Latino USA Episode 04

[Opening music]

This is Latino USA, a radio journal of news and culture. I'm María Hinojosa. Today on Latino USA: in memory of César Chávez, a special report from Delano, California.

We shall miss César's powerful voice. His life and its example call each of us to a higher purpose. ¡Viva la raza! ¡Viva la causa! ¡Viva César Chávez!

And César's own words from his last major speech.

It is a boycott…public action…that saved this union. It is the only way we've ever made any progress, is through the boycott.

Also, health in the Latino community and the Clinton Health Plan. All this on Latino USA. But first: las noticias.

This is news from Latino USA. I'm María Martin. Proceedings have begun in San Francisco for the administrative discharge of Army Sergeant José Zuniga, the 1993 Sixth-Army Soldier of the Year and a decorated Gulf War hero. Zuniga recently announced he was gay. Franc Contreras has this report.

Zuniga disclosed his sexual orientation at April's Gay and Lesbian March in Washington, knowing he might jeopardize his own future in the military. He says he made the announcement because his exemplary record and achievements would enlighten those who oppose gays in the military. Army personnel would not comment on Zuniga's case, saying only that he has been processed for administrative discharge. The outcome depends on President Clinton's decision on the gay military ban. Regardless of his personal fate, Sergeant Zuniga says he hopes his action will encourage other distinguished gay and lesbian soldiers to reveal their orientation. For Latino USA, this is Franc Contreras.

In New York City, Mayor David Dinkins is calling for amnesty for Puerto Rican political prisoners. Mandalit del Barco reports.

Today, there are more than 45 Puerto Ricans in federal prisons across the country, some of them in jail for 10 years or more because of their work to free Puerto Rico from its U.S. ties. Three years ago, New York City mayor David Dinkins called three of the most famous Puerto Rican Independentistas assassins. Recently, however, he announced a support for freeing more than 21 political prisoners. Dinkins agreed with an amnesty resolution approved last fall by the New York City Council, and he said he's even written to President Clinton on behalf of the prisoners, asking for freedom as a humanitarian gesture. In November, the city council called on the United Nations to declare a general amnesty for the Puerto Ricans now in jail. Their status is a continuing issue for the Senate and Congress as hearings on a Puerto Rican plebiscite continue. For Latino USA, I'm Mandalit del Barco in New York.

President Clinton came to support public radio and a new Latino radio project recently at the public radio conference in Washington. This is what the president had to say about Latino USA.

And I want to offer my congratulations and best wishes to all who've worked so hard to launch Latino USA.

[Crowd cheering]

I believe it will be a new forum for all the diverse voices throughout America's Latino communities and a new way for more Americans to learn more about the importance of the many Latino cultures in the United States and the many leaders who have brought and are bringing hope and inspiration to all Americans.

President Clinton called himself an NPR junkie. He also said he was working every day to make this country one in which diversity is a source of strength rather than a cause for tensions. You're listening to Latino USA.

In Kansas City, it was built as a peace and justice summit as African American and Latino gang members gathered to try to chart a new direction for urban youth. From Kansas City, Frank Morris reports.

The gang members, former gang members, and community activists who met at the Urban Peace and Justice Summit have announced goals to make their embattled neighborhoods and barrios safer and wealthier. They say a new generation of urban leaders has emerged from the summit and formed a coalition between African Americans and Latinos to stop gang violence. Nane Alejandrez is executive director of the National Coalition to End Barrio Warfare in Santa Cruz, California.

We're tired of seeing our mothers at the graveyard. I personally have lost 2 brothers, 7 relatives, 20 relatives to the penitentiary, and I am tired, and I come here as a peacemaker.

Summit participants have agreed to spread the urban peace movement to fight police brutality and to pressure President Clinton to create a half a million dollars’ worth of new inner-city youth jobs. For Latino USA, I'm Frank Morris.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus is calling for the ouster of a federal judge in Florida. From Washington, Patricia Guadalupe has more.

Congressman Frank Tejeda, a Democrat from Texas, says Federal Judge Alexander Paskay made racist remarks in his Florida court. During a bankruptcy hearing in Tampa, Paskay reportedly referred to a South Texas Hispanic lawyer as "Speedy Gonzalez." He also asked if his clients were part of a Colombian cocaine cartel. Representative Tejeda successfully asked congressional Hispanic members to join in pushing for Judge Paskay's removal.

People go to court seeking justice and they expect the…the judge to be very honest and objective and neutral.

Under law, a federal judge can be removed by misconduct but only by his supervisor, the chief judge. For Latino USA, I'm Patricia Guadalupe in Washington.

