carolina debate, Gingrich dispensed with the dog whistle code used by Republicans pandering for the anti-Black vote in the south and went for the jugular. His attacks on Obama as the "food stamp president" and calls for Blacks to "demand jobs, not welfare" were the most bluntly racist comments uttered by a U.S. politician since George Wallace.

Meanwhile, as shown in the Univision video with Jorge Ramos below, Gingrich offered more concessions to immigration reform than any other GOP candidate. These include: 1) Supporting the DREAM Act for youth who volunteer for military service, 2) a guest worker program for undocumented workers and 3) a path to citizenship for the undocumented who have resided in the U.S. for 20-25 years, have a family and an American sponsor.

Gingrich is so confident of his strategy, he even boasted to Ramos about his prospects with the Latino vote. "I have a hunch that by this fall, we may do better than any Republican except maybe Reagan."

From Gingrich's perspective, the plan to court Latino votes has no downside. He knows congressional Republicans will not approve any of these election year promises if he is elected.

This may not be Newt's only attempt at dabbling in the witches brew of racial politics. As I mentioned in an earlier article, the GOP may attempt to drive a wedge between the Black and Latino communities, further weakening President Obama's chance for re-election.

It's important for the entire electorate to be aware of Newt's apparent plan. Divisive tactics may serve the interests of a particular candidate or party. But they do not serve the interest of the nation or the world.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

Vicious smears -- for one of their own

2012-01-25T08:28:00.002-05:00

If these mud-slinging ads from the Republican primaries are any indication, mild-mannered Mitt will likely conduct one of the most vicious and smear-filled campaigns in living memory against President Obama. Keep in mind. These half-true smears are directed at someone who agrees with most of Romney's policies and solutions. Just imagine how low this campaign will stoop when there are substantive issues at stake.

Surprisingly, the Gingrich ads have not attacked Romney in such a personal way. Instead, Newt has relied on his theatrical skills to skewer Romney in the debates. Outclassed in person, Romney has taken the rich man's path and hired clever people to do the dirty work for him. As Mitt himself says following his blistering attacks: "I approve this message."

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

Live on public radio: The divisive immigration debate

2012-01-24T07:31:00.001-05:00

LIVE RADIO CALL-IN SHOW

What are the future consequences of today's divisive immigration debate?

Join the conversation. Tune in online to a one-hour public radio call-in show about the novels AMERICA LIBRE and HOUSE DIVIDED by Raul Ramos y Sanchez and the social themes they examine.

Time:
Tuesday January 24 at 1PM Eastern - 11AM Pacific

Place:
A Public Affair hosted by Cynthia Lin
WORT 89.9FM Madison, WI

Call in Toll Free: 866-899-9678

Listen live online

English only? Not when GOP needs Latino votes.

2012-01-24T05:36:00.001-05:00

Leading GOP contenders Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich support English Only laws -- but not when they're on the stump for Latino votes.

(Correct spelling in English is apparently optional.)

“I think campaigning, historically, you’ve always been willing to go to people on their terms in their culture,” Gingrich was quoted in the Los Angeles Times. But, he said, “as a country, we have to unify ourselves in a future where there may be three or 400 languages” spoken.

This double talk is hardly surprising. The Republican party's core constituency strongly supports English Only laws. But with the GOP Florida primary on the horizon, Romney and Gingrich are pandering hard for what they perceive as a key bastion of Republican support in the Sunshine State: South Florida's Cuban-American community.

First-generation Cuban exiles are hard line conservatives on almost every issue except one: They proudly cling to their native Spanish. So it's not surprising that the Romney campaign has already produced a Spanish-language TV ad titled "Nosotros" featuring two South Florida congressional Republicans Mario Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.

It will be interesting to see how Gingrich and Romney will try to squirm out of this ideological inconsistency once the Florida primary is in the rear view mirror.

One thing is certain. As a party perceived to be serving the exclusive interests of Non-Hispanic Whites, the Republican party in a demographic death spiral.

Even among the once-solidly Republican Cuban-American vote, the younger and more recent Cuban exiles are weary of the 50 year old failed embargo that is a staple issue of the old guard exiles. This growing schism could could create fertile ground for Democrats. As one Cuban exile who arrived in the last five years put it: "What has the embargo done to hurt Castro? Nothing. What has it done to hurt my family in Cuba? A lot."

Desperate and fighting for survival, we can expect GOP politics to become increasingly divisive. As I noted in a previous post, the GOP strategy will likely be to neutralize Latino support for Obama by trying to drive a wedge between Blacks and Hispanics.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

Newt’s immigration solution: A permanent underclass

2012-01-22T12:39:00.000-05:00

Gingrich is not interested in immigration reform. Instead, Newt would prefer the status quo: Keep undocumented workers scared, docile and willing to work for low wages.

Newt Gingrich knows full well the winner of November’s presidential election must gain significant support among Black and Latino voters. Gingrich’s concession of the Black vote to Barack Obama was made abundantly clear in the first of the South Carolina GOP debates. To a standing ovation, Gingrich defended his comments linking African-Americans with welfare dependency and his reference to Barack Obama as the “food stamp president.” A burning cross would have been only slightly less subtle. But Newt believes he has an ace up his sleeve with Latinos.

Gingrich is the only GOP candidate to have offered a whiff of moderation in a debate on immigration reform in which the other Republican hopefuls vied over who would build the biggest border fence. Now, flush with a victory won by race baiting in South Carolina, Gingrich hopes to take his softer stand on immigration reform into Florida and make gains among Latino voters.

Wasting no time, Gingrich has already attacked Romney as being anti-immigrant and followed that by dredging up a Romney gaffe from 2008 when in a Florida speech Mitt used the phrase “patria o muerte, venceremos” made famous by Castro.

But Gingrich's solution to our broken immigration system is nothing more than the status quo. Gingrich does not support immigration reform, a guest worker program nor the DREAM Act. [Update: In a more recent Univision interview while on the stump in Florida, Gingrich reversed all of these positions.] Under his presidency, undocumented workers would remain exactly what they are today: a cheap and docile workforce (which can be used to depress the wages of mainstream workers) – and the political scapegoats for candidates pandering for votes among the fearful, bigoted and ignorant.

How will Romney react? Most likely Mitt will play to the GOP base and accuse Newt of being soft on immigration, sparking an ugly media game in which Latinos will be the political football being kicked back and forth across the field.

In a previous article I noted that the GOP’s only hope to win the White House will be in taking a divide-and-conquer strategy among minorities. The events unfolding in the Republican primary are only the beginning of the divisive politics to come.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

Newt plays the hate card

2012-01-18T05:04:00.000-05:00

My previous post on the racially-divisive politics of a desperate GOP was barely a day old when Newt Gingrich stepped up to validate my theory. In this instance, Mr. Gingrich is working the other side of the street: race baiting in the Old South. And the ugly, shopworn stereotypes Gingrich invoked are an indication of how far some Republicans may go to pander votes from many in the Non-Hispanic White electorate who are terrified of a future when they will become a minority.

This exchange from the Republican Presidential Debate in South Carolina exposes the thinly-veiled bigotry that lurks below the surface of many GOP supporters.

Juan Williams: Speaker Gingrich, you recently said black Americans should demand jobs, not food stamps. You also say poor kids lack a strong work ethic and proposed having them work as janitors in their schools. Can’t you see that this is viewed as at a minimum as insulting to all Americans but particularly to black Americans?

Newt Gingrich: No, I don’t see that (applause).

Gingrich's comments (and the thunderous applause they received from the South Carolina audience) reek of willful ignorance and exploitation.

First, there are more Non-Hispanic Whites on welfare than all other minorities combined. Second, Mr. Gingrich supports putting a janitor out of work who very likely supports a family and replacing that person with low paid child labor. It's the GOP trifecta: union busting, cheaper labor and docile minorities.

Is Gingrich really this much of a bigot or is he simply pandering to an audience in South Carolina where his message clearly resonated? It doesn't really matter. Regardless of what Gingrich really thinks, the fact remains that the GOP's demographic death spiral will lead the party into the sordid depths of racial politics. Unfortunately, this paroxysm of hate will not be the last. The Republican contenders haven't even touched immigration yet in South Carolina.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

The GOP may try to divide minorities in the November election

2012-01-16T10:50:00.001-05:00

TheRepublican party is in a fix. Right wing orthodoxy demands a GOP presidentialnominee vehemently oppose immigration reform of any kind, a position that willalienate many Latino voters according to recent surveys. At the same time,Republicans are convinced they have no hope of winning the Black vote fromPresident Obama. However, GOP strategists are also keenly aware that theirpresidential candidate will almost certainly lose the November election withoutsignificant support among Black and Latino voters. So what will the Republicansdo about this dilemma?

Myprediction: Their most likely solution will be a tried-and-true method used bycolonial powers … divide and conquer. How that strategy will be implemented maytake many forms. One way I think GOP leaders may try to drive a wedge between Blacksand Latinos would be to have Herman Cain and other prominent Black Republicans publiclyattack immigration reform. By the simplistic reasoning of most Republicanstrategists toward minorities, when Black public figures attack immigrationreform, Latinos will become hostile toward Blacks and vent their wrath onPresident Obama.

The assumptionbehind this callous tactic becomes more evident when we examine the mindset ofmany conservative Republicans toward minorities. Bereft of familiarity withminority cultures, GOP strategists take a monolithic approach to Black andLatino voters. For example, Rush Limbaugh once claimed Republican Colin Powellsupported Barack Obama not because Powell agreed with Obama's politicalpositions but simply because they were both Black. (Limbaugh neglects to explain why Herman Cain, Clarence Thomas and other Black conservatives fail his racial litmus test, proving once again that prejudice trumps reason.)

Am I beingoverly cynical about GOP motives and tactics? One need look no farther than theSwift Boat attacks unleashed on John Kerry by the GOP to see that cunning politicaladvisors will employ any means necessary to win an election. Let's not kid ourselves about below-the-belt politics, however. They are employed by both parties. But in the last several presidential elections, Republicans have become much more adept at these tactics – and now, they are truly desperate.

With thenation headed toward a future where Non-Hispanic Whites are projected to becomea minority, the Republican party is in a demographic death spiral. As long as the GOPis perceived to be serving the exclusive interests of Non-Hispanic Whites, they are doomed. Yet, every attempt the GOP leadership makes to accommodate minorityinterests will alienate their base. This predicament can only lead to ever moredivisive policies.

Could thesedivide and conquer tactics work? Unfortunately, they have in the past. Whatpeople of conscience of every ethnicity must do is be aware of the inevitable attemptsto divide the us. Regardless of our origins, religion or race, we must standtogether, recognizing our individual identities, yet celebrating our commonhumanity. There is much more than binds us as human beings than divides us as members of different groups. As wecelebrate the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, we are reminded that ourstrength lies in unity and compassion – by all people, for all people.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

English only? Not when Romney panders for Latino votes.

2012-01-12T09:39:00.003-05:00

Proposing English-Only legislation is a favorite pastime among those who fear the nation is being overrun by people who are something less than "real Americans." These self-appointed patriots think it's a virtue to speak only one language -- even in an economy where U.S. businesses will need to compete all over the world. But apparently the Romney campaign must think the English-Only movement has lost some of its momentum. What else would explain the Romney Spanish-language campaign ad below?

Not that Romney hasn't made a hard swing to the right during the GOP primaries.

After previously speaking favorably of the Kennedy/McCain immigration reform bill of 2007, Mr. Romney has boomeranged to the other end of the spectrum by embracing Kris Kobach, the xenophobic pit bull of FAIR (Federation for American Immigration Reform.) The incredible irony of it all is that Mitt Romney is the son of a Mexican immigrant who freely admitted the Romney family accepted federal aid shortly after their arrival in the United States.

What Romney will actually support regarding immigration if he gets the GOP nomination -- and what he would do as president -- remains anybody's guess. But it seems clear that Mr. Romney wants to have his pan dulce and eat it too.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

New immigrants = New Jobs

2011-12-30T09:18:00.001-05:00

Both ends of the political spectrum in the U.S. seem to agree on one thing at least: Small businesses are the real creators of new jobs. The Forbes article below reports that Latino-owned businesses are leading the recovery and growing at more than twice the national average, something that should stick in the craw of those who argue that Latino immigration is a detriment to the U.S. economy.

Latino-Owned Businesses: Leading the Recovery

While there can be debate about what it means, the unassailable fact is that Latino -owned businesses in the United States are growing at a blistering pace — in fact more than twice the national average. This trend has been sustained for at least the last decade and manifests itself both in the growing number and size of Latino- owned businesses. During the latest 5-year period for which information is available from the census bureau, Latino owned business’ revenue jumped by an astonishing 55% to nearly $350 billion. Some think that the census data underestimates the economic clout of Latino businesses, estimating the sales of such businesses in 2008 at $547 billion. Many are very substantial businesses with numerous employees: the number of Latino- owned businesses with more than $1 million in revenue grew to over 44,000 in 2007, up from just 29,000 five years earlier.

The experts expect that this trend will continue over the next decade. Latino-owned businesses are expected to increase their total revenue contribution to the economy by 8% annually over the 10 years from 2005 to 2015. This is more than three times the average growth for all businesses. What does this mean: Latinos will have more economic clout, employ a greater proportion of the population and purchase substantially more in goods and services than they do today. Already this trend has had a major impact in states with large Latino populations. For example, more than 20 % of all businesses in New Mexico, Florida and Texas are owned by Latinos, and even in the state with the largest economy, California, the figure is fast approaching 20%.

Since in the United States, small business has always been the gateway to affluence, this means that a growing proportion of Latinos will find economic success. Inevitably this will lead to greater roles for Latino business owners in local chambers of commerce, local communities and government. Moreover, more Latino- owned businesses could mitigate the effects of the discrimination that Latinos still suffer in many communities, benefitting Latino employees with higher wages and more opportunities for advancement. Of course, the economic benefits from the dynamic growth of Latino businesses are not limited to the Latino community: one study in Los Angeles showed that growth of Latino owned businesses is a major factor in helping the city to recover from the devastating effects of the recession on its economy. The positive trends caused by Latino entrepreneurship can benefit the entire national economy and help the country to start growing again.

Not surprisingly, the political class has noticed these trends. In making its case for the passage of the American Jobs Act, the Obama administration has argued forcefully that it will benefit 2 million Latino- owned businesses across America. It has also touted the role of the Minority Business Development Agency inside the Commerce Department as a partner for Latino-owned businesses, and has said that Latino- owned businesses must plan a prominent role in increasing trade with the dynamic economies of South and Central America.

While much of the economic news we hear today is bleak, the dynamic growth of Latino-owned businesses is a bright spot that will likely transform the economic and political landscape in the United States in the years ahead.

Booze and bullets make a bad cocktail

2011-12-29T10:18:00.000-05:00

Think the Constitution gives you the right to carry concealed weapons into a bar? Fine. Bring in your flintlock musket next time.

As more states consider passing laws expanding the venues where people can carry concealed weapons, it's worthwhile examining the consequences of these laws. Will they reduce crime? Or will they create more gunshot victims?

