A teachable moment in Portland: Cesar Chavez, Chicanos, Latinos and "the Community."

I am going to try to seize a teachable moment amid this mind-numbing conversation that used to be about Cesar Chavez….

Much of the confusion stems from the lack of clarity regarding who is speaking and on whose behalf they claim to be speaking.

Virtually all of the public discussion centers on “Latinos” and the “Latino community”, or “the Community,” and on what “they” (“Latino ‘leaders’”) say “they” ("the Community") wants.

Here’s what you need to know:

1. The terms "Latino" and "Hispanic" do not necessarily describe the same people.

2. There is no single Latino "community." There is no formal Latino “leader.”

3. There is no single Hispanic "community." There is no formal Hispanic “leader.”

4. Often, “Latino” or “Hispanic” people refer to themselves as “Hispanic” in one circumstance, and as a “Latino” under a different circumstance, on the same day.

5. I personally cannot tell the difference between the two. I recognize that these categories were created by the US Census Bureau, and do not necessarily apply to any particular circumstance in real life.

6. “Hispanic” and “Latino” do not indicate any particular ethnic or national orientation.

7. Cesar Chavez's ethnicity was neither "Hispanic" nor "Latino," except in the broadest general sense, like “homo sapiens.”

8. His ethnicity was "Mexican American" and "Chicano." From the ground up.

9. None of the participants in the Interstate fiesta, nor any of the City officials, appear to recognize this distinction.

9. "Latinos" and "Hispanics" are not necessarily either "Mexican Americans" or "Chicanos."

10. Chicanos are Chicanos. Chicanas are Chicanas. We know who we are. There is no substitute!! This is the essence of our identity. We are the warrior class, bred by generations of experience that no one else shares, no one but Mexican people living in the United States.

11. The Portland State University Department of Chicano AND Latino Studies recognizes the difference between the two cultures. Educate yourselves. Here's the link:

http://www.chla.pdx.edu/program.htm

12. If any process of appointment or election or other form of open public communal decision-making has indeed occurred to create or empower any cadre of individuals or groups to speak on behalf of “Latinos” or “the Latino Community” or “the Community,” on any issue, there has been no corresponding process in the Mexican American or Chicano communities in Portland.

13. Like Cesar Chavez, I am a Mexican American and a Chicano. No one speaks for me, not without clearing it with me beforehand.

14. I am a Mexican American from birth. It was Cesar Chavez who made me realize—in the 1960s—that I was also a Chicano.

--Sean Cruz

November 17, 2007
Mexican American, Chicano Sean Cruz

From the Portland Mercury blog: After reading Sean Cruz blog, I did pay attention to how the words Mexican American were never used in city council testimony. Thank you for sharing and teaching.

Link to BlogoliticalSean:

http://www.blogoliticalsean.blogspot.com/

Credit: I want to thank Dr. John Kramer, my former professor and mentor at California StateUniversity, Sonoma, for making this day possible, for finding me somehow, and convincing me that I had some talent. Thank you, John. Who knew?