Editor’s note: LULAC is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a celebration from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday at San Juan Oaks. There will be special guests, entertainment and dancing. For information call 673-2009. Tickets are $60.
Heartfelt congratulations to our members for the great work of San Benito County LULAC Council 2890 over the past 25 years and deep appreciation for the difference our members have made for the Latino community in this county especially for youth and young adults who have achieved their goals with the assistance of our members.
When I began my membership with LULAC, 29 years ago, I knew that above all things what I wanted to do was to make an impact that would improve the lives of Latinos in San Benito County. I have to say that 25 years later, I recognize that it is a lot easier to say you want to make a difference, but actually making an impact is a much more difficult task because it is not something that can be done overnight.
It takes a heart filled with optimism and altruism, the talent and energy to develop successful programs, and years of effort at reaching out to those most in need and giving them what they need without getting distracted by the many trials and tribulations along the way.
Well the jury is still out on my tenure at LULAC, but I think we can all agree that the LULAC members of San Benito County have had a tremendous impact on the Latino communities of this county, of California, and indeed the entire country. All you have to do is consider the leaders who have been helped by this council to know that their efforts were successful and that San Benito is far better off because of their work. Congratulations on an incredible record of accomplishment over the past 25 years and on staying true to the principles and to the Latino community.
Many of you know that San Benito County LULAC has demonstrated throughout these years that of all the important work that LULAC does, nothing is more important than providing educational opportunities to our youth.
One of our favorite parts of the LULAC Code is the part that reads “Let your firmest purpose be that of helping to see that each new generation shall be of a youth more efficient and capable and in this let your own children be included.”
I know Council 2890 believes in the importance of education because so much of our efforts has been dedicated at helping our youth and they along with their parents have made a tremendous difference in their own personal lives by involving themselves in LULAC.
Today, we live in challenging times-perhaps some of the most difficult we have faced since the founders of LULAC set out to eliminate institutionalized discrimination against our community. The immigration debate has taken an ugly turn for the worse and instead of getting comprehensive immigration reform, we have gotten one punitive measure after another while the airwaves are filled with hateful rhetoric pounding immigrants every night.
There is no question who the real target of this anti-immigrant xenophobia . It is the Latino community pure and simple that is the target of the most hateful and emboldened rhetoric in decades and we are in a battle not to save immigrants, but to keep Latinos from becoming the national scapegoat that gets blamed for everything that causes angst for people who oppose immigrant.
As LULAC family, we the members must not let this xenophobia go unchallenged. We need to rise to the challenge yet again. Just as the founders of LULAC had to beat down segregation and racial discrimination, we have to take on those who want to put down our community by riding anti-immigrant hysteria to one punitive law after another.
But we can’t just lash out at the other side and hope to win a shouting match. We have to win the hearts and minds of those Americans who are basically good people but have been misled by jingoistic arguments like you “can’t reward lawbreakers” or “what part of illegal don’t you understand.” Many understand this country is made up of immigrants who have unselfishly given of themselves to make this a better country. San Benito County is among many other communities nationwide who has achieved accomplishments due to the immigrant community backing up the needs of everyone, most importantly realizing this county is an agriculture rural community where the need of farmworkers to do the work that many others will not do cannot go unrecognized or ignored.
That is why our National President Margaret Moran has asked that we fight fire not with more fire but with reason and compassion, by calling upon our LULAC members to emphasize the Latino community’s commitment and contributions to America. We must emphasize the Latino commitment to:
– To defend and protect our country, and its residents, from those who wish it harm
– To grow and strengthen our economy through hard work and entrepreneurship
– Assist in the integration of new arrivals into our country’s social and economic fabric
– Assist in providing affordable housing and preserving home ownership
– Promote a healthy lifestyle to improve longevity and quality of life
– Provide charitable assistance in combating hunger and respond to national emergencies or catastrophic events
In return all we request is Latinos be treated with the same dignity and respect that all other Americans receive and that anti-immigrant laws not be used as a ruse to punish Latino Americans.
While much has been said about building walls on our borders and creating a moratorium on immigration by those who are under the mistaken impression that immigrants have harmed our country, the truth is that immigration is what has made and will continue to make America the greatest nation on earth.
Each generation of immigrants that has come to this land has brought with them a strong work ethic and a yearning for opportunity that continually reinvigorates our economy and brings new vitality to our nation.
Creating a legal avenue for immigrants to come to the United States to work is not just the right thing to do; it is the American thing to do; and it is in the best interests of all of us.
After all the Declaration of Independence doesn’t say that some men are created equal, it says all men are created equal. The Declaration doesn’t say that the government should decide which of us should have the opportunity to pursue happiness; it says that this is a God given unalienable right of all human beings.
So if we still believe in the Declaration of Independence and we still believe in the promise of America, then we must still believe that everyone should have an opportunity to use their skills, intelligence and work ethic to strive for the American Dream.
As LULAC members we have much to be proud of. We have accomplished so much over 83 years of advocacy and service. And no council in LULAC has as much to be proud of as San Benito County LULAC Council 2890.
But our community is in need again and Latinos everywhere are looking to us for leadership and action. We must lead the way in creating a new dialogue on immigration…one that rejects divisive rhetoric and leads towards rational policies that benefit our country and the immigrant community. And we must prepare our community for a future in which Latinos take the leadership role in our nation and continue to ensure that America is the shining land of hope rather than a land of animosity and fear.
We are on the brink of a new era. An era in which Latinos will no longer be looked at as immigrants or outsiders, but will be the leaders, the entrepreneurs, the cultural icons of America. The future is ours if we embrace it. But we must embrace it and work hard to make it happen. Let us pledge today to set aside any differences we might have, link arms as brother and sister, and move forward as one family united in a common agenda.
I know that we can count on the tremendous LULAC leaders of Council 2890 to help our organization lead the Latino community forward. I As founder of the San Benito LULAC Council, I congratulate our members for 25 wonderful years of success and I call on you to keep up your tremendous work and help lead us to a better tomorrow.
Mickie Solorio Luna, national vice president, Farwest Region