Despite the that fact that many wild west towns had the good sense to require patrons to check their guns at the door before entering a saloon, gun rights advocates are now petitioning for the privilege of taking concealed weapons into places where liquor is served. Forget that driving while intoxicated is illegal. These folks think a drunk with an Uzi in a public place is perfectly okay. Why? Because it's in the Constitution, they argue.

However, it's amazing how far gun rights advocates will torture the English language in order to extract the answer they want. Here is the single sentence in the Second Amendment to the Constitution that references the right to carry weapons:

A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

The first part of the sentence that refers to a "well regulated militia" is conveniently ignored by gun rights groups. Instead, they chose to take the second part of the sentence out of context and insist "the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed" gives them the authority to stockpile assault rifles.

Ironically, the gun rights folks consider themselves strict Constitutionalists. So in that spirit, I say: Okay. You think the Constitution gives you the right to carry concealed weapons into a bar? Fine. Bring in your flintlock musket next time.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

Depart of Justice accuses Arpaio of racial profiling and unconstitutional policing

2011-12-15T14:29:00.003-05:00

The U.S. Department of Justice todayreleased a reportaccusing the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office led by Joe Arpaio with racialprofiling of Latinos and a host of other unconstitutional practices.

“Based upon our extensiveinvestigation, we find reasonable cause to believe that MCSO engages in apattern or practice of unconstitutional policing," the report cites. In addition,the DOJ document states that Arpaio’s department engages in "racialprofiling of Latinos; unlawfully stops, detains and arrests Latinos; andunlawfully retaliates against individuals who complain about or criticize MCSO'policies or practices.”

The charges against theself-proclaimed “America’s toughest sheriff” come on the heels of charges thathis department “scarcely lifted afinger to investigate hundreds of sex-crime cases Valley-wide -- many of themperpetrated against children; many with easily identifiable suspects” according to the ArizonaRepublic.

The Depart of Justice report corroboratesyears of complaints filed by civil rights groups who have accused Arapio of media-circusbusts of low-wage laborers while neglecting the enforcement of serious crimes.

Personally speaking, the timing of thisreport during the holiday season is a blemish on what should be a celebrationof the spirit of compassion. All the same, this important news cannot beignored.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

A holiday wish

2011-12-15T07:39:00.000-05:00

A holiday wish to all our friends from Kathy and me!

May joy, kindness, health and peace be the gifts you give and share this holiday season and throughout the year.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

The first time Bones said "This man's dead, Captain."

2011-12-10T21:29:00.001-05:00

When did Deforest Kelley first say "This man's dead, Captain" onscreen? The answer may surprise you.
Because it was not on Star Trek at all.

"This man's dead, Captain."

Whenever fans of the original Star Trek hear that line, they will forever remember Deforest Kelley who played Dr. Leonard McCoy on the show.

The line was used so often on Star Trek, it became part of a college drinking game back in the day. The rules were simple: While watching the show, every time a character said "Captain" or "Jim," each contestant would down a swallow of beer. Whenever McCoy said "This man's dead, Captain" or Spock said "Fascinating," contestants had to drain their glasses. There were no winners, really. The goal was to finish the show while still conscious.

When did Kelley first say "This man's dead, Captain" onscreen? The answer may surprise you. Because it was not on Star Trek at all.

I discovered the answer for myself while watching The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, a few days ago. In a scene from a WWII Pacific battle, hero Gregory Peck brings a wounded buddy to a first aid station. After examining Peck's comrade, the medic says, "This man's dead, Captain." That medic was none other than Deforest Kelley. The film was made in 1956, ten years before the first Star Trek episode aired.

After searching YouTube, I found MrKelley68's channel had captured this incredible cinematic coincidence in the clip below. Hope you enjoy this special bit of entertainment trivia. It might even win you a beer in a bar bet.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

Revisited: Who Issued Green Cards to the Pilgrims?

2011-11-28T09:00:00.001-05:00

In the same vein as my Thanksgiving Day article asking "Who issued Green Cards to the Pilgrims," New Yorker cover artist Christoph Neimann echoes the same question in the cartoon shown below.

It's amazing how easily some Americans today can vilify one group of migrants for doing nothing worse than the iconic ancestors they revere with a national holiday every year.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

Who issued Green Cards to the Pilgrims?

2011-11-23T09:49:00.001-05:00

In 1620, a group of strange newcomers arrived on the shores of North America. They spoke a foreign language and were miserably poor. Desperate and hungry, they robbed the graves of the native-born and stole food to survive during their first year in this new land. Called the Separatists in their home country, most of us know these outcasts as the Pilgrims. Despite their illicit arrival and questionable deeds, today we revere the Separatists — and with good reason.

Unlike the Spaniards who came to this hemisphere to conquer and convert the natives to their faith, the Separatists wanted to form a new society. They sought the freedom to worship denied them in England. They wanted a chance to thrive without an oppressive aristocracy. Their dream of liberty and prosperity became the DNA of today’s vibrant U.S. culture.

But the Separatists were not saints. Their society was egalitarian—as long as you were white. Although the legends say the natives were invited to that first Thanksgiving feast, eventually there would be no place at the table for the land’s dark-skinned populace. By the end of the 1600s, most natives in New England had been wiped out by disease and war. This tragic chapter in U.S. history is also part of the Separatists’ legacy. Even to this day, many in the U.S. profess equality but practice prejudice.

As we pause to give thanks for the blessings of freedom and plenty, let’s not forget that those Separatists we venerate were foreigners who arrived without Green Cards, committed criminal acts, disrespected local customs, and created social upheaval. Yet their industry, faith, and determination made this abundant land flourish.

Nearly 500 years later, some things have not changed.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

The danger of derailed dreams

2011-11-19T10:38:00.001-05:00

A just-released USC pollshows a disturbing difference between Latinos and Non-Hispanic Whites:

79% ofLatinos favor the recently enacted California Dream Act. Meanwhile, only 30% ofNon-Hispanic Whites favor the law which would give undocumented students whohave graduated from California high schools equal footing in qualifying forin-state college tuition rates.

The poll results are troubling for tworeasons.

First, it shows the political chasmbetween Latino and mainstream communities growing wider. Widespread support forlaws like Arizona’s infamous SB1070 and similar measures enacted in Georgia,Alabama and on the docket in other states have already been a source of discordthat has alienated many Latinos. The lack of support for the California Dream Act, which most Latinos seeas a fair and sensible first step toward immigration reform, will only increasethe perception that prejudice is the prime motive behind these attitudes.

Second, and perhaps more ominous, isthe increasing alienation of the fastest growing age group among the fastestgrowing ethnic group: Latino youth.

What happens when a generation ofintelligent, motivated young people find themselves marginalized and theirpotential stunted by societal forces? A look around the world – and at history –indicates that a very likely outcome is social upheaval including protests,rioting and even open rebellion. For proof, one only need look at this year’s Arab Spring, therecent riots in England and France, China’sdemocracy movement culminatingin Tiananmen Square, the overthrow of the Shah of Iran, and Castro’s revolution in Cuba. In all of these rebellions and many others, disillusioned youngpeople have the spark and fuel for turmoil.

But I will not simply point the finger at the mainstreamcommunity and say “get over your prejudices.” That answer is too simple – and ultimatelyineffective.

We in the Latino community must do a better job of framingthis debate. Our public message must emphasize the economic benefit ofeducating the best and the brightest. We all gain when motivated young people are allowed to flower into their full potential. It will mean more prosperousworkers paying more in taxes and fueling consumer demand, more entrepreneurscreating jobs and fewer demands on our social services. Xavier University student Bernard Pastor is one example of the exemplary leadership these young people can bring if given the chance.

In contrast, denying equalopportunities to these young people who have committed no crimes will hurt all of us.

I wrote America Libreand House Divided as a warning to thepotential of an ethnic conflict in the United States. The trends were areseeing today make me fear my cautionary tale may be prophetic instead.

Let’s make a smart choice. Let’s choose to help these youngpeople – and also help ourselves. The Dream Act deserves your support.

RaulRamos y Sanchez

Alabama discovers bigotry has a price

2011-11-17T08:04:00.001-05:00

Bigotry has a price.

This is what the people of Alabama are discovering as the effects begin to sink of its draconian anti-immigrant law, HB-56. Enacted less than two months ago on September 29th, many in Alabama are now having second thoughts about the law proudly dubbed "the nation's harshest" by its authors.

You see, in an effort to root out the wanton and dangerous criminals who are doing honest work without a visa, Alabama's legislators made it a felony to aid these menaces to society in any way. When first introduced, the law was cheered on by 80% of the Alabama electorate. But now that "real Americans" are experiencing the cosequences of HB-56, demands are coming that the law be "tweaked." The reason?

The law demands proof of citizenship or legal residency for virtually every type of government service and transaction. And any government official who does not enforce the law is subject to felony charges. (And we all know how cooperative state bureaucrats are to begin with.)

As a result, everyone in Alabama will be required to "show their papers" not just to get a driver's license but for activities like dog licenses, garbage pickup and flu shots at county health departments. Other activities that might fall under the purview of the law include paying taxes, renting a pavilion at a county park, enrolling children in a Little League team or signing up for a membership at the county swimming pool. Professionals like architects, nurses, hair stylists, plumbers, real estate agents and a host of other professions will have to demonstrate their legal status every time they renew their licenses.

These unintened consequences are really not surprising. When state legislators ride a frenzy of fear and loathing into office and create laws based on emotion rather than reason, the real-world effects of these laws are usually overlooked. Ask the people of Arizona who recently voted out Russell Pearce, the architect of that state's draconian SB-1070.

Even as they rail against "big guvmint" in Washington, the supporters of this law have created possibly the most onerous state government in the nation. And all this because of the heinous threat posed by less than 5% of Alabama's population whose law-breaking is primarily doing the brutally hard work most in the state refuse to do.

Once again, it's clear that bigotry trumps reason -- every time.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

Alabama is once again the site of "outside agitators"

2011-11-16T06:20:00.001-05:00

Photo - Dave Martin AP

"Outside agitators." That's what the KKK and their ilk called those who came from other states to protest legalized racial segregation in Alabama during the early 1960s. The protesters, who were mostly young and educated, arrived determined to overturn the Jim Crow laws that institutionalized second class status for their fellow African Americans.

Fast forward 50 years and history is in re-runs.

Yesterday over 100 demonstrators, many of them Latino college students from outside Alabama, staged a protest at the state capitol. The group came to protest HB-56, a recently-enacted Alabama anti-illegal immigration law which is now considered the nation's harshest.

“We had to come here," said Sonia Guinansaca, a Hunter College student from Harlem who is also an undocumented immigrant from Ecuador. "As the saying goes, injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere,” Guinansaca told the New York Daily News.

The rising tide of protest has done little to deter lawmakers in other states from proposing similar legislation. Indeed, it seems many politicos see fear and loathing of the undocumented as a rich vein for votes.

Will these punitive laws provoke more protests by young, educated Latinos? That seems very likely. And when one in four children under ten in the U.S. today is a Latino, we may be seeing the tip of a generational iceberg of discontent.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

In Alabama, "Jim Crow is dead. But his cousins are still alive."

2011-11-14T10:19:00.001-05:00

From yesterday's New York Times...

November 13, 2011

On the Rise in Alabama

Alabama’s ruling class has dug in against the storm it caused with the nation’s most oppressive immigration law. Some of the law’s provisions have been blocked in federal court; others won’t take effect until next year. But many Alabamans aren’t waiting for things to get worse or for the uncertain possibility of judicial relief or legislative retreat. They are moving to protect themselves, and summoning the tactics of a civil rights struggle now half a century old.

The law was written to deny immigrants without papers the ability to work or travel, to own or rent a home, to enter contracts of any kind. Fear is causing an exodus as Latinos abandon homes and jobs and crops in the fields. Utilities are preparing to shut off water, power and heat to customers who cannot show the right papers.

Alabama is far from alone in passing a law whose express aim is misery and panic. States are expanding their power to hasten racial exclusion and family disintegration, to make a particular ethnic group of poor people disappear. The new laws come cloaked in talk of law and order; the bigotry beneath them is never acknowledged.

But if there is any place where bigotry does not go unrecognized, it is Alabama.

“It is a fear of folks who are not like us,” said Judge U. W. Clemon, a former state senator and Alabama’s first black federal judge, now retired. “Although the Hispanic population of the state is less than 5 percent, the leaders of the state were hell-bent on removing as much of that 4 percent as possible. And I think they’ve been fairly successful in scaring them out of the state of Alabama.”

There are, of course, significant distinctions between the civil rights movement and the fight for immigrant rights. African-Americans have endured 400 years of oppression, and toppled laws created to deny their equality and to brutalize them. Unauthorized immigrants are a group who arrived by choice, mostly. They are living outside the law, and want in.

Yet to those, like Judge Clemon, a civil rights foot soldier who fought Bull Connor and George Wallace, the common thread between then and now — the threat of racial profiling and the abuse of a cheap, exploited work force — is obvious, as is the racism driving the law.

A sponsor of the legislation, State Senator Scott Beason, chairman of the Rules Committee, was secretly taped by the F.B.I. talking about black residents of Greene County. “They’re aborigines,” he said. He is the lawmaker who urged fellow Republicans to “empty the clip” to stop illegal immigrants.

And, just as in the early days of the civil rights struggle, the oppressed and their advocates are scrambling to respond. Early this month, organizers from Alabama and around the country convened a training session for immigrant leaders in rural Albertville, where chicken plants rely heavily on Latino labor. They went from trailer home to trailer home, signing up volunteers to build immigrant networks that will help people protect one another while fighting for repeal of the law and integrating themselves into the life of their state.

This fledgling movement has been embraced by the N.A.A.C.P., whose leaders in Birmingham met recently with immigrant advocates to stress the need for blacks and Latinos to unite against the law. “Jim Crow is dead,” the Rev. Anthony Alann Johnson told the group, “but his cousins are still alive.”

A Hopeful Counter-current

2011-11-11T12:17:00.001-05:00

The ousting of Arizona's self-appointed Demagogue-in-Chief, Russell Pearce, is a hopeful counter-current to the nativist backlash of punitive laws like those enacted in Arizona, Alabama, Georgia and underway in other states.

Pearce was the architect of Arizona's SB1070, a bill which has become a model for regressive forces across the nation. Despite widespread protests that the law condoned racial profiling, polls showed a slight majority of Americans favored the measure. Now, the very constituents who elected Pearce have voted him out. Is this a sign of a change in attitude?

More likely, the voters in Pearce's district have grown weary of a heavy-handed politician whose methods alienated many and whose policies brought an economic backlash as many groups boycotted Arizona over Pearce's nativist legislative agenda. And perhaps that is the object lesson in this development.