You're listening to Latino USA.

[Transitional music]

President Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton have begun presenting their proposals to Congress about how to revamp the American healthcare system. The idea is that in the future, all Americans working or not will be covered by some kind of healthcare, but what about Latinos in this country, citizens or not? Wilma Montañez is a longtime national healthcare activist. She's currently the director of the Latina Round Table on Health and Reproductive Health in New York City. Wilma, what is the biggest healthcare problem facing Latinos, and will the Clinton plan help out?

There is a situation that in many of the Latino communities, we don't have access to healthcare, period. It's just not there. It's not in our communities. The infrastructure has not been put in place. The few community-based clinics that maybe were there may have been defunded through the years or have not really kept up with the needs of the community. So that's number one…is access to healthcare. And then, we are concerned about access for everyone…undocumented. Will it take care of the needs of specific reproductive health needs for women? Will it cover contraceptive services? Will it cover prevention? Will it cover abortion services?

Well, will it cover any of those things? Let's take, for example, the question of undocumented immigrants, many of whom are Latinos. Does the Clinton healthcare plan do anything to address their needs, or are they simply forgotten?

There is a lot of emphasis on connecting this healthcare reform to jobs, which is wonderful if it means that everybody in the United States is going to be working, but we know that, one: we do have a high percentage of people who are unemployed, in particular in the Latino communities of the country. Also that if it's related to a job, will all jobs feel this obligation to really provide healthcare insurance? Many of the jobs where you do find undocumented workers, they're the type of jobs that usually fall through the cracks. They're the kind of jobs that nobody ever thinks about and nobody ever wants to recognize, and we're concerned that then, the folks working in those types of jobs still will be uncovered.

How much, in fact, were Latino healthcare activists included in the process?

I think it has been minimal. I don't think it has been a concerted effort, using many people in the community, using a variety of people on different levels. I think when you're talking about providing healthcare, you can't just talk to the policymakers. You have to talk to some direct service providers, to policymakers, even folks in the medical schools that provide the folks who are going to be working in the communities. Because I think what's…what’s happening is that there is this healthcare reform that's being established, which is very much middle-class oriented. When you're working with folks who have not had access to quality care forever or if they ever had it in this country, then you're talking about people who may not know how to maneuver themselves through that type of healthcare system that’s been…you know, that they're talking about. So I think that's more the issue. And ignorance, I think there is ignorance. I think that people really don't understand how different it is when you have no access to healthcare, that it is difficult to make your way through appointments and through large clinics and just finding an [unintelligible] provider.

Thank you very much. Wilma Montañez is the director of the Latina Roundtable on Health and Reproductive Health in New York City.

[Transitional music]

They came by the thousands to the 40-acre ranch near Delano to pay their respects to the man who had fought an entire lifetime to give dignity and more opportunity to those who picked the food on America's tables. César Chávez, founder of the United Farm Workers Union, the first successful attempt to organize agricultural workers in this country, died April 23 at age 66. In Delano, the mass procession behind Chávez's simple pine coffin was at times over two miles long, as everyone, from farmworkers to the famous, came to pay their respects.

We shall miss…we shall miss César's powerful voice. His life and its example call each of us to a higher purpose, to greater resolve, to right the wrongs, to correct the injustices that continue to plague our communities, whether it's urban or rural, industrial or agricultural. It is an honor to remember his valiant life and to recommit myself and that of my colleagues as we go forward to try to bring for our children and our children's children the vision and the dream that we share. Entonces, con su permiso…hablo poquito en Español.

[Crowd cheering]

César Chávez es mi hermano, mi amigo, mi compañero. ¡Viva la raza! ¡Viva la causa! ¡Viva César Chávez!

[Crowd cheering]

A proclamation by the President of the United States of America upon the death of César Chávez. "César Chávez came from the humbled yet proud beginnings of a migrant worker to lead those same workers in a movement that irreversibly shaped our nation and brought justice and dignity to thousands. After the Depression ..."

In 1965, I believe, or '66, we marched with César here in Delano. On the efforts to do something about publicizing the boycott and the plight of farmworkers.

He moved us in a way that has come to be known as el movimiento y la causa.

Repeat after me. Boycott grapes! Boycott grapes! Boycott grapes!

In his loving…in his loving memory, please, boycott grapes. Make sure that our children do not have to suffer the pesticides anymore. What has happened to César will happen to all of us, and may we all be as lucky as César and be able to lay our heads down, close our eyes while reading a magazine on the Aztec nation and go to sleep and end our lives in that manner. We should all be that lucky.