Economic pressure may be a more powerful force for change than moral suasion.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

Florida policy subverts the 14th Amendment and adds to troubled future

2011-11-06T05:54:00.002-05:00

The 14^thAmendment to the U.S. constitution states that anyone born on U.S. soil is acitizen, a right which many nativists have sought to overturn for the childrenof undocumented immigrants. While most of these challenges have come throughcongress, the state of Florida enacted a policy in 2009 that subverts a law thathas stood for over 140 years. Put most simply, Florida denies U.S. citizens bornto undocumented parents their legal right to pay in-state tuition rates -- evenwhen these young people have met residency requirements including graduatingfrom state high schools.

Now, fivestudents born in the U.S. to undocumented parents are suing the state. In a USAToday article Michael Hethmon, director of the ImmigrationReform Law Institute states: "As thequestion of illegal immigration remains unresolved, it becomes an obviousflashpoint and you'll see issues like this coming up repeatedly in the comingyears."

Those “comingyears” will forge a generation of young Latinos for whom prejudice will seem ascommonplace as smart phones. In less than 15 years, one in four young peopleentering their volatile late teens will be Latinos. If we see a continuation ofthe implicit discrimination of nativist excesses like this Florida policy andthe harsh laws already in place in Arizona, Alabama, Georgia and other states,we can expect a troubled future.

As my previousessay makes clear, history shows we are approaching the conditions to createa generation of political activists – or even cadres of revolutionaries.

Raul Ramos ySanchez

Occupy movement could be a glimpse into future Latino turmoil

2011-11-03T09:02:00.003-04:00

As I watchthe Occupy movement make national headlines, I see the foreshadowing of another potential political upheaval on the horizon – one that will put Latinos at the center of the turmoil. Let me explain why.

The Occupy phenomenonspreading across the U.S. underscores an often-ignored fact about political movements:Revolutions are rarely instigated by the downtrodden. They are usually createdby affluent, educated young people.

Examine politicalupheavals present and past and the trend is inescapable. This year’s ArabSpring… China’s democracy movement culminating in Tiananmen Square… theoverthrow of the Shah of Iran… Castro’s revolution in Cuba… In all of thesediverse societies, and many others, the rebellions were led by disaffected youngpeople motivated more by ideology more than personal need. Fact is, the poorare usually too concerned with survival to worry about abstract notions like justiceand equality. My personal history bears testament to this insight.

My father was a young man with rootsin Cuba's working class, the first of his family to attend college. The educationhis parents worked so hard to provide for him opened my father’s eyes to theinequity and corruption of Cuban society during the reign of strongmanFulgencio Batista. Ironically, my father’s role in Castro’s revolution led tohis divorce from my mother and brought me to the United States.

How does allthis connect with Latinos? I think by now you may be getting the picture.

One of everyfour children under age five in the U.S. today is Hispanic according to the Census Bureau. By the time this cohort reaches their late teens, most will be fluent inEnglish and well steeped in U.S. ideals. Many will have grown up seeing theirparents struggle to make a living in a nation that tells them anything ispossible. If present trends continue, these young people will also reach their teensin a political climate that puts all Latinos in the crosshairs thanks to abacklash against illegal immigration – and the thinly veiled racism thatmovement has engendered.

Will theseyoung Latinos reach their volatile late teens meekly accepting their fate? Orwill they follow a pattern seen in scores of other cultures and lead arebellion? One thing is certain. We will not prevent this turmoil withrepressive laws that alienate Latinos like those adopted by Arizona, Alabama and other states.

Illegalimmigration is an issue that conservative politicians are using to pander votesfrom the ignorant, the fearful and the bigoted. But this short term political gain may have longrange consequences. The Occupy movement may one day be seen as the harbinger of amuch more turbulent future.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

Teaching and learning at the Wisconsin Book Festival

2011-10-24T22:30:00.004-04:00

Two back-to-back workshops I co-hosted at the Wisconsin Book Festival on Saturday, October 22 were opportunities for me to share the knowledge I gathered while researching my novels -- and to learn from those attending the sessions and sharing the podium with me.

My co-host Mario Garcia-Sierra (last row, right) brought a group of Latino teens for a spirited session that covered history, current events and their personal dreams for the future.

The first workshop, Voices of Immigration, was co-hosted by community activist Mario Garcia-Sierra. The session encouraged Latino teens in the Madison area to nurture their dreams while coping with the challenges they will encounter in a society that often marginalizes them.

During the second workshop, I shared the podium with Professor Ruben Medina from the University of Wisconsin.

The second workshop, Voices from the Border, gave a primarily mainstream audience two diverse perspective of the Latino experience. Professor Ruben Medina, chair of the Spanish and Portuguese department at the University of Wisconsin, read from his evocative and often sardonic poems. In contrast was the social commentary presented by my novels set in the thriller genre.

The Wisconsin Book Festival took place at numerous venues for over 200 authors in Madison.

I want to thank the Wisconsin Book Festival for inviting me -- and the opportunity to teach and learn. The Festival team has done a marvelous job with the project, now in its tenth year. The carefully orchestrated event reflected the many, many hours spent in organizing dozens of venues for over 200 authors. I hope the Festival planners are proud of their work. I am certainly proud to be have taken part.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

Political Theater At Its Worst

2011-08-30T03:40:00.008-04:00

In 1963, before the cameras of the national media, Governor George Wallace struck a belligerent pose at the entrance to the University of Alabama to block the admittance of two African-American students. The governor's high-profile political theater came to a dramatic final act as President John F. Kennedy federalized the Alabama National Guard who escorted students Vivian Malone and James Hood into the school. His role in the kabuki drama complete, Governor Wallace stepped aside, having fulfilled his campaign promise: "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever."

Shortly after the announced release of Alabama's punitive new law targeting unauthorized immigrants, a federal judge in Birmingham has temporarily halted the ordinance. The authors of this law knew full well their legislation would be challenged in federal court. Sadly for the residents of an ailing Alabama, they will bear the brunt of legal costs for a law that will do little to improve their lot in life even if it were approved intact by the federal courts.

The paucity of need for this draconian law only proves its real intent: to scapegoat a minority as a distraction to real problems. Alabama ranks 31st among states in estimated number of undocumented immigrants. The total number of undocumented workers in Alabama is 120,000 or approximately 5% of the state's labor force according to the Pew Hispanic Center. At the same time, Alabama is a perennial cellar dweller in most social indices measuring health, education and poverty. The state is hardly a magnet for migration of any kind.

Like Governor Wallace's political posturing in 1963, this new law is another grandstand play pandering for the votes of the fearful, ignorant and insecure. The many fine people of conscience in Alabama will have to live down another act of political theater that will one day be as reviled as Governor Wallace's shameful 1963 performance.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

Alabama joins the Hall of Shame -- again

2011-08-29T09:08:00.011-04:00

The state of Alabama where Governor George Wallace once proudly claimed "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever," has enacted the nation's harshest anti-immigrant law, keeping alive a shameful tradition of unvarnished prejudice.

Anyone who doubts this law is little more than legislated prejudice should consider this: The total number of undocumented workers in Alabama is 120,000 or approximately 5% of the state's labor force according to the Pew Hispanic Center. Alabama ranks 31st among states in estimated number of undocumented immigrants. Moreover, unauthorized immigration has declined sharply across the U.S. since the mid-decade. So this is hardly a pressing economic or social issue in Alabama. This is about stoking xenophobia for political gain.

The new Alabama law gives legal precendence to a widely spread nativist myth: It makes working without a visa a crime. In truth, working without "papers" is not a felony or even a misdemeanor. It is a civil violation, like jaywalking or simple speeding.

But that inconvenient truth has not stopped Alabama's legislators from wading into the filthy pit of bigotry in hopes of pandering votes from the ignorant and hateful.

According to the New York Times, the law "effectively makes it a crime to be an undocumented immigrant in Alabama, by criminalizing working, renting a home and failing to comply with federal registration laws that are largely obsolete. It nullifies any contracts when one party is an undocumented immigrant. It requires the police to check the papers of people they suspect to be here illegally.

The new regime does not spare American citizens. Businesses that knowingly employ illegal immigrants will lose their licenses. Public school officials will be required to determine students’ immigration status and report back to the state. Anyone knowingly “concealing, harboring or shielding” an illegal immigrant could be charged with a crime, say for renting someone an apartment or driving her to church or the doctor."

Unfortunately, it's likely we will see more of these laws. Arizona, Utah, Indiana and Georgia have already joined the Hall of Shame and passed similar hate-mongering legislation. At a time when we should be recognizing and embracing our diversity, many mainstream Americans are building barricades to protect what they mistakenly perceive as a threat to their primacy.

This knee-jerk reaction has been repeated numerous times throughout U.S. history. Beginning with Benjamin Franklin's tirades against the newly-arriving Germans in Pennsylvannia, through the hatred and violence heaped on subsequent immigrant groups from Ireland, Italy and Eastern Europe, everytime the U.S. foreign born population tops ten percent, it spawns a round of nativist backlash.

Perhaps most astonishing is the consistency of the nativist laments. Without fail, each newly-arriving group is accused of being unwilling to assimilate, of breeding faster than the native born, and of bringing disease, crime and corruption.

Sadly, it seems we will suffer through another shameful spasm of fear and hatred once again.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

Is the turmoil in England a glimpse into our own future?

2011-08-10T07:30:00.001-04:00

The roots of the turmoil in England are a combination of demographics, an economic downturn and short-sighted government policies. The U.S. is potentially headed for a similar perfect storm and the rapidly growing Latino youth population will likely be at the center of it.

One quarter of the children under 18 in the U.S. today are Latinos. It is not hard to imagine that generation reaching their late teens and early twenties alienated by prejudice directed against the undocumented (which by extension tars all Latinos). Should the economy continue to tank, this growing number of young people will find themselves frustrated and bored, another volatile element. Finally, without humane government policies which seek to nurture our human resources rather than condemn the less fortunate, they will be left wiith little hope or opportunity.

What we are seeing in England could be a glimpse of our own future -- unless we act sensibly and humanely.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

The idea of a National Latino Museum stirs bigotry -- and demonstrates its need

2011-06-07T08:59:00.017-04:00

The public comments to a recent New York Times editorial segment debating the need for a National Latino Museum quickly descended into predictable xenophobic diatribes. Here are just a few examples:

"...it's inherently racist in and of itself, towards a mostly white population who rightly regard the immigration epidemic from south of the border as a national crisis. "

"Next someone will propose a museum to illegal immigrants."

"What have latinos done to contribute anything to the US. I'll tell you. Nothing, nada. They pour over our borders, pump their women full of new born babies who instantly become US citizens just because they were born here."

"...while there have been some contributions [by Latinos to U.S. society], they are not substantial enough to warrant any major mention within the whole."

"It is unfortunate that the majority of Hispanic contributions are in the area of pop culture."

Seeing the overt ignorance and bigotry toward Latinos in these comments (and in countless other venues) along with the confusing ideas of what "Hispanic" really means is ample evidence that we need a National Latino museum.

To begin with, Latino or Hispanic is not a race. In fact, it's an identity that exists solely within the borders of the United States. The only "official" definition of Hispanic is that of the U.S. Census Bureau. It clearly states Hispanics may be "persons of any race." Yet, every day the media carries reports that divide the U.S. into four quasi-racial categories: White, Black, Asian and Hispanic. Examining each of these in detail only underscores their absurdity.

White: People with similar phenotypes with origins from a vast number of countries speaking different languages

Hispanic: People with a vast variety of phenotypes with origins from Spanish-speaking countries

Asian: People with similar phenotypes from nations speaking different languages -- except for those from India who have completely different phenotypes but are still included as Asian.

Black: Anyone who has a single ancestor of Sub-Saharan African descent, regardless of any other ancestry -- except when the ancestor is from a Spanish-speaking nation, which then makes them Hispanic.

At one time, Jews, Irish, Italians and even Germans were considered "non-white" in North America. Today, all these groups have lost their outsider status and have been transformed into "whites".

If properly curated, a National Latino Museum would help dispel many of the myths surrounding the Hispanic identity and reduce mainstream fears of becoming a minority. We need to know more about who Hispanics really are -- not less. Because there is one fact we all agree on: The people labeled Latinos will soon be a significant portion of the United States.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

Teacher calms kindergarten students as bullets fly outside

2011-05-31T05:49:00.004-04:00

On May 27 in Monterrey, Mexico a gunfight between rival cartels erupted in the street outside the kindergarten class taught by Martha Rivera Alinas. As they had been trained, the teacher and the children took refuge on the floor.

With the sounds of automatic weapons shattering the air, Martha calmed her frightened pre-school students, reassuring them with terms of endearment and leading them in a song.

"Nothing bad is going to happen here, precious ones," Martha told the class. "Put your little faces on the floor."

Five people were killed in the shootout outside. Thanks in no small part to the steady reaction of this teacher, none of the children were hurt.

Someone once said courage is grace under pressure. That could not be more true of Martha Rivera Alanis. Moments like these reminds us that for every ruthless cartel gunman there are many more decent, caring souls like this brave teacher.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

Social Media resurrected story about Marine slain by AZ SWAT team

2011-05-27T18:51:00.012-04:00

The shooting death of Jose Guerena at the hands of a Pima Regional SWAT team happened on May 5. At first, the Sheriff's office reported that some of the SWAT team members had seen muzzle flashes and claimed Jose Guerena fired first. This was later proved false. Four days after the questionable killing, details of the incident were sealed by a judge, barring any further investigation. The story appeared to fade.

But late last week, the story hit critical mass on social media sites. Using Twitter, Facebook and hundreds of blogs across the U.S., outraged citizens asked for answers, unwilling to accept the apparent cover-up of the facts by the Pima County Sheriff's office. Yesterday, the Sheriff's office released over 500 pages of documents and a video that attempts to exonerate their actions on May 5th. Today, the major news sources listed below are covering the Jose Guerena story. Hopefully, more will soon follow.

ABC News

Fox News

CNN

New York Daily News

Forbes

I applaud everyone on social media who spoke out. You helped shed the light of justice into this case. But this is not the time to let up. We need to press for a federal investigation. This questionable incident demands that unbiased outside observers examine the actions of the Pima Regional SWAT team on May 5th.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

Why was Latino Former Marine shot 60 times by Arizona SWAT team?

2011-05-23T21:52:00.014-04:00

Another Latino has been shot dead in an Arizona home invasion – and the national media is once again ignoring the story. It happened on May 5 and the news is only now surfacing outside the Arizona media through citizen journalism on blogs, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.

According to the Arizona Daily Star...

Jose Guerena, 26, a former Marine, was sleeping after the graveyard shift at Asarco Mission mine about 9:30 a.m. when his wife woke him saying she heard noises outside and a man was at their window. Guerena told his wife to hide in a closet with their 4-year-old son, his wife has said. He grabbed an AR-15 rifle and moments later was slumped in the kitchen, mortally wounded from a hail of gunfire.

Jose was shot 60 times by members of the Pima Regional SWAT team. His bullet riddled body was found by his wife Vanessa and their four-year-old son, Joel. “Mom, my dad was a bad guy? What did my dad do?'" asked Joel according to Vanessa. Her desperate 911 call to save her husband’s life was recorded on a chilling YouTube video.

The explanation by the Pima County Sheriff’s office for the home invasion has changed since the May 5 shooting. First reports by the Sheriff’s office were that the SWAT team’s mission was to break up a suspected drug ring and that Jose fired his weapon before the SWAT team fired back. That story was later reversed when it was discovered the safety on Jose's AR-15 was still locked. The motive for the SWAT team’s mission was then changed by the Sheriff’s office, which now says that "someone in the home" had been suspected of a connection with a home invasion robbery ring. The search warrant and court documents that would reveal what the SWAT team was looking for in Guerena's home have been sealed by a judge and are unavailable to the public.

No drugs, cash or criminal evidence of any kind were found in the home. Neither Jose nor his wife Vanessa has a criminal record. In an attempt to discredit Guerena’s character, a lawyer for the AZCOPS law-enforcement union, Michael Storie, told the media that rifles, handguns, body armor and a portion of a law-enforcement uniform were found inside the house where Jose Guerena was shot. However, Storie was forced to admit that if SWAT members had entered the home without incident, those inside "probably ... wouldn't have been arrested."

Ironically, Pima County Sheriff Clarence W. Dupnik was highly critical of right wing talk radio following the Tucson shooting of Representative Gabrielle Giffords in January, saying that Arizona had become "a mecca for prejudice and bigotry" thanks to the “vitriol” spread by far-right pundits. Sheriff Dupnik is now stonewalling requests for more details about the case but implied Guerena should not have resisted.

Although virtually ignored by the national media, most Latinos in Arizona know about the 2009 home invasion by Shawna Forde and her Minutemen accomplices posing as Border Patrol agents that led to the shooting death of 9-year-old Brisenia Flores and her father. So it’s not surprising José Guerena would have reached for his rifle to defend his family.

Jose served two tours of duty as a decorated Marine in Iraq. He returned from service no doubt grateful to have survived the firefights in that war-torn nation. In a cruel twist of fate, he would die in a hail of bullets in his own home.

This tragic story is shocking and sad. Sadder still is that this tragedy has found no "bounce" in the national media. Had this two-hitch Iraq veteran been named Grady instead of Guerena, I think it would have made headlines across the country.

No federal investigation of the actions by the Pima County SWAT team is planned at this time. And without any significant national media coverage of this questionable incident, that is likely how it will remain.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

A review of “Black in Latin America” Episode Four

2011-05-23T04:11:00.012-04:00

Episode four of “Black in Latin America” by Harvard’s Henry Louis Gates, Jr. focuses on the identity and history of those of Sub-Saharan African descent in Mexico and Peru. Like the previous three episodes in this breakthrough series, Dr. Gates takes viewers into new territory for most in the United States. For those of us who have been swimming against the powerful tide of Latino stereotypes in the U.S. media, the series is a welcome counter-current.

With a focus on Mexico and Peru, episode four of the series traces the African ancestry in two nations where even many Latinos are unaware of the existence of people with African roots. While this episode accomplished its mission in raising awareness of the black presence in these nations, the historical background was covered in very broad strokes and lacked nuance, understandable in a 51-minute documentary.

One of the most salient features of episode four takes place in the Costa Chica region which Dr. Gates reports as Mexico “blackest” population center. As we watch footage of the locals, it’s much more difficult to find people whose outward appearance indicates Sub-Saharan African ancestry than, say, Brazil or Cuba. No mention of this phenomenon is made by Dr. Gates nor is any explanation given. This scarcity of African phenotypes seems especially striking as Dr. Gates accurately reports that nearly a half-million African slaves were imported into Mexico until 1833 when slavery was abolished. Here is where a greater insight into Latin American history would have helped.

Spanish colonization of the Americas stands in sharp contrast to that of the English. The Spaniards began colonizing the Americas nearly a century earlier than the English. More significantly, Spaniards were looking for the largest – and wealthiest – concentrations of native people to conquer and convert to their religion. After exploring the Caribbean along with North and South America, the Spanish conquistadores found these prizes in the civilizations of the Aztecs in Mexico and the Incas of Peru. In 1521 Hernan Cortes overthrew the Aztec rulers in Mexico, setting the pattern for a society consisting of large numbers of indigenous people dominated by a minority of Europeans. Cortes was soon copied by Francisco Pizarro with the Incas in Peru in 1533. These historical facts explain why Sub-Saharan phenotypes are less prevalent in Mexico despite its importation of over 500,000 African slaves. The reason is sheer numbers.

Unlike Cuba, Brazil and other Latin American regions where indigenous populations were sparse (and further decimated by European diseases), the genes of a half-million African slaves were absorbed into the millions of Native American people living in Mexico. Today, the descendants of those Mexican slaves are much more genetically mixed than in many other parts of Latin America.

English colonists, arriving along the coast of North America because it was the shortest route from England across the Atlantic, typically came in family groups from all walks of life. Unlike the Spanish conquistadors who were mostly single men, the English had little use for the indigenous people as sources of brides or labor. What the English wanted most from the natives was their land. As a result, Native Americans were pushed westward through war and treaties by racially-segregated Anglo communities. Later, as lucrative plantation crops like tobacco, rice and cotton increased the demand for cheap labor, the English colonists entered the African slave trade on a large scale. This was the basis of the black-white racial dichotomy that would become the norm in the U.S. until late in the twentieth century. It is against this yardstick that Dr. Gates often measures race relations in Latin America during the series. This preconception is one of the shortcomings of the series.

Another recurring weakness marring “Black in Latin America” is an abundance of mistakes in cultural references. Throughout the series there are errors in indentifying music, places and food. In addition, Dr. Gates often slaughters Spanish pronunciations, something which could have been easily avoided with the help of a consultant. In truth, there are other U.S. scholars of African descent who are fluent in Spanish as well as Portuguese and have a much deeper understanding of Afro-Latino history and culture who might have been better hosts for the series. (Dr. Franklin W. Knight of Johns Hopkins University comes to mind.)

All the same, “Black in Latin America” is a landmark television event. Dr. Gates has used his considerable media acumen to help enlighten the U.S. public about a topic woefully ignored. I hope the series is the start of a growing awareness and discussion about the diversity of Latinos, our African roots, and the racism that still haunts all the nations of the Americas.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

Bon Voyage! (Please leave your possessions for the needy).

2011-05-21T08:33:00.000-04:00

For those leaving by way of Rapture today … Bon Voyage!

Before you go, though, I’d like to make a small request. You see, those of us who will be hanging around here on earth could use some of those worldly possessions you won’t need as you ascend into heaven—particularly the needy.

So instead of giving any more of your cash to the likes of Harold Camping (who will be leading you into heaven), how about you make some last minute cash donations to charity? It is the Christian thing to do, after all.

If you don’t have a favorite charity, Charity Navigator is great source for finding charities you can trust. Or just invite your neighbors in to take whatever they want from your home. With all the earthquakes, floods and whatnot we can expect back here on earth, every little bit will help.

Thanks and have a pleasant trip.

A "Class H" citizen named Schwarzenegger

2011-05-19T08:33:00.006-04:00

Governor Schwarzenegger's son with his Latina housekeeper is a Class H citizen. Allow me to explain.

In my cautionary tales, AMERICA LIBRE and HOUSE DIVIDED, a near-future US is wracked by widespread unrest in Latino communities across the nation, leading to violent clashes between right wing extremists and Latino separatists. In response to the unrest, a US Senator (of the same ilk as today's Arizona legislature) succeeds in passing legislation to divide the warring factions. Among the draconian measures enacted is a new legal classification: Class H -- (H for Hispanic).

Class H designation is given to anyone with a Spanish surname or at least one parent of Hispanic origin. Anyone with a Hispanic spouse is also included. Class H status comprises two categories: citizens and non-citizens. Immediate deportation awaits anyone designated Class H who is not an American citizen. To expedite their relocation, Class H citizens are required to register their home addresses within thirty days with the CIA. Failure to comply will bring a ten thousand-dollar fine and three years’ imprisonment.

Like former New Mexico governor Bill Richards whose mother is of Mexican origin, the son of Governor Schwarzenegger and his housekeeper would be classified Class H under this system.

Yet, in many ways, we already have a Class H system in place.

In the media, news reports and even some academic circles, the US population is divided into four demographic categories: White, Black, Asian and Hispanic. The inherent presumption of these categories is that "Hispanic" is a racial group separate from the other three. The truth is much more complex.

The U.S. Census Bureau states "persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race." Still, it's common even for Latinos to identify themselves as part of "La Raza." But no matter how widespread, the idea of a Hispanic race has no basis in fact. Like the United States, the nations of Latin America have been populated by a mix of people from all over the world along with their indigenous populations. Latin American is no more a race than North American.

My novels serve as a warning to the dangers the US faces when demagogues demonize illegal immigrants -- and alienate the entire Latino population in the process. Another of the problems we face is a colossal misunderstanding of what it truly means to be Latino.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

A radical idea to save Detroit: Bring in more immigrants.

2011-05-18T06:12:00.003-04:00

Excerpts from a New York Times editorial.

Speaking on “Meet the Press” on NBC earlier this month, New York Mayor Michael Bloombergsuggested that Congress “pass a law letting immigrants come in as long as they agree to go to Detroit and live there for five or 10 years, start businesses, take jobs, whatever. You would populate Detroit overnight because half the world wants to come here.”

That was certainly the experience of New York City, which was on life support in the 1970s until a transfusion of immigrant energy and entrepreneurship brought it roaring back.

Renewal by immigrants is the fundamental American narrative, the story of people in ships, then covered wagons, coming to settle and make fruitful a land that rewarded their courage and grit. Except now that story is scorned and discarded, along with many of those immigrants.

Carlos Santana scolds Georgia for new immigration law

2011-05-17T08:17:00.000-04:00

(Excerpts from an article by Charles Odum, Associated Press)

ATLANTA — Carlos Santana on Sunday used baseball's annual Civil Rights Game as a platform to admonish Georgia and Arizona for their new immigration laws.

The Grammy-winning musician said he was representing immigrants before adding: "The people of Arizona, and the people of Atlanta, Georgia, you should be ashamed of yourselves."

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal on Friday signed a bill that cracks down on illegal immigration in the state. The bill requires many employers to check the immigration status of new hires and authorizes law enforcement officers to check the immigration status of some suspects.

Georgia's new law shares some similarities to one enacted last year in Arizona.

"This law is not correct. It's a cruel law, actually," Santana said in an impromptu news conference after the ceremony. "This is about fear. Stop shucking and jiving. People are afraid we're going to steal your job. No we aren't. You're not going to change sheets and clean toilets."

Added Santana: "This is the United States. This is the land of the free. If people want the immigration laws to keep passing, then everybody should get out and leave the American Indians here."

Ohioanna Book Festival Report

2011-05-09T08:18:00.002-04:00

My second appearance the Ohioanna Book Festival in Columbus, Ohio was another of those moments when the rewards of being an author become most evident. The event was impeccably planned and the festival staff was cheerful and attentive.

Attendance was brisk throughout most of the day and gave authors and readers a chance to discuss their books in person, something rare outside of book store signings. Moreover, having such a diverse group of authors in one place was a treat for me as well. Like the readers who attended, I too enjoyed the chance to chat with authors about the content of their work and the craft behind it.

On break from duty at my assigned table, I recorded a TV interview with Lissy Estrada, a new addition to the Telemundo affiliate in Columbus that will soon be airing locally produced content. Also interviewed by Lissy and producer Jason Perkins was distinguished poet Lou Suarez.

Poet Lou Suarez, Lissete Estrada of Telemundo and a sleep-deprived author

I want to publicly thank Beth Poley and Linda Hengst of the Ohioanna Book Festival for the work they do for Ohio authors and their kind invitation to attend the festival.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

In Columbus for Ohioanna Book Festival Saturday

2011-05-06T09:59:00.001-04:00

If you are in the Columbus, Ohio area Saturday May 7, hope you can stop by and say hello. I will be at the Ohioanna Book Festival along with 70+ other Ohio authors greeting readers and signing books.

Free and open to the public
10:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
OHIOANA BOOK FESTIVAL at Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center
Doors open to public at 9:45 a.m.
Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center
546 Jack Gibbs Blvd.
Columbus, OH 43215

Ohioanna website

Black in Latin America - Episode Two Review

2011-05-03T02:23:00.006-04:00

In episode two of Black in Latin America, Harvard scholar Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. makes an admirable attempt to portray the long and complex history of Cuba's racial identity in less than an hour. Naturally, some elements are missing or compressed.

One notable omission is an explanation for the absence of any significant indigenous ancestry among Cuba's population. The main reason for this is the tragic epidemics brought by European diseases following the arrival of Columbus in 1492. Cuba’s natives had no immunities to European diseases such as smallpox, influenza and measles. Within 100 years after the first contact with Europeans, virtually the entire population of the sparsely populated island had died. As a result, most Cubans are descendants of European and African ancestors. This stands in contrast to many Latin American nations including the nearest neighbor to the United States, Mexico, where a majority of people are of indigenous and European descent.

Another of the episode's historical abbreviations is attributing the growth of African slavery in Cuba solely to the sugar plantation economy. Even before sugar became the white gold of the Caribbean mined by Spain, France and England with the blood and sweat of African slaves on the archipelago's islands, colonial Cuba had a shortage of laborers. As noted previously, the massive deaths of the indigenous populations compelled the often-haughty Spanish colonizers to import African slaves for agricultural and domestic labor. So the African influx into Cuba began earlier than the sugar plantation juggernaut of the late 1700s, albeit at a much reduced pace.

Despite these understandable omissions, I believe the essence of Dr. Gates’ reporting is accurate. Cuba has never lived up to Jose Marti's ideal of a racially egalitarian society "by all and for all." Nor is Cuba the socialist racial paradise Castro would have you believe. But as a Cuban, I take pride in our diverse heritage and the progress the island has made toward the ideals on which an independent Cuba was founded. Cuba still has a very long way to go before those ideals are met. All the same, there is a lot the United States can learn from this small island when it comes to race relations.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

Not a Time To Celebrate

2011-05-02T09:54:00.003-04:00

The news of Osama bin Laden's death caught me totally unprepared. I imagine I am not alone. Osama bin Laden's name and face had become a relic of a time ten years ago when I was gripped by anger and anguish along with the rest of the nation.

After the shock of the 9-11 attacks passed, my reaction had been one of belligerence. I could not wait to fly again. I wanted the chance to show those fanatics who wanted to change my world that I would not cringe in fear. The depths of my hatred went so far as to imagine creating a cartoon of Osama bin Laden being sodomized by a pig. That's how angry I was at this man who had taken the lives of so many innocents because he felt morally superior to them.

Over time, that anger was tempered by the realization that there were leaders in the U.S. who were using these feelings of revenge to settle a personal political score with Saddam Hussein while deluding themselves with Clauswitzian geo-political claptrap. When the mission in Afghanistan was eclipsed by an unprovoked invasion of Iraq, the realization we were being hoodwinked was complete. I began to see Osama bin Laden as a dangerous lunatic made almost irrelevant by an equally dangerous foreign policy that would eventually cause many more deaths than the 9-11 attacks.