¡Nosotros venceremos! ¡Nosotros venceremos ahora!

The life of César Chávez, his commitment to a cause, inspired many across the country, and as thousands gathered at the memorial service in Delano, California, Diana Martínez collected these thoughts from friends and supporters of César Chávez.

Nosotros venceremos.

Whether from a celebrity, politician, or average citizen, everyone who came to pay their respect seemed to have a story about how César Chávez touched their lives.

His life was an example to people, and millions of Hispanics and millions of Americans who will never live on a farm had their lives changed by him.

Mark Grossman first met Chávez in 1969 as a student. Grossman worked summers and vacations on the grape boycott from 40 Acres, United Farm headquarters in Delano. He learned firsthand how César was always able to get people to do a little more than what they first expected. Grossman wound up working for the union for 24 years and became his press secretary and personal aide. No one, he said, worked harder than the labor leader.

No one could tell César Chávez to slow down. The man was working 20-hour days, traveling constantly. I can't count the number of times that I'd meet him at his yard…you know, at 3 o’ clock in the morning, because…at La Paz near Bakersfield, because we had to be in Sacramento or San Francisco at 11:00, and we'd spend a full day of appearances and rallies and news conferences and protests or negotiations and be back dropping him off at 3 o’ clock the next morning.

Before becoming a politician, California State Senator Art Torres also worked for the UFW. As a young man, he was inspired by his unbending principles.

I remember, one time, we were driving from…Thermal, California in 1973 and the two dogs were in the back, Boycott and Huelga, and we stopped at a gas station…and we had just come from a rally. We had collected all this money, and I said, "Well, brother, we need to pay the gas bill." He says, "You're not going to touch that money until it's accounted for, back at La Paz." I said, "But we have no money to pay for the gas." "Then you go out there and you find the money from somebody else, but you're not going to touch that money because that has to be accounted for. It's the workers' money."

Senator Robert Kennedy, Jr., says his family became more aware of the power of the Latino vote because of Chávez.

I remember in the 1980 campaign when he came to Arizona, which he didn't have to do, during a primary, when Senator Kennedy was already in bad shape in the election, but he produced hundreds of lowriders who came with him because they were devoted to him to get out the vote for us on primary election day. He went into the field, sent organizers, had them register actually in the field, and we won the state of Arizona just because of César.

My first job that César gave me when we came to Delano was to go get the money from the workers at $3.50.

Dolores Huerta was with Chávez from the very beginning. She said he always knew gaining rights for farmworkers would mean tremendous sacrifice.

I went back to César, and I said, "César, they can't afford that much money." And he said, "If they don't give that $3.50, they will never get out of their poverty.”

Father William Wood, president of the National Catholic World Life Conference, and the Reverend Jesse Jackson, say Chávez will never be forgotten.

Because of our common faith, and especially with what I see here tonight, with the face of the people, I see that that it's really true when they say "Viva César Chávez." He really does live.

Chávez was a seed sower. He planted seeds of dignity, and those seeds will keep sprouting in the heart of people. As long as farmworkers fight for a decent wage, Chávez lives. As long as they fight against the horrors of the insecticides, Chávez lives. As long as they fight for the right to vote, Chávez lives. As long as they fight to build coalition, Chávez lives.

For Latino USA, I'm Diana Martínez.

[Transitional music]

When he died, César Chávez vacated the post he had held for over 20 years as president of the United Farm Workers. Towards the end of his tenure, though, the organization was faced with much criticism over the handling of the last grape boycott and a decreasing membership of farmworkers. In naming a new president, the UFW could have chosen Dolores Huerta, the co-founder of the organization. She said it would've been symbolic but, in fact, that the Farm Workers Union needed to move forward. So last week, the torch was passed to the younger generation. Arturo Rodríguez, Chávez's son-in-law is the new UFW president. The future of the UFW was on the minds of many who gathered at the memorial service for the longtime union leader. From Delano, Alberto Aguilar reports.

[Transitional corrido music]

This retired farmworker brought his accordion to Delano to remember César Chávez. Old-timers like him have been through a lot in the last 30 years, ever since César Chávez began organizing in the fields. The corridos tell the story of the struggle to improve the lot of the most impoverished of American workers. With the passing of their leader, unionized farmworkers now turn their heads to the future. While some may say these are unsettled times for the UFW, others see it as a rebirth. Organizer Humberto Gómez said Chávez's crusade won battles on the strength of our conviction of justice in the fields and that justice is still worth fighting for.