So the news of the bin Laden's death, while possibly the biggest story of this young century, seems empty of real consequence. (Somewhat fittingly, bin Laden's death overshadowed another gargantuan media frenzy devoid of any real meaning, the royal wedding.) Still, I was disturbed by the public reaction to bin Laden's death.

A death is never cause for celebration, even when the death is that of someone who had self-righteously ordered the deaths of thousands of innocents in the name of God. Most of those I saw celebrating were young people who were probably too young to grasp the tragedy of 9-11 when it happened and are too immature today to grasp how tawdry their behavior might appear to those who were truly touched by the suffering Osama bin Laden caused.

I cannot speak for those who lost loved ones in the 9-11 attacks. But I doubt many of them were among the cheering throngs gaily celebrating bin Laden's death like a college pep rally.

In reflecting on this act of justice, I'm left with the sobering realization that those who take pleasure in the taking of a life are only perpetuating the endless cycle of violence that has haunted our species and that we must eventually outgrow.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

New America Media Radio Interview

2011-05-01T06:14:00.002-04:00

During a visit to San Francisco last week, I had the privilege of being featured by New American Media producer Shirin Sadeghi in a radio interview with Irma Herrera aired on KALW 91.7 FM. Founded in 1996 by Pacific News Service, New America Media is a nationwide association of over 3000 ethnic media organizations representing the development of a more inclusive journalism. Along with being broadcast over the radio, my interview has been archived as a podcast on the New American Media website. You can listen below to the interview aired on Friday, April 29 and Sunday, May 1, 2011.

LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW

Over the last week, I've had the good fortune to appear in TV interview in Los Angeles and a radio interview in San Francisco. Now, I'm back in Ohio where my next appearance will be at the Ohioanna Book Festival next week. I want to once again express my thanks to my family, friends and colleagues for their support in launching HOUSE DIVIDED.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

Behind the scenes at my Telemundo interview

2011-04-29T03:02:00.005-04:00

Thanks to the kind invitation from an NBC/Universal exec (whose name I will withhold in the interest of privacy), I had the privilege of appearing on En Contexto, the acclaimed Spanish-language news and commentary show hosted by veteran journalist Ruben Luengas airing nightly at 11PM PT on WKEA Channel 52 in Los Angeles. Below are some behind the scenes moments caught by my sister Ronda who accompanied me for the live interview on Wednesday April 27.

Avoiding glare on the guest's extensive forehead was a challenge for the makeup artist.

This photo was captured by my sister from the monitor in the green room.

My sister Ronda and the guest pose with the peacock.

Four TV stations share the NBC complex in Los Angeles which is longer than a Tiger Woods tee shot. Fortunately, we were able to park close to the En Contexto studio. The golf carts inside the facility were an indication that not all visitors were so lucky. Walking through the corridors, led by our producer, we saw an assortment of backdrops and props lining the walls. After reaching the En Contexto studio, we found the show's producers, staff and host to be gracious and calm under the pressure of airing a live broadcast.

To all my friends who've requested more background reports on these events, my deepest thanks for your interest and support. I will post the interview video when it is available.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

Late Night TV Interview Wednesday April 27

2011-04-26T13:54:00.004-04:00

Veteran journalist Ruben Luengas will interview me Wednesday night on his award winning Spanish-language news and commentary television show, En Contexto on KVEA Telemundo 52 in Los Angeles. We will be discussing the controversial topics of immigration and the Latino identity explored in my second novel HOUSE DIVIDED. You can watch live online at the link below. Hope you can join us -- especially if you're an Eastern timezone insomniac. I'll have you asleep in no time.

Wednesday April 27

2AM Eastern - 11PM Pacific

KVEA Channel 52 - Los Angeles

Watch live online HERE

Hope you can join us!

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

Black in Latin America - Episode One Review

2011-04-24T10:37:00.008-04:00

I applaud Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. for exposing U.S. viewers to the diversity of Latin America's people in this landmark series. When most U.S. citizens think of a Latino, they rarely picture someone black. This series broadens our understanding of the very complex identity of people from Spanish-speaking countries, an identity that is usually oversimplified into misleading racial stereotypes in the U.S. media. Just like the United States, Latin America's population is composed of immigrants from every corner of the planet along with indigenous local people and African slaves. Moreover, the blending of ancestries is not even mix across Latin America--often showing a predominance of one ancestral group within regions of a single country. It is in this respect, that the first episode of Dr. Gates' series displayed some shortcomings.

The scenes from the first episode in the Dominican Republic were shot in a section of Santo Domingo where most of the people are of African descent. A visit by Dr. Gates to other parts of the Dominican Republic where European or indigenous ancestry are more common would have broadened the U.S. public's perspective of the nation's diversity.

In a more serious shortcoming of this episode, Dr. Gates appeared to judge the people of African descent in the Dominican Republic according to his own racial standards by implying they were in denial about their heritage because they did not abide by the U.S. "one drop rule" for establishing black identity. Dr. Gates seemed to find it troubling that people of mixed ancestry (like Dr. Gates himself), would not accept the same identity he embraced.

Most scholars agree that "race" is primarily a social construct. In reality, the labels White, Black, Asian and Hispanic (which most Americans accept as legitimate racial/ethnic categories) are simply identities that exist primarily within the borders of the United States. Outside the United States, the nations and people lumped within these arbitrary categories show little propensity for unity. Although unintended, I feel Dr. Gates imposed some of his own nationalistic hubris in this episode.

Despite these flaws, I support Dr. Gates and his attempt to broaden our perspectives. The most important thing he has done is to open our eyes -- and open a dialog.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

Black in Latin America

2011-04-18T09:25:00.001-04:00

Collaborator on my public TV film project, Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., introduces a series on Afro-Latinos--a group virtually invisible in the mainstream media and most discussions of Hispanics. This despite the fact more people of African descent in the Americas today speak Spanish or Portuguese rather than English. This must-see series starts tomorrow night on PBS.

Despite an alleged bias toward the left, the U.S. media is firmly entrenched in a racist mentality toward the people of Latin America. In most demographic reporting, people from Spanish-speaking countries are presumed to be a fourth homogeneous "race" called Hispanic along with White, Black and Asian. The reality is that the nations of Latin America are composed of people from Europe, Africa and Asia, just like the United States.

This show by Skip Gates exposes U.S. viewers to the long-ignored diversity of Latin America by focusing on the region's most overlooked ancestral thread in the U.S. media, the rich and powerful legacy of those of African descent.

I applaud Skip Gates for yet another media breakthrough.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

Arkansas Literary Festival

2011-04-11T10:12:00.001-04:00

Along with meeting new readers, the Arkansas Book Festival introduced me to the work of several authors I thought you'd like to know as well.

I've already started EXILES IN EDEN by Paul Reyes and am captivated by his poetic prose and unflinching insights into the human fallout of the toxic real estate assets accumulated by the nation's largest investment firms. Paul is contributing editor with Virgina Quarterly Review. His work has appeared in the Oxford American, Harper’s, the New York Times, Slate, The Los Angeles Times Book Review, Details, Men’s Vogue, and Mississippi Review. In 2010 he received a Literature Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Another author I met with a fascinating book premise is Robert Reising. He is co-author of CHASING MOONLIGHT, the real life story of the Doc "Moonlight" Graham character played by Burt Lancaster in FIELD OF DREAMS. Bob was catcher on Michigan State University's 1954 Big Ten Conference championship team. He went on to become the head baseball coach at Duke and Furman universities and the University of South Carolina. As a professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, he became the world's foremost scholar on Jim Thorpe.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez and Robert W. Reising

A third writer whose work I found intriguing is Matt de la Peña, a YA author with a unique perspective on the Latino experience for all young readers. His first novel, MEXICAN WHITE BOY, reveals the challenges of being a person who defies ethnic stereotypes.

My thanks again to the staff of the Arkansas Literary Festival for bringing readers and writers together and sharing the gift of the written word.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

Arkansas Literary Festival

2011-04-09T07:23:00.001-04:00

I awoke to a pleasant surprise. My session today at the Arkansas Literary Festival was featured on the event's home page. My thanks to the staff for this special recognition. I will be speaking today at 2:30pm about HOUSE DIVIDED and will provide another update following the presentation.

Arkansas Literary Festival

2011-04-08T20:01:00.001-04:00

On my first day at the Arkansas Literary Festival I had the privilege to address 9-12th grade students at Oak Grove High School in North Little Rock. I was impressed by their interest in writing and the sophistication of their questions. It is always heartening to meet with young people and come away with a feeling that our future is good hands. My thanks to the faculty and staff at Oak Grove and especially to my host, Library Media Specialist Lisa Polk.

Shortly, I'll heading to the author reception at the Arkansas Studies Institute. Tomorrow I will be presenting at the Main Library along with over seventy other others. Stay tuned for more news later.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

Strategy Session Interview on KPFK in Los Angeles

2011-03-22T22:48:00.002-04:00

At the request of those who missed the radio show live, here is a recording of my interview on KPFK's Strategy Session in Los Angeles with host Antonio Gonzalez from March 21, 2011.

Arizona Republicans say "no mas" to punitive immigration laws

2011-03-22T18:18:00.007-04:00

Faced with a sick economy made worse by a national boycott, Arizona Republicans finally saw the light. After a leading the nation into what many called 21st century Jim Crow laws, legislators in Phoenix pulled the plug on the latest wave of bigotry-posing-as-law. In a vote that included ten Senate Republicans, five new immigration control laws sponsored by Senator Russell Pearce went down in defeat.

Republican Senator John McComish said it best: “These immigration bills are a distraction.They could be a detriment to the growth of our economy, and they are something people don't want us to be focused on. It's time for us to take a timeout on immigration.”

Politicians in other states planning similar bills are now watching warily. The price of bigotry just went up.

Well see how many other demagogues are willing to gamble their political futures on bashing the nation's fastest growing voting group.

Read more at New America Media.

Back on KPFK's Strategy Session

2011-03-21T09:29:00.004-04:00

After a brief visit on March 7, I will be back on the air today with the host of KPFK's Strategy Session, Antonio Gonzalez. He is president of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, the largest and oldest non-partisan Latino voter participation organization in the U.S.founded in 1974. We'll be discussing my novels and their connection to immigration and the Latino identity. You can listen on the air in Los Angeles or online from anywhere at the link below. Hope you can join us!

Monday, March 21, 2011

4:30pm Pacific Time - 7:30pm Eastern Time

Listen Live

Online at http://www.kpfk.org/listen-live.html

On the air in Los Angeles on KPFK 90.7 FM

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Criticizes U.S. treatment of immigration detainees

2011-03-18T04:42:00.000-04:00

From the New York Times

Immigrant Detentions Draw International Fire

By KIRK SEMPLE

A cell that held a family in Texas in 2007.

Immigration enforcement in the United States is plagued by unjust treatment of detainees, including inadequate access to lawyers and insufficient medical care, and by the excessive use of prison-style detention, the human rights arm of the Organization of American States said Thursday.

The group, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, issued those findings in a report that also took aim at a federal program that allows county and state law enforcement officials to enforce federal immigration laws. The report said the government had failed to ensure that local police were not singling out people by race or detaining illegal immigrants on the pretext of investigating crimes.

The commission recommended that the federal government cancel the program, known as 287(g).

While many of the findings reiterated criticisms that have been made before by immigrant advocates and others, the report appeared to be the first comprehensive review of American immigration enforcement in recent years by an international body of the organization’s stature.

The commission, based in Washington, has no enforcement powers, but it has considerable moral authority and a record of cooperation by member countries, including the United States.

The 155-page report was based on hearings and research that began in 2008, including visits in July 2009 by a team of investigators to six American detention centers in Arizona and Texas.

Since much of the research was completed, however, the Obama administration has begun a major overhaul of the detention system. A month after the commission’s visits, immigration officials announced a sweeping plan to establish more centralized authority over the system and to renovate centers designed for penal detention to make them more appropriate for detainees facing deportation, particularly those accused of administrative violations.

The administration said it would also close centers that were rarely used or failed to meet its standards, and would consolidate the nation’s patchwork of detention centers to meet increasing demand in specific areas, especially near big cities. It also said it would explore alternatives to detention.

Felipe González, president of the commission, acknowledged those plans but said the commission would withhold judgment on the efficacy of the reforms. “According to the information that we have so far, it’s not clear that it’s been implemented or will satisfy the international standards” of human rights, he said in an interview.

The commission will continue monitoring immigration enforcement to ensure that its grievances were addressed, Mr. González added.

A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees enforcement, said Thursday that the department would review the report, and made no further comment.

Earlier, however, the Obama administration was given a draft. In their response, according to the report, administration officials pointed out that they had conducted their own comprehensive review of immigration enforcement and made “important changes.”

Still, the commission said it was “deeply troubled by the continual and widespread use of detention in immigration cases,” the report said.

“The Inter-American Commission is convinced that in many if not the majority of cases, detention is a disproportionate measure and the alternatives to detention programs would be a more balanced means of serving the State’s legitimate interest in ensuring compliance with immigration laws,” the report said.

Mr. González also expressed skepticism that the administration would provide less penal settings for immigrants held on administrative, rather than criminal, charges. “It’s not clear to us whether the new system will really mean that the facility will provide migrants in detention with a system that is fully respectful of human rights,” he said.

Mr. González said his commission was inspired to investigate the system after receiving numerous requests from human rights advocates and civil society organizations. The group, he added, is now planning to investigate other immigration detention systems in the hemisphere.

Egypt and Latinos in America…Is an Uprising Coming Here?

2011-03-17T11:23:00.002-04:00

This feature article from online news publication Hispanically Speaking News found parallels between the turmoil in Egypt and my novels AMERICA LIBRE and HOUSE DIVIDED.

Egypt and Latinos in America…Is an Uprising Coming Here?

March 17, 2011 | by HS News Staff

Unrest leads to protest, and protest can lead to change. This has not been any more apparent than the events that took place in Egypt. Middle-East experts are now watching the countries of Yemen and Libya to see how they take shape, but can the revolution spread to the United States?

Raul Ramos y Sanchez has written American Libre and its sequel House Divided, which illustrates a situation in which Hispanics in the United States could have such an uprising.

Sanchez says people seem to bypass events that happen around the world, unless something extreme is done. Twenty - four hour news cycles combined with the internet providing instant information has not only desensitized Americans, but has caused them to all but ignore injustice.

“Mubarak has been a dictator for 30 years. Once you have riots and see bleeding on the streets, then people start saying whet’s going on. That’s what’s going on in American Libre and House Divided,” said Sanchez. “[State governments] are now trying to pass a law changing the 14th amendment”

At least two U.S. senators have experimented with the idea of denying automatic citizenship to U.S. - born children of illegal immigrants.

GOP Senators, David Vitter of Louisiana and Rand Paul of Kentucky have introduced a measure to change the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution so that children born in the United States cannot become citizens unless one parent is already a citizen, legal immigrant or active member of the armed forces.

State legislators in Arizona and other states are preparing to challenge the rights to U.S. citizenship, hoping their state-by-state effort will eventually end up in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Currently, a child born on U.S. soil is a U.S. citizen regardless of whether or not their parents are U.S. citizens.

Rep. Knox (R-Montana) has proposed a bill that states a child must have at least one parent who “owes no allegiance to any foreign sovereignty.”

Knox said, “The 14th amendment was never intended to guarantee citizenship to those born here of parents who are not themselves citizens. It was never intended to create a symbolic anchor that allows parents and other family members who are not citizens themselves to pass into the country and access to our many well-intended social services.”

Opponents of the bill say the state has no right to interpret the U.S. Constitution, they also state Knox’s bill denies Montana citizenship to people who have dual citizenship.

Lawmakers in 40 states, aside from Arizona, are pursuing this bill “to correct the monumental misapplication of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution,” according to State Legislators for Legal Immigration.
-Ron Gould, a spokesman for SLLI says - “These folks are essentially gaming the system to put themselves ahead of the line,”

The proposed bill to end birthright citizenship suggests that the government creates a specialty birth certificate for babies whose parents can’t prove their citizenship.

Sanchez - who lives id Dayton - also argues the contrary that states such as Arizona say undocumented people cost the state billions of dollars.

“They say every day; each American household is paying 100 dollars to support an undocumented person. Then they say we will take all remittances by people sending money out of the country, but those who are undocumented will be afraid to apply”

The Cuban born Sanchez noted while lawmakers are continuing to sponsor anti-Latino legislation, it causes mistrust amongst Latino communities and their representatives, much like what has happened already in Cairo. Egypt.
“Its building: the day may come when there will be a Mubarak moment,” Sanchez said… “They will be in Los Angelos; they will be in Miami etc.”
Though Sanchez’s novels foresee a future of division, he is optimistic.

“I hope that my novel, American Libre and House Divided) will illustrate that before it happens,” said Sanchez. ”[Politicians} know that the areas of the country that are growing are also areas with high Latino populations.”

Reports have suggested the Internet was an important tool used by protesters in Egypt. Social networks such as Twitter and Facebook were used to organize times, dates, and rallying cries of protest. Cell phones were used to send text messages, video, and pictures around the world to illustrate what was actually happening in Egypt, despite the messages sent out through state television stations.

However, for an intermediate amount of time during the protest in Cairo, the internet and cell phones were shut down in the attempt to prevent information from leaving the country.

Along with technological censorship, foreign reporters from around the world were not granted access to several locations and had to report from their hotel rooms. State reporters were given ultimatums, either report what the Egyptian government says, or lose their jobs, according to news reports.

“It used to be the first thing they did was shut down the radio and newspapers,” said Sanchez who is an advertising executive by trade.

Two-thirds of Hispanics went online in 2010; primary through cell phones according to a Pew Hispanic Research study, released in Feb. 2011

The interior ministry of Egypt was reported saying dissidents “sent messages to citizens to gather in a number of mosques in the provinces during Friday prayers.”

The protesters by in large were not poor, they were not malnourished, the protestors were middle class and educated, they afforded cell phones and quality homes. Their anger was not fueled by poverty, it was fueled by tyranny, it was fueled by the lack of representation of the people.

Arizona's latest round of legislative xenophobia

2011-03-10T14:51:00.001-05:00

This article by University of Arizona professor Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez outlines the latest onslaught of xenophobic laws proposed by the Arizona legislature.

Arizona Refuses to Take Backseat to History

The state's rogue legislators have stepped forward to once again capture the 19th century spotlight

By Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez | Published on LatinoLA: March 9, 2011

Sometimes columns just seem to write themselves. The world is aflame, particularly in North Africa and the Middle East, and as a result, extremist Arizona legislators seems to be getting a complex… nobody seems to be paying as much attention to them compared to just several weeks ago. Even Wisconsin has managed to upstage the rogue Arizona legislators. Utah too. As such, the Arizona rogue legislators have stepped forward to once again capture the 19th century spotlight.

Arizona put itself on the map in 2010 for passing several bills that appear to send out the message that brown people are not welcome. The bill, SB 1070, the one that compels local police to seek out the legal status of suspects based on the nebulous concept of "reasonable suspicion," is as close to official ethnic cleansing as one can get. Because the "migra" or immigration services have long had that power, on the streets "reasonable suspicion" translates to brown skin and the use of the Spanish language.

The HB 2281 bill is an attempt to deny the teaching of Ethnic Studies in Arizona. Its first target is Tucson's highly successful Mexican American Studies K-12 program. The attack on this program amounts to cultural genocide, though many people bristle at that description. Yet, how else to describe an attempt to forcefully assimilate any population?

But all that is so 2010.

2011 in Arizona began with not simply declaring Mexican American Studies illegal – with an April 18 deadline to dismantle the program – but with a flurry of bills that make both of these bills seem Mexican-friendly.

The following will give you an example of the environment we are living – this, in the midst of a huge nationwide state-by-state budget crisis in which Mexicans always become convenient scapegoats.

Several of the bills, include:

SB 1611. This so-called omnibus immigration bill is the equivalent of a free-for all. It is a collection of all the most extreme anti-immigrant ideas under one bill. Among its many features, it prohibits students from enrolling in K-12 without proof of U.S.-birth certificates or naturalization documents. This bill goes contrary to the Plyler v. Doe 1982 Supreme Court decision. It does the same for community colleges. It also permits the state housing authority to evict all residents of a public housing unit if one of the occupants is undocumented. "Driving while undocumented" would hereafter be a crime and the driver would lose the vehicle they are driving. It also forces companies to use the voluntary E-Verify system or lose their business license.

SB 1308 and SB 1309. These bills call for the nullification of birthright citizenship, reinterpreting the 14th amendment as no longer operative in Arizona. These bills would result in the creation of two types of birth certificates; one for citizens and one for those whose citizenship of the parents cannot be proven.

Truthfully, these two bills seem to be the holy grail of the 2011 bills. The rest appear to be subterfuge. The state legislators know that even when passed, they would be automatically challenged in court. But that's the objective; if they were to succeed – via a Supreme Court decision – it would accomplish the objective of creating a larger deportable population. This is not an Arizona plan either, but the plan by many dozens of extremist legislators from throughout the United States to overturn the 14th Amendment, an amendment they claim only should have applied to the descendants of slaves.

SB 1097: This bill forces students to identify the legal status of their parents and also punishes school personnel if they don't facilitate this identification process.

SB 1490: Requires food service workers to provide proof of citizenship.

SB 1406: Authorizes the creation of a wall using private funding and inmate labor.

SB1405: Requires hospitals to check for legal documentation before accepting patients.

SCR 1006: This would proclaim, contrary to all available data, the border as lawless and crime-ridden. It would call for further militarization of the border.

SB 1117/HB 2537: This would authorize Senate President Russell Pearce and House Speaker Kirk Adams, the unlimited power to use state funds to defend SB 1070.

Aside from creating an extremist slush fund, perhaps anticipating lawsuits or other court action, legislators have also proposed two even more mind-boggling laws:

SB 1443: This legislation creates a joint 12-member legislative commission to examine which federal laws are applicable to Arizona. The commission would determine which federal laws are unconstitutional.

SCR 1010: This would exempt Arizona from international laws, most of which concern themselves with the protection of peoples' inherent, inalienable and universal human rights.

Again, this is just a small sampling of this year's bills thus far, in part compiled by Derechos Humanos, an Arizona-based human rights organization. Until the political equation is altered, we can expect a flurry of more bills that will continue to be challenged in court, while stimulating calls to once again boycott this state – seemingly the last bastion of Manifest Destiny.

Now for the bad news out of Utah… 3 more bills:

HB 497: Think Arizona and SB 1070. Same draconian racial profiling measures. For it to be implemented, it would have to survive a court challenge.

HB 116: Utah's very own Bracero Program. Would require a federal waiver. Without one, states currently cannot create their guest worker program.

HB 466: Permits Utah to enter into agreement with Mexican state of Nuevo Leon to facilitate federal migrant worker program.

These three are up for the governor's signature (or veto) next week.

The rest of the country seems to have slowed up, perhaps simply waiting for Arizona to take the lead (to exhaust its finances on defending these draconian bills in the courtroom).

The good news in all this is that Precious Knowledge, a film that documents the inspiring story of the threatened MAS-TUSD program will have its U.S. nationwide premier on March 24.

Rodriguez is a professor at the University of ArizonaFind this story online at www.latinola.com/story.php?story=9347

On the Radio Today

2011-03-07T06:46:00.004-05:00

I will be on the radio today on KPFK in Los Angeles with the host of Strategy Session, Antonio Gonzalez.* We'll be discussing my novels and how they relate to the heated immigration debate and the often misunderstood Latino identity. Strategy Session is a widely respected, in-depth program on politics and policy. Hope you can join us.

KPFK Strategy Session

Weekly show on politics and policy

hosted by Antonio Gonzalez*

Monday, March 7, 2011

4:30pm Pacific Time - 7:30pm Eastern Time

Listen Live

Online at http://www.kpfk.org/listen-live.html

On the air in Los Angeles on KPFK 90.7 FM

*Antonio Gonzalez is President of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, the largest and oldest non-partisan Latino voter participation organization in the U.S.founded in 1974.

CNN en Español interview with subtitles

2011-02-26T23:23:00.007-05:00

Here is the English-subtitled interview on CNN en Español with anchor Juan Carlos Lopez that aired February 23, 2011 on DirectoUSA's "Latino en America" segment.

TRANSCRIPT
CNN en Español - DirectoUSA
Aired February 23, 2011

JCL:
Speaking about the experiences of many Hispanics in the nation today, we have an interesting story about an author … a marketing expert, a man who knows the United States and the Latino community and also hosts a website that documents the immigrant experience in the United States. Joining me from Los Angeles is Raul Ramos y Sanchez, the author of a trilogy of books.

Raul, let’s talk about your books. The first is America Libre. The second, which I have in my hands, is House Divided. This book paints a fascinating panorama about Hispanics and their future in the United States. Where did the idea for this trilogy arise?

RRS:
The trilogy began when I was working on a public television film that, unfortunately, I was not able to find the funding to produce. But I had a lot of research that I had gathered from professors and so I looked for another way to communicate this research. So I began with a novel. That novel took a direction completely different than the film. And that was the foundation of the books. From the beginning, I imagined it as a trilogy because I felt it was a story that would take generations to evolve.

JCL:
When one reads House Divided, your most recent book, the protagonist is Mano Suarez, a decorated military veteran who is part of the Hispanics in the United States interned inside U.S. cities and not permitted to leave because they want to create their own nation.

RRS:
Yes, the story centers on Manolo Suarez and his family. The time is the near-future, a time when many social trends we are seeing now have gotten much worse. During the course of the story, Mano changes from a decorated veteran of the U.S. Army to the point where, by the end of the first book, America Libre, Manolo has been transformed from a loyal third-generation citizen who barely speaks Spanish to a rebel with the goal of creating a Latino nation within the borders of the United States. How that type of transformation could happen is the social theme that is the foundation of the books.

JCL:
You host an Internet forum called MyImmigrationStory.com. How have your books been received and how is the debate within that forum at a time when immigration continues as a topic of discussion where many immigrants feel their support is not accurately represented.

RRS:
It’s horrible. The site gives one the opportunity to hear from immigrants in their own voices. These are people who are suffering under this immigration system that in reality does not work — it does not allow people who want to come here and who want to work, to contribute to society. Moreover, in many corners of the country these immigrants are treated like criminals and demons, which is actually quite the opposite of reality.

At the same time, I feel the image portrayed in many parts of the media is that Latino and immigrant have become the same word. For that reason, my books, America Libre and House Divided, show how that hatred directed toward undocumented immigrants could become a force for the radicalization of all Latinos. And that’s part of the story. The books imagine a future where what’s going on in the country now evolves into something similar to what’s happened with the Basques in Spain, the Balkans, the Chechens in Russia—in other words, an ethnic conflict. Because we have a situation brewing in this country that could become very similar and I want to give a warning so that it does not happen. And also show how it’s possible we could get from here to there.

JCL:
What is the next step? How does the trilogy end? And when I was reading the book, I saw this as a film. Will we see this in a movie theater?

RRS:
Well, we’re in the process to see if we can make a deal that will make that possible. The third book is called Pancho Land. That’s the name the soldiers facing the Latino rebels give them. Because all soldiers give their enemies nicknames, like Charlie in Viet Nam or Krauts for the Germans, the soldiers call the Latino insurgents Panchos. By the third book, the Panchos hold their own territory which remains in dispute. I don’t want to say more about the book. But I will say that, at the end, we find a peaceful resolution and an outcome that I hope most people would see as positive.

JCL:
Thank you, Raul. Author Raul Ramos y Sanchez joins us from Los Angeles

National TV Interview on CNN en Español Today

2011-02-23T04:03:00.010-05:00

Nationally broadcast TV interview today

Wednesday February 23rd

6pm Eastern Time - 3pm Pacific Time

Hope you can catch my Spanish-language TV interview about HOUSE DIVIDED with anchor Juan Carlos Lopez on:

CNN en Español's DirectoUSA

It runs in a segment called "Latino en America" in the second half hour.

Where to watch:

DirecTV Channel 419

Dish Network Channel 859

Anchor Juan Carlos Lopez

An American’s Letter to Egypt

2011-02-14T14:46:00.001-05:00

Today, I'd like to post an essay by friend Randy Rogers, songwriter, newspaper columnist, and small-town boy living in Minden, Louisiana.

An American’s Letter to Egypt

by Randy Rogers

I hope I speak for most Americans when I say how very proud we are of you, Egypt. Many of us watched on TV as your men, women, and children poured into the streets and, without firing a shot, fought and won your freedom from tyranny.

We don’t have your pyramids and our culture is not as old as yours. It was just a couple hundred years ago that we kicked out our tyrant. It’s not been easy since then. We’ve fought wars, home and abroad, and are still fighting them to protect ourselves and the beliefs that we hold to be self evident.

So now that you’ve found freedom, Egypt, what do you plan to do with it? How do you plan to protect it? Some in your neck of the world don’t appreciate the freedoms we extend to women. How do you plan to handle that?

You’ll soon begin the process of writing a constitution. When it came time to write our constitution, our founding fathers didn’t want to just give lip service to freedom. They put it in writing.

The preamble to our constitution begins with “We the people.” That’s because we believe that we granted ourselves freedom first and, as long as they behave themselves, only loaned it to the government. It was never the other way around.

Human nature being what it is, we put in place a system of checks and balances to make sure that absolute power doesn’t corrupt absolutely. Many an elected official has been voted out of office because, somewhere along the line, they decided to put “me” ahead of we, the people.

Freedom cannot just be the absence of tyranny; it must exist in a climate of tolerance. America is a nation founded on tolerance. Believing in the notion that ours is a government of laws, and not of men, is what sustains us.

As guaranteed in the first amendment to our constitution, here are our five freedoms:

Speech – our people have the right to speak freely without government interference.

Press – our press has the right to publish news, information and opinions without government interference.

Religion – our people have the right to practice, or not practice, any faith without government interference.

Petition – our people have the right to petition their government in favor or against any policy they see fit.