See, what happened is, like César used to say, the UFW is not only a union; it's a social movement. We belong to the community, and the community belongs to us. So we are part of the community, and that way, we will never die. You know, it is like me…you know, I start when I was 15 years old. I got my family here marching with me, and then more farmworker kids are going to be coming, and they're going to be getting involved in this. So we will never be shrinking, we will never die because this is a good movement. This is the best movement.

Another UFW organizer says he's not concerned at the passing of Chávez or the death of the union. Bobby de la Cruz, whose father was killed in an early union-organizing drive, said Chávez prepared them for his departure.

When I went and seen his coffin, you could see his face. I mean, he died peacefully, but you could tell that the work that he wants us to do is there. And he knows that, and we know, that the commitment is even stronger now. And I think this summer, you'll see the fruit of his labor really producing because it has inspired us to say that the union is alive, the leadership that it has. I mean, we come from that school. We've been at it for 20…25 years, and we're young, we're moving ahead and moving the movement forward to where he wants us.

For a time in the '70s, farmworkers had political clout in California. They even got the governor Jerry Brown, Jr., to sign a landmark legislation establishing the Agricultural Labor Relations Board. But through two successive Republican administrations, the tide started to turn against the farmworkers. California political consultant, Richie Ross.

I think César came to conclusion, and I think the correct one, that this movement has to win on the strength of average people and not be dependent on politicians.

Was that evident to you, and how?

He hasn't had any serious communication with any politicians in a long time. They haven't done anything. I mean, he tried everything. He supported them. He did it with money, he did it with people. He's done it every way you're supposed to play. He played the game the way everyone says you're supposed to play the game. He played the game. He got the law passed. He continued to support them all. And when push came to shove, all that he could do was no match for the money of the agricultural interests in the state. And uhh…I think he came to the conclusion when he started the grape boycott the second time several years ago that they're going to have to do it the old-fashioned way.

The union has also been weakened by internal strife and dissension within the ranks. But in the wake of César Chávez's death, the disaffected and the estranged have come back. Like California Senator Art Torres, many are talking about a renewal of the UFW.

It's a healing process for all of us. And now we realize that we still have a lot of work to do, and I think his death gives us all a rebirth of where we have to recommit ourselves even stronger now to erase some of these injustices which continue in one of the richest states in the world.

[Transitional guitar music]

Welcome this evening, César Chávez of the United Farm Workers of America.

[Clapping]

Very early in our struggle, we found that…we really couldn't beat the growers at their own game…in their own turf. And taking a page from…Gandhi and Dr. King and others, we came to the conclusion that we had to involve half of the world to beat the growers and that we could not do it through public policy. Workers are not covered by any protective laws for collective bargaining. And…those local courts will issue out injunctions like…they were going out of style. We were going to strike. But we also found out that they couldn’t really…although they're very powerful, that they really couldn't reach out to Chicago or Boston or even San Francisco or [unintelligible] or other places…across the border to Canada or Mexico. And that there, we could begin to have a more level playing field.

I'm talking now of public action or the boycott. It is a boycott… public action…that saved this union. It is the only way we've ever made any progress, is through the boycott. We've never won anything without the boycott. The boycott or a threat of the boycott. It's a terrible irony that in our day and our age, our country produces more food than what it really needs…yet the men, women, and children whose labor harvests this food often go to bed hungry. That's a terrible irony, and that's why we're here, and we ask you to join us, to join us to put a stop to that. Thank you very much.

[Clapping]

[Corrido music about César Chávez]

[Closing Theme]

And for this week y para este semana, this has been Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture. Latino USA is produced and edited by María Emilia Martin. Associate producer is Angelica Luévano. We had help this week from Franc Contreras, Mandalit del Barco, Patricia Guadalupe, Manolita Wetherill, Karen Blackman, Radio Bilingüe in Fresno, California, Margo Gutiérrez, Linda Wedenoga, and the Chicago Cultural Center. Latino USA is produced at the studios of KUT in Austin, Texas. The technical producer is Walter Morgan. We want to hear from you, so llámenos on our toll-free number, 1-800-535-5533. Major funding for Latino USA comes from the Ford Foundation, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the University of Texas at Austin. This program is distributed by the Longhorn Radio Network. Y hasta la próxima…I'm María Hinojosa for Latino USA.

The newly appointed successor to César Chávez, Arturo Rodríguez, started as a union organizer in the '70s. The Chávez lieutenant will have to deal with difficult issues like the grape boycott, the legal challenges by the growers, and the ban on toxic pesticides in the fields. Rodríguez will need the determination and daring Chávez taught his organizers. For Latino USA, this is Alberto Aguilar, reporting from Delano, California.