Assembly – our people have the right to peaceably gather in public, join, and associate with groups and organizations without interference from the government.

Great Britain’s Former Prime Minister, Tony Blair, once said about America that you can sum up the worth of a country by seeing how many people want to get in rather than out. For all our shortcomings, every day, people come to our country seeking a better life for their families.

At the base of our Statue of Liberty it reads: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” She is our beacon of freedom.

Egypt, now that you breathe free, what will serve as your beacon? Will you lift your torch to all regardless of race, gender, creed, or color? Will you be a nation of exclusion or tolerance?

Congratulations, Egypt. You now have the freedom to be either.

A Tribute for Susana Chavez

2011-02-11T08:23:00.006-05:00

A Tribute & Memorial

in honor of Susana Chavez

Ciudad Juarez Artist

and Activist

Saturday, February 12

7pm to 9pm

Eastside Cafe

5469 Huntington Dr. N.

Los Angeles, CA 90032

Featuring

Gloria Alvarez, endy,

Ofelia Esparza,

Consuelo Flores,

Adolfo Guzman Lopez,

& more

Followed by open mic

Please join artists and activists across the world in a solidarity protest against the injustices in Ciudad Juarez. Los Angeles poets speak out and mourn the loss of Susana Chavez, poet and Juarez activist who was tortured and murdered January 2011 in Chihuahua City, Mexico. She was the poet whose words "Ni Una Mas" are the banner activists have carried the past 17 years while seeking justice for women who have been brutalized in Ciudad Juarez. Read more here.

Read Susanna's blog.

For info: victoriadelgadillo@yahoo.com

Radio Interview - Pocho Hour Of Power on KPFK in Los Angeles

2011-02-10T08:26:00.008-05:00

Nationally-syndicated cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz, one of the hosts on the Pocho Hour of Power on KPFK in Los Angeles, has invited me to discuss my second novel HOUSE DIVIDED and its cautionary tale of an ethnic conflict spawned by repressive laws and right wing violence. You can listen on the air at 90.7 FM or online at the link below from anywhere.

Friday, February 11

4PM Pacific Time - 7PM Eastern Time

LISTEN LIVE IN LOS ANGELES at 90.7 FM

LISTEN LIVE ONLINE FROM ANYWHERE

Click here

Hope you can join us!

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

The right says media is biased -- and I agree

2011-02-08T09:58:00.006-05:00

The U.S. right is adamant in claiming a leftward bias in the mainstream media. But if you examine the racial presumptions inherent in much of the old media’s reporting, you’ll find a bias that more closely matches the nativist leanings of the far right.

A recent article from that bastion of the mainstream media the New York Times illustrates my point.

“Among Nation’s Youngest, Analysis Finds Fewer Whites” examines elementary and pre-school enrollments by racial category and concludes that “white” children are now less than a majority of students.

Inherent is this report is the assumption that the United States is divided into four races: White, Black, Asian and Hispanic. But when we examine each of these categories, their absurdity becomes obvious.

White: People with similar phenotypes with origins from a vast number of countries speaking different languages

Hispanic: People with a vast variety of phenotypes with origins from Spanish-speaking countries

Asian: People with similar phenotypes from nations speaking different languages -- except for those from India who have completely different phenotypes but are still included as Asian.

Black: Anyone who has a single ancestor of Sub-Saharan African descent, regardless of any other ancestry -- except when the ancestor is from a Spanish-speaking nation, which then makes them Hispanic.

Reporting based on these racial assumptions is not only inaccurate, it also stirs irrational fears. And it is inherently racist.

At one time, Jews, Irish, Italians and even Germans were considered "non-white" in North America. Today, all these groups have lost their outsider status and have been transformed into "whites". Rather than report on scientific data which shows most racial differences are illusory social constructs, the mainstream media fuels commonly held misconceptions by dividing people into these arbitrary groups.

All of us fear change. Moreover, the idea of “race” evokes powerful feelings. When you consider that the mainstream media continually churns out reports like these, it’s little wonder the U.S. has seen a surge of nativism and supremacist hate groups. Support for the Tea Party and for divisive laws like Arizona’s controversial SB1070 is in large part fed by mainstream media reporting that is inherently racist.

Do I believe the editors and reporters at the New York Times are closet Nazis? I'll leave that kind of nuttiness to the birther wing of the GOP. However, I do believe the staffers at most mainstream media sources have a huge blind spot when it comes to reporting on race. They are steeped in a mindset that divides the nation into arbitrary groups with little basis in fact.

So when the right claims the mainstream media is biased, I must reluctantly agree.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

Will Arizona be flying the Stars and Bars soon?

2011-02-03T15:32:00.001-05:00

Just when you think Arizona has gone too far in their journey into wing nut territory, they prove us wrong again.

The latest from Phoenix: SB 1433, a new piece of legislation that creates a panel which can decide which federal laws Arizona can ignore -- past or present. There was once a similar move adopted by several states. They called themselves the Confederacy.

More details here from the Tucson Citizen.

Super Saturday February 5th - Three events in one day

2011-02-02T08:09:00.012-05:00

I’m calling it Super Saturday, the busiest single day so far in my writing career.

As part of the launch of HOUSE DIVIDED, this coming Saturday February 5^th, I will appear on two radio shows and hold a book signing/Q&A in one day.

We’ll be discussing immigration reform, the effects of laws like Arizona’s controversial SB1070 on relations between Latinos and the mainstream plus the often misunderstood Hispanic identity. I hope you can join us at any or all of these events.

7:00 AM Eastern Time

Radio Interview WVXU – Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati Edition hosted by Mark Perzel

Listen online

12:00 Noon Eastern Time

Radio Interview WEUS – Orlando, Florida
Yo Soy Latino hosted by Jose Miranda (In English)

Live call in show – 404-774-1085

Listen online

2:00 PM Eastern Time

Book Signing & Q&A at Borders – Dayton, OH

Location & driving directions

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

The Buzz About ‘House Divided’

2011-02-01T09:13:00.002-05:00

Humor columnist and author Rose A. Valenta

Today I'm delighted to have humor columnist Rose A. Valenta as a guest on this blog. Rose is a nationally syndicated humor columnist. Her irreverent columns have been published in Senior Wire, Associated Content, Courier Post Online, NPR, Newsday, USA TODAY, the WSJ Online, and many other local news and radio websites. She is the author of a blog which I read regularly, Rosie's Renegade Humor Blog, and the zany and eclectic humor book, Sitting on Cold Porcelain. I encourage you to read both.

The Buzz About ‘House Divided’

Thank you for inviting me to the Author’s Diary. I was excited to read and review your book at Rosie’s Renegade Humor blog last week.

My article “I Have a Crush on Manolo Suarez – House Divided” was no exaggeration. He is an admirable character, possessing strong family values, a man of honor, and is true to his convictions. I like that in a man - he is very sexy.

From a woman's perspective, I especially liked Rosa’s relationship with Celia, the local curandera and midwife; but, I don’t want to spoil this engaging novel for anyone by giving away too much. I keep telling everyone to put this one on their “must read” list over at Goodreads.com. One scene was written so well, it had me multi-tasking - dodging bullets, while smelling and craving cake.

As you know, I am a humorist and usually don’t have a serious bone in my body. My entire blog is filled with parody and satire. However, when I read America Libre, shortly after it was released, I was hooked on your trilogy.

We tried to connect for coffee at the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop in 2008 in Dayton, OH, but our schedules conflicted. However, you did make a lot of friends there. Most of us now follow you on Facebook and Twitter. We gossip in the humorwriter’s news group. The “buzz” lately is how overjoyed you must be winning the Books into Movies Award presented by Eddie Olmos (most of us would give our right arm to even meet Eddie Olmos). You deserve this award, Raul, for tackling this difficult topic in your fiction writing and giving us all much entertainment and food for thought. We are all guessing about who will be cast in the various roles. I especially want to know if Concha Velasco is being considered to play Celia. I am looking forward to seeing the film.

I just ordered House Divided on my Kindle, so I can reread it while traveling. Thank you for the autographed copy.

Felicitaciones a mi amigo for a work well done!

__________________________________________________________

Rose, my deepest thanks to you for your support of my work and for visiting with me today. I hope you'll join me again in the future.
Raul

New York Times: An impending change in racial labels?

2011-01-30T15:37:00.004-05:00

In today's New York Times an article by Susan Saulny titled "Black? White? Asian? More Young Americans Choose All of the Above" reported on the many young adults of mixed background who are rejecting the color lines that have defined Americans for generations. In response to this article, I posted the comment below which is currently #1 in reader recommendations by a wide margin.

The assumptions in this article begin with a fundamental flaw: the absurd racial classifications used in the United States (and perpetuated by the New York Times and other media sources).

White: People with similar phenotypes with origins from a vast number of countries speaking different languages are lumped into a one group.

Hispanic: People with vast variety of phenotypes with origins from Spanish-speaking countries are lumped into one group.

Asian: People with similar phenotypes from nations speaking different languages are lumped into one group -- except for those from India who have completely different phenotypes but are still included as Asian.

Black: Anyone who has a single ancestor of Sub-Saharan African descent, regardless of any other ancestry -- except if the ancestor is from a Spanish-speaking nation, which then makes them Hispanic.

A wise person once said: "Race is an illusion. But racism is real."

Until we acknowledge this truth, we will continue to torment ourselves with differences based on preconceived prejudices rather than scientific fact.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

Re-Run of Book Nook Radio Interview on WYSO

2011-01-29T16:47:00.001-05:00

My Book Nook radio interview on WYSO with host Vick Mickunas will repeat again at...

11am Eastern Time

Sunday January 30, 2011

LISTEN ONLINE HERE

The host of WYSO’s Book Nook, Vick Mickunas, has interviewed some of the nation's leading writers along with historians, movie stars, astronauts, and music legends. In this edition of his half-hour weekly show, Vick chats with me about the themes and characters of HOUSE DIVIDED and why Vick believes my path to publication was more extraordinary than “a bi-partisan bill in congress.”

Hope you can join us!
Raul

HOUSE DIVIDED synopsis

Time: the not-too-distant future
In a Los Angeles barrio torn by years of ethnic war, decorated U.S. Army veteran Manolo Suarez is now a rebel leader struggling to sustain a faltering insurgency—and keep his family together and alive. His deeply-religious wife opposes the fighting. His teenage son has joined an extremist group bent on attacking innocent civilians. Now Mano must battle both a U.S. government dominated by demagogues and the terrorists in his own ranks—without betraying his son or losing his wife.
Reviews • Book Trailer • Where to Buy

Time: the not-too-distant future

In a Los Angeles barrio torn by years of ethnic war, decorated U.S. Army veteran Manolo Suarez is now a rebel leader struggling to sustain a faltering insurgency—and keep his family together and alive. His deeply-religious wife opposes the fighting. His teenage son has joined an extremist group bent on attacking innocent civilians. Now Mano must battle both a U.S. government dominated by demagogues and the terrorists in his own ranks—without betraying his son or losing his wife.

Reviews • Book Trailer • Where to Buy

The HOUSE DIVIDED PreOrder Rewards Winner

2011-01-29T16:15:00.004-05:00

We have a winner in the HOUSE DIVIDED PreOrder Rewards drawing...

Congratulations to August Johnson!

She will receive a $25 Amazon Gift Card plus a cool Class H tee. My deepest thanks to everyone who entered the drawing! Please stay tuned. There will be more chances to win cool stuff when you "like" the HOUSE DIVIDED Facebook page at the link below.

"Like" the HOUSE DIVIDED Facebook page

for more chance to win cool stuff.

Only Two Days Left For Pre-Order Rewards on HOUSE DIVIDED

2011-01-27T15:13:00.004-05:00

Have you considered my new novel HOUSE DIVIDED for yourself or as gift? Well, this is a good time to act.

Pre-Order HOUSE DIVIDED before midnight ET on Friday 1-28-11 and you can register to win a cool Class H t-shirt plus a $25 Amazon Gift Card. You'll also save up to 33% on the regular price!

HOUSE DIVIDED

PRE-ORDER REWARDS!

Only until midnight ET Friday January 28th

Win a cool Class H t-shirt

PLUS

A $25 Amazon Gift Card!

CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS.

I hope you'll take advantage of this unique opportunity.

Raul

A Radio Interview on WYSO's Book Nook

2011-01-26T07:24:00.006-05:00

Friday, January 28 · 1:30pm - 2:00pm

LISTEN ON THE WEB

Click "Listen" button at upper left

LISTEN ON THE AIR:

91.3FM in SW Ohio

Time: the not-too-distant future
In a Los Angeles barrio torn by years of ethnic war, decorated U.S. Army veteran Manolo Suarez is now a rebel leader struggling to sustain a faltering insurgency—and keep his family together and alive. His deeply-religious wife opposes the fighting. His teenage son has joined an extremist group bent on attacking innocent civilians. Now Mano must battle both a U.S. government dominated by demagogues and the terrorists in his own ranks—without betraying his son or losing his wife.
Reviews • Book Trailer • Where to Buy

Time: the not-too-distant future

Reviews • Book Trailer • Where to Buy

OK, so which is it? [Correction]

2011-01-25T15:57:00.003-05:00

CORRECTION:
In my haste, I overlooked the difference in the year. My thanks to the alert reader who pointed this out. The correct information is that public trust for FOX News has declined in 2011.

My apologies,
Raul

OK, so which is it? In the span of a week, Public Policy Polling did an apparent 180 on its reporting of FOX News. Is this some kind of test of how media will spin a story? Does the left hand not know what the right hand is doing at PPP? The only thing that seems certain is that any survey data coming from these folks seems dubious.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2011

Our Second Annual TV News Trust Poll

PPP's annual look at the public's trust in various TV news outlets finds that Fox News' credibility is on the decline, that the traditional networks are seeing an up tick in their numbers, and that PBS is at the top of the heap.

http://publicpolicypolling.blogspot.com/2011/01/our-second-annual-tv-news-trust-poll.html

TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2010

Fox leads for trust

Americans do not trust the major tv news operations in the country- except for Fox News.

Our newest survey looking at perceptions of ABC News, CBS News, CNN, Fox News, and NBC News finds Fox as the only one that more people say they trust than distrust. 49% say they trust it to 37% who do not.

http://publicpolicypolling.blogspot.com/2010/01/fox-leads-for-trust.html

Upcoming Events

2011-01-22T05:17:00.000-05:00

Upcoming Book Signings and Q&A for HOUSE DIVIDED

February 05, 2011 – 2:00 PM
Dayton - Borders
2700 Miamisburg Centerville Rd.
Dayton, OH 45459

February 22, 2011 – 7PM
Vroman’s Bookstore
695 E. Colorado Blvd
Pasadena, CA 91101
This event will also feature music by Max Vasquez & Friends!

You can register to win a cool Class H t-shirt just for attending at both events.

Borders Books in Dayton, OH and Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena, CA will host a book signing and Q&A session for my second novel HOUSE DIVIDED. Releasing from Grand Central Publishing on January 28, HOUSE DIVIDED is the second book of the AMERICA LIBRE trilogy which I began in 2004 with the input of scholars from the USA, Latin America and Spain.

To learn more about HOUSE DIVIDED visit this web page.

A Democratic countermove with Cuba?

2011-01-15T12:34:00.003-05:00

In what seems an unexpected move, the White House has just announced it will ease some restrictions on travel and aid to Cuba. However, as you will see later in this article, this could be a calculated move by Democrats to counter recent GOP efforts to woo Latino voters. Let’s begin with the significant details:

From the White House blog January 13, 2001...

“The President has directed the Secretaries of State, Treasury and Commerce to carry out the actions necessary to lift all restrictions on the ability of individuals to visit family members in Cuba, and to send them remittances. He’s further directed that steps be taken to enable the freer flow of information among the Cuban people and between those in Cuba and the rest of the world, as well as to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian items directly to the Cuban people.”

So why is the White House doing this now?

As noted in my previous post, it seems clear the GOP is making a concerted effort to woo Latino voters. This White House announcement could be a subtle yet effective counter stroke. Here’s why:

The Cuban exile community has always been solidly in the GOP camp. The reaction to Obama’s gesture toward Cuba from the Miami exiles is already pouring and it is predictably negative. At the same time, sympathy for Fidel Castro is much more common among other Hispanic groups. In fact, some Latinos idolize Castro and Che. By offering an olive branch to Castro, the Democrats will be seen as sympathetic to Latinos. But the greater significance of this move is what it does to Republicans.

The GOP has now been painted into a corner. If Republicans side with their staunch Cuban supporters on the White House move, the GOP risks damaging their outreach efforts to other Latinos who are likely sympathetic to Castro. So what will the GOP do? My guess is that most Republicans will stay mum about the White House initiative or give very measured responses.

Let’s wait and see how this develops.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

Politics and Bedfellows

2011-01-14T21:25:00.003-05:00

Congratulations to Lance Rios. His Facebook page "Being Latino" has become one of social media's most popular gathering spot for Latinos. And that influence was vividly demonstrated in a recently-announced reciprocal content agreement between Being Latino and FOX News Latino.

Although my personal politics do not fall into the FOX camp, I am pleased by this developement. First of all, I'm happy for Lance, whose hard work and ignenuity deserves recognition. Second, this partnership helps push the influence of social media up another notch. And finally, I think it has the potential for being a postive step for the entire nation.

Anyone who knows my personal politics may be surprised by that statement. But those who long ago said "politics make strange bedfellows" were not fools.

Right now, the majority of Latino voters are presumed to be solidly in the Democratic camp. (The reality is much more complex. But it's perceptions that shape the actions of politicians.) As a result of this widely held belief, Latinos have been taken for granted by the Democrats (who only give us empty promises) and ignored by Republicans (who feel they can demonize us with impunity in districts where Latinos are not a majority).

However, when Latinos can exert influence in BOTH parties, we will not be so easy to ignore -- or impugn.

It still remains to be seen whether a leopard can change its spots. Many Republicans continue to pander to the xenophobes within their ranks by supporting legislation like Arizona's SB 1070 or attempts to gut the 14th Amendment. This is political theatre at its worst. But some in the GOP are waking up and smelling the coffee.

This deal with Being Latino is not an isolated event. FOX is echoing what seems to be a clear GOP strategy of reaching out to Latinos. (You have to give the conservative media machine credit for staying on message. They are always in lock step.)

Jeb Bush (with Karl Rove calling plays from the sidelines) is spearheading the Hispanic Leadership Network to try and woo Latino voters. In fact, Jeb Bush went so far as to say it was “incredibly stupid” for the GOP to ignore Latino voters. And Bush is right. It IS incredibly stupid to ignore the fastest growing voter segment. One problem remains for the GOP, though: Bigots are usually stupid.

I'm no Polyanna. The GOP has made sizeable gains across the nation in November and the party is stronger than its been for years. The leadership of the party may have realized Republicans can afford to burn some political capital and risk alienating "the base" with an outreach to Latinos -- for the moment. However, don't be surprised if the race-baiting returns come election time.

For now, let's be hard-nosed and pragmatic. We all have something to gain -- even if it's short-lived.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

Words about the Tucson tragedy

2011-01-13T08:23:00.005-05:00

The words of a leader:

“At a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized, at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who think differently than we do, it’s important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds.”

--President Barack Obama

The words of a politician:

"I wish there had been one more gun there that day in the hands of a responsible person."

--Arizona Rep. Trent Franks

The words of a fool:

"If you don't like a person's vision for the country, you're free to debate that vision. But, especially within hours of a tragedy unfolding, journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn."

--Sarah Palin

What if the shooter had been a Latino?

2011-01-12T05:20:00.003-05:00

Shortly after the horrible tragedy in Tucson, I asked myself, "What if the shooter had been a Latino?"

Would the voices of the left be as quick to judge his motives? Would the voices on the right be calling for reason in discerning his motives? It’s impossible to know, of course.

As it stands now, the choice in most minds appears to be whether we consider Loughner simply a deranged young man or a pawn in a political movement that spews violent rhetoric. But both points of view reveal an inescapable fact about U.S. culture. Had the killer's name been Lopez, race and ethnicity would be the centerpiece of the story.

Not a single voice in the furor over Loughner's motivation has suggested his ethnicity had anything to do with his actions. Had the shooter been a Latino, all arguments would begin with that question.

Most mainstream Americans are tone deaf to the fact that their ethnicity is the "default" setting for U.S. culture. This culture accepts a great deal of latitude for the personal behavior of individuals -- as long as they are non-Hispanic Whites. But once you cross over that line into the realm of "other," you become a representative of your race or ethnicity. Minorities are presumed to have a single mind politically and the deeds of a few represent the deeds of all.

Until we evolve past this mentality, race and ethnicity will continue to be a central issue in every aspect of U.S. culture. To say otherwise is to echo the words of Ronald Reagan: "I can remember a time when this country didn't have a race problem."

For Mr. Reagan, it certainly did not.

The right is in denial

2011-01-11T09:11:00.004-05:00

The right is in denial about their culpability in the Tucson shootings. They are squirming under the light of truth and grasping at any opportunity to deflect the blame. If they were truly guiltless for the climate of hate they’ve fostered, then why was there a scramble to scrub right wing websites of their inflammatory content after the killings?

A number of right wing pundits are decrying the reaction from the left, calling for a stop to the “politicizing” of this tragedy. Ironic, that. After years of wallowing in the slime of violence-laced rhetoric, they suddenly want to take the high road. How convenient.

Despite the vehement protest from progressives, I have yet to hear a single call for violence in retribution. But even now, the violent fringe seems unrepentant. “One down, 534 more to go,” posted one ~~far-right~~ anarchist blogger. Even if we take this as a jest, it speaks volumes.

There is no moral equivalency in this matter. For far too long, the right has knowingly exploited a lunatic fringe with a penchant for firearms to further their political agenda. If we do not speak out now against this practice, I fear the killings in Tucson may be only the beginnings of a continuing national tragedy.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

A Study in Confusion

2010-12-29T12:38:00.002-05:00

A recent study from Brown University sociologist John Logan reported the following conclusions.

The average non-Hispanic white person continues to live in a neighborhood that looks very different from those neighborhoods where the average black, Hispanic, or Asian lives. The average white person in metropolitan America lives in a neighborhood that is 77 percent white. Still, this represents growing diversity compared to 1980, when the average was 88 percent white.
The average black American in metropolitan areas lives in a census tract that is majority black. It appears the same will soon be true for Hispanics. On average, 48 percent of their neighbors are Hispanic and this value is growing steadily.
Blacks continue to be the most segregated minority, followed by Hispanics and then Asians. Another surprise in the new data is that while black-white and Hispanic-white segregation is almost the same today as in 2000, segregation of Asians from whites has begun to increase. It is now almost as high as segregation of Hispanics.
Progress in residential segregation between blacks and whites since 2000 was even less than in the 1980s. Segregation peaked around 1960. Between 1980 and 2000 it declined at a very slow pace, but analysts have been hoping for a breakthrough since then. The new data show that there is very little change.

Worrisome trends, to be sure. Yet there is a fundamental flaw at work here.

Studies like this one from Brown University paint a distorted, one-dimensional picture of U.S. society. Based on a paradigm of four quasi-racial groups, research like this fails to convey the true complexity behind these simplistic labels.

For example, where do people from the Indian subcontinent fall in this four-group paradigm? Are they "Asian"? Moreover, are we to believe U.S. residents from Asian nations with long-held enmities like China and India or Japan and Korea live side-by-side in "Asian" communities? I doubt it -- and so will most people who know much about the region.

Then we come to Hispanics. What neighborhood do Afro-Latinos live in? More people in the Americas of African descent speak Spanish or Portuguese than English. Yet reports like this Brown study, assume Black Hispanics do not exist-- or that they live in neighborhoods with other Latinos. One look at the ethnic composition of a city with a large Afro-Latino population like New York shows this is not the case.

Although studies like this are well-meaning and attempt to illustrate the slow progress we have made toward a true "melting pot," they also create a much too simplistic picture of minorities. These false identities foster misconceptions which affect both mainstream Americans -- and even minority members themselves.

In the end, misconceptions inevitably breed prejudice.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

An author fights back against Latino stereotypes

2010-12-26T14:49:00.002-05:00

Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, author of the bestselling DIRTY GIRLS SOCIAL CLUB was thrilled when her landmark novel was optioned for a TV series by Encanto Productions headed by Ann Lopez, ex-wife of comedian George Lopez. The thrill continued for Alisa when she learned NBC had signed for a pilot. Then things turned sour.
After being repeatedly shunned, Alisa finally got a copy of the pilot script. She read the script in shock at the gross misrepresentation of her characters. As Alisa explains in her blog...
Put simply, she killed off all the black folks in my story. In her hands my black Colombian character Elizabeth becomes “a sizzling Colombian” (because we might as well employ cliched language in addition to de-Africanizing her); my mulatta Puerto Rican/Dominican character Usnavys becomes African American, non Latino, and ends up adhering to every stereotype of the fat-n-sassy oversexed negress “diva” that Hollywood has ever flung at the viewing public; and my Nigerian-British millionaire heartthrob, Andre Cartier, becomes Andre Carter, an East Indian by way of London. There is no discernible reason for these changes, other than anti-black racism.

To her immense credit, Alisa seems willing to pass on a TV adaptation of DIRTY GIRLS if it means compromising her principles. "The idea is to have a DIRTY GIRLS series on the air by next fall, but I must tell you this idea, given the end result of Luisa’s efforts, holds zero appeal for me."
My hat is off to Alisa for taking a public stand against the vicious cycle of ignorance regarding the Latino identity in the entertainment industry. Like those involved in DIRTY GIRLS SOCIAL CLUB, many TV and film producers know full well they are purveying stereotypes. But they fear the U.S. public will not accept Latino characters that challenge conventional myths. As a result, the public ignorance continues.
As I read Alisa's post, I remembered a review that criticized the “lack of diversity” among the characters in my first novel, AMERICA LIBRE. Looking over the review, I was stunned. One of the main characters in the novel was a blue-eyed blonde from Uruguay while another was an Afro-Latino from Panama. However, in the mind of this reviewer (and way too many others), “diversity” is a term reserved solely for the population of the United States.
Raul Ramos y Sanchez

Help Provide Books for Disadvantaged Youth

2010-12-20T09:35:00.003-05:00

Latinos in Social Media has created a program that lets you provide books for disadvantaged youth. Here's how it works:

Visit the Latinos in Social Media Website to nominate and vote for the U.S. library you think most deserving
Donate books. If you are an author, publisher or reader, share your books with young people.
The library with the most votes will receive all the donated books.

This is your chance to help make a difference for youth literacy.

With 1 out of 5 children in the country being Latinos and Latino educational levels reaching the point of national crisis, it is imperative that we do something to promote reading and support the faltering library system. Our future as a culture and as a nation depends on it.

Visit the Latinos in Social Media Website for more details.

The rarest of gifts

2010-12-20T08:26:00.001-05:00

May this holiday season bring all of us the rarest of gifts.

A digital greeting card from
Raul Ramos y Sanchez

A December Surprise

2010-12-13T16:25:00.007-05:00

A few days ago, I was stunned to learn I was...
The number one choice among the
2011 “Top Ten New Latino Authors
to Watch (and Read)”
from LatinoStories.com

I got the news late in the evening and had a hard time falling asleep. The message from Professor Jose B. Gonzalez of LatinoStories said my selection as number one among this year’s “Top Ten” list was based on feedback he and his co-editor have received about AMERICA LIBRE from readers, librarians, editors, and faculty.

Needless to say, I was thrilled to be included alongside former “Top Ten” LatinoStories authors like Junot Diaz, Mirta Ojito and Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez.

This recognition is based on my debut novel, AMERICA LIBRE.

Although my name is on the cover of AMERICA LIBRE, this recognition reflects the support of so many others. This award makes me feel grateful for the people in my life … my family, my colleagues and my friends — including the many new friends I’ve made since I began my journey as an author. I’d like to celebrate this moment by saying thanks to all of you. If you’d like more details on the "Top Ten" list and its creators, please visit LatinoStories.com.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

Latino Diversity is an Asset

2010-12-06T07:29:00.005-05:00

Immigration hardliners in areas with large Latino populations (Tom Tancredo in Colorado, Sharon Angle in Nevada and Meg Whitman in California) were all handily defeated in the last election. The less-than-subtle xenophobia of these demagogues were a powerful motivator for a unified Latino turnout at the polls.

At the same time, if the Latino vote is perceived as monolithically Democratic, it will be easier for conservatives to marginalize (and demonize) us in areas where the Latino vote is not a plurality. Personally, I do not support the positions of Marco Rubio, Brian Sandoval and Susana Martinez. But in the long run, the election of these Republican Latinos may help bridge the dangerously growing gap between the Latino community and the mainstream population. (For example, support for Arizona’s SB 1070 is sharply divided along ethnic lines.)

Nativist demagogues prey of public fears of Latinos as a faceless, alien group that threatens Anglo primacy. Showing the true diversity of the disparate collection of people who make up the Latino communities across the entire United States helps dispel this noxious nativist myth. Just as in the United States as a whole, the diversity of the Latino community is an asset which can help us move together toward common goals such as immigration reform and raising the educational standards of our youth.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

A Breath of Fresh Air from Utah

2010-12-05T14:24:00.001-05:00

The Utah Compact is a statement of principles signed by political, business, law-enforcement and religious leaders in Utah who want to address the complex “the complex challenges associated with a broken national immigration system” with civility and dignity. The Utah Compact is supported by "two Republican former governors, a former United States senator, and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City, the Chamber of Commerce and a host of other civic groups and citizens," according to the New York Times.

Some excerpts from the Utah Compact...

Immigration is a federal policy issue between the U.S. government and other countries—not Utah and other countries.

Local law enforcement resources should focus on criminal activities, not civil violations of federal code.

We acknowledge the economic role immigrants play as workers and taxpayers.

Click here to read the complete document.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez