La Voz - September 2014

a publication of the Esperanza Peace & Justice Center

A MISSION TRAILS MOBILE HOME COMMUNITY RESIDENT SPEAKS

TRAVIS PARK: MAKING EYE CONTACT, LEST WE FORGET

SEPTEMBER 2014 | Vol. 27 ISSuE 7 San anTonIo, TEJaS

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La Voz deEsperanza

September 2014vol. 27 issue 7

Editor Gloria A. Ramírez Design Monica V. Velásquez

Editorial AssistanceAlice Canestaro-García

Cover Photo Graciela I. Sánchez

Contributors Ana Cantú, Ann Williams Cass, Mary Flores,

Rachel Jennings, Jonathan D. Ryan (RAICES), Tomás Ybarra-Frausto, Yoly Zentella

La Voz Mail Collective Sabrina Cantú, Valerie Cisneros, Carlos

Cruz, Diana De La Cruz, Juan Díaz, Phyllis Gustafron, Kim Holguin, Caroline Lacy, Rachel

Martínez, Ray McDonald, Luis Mercado, Angie Merla, Lisa Ortega, Lucy & Ray Pérez,

Jenny Poskey, Blanca Rivera, Mary Agnes Rodríguez, Guadalupe Segura, Bo Sutton,

Helen Suárez, Leo Treviño, Helen Villarreal

Esperanza Director Graciela I. Sánchez

Esperanza Staff Imelda Arismendez, Itza Carbajal,

Marisol Cortez, René Saenz, Saakred, Susana Méndez Segura, Monica V. Velásquez

Conjunto de Nepantleras-Esperanza Board of Directors-

Brenda Davis, Araceli Herrera, Rachel Jennings, Amy Kastely, Kamala Platt, Ana Ramírez, Gloria A. Ramírez, Rudy Rosales,

Nadine Saliba, Graciela Sánchez

• We advocate for a wide variety of social, economic & environmental justice issues.• Opinions expressed in La Voz are not

necessarily those of the Esperanza Center.

La Voz de Esperanza is a publication of

Esperanza Peace & Justice Center 922 San Pedro, San Antonio, TX 78212

210.228.0201 • fax 1.877.327.5902www.esperanzacenter.org

Inquiries/Articles can be sent to:[email protected] due by the 8th of each month

Policy Statements

* We ask that articles be visionary, progressive, instructive & thoughtful. Submissions must be literate & critical; not sexist, racist, homophobic, violent, or

oppressive & may be edited for length. * All letters in response to Esperanza activities or articles in La Voz will be considered for publication. Letters with intent to slander individuals or groups

will not be published.

Esperanza Peace & Justice Center is funded in part by the NEA, TCA, theFund, Coyote Phoenix Fund, AKR Fdn, Peggy Meyerhoff Pearlstone Fdn, Horizons Fdn,

New World Foundation, y nuestra buena gente.

Reprinted : time.com

/3136685/travyon-sybrina-fulton-ferguson/

To the Brown family,

I wish I had a word of automatic comfort but I don’t... I hate that you and your family must join this exclusive yet growing group of parents and relatives who have lost loved ones to senseless gun violence. Of particular concern is that so many of these gun violence cases involve children far too young. But Michael is much more than a police/gun violence case; Michael is your son. A son that barely had a chance to live. Our children are our future so whenever any of our children – black, white, brown, yellow, or red – are taken from us unnecessarily, it causes a never-ending pain that is unlike anything I could have imagined experiencing.

...Your lives are forever changed. However with those changes come new challenges and opportunities. You will experience a swell of support from all corners of the world. Many will express their sympathies and encourage you to keep fighting for Michael. You will also, unfortunately, hear character assassinations about Michael which I am certain you already have. This will incense and insult you. All of this will happen before and continue long after you have had the chance to lay your son to rest.

I know this because I lived and continue to live this. I have devoted my life to the comprehensive missions of The Trayvon Martin Foundation – including providing support to families that have lost a young child to senseless gun violence regardless of race, ethnicity or gender. I will support you and your efforts to seek justice for your Michael and the countless other Michaels & Trayvons of our country. The 20 Sandy Hook children. Jordan Davis. Oscar Grant. Kendrick Johnson. Sean Bell. Hadya Pendleton. The Aurora shooting victims. The list is too numerous... According to The Children’s Defense Fund, gun violence is the second leading cause of death for children ages 1-19. That is a horrible fact.

Facts, myths, and flat out lies are already out there in Michael’s case... My advice is to surround yourselves with proven and trusted support. Through it all, I never let go of my faith, my family, or my friends. Long after the overwhelming media attention is gone, you will need those three entities to find your ‘new normal.’ Honor your son and his life, not the circumstances of his alleged transgressions. I have always said that Trayvon was not perfect. But no one will ever convince me that my son deserved to be stalked and murdered. No one can convince you that Michael deserved to be executed.

But know this: neither of their lives shall be in vain. The galvanizations of our communities must be continued beyond the tragedies. While we fight injustice, we will also hold ourselves to an appropriate level of intelligent advocacy. If they refuse to hear us, we will make them feel us. Some will mistake that last statement as being negatively provocative. But feeling us means feeling our pain; imagining our plight as parents of slain children. We will no longer be ignored. We will bond, continue our fights for justice, and make them remember our children in an appropriate light... with Heartfelt Support, Sybrina D. Fulton

— another execution by police. A video of a young man holding up his arms declaring, “Don’t shoot” is enough for me to write this. The officer continues shooting until Brown is dead. Or, so they assumed. According to reports, Brown’s body was not even checked after he hit the ground. Only after other forces arrived did they determine he was dead. The de-valuation of our communities continues at all levels. An excerpt of a letter from Michael’s mother to Trayvon’s mother validates the need to continue to work together for social justice:

ATTENTION VOZ READERS: If you have a mailing address correction please send it to [email protected]. If you want to be removed from the La Voz mailing list, for whatever reason, please let us know. La Voz is provided as a courtesy to people on the mailing list of the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center. The subscription rate is $35 per year ($100 for institutions). The cost of producing and mailing La Voz has substantially increased and we need your help to keep it afloat. To help, send in your subscriptions, sign up as a monthly donor, or send in a donation to the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center. Thank you. -GAR

VOZ VISION STATEMENT: La Voz de Esperanza speaks for many individual, progressive voices who are gente-based, multi-visioned and milagro-bound. We are diverse survivors of materialism, racism, misogyny, homophobia, classism, violence, earth-damage, speciesism and cultural and political oppression. We are recapturing the powers of alliance, activism and healthy conflict in order to achieve interdependent economic/spiritual healing and fuerza. La Voz is a resource for peace, justice, and human rights, providing a forum for criticism, information, education, humor and other creative works. La Voz provokes bold actions in response to local and global problems, with the knowledge that the many risks we take for the earth, our body, and the dignity of all people will result in profound change for the seven generations to come.

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by Tomás Ybarra-Frausto

Mi Vida Entre Libros Para obtener el texto en

español contacte [email protected].

Buenas Tardes • Good Afternoon. Thank you all for joining me on this celebratory occasion. I am grateful to Ramiro

Salazar, Library Director, and his staff, for their support. Kudos to the members of the Latino Leadership group of the library and its chair, Jordan Vexler. Also a warm abra-zo to Dr. Ellen Riojas Clark and Becky Barrera. I want to acknowledge members of The Library Foundation and the Library Board of Trustees. Lily Pérez and the staff of the Latino Collection have been im-mensely gracious and accommodating. Mis agradecimientos a David Zamora Ca-sas for his magnificent decor. My brother, Hector Ybarra, and his wife, Alice, and my life companion, Dudley Brooks, deserve credit for sustaining my effort in making a living and making a life.

I have been immensely fortunate that in a making a living as an academic at Stanford University and as a foundation officer for the Rockefeller Foundation in New York, I made a life centered on the arts and humanities — a life in which books have played a central and critical role. In the spirit of the occasion, I want to reminisce about my connection to books and libraries with some anecdotal “recu-

erdos” or memories. I entitle my re-

membrance: Mi Vida Entre

Libros • My Life

Among Books. In 1948, I was a ten-year-old living in

San Antonio’s Westside on San Fernando St. proximate to Elmendorf Lake and the imposing spires of the building compris-ing the campus of Our Lady of the Lake University. Already I was an avid reader eagerly waiting for the bookmobile as it rumbled into the dusty unpaved street of our “barrio”. The bookmobile was a portable library — a space full of books that offered entrance to other worlds of

enchantment and adventure. I would spend a long time going from book stacks to bookcases carefully selecting the four books I was allowed to check out to read and re-read at home.

Each book was like a portal opening into the deep domains of the imagination. I delighted in stories of adventure in dif-ferent lands and different times; narratives of goblins, ghosts and the supernatural; detective stories that you had to read very slowly and carefully to figure out who committed the crime; stories of misbehav-ing boys and of heroic and valiant deeds. I was unaware that books were also teach-ing me values and social norms.

In my teens I began my lifetime affec-tion for libraries when I was allowed to come downtown to the imposing

San Antonio Main Library and Hertzberg Circus collection on Market St. I felt personally welcomed by the jaun-ty elephant statue that guarded the library entrance. Once inside the imposing, and to my eyes, palatial building I began my pilgrimage by reverently climbing the grand staircase to the top floor to visit the amazing Hertzberg Circus collection with its dioramas of circus performers, and vivid posters and circus memorabilia

on the walls. Especially captivating were the photographs of human anomalies or “freaks”: the pin-headed family, the con-joined Siamese twins and their wives and children, the fattest women and the tallest man on earth and, but of all, the doll-sized replica of the midget, Tom Thumb and his beautiful midget wife, Lavinia, both at-tired in their wedding finery.

What amazed and amused me most of all was two things: a photograph of Tom Thumb and his wife, Lavinia, in a family photo with their normal-sized children. How can two midgets produce normal-sized children, I pondered! Also, astonish-ing to me was a little box said to contain a slice of Tom Thumb’s and Lavinia’s wed-ding cake. It looked like a piece of dark carbon and I wondered how it would taste.

Editor’s note: On June 24th Dr. Tomás Ybarra-Frausto dedicated a significant collection of books to the refurbished Latino Collection on the 6th floor of the San Antonio Public Library. The text of his dedication is reprinted here with encouragement to all to go peruse these remarkable books that are so important in affirming the community of S.A. and Chicanos & Latinos, in general.

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After some time of looking and being amazed and astonished by all the wonders of the circus display, I was ready to come down-stairs to the greater marvels of the books.

The librarians who knew me as a regular always cheer-fully greeted me. One librarian got to know the kinds of books I checked out and she would have two or three suggestions of books to peruse that she thought I might enjoy. I remember The Prince and The Pauper, The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo, the detective yarns of Sherlock Holmes, the fan-tasies of Jules Verne, the works of Charles Dickens, The Grapes of Wrath and many, many others. One book led to another in an endless chain of pleasurable reading.

At the Public Library I would always go to the card index (remember those?). I was always looking under my last name, Ybarra, searching to see if there was a book written by someone with my name. One day I hit the jackpot; there was an index card for T. Ybarra and a book titled Young Man of Caracas. I went to the stacks and searched until I found the book, checked it out, and eagerly took it home. The book was an account of a young boy growing up in the urban metropolis of Caracas, Venezuela. It began to dawn on me that the Spanish-speaking universe went from San Antonio to Latin America and that one day there would be a book in the library written by a Mexican American about growing up bi-cultural in San Antonio and, more significantly, that one day there would be a book by an-other Ybarra.

Today my grandnephews and grandnieces can go to the San Antonio library, and as they can scan the electronic database, they can find books written by authors with the last name of Ybarra, one of them being their great uncle, Tomás Ybarra-Frausto.

As an undergraduate at the University of Texas in Austin, I majored in Latin American literature and worked as a page in the Latin America Library that was then housed in the Univer-sity’s Main Tower. This was the domain of the legendary librar-ian, Miss Nettie Lee Benson. Miss Benson was a formidable woman, a spinster from South Texas who wore gold rimmed glasses, had her hair in a “chongo” (bun) and dressed like a prim Victorian lady. She was a renowned scholar of Mexican history and was a lively and demanding personality with a wicked sense of humor. All of us lowly book pages vied for her favor and approval. Our job was to go to the closed stacks and search and retrieve books requested by scholars from through-out the world. In this job, I handled many rare books including indigenous pre-Colombian codices. Also, I got to learn about first editions and to appreciate fine bookbinding and the marvels of illustrated books. It was during this period that I started to collect books myself. I haunted used bookstores in Austin and San Antonio and started building an accumulation of books fo-cused on Mexican and Latin American arts and culture.

When I was appointed a professor at Stanford University, I continued to accumulate a library related to courses I taught in

the humanities, especially books on the history of ideas and on the broad range of topics from natural history, to architecture, fashion, design and social movements.

In the mid-1970’s I journeyed to New York City to be As-sociate Director of Creativity and Culture at the Rockefeller Foundation. I oversaw humanities and arts projects in Mexico and Latin America. During this fascinating period, I relished the chance to visit venerable bookstores, private collections and book collectors in Buenos Aires, Lima, Caracas, Mexico City and other cities in the hemisphere. The books I collected formed the nucleus of the collection I have donated to this library.

I am delighted that my collection of books on Chicano, Mexican and Latino arts and culture will enhance the already significant collection of tomes in the Latin Collection, a reposi-tory of information and knowledge where specialized scholars, students and the general public can learn and begin to under-stand the history and cultural legacies of the more than fifty million U.S. Latinos and their intellectual contributions to the United States society and culture across time and space.

For me, the most comfortable space of a home is the space that contains books, whether it be a library, a media room, or a bedroom — any space with a comfortable chair, a lamp and a pile of books, usually also joined by other loved objects like paintings, family photos and other momentos and memorabilia.

To be among books encourages learning, feeds our aesthetic pleasures and stimulates the imagination. Books create a space of refuge when you seek solitude, yet books are also embracing companions when you feel sad or alone.

I continue to love and treasure books, their weight, their presence, the wisdom they contain. The current moment of technological frenzy with computer, ipads, kindles and bookless libraries must be balanced with maintenance of bound books — still dynamic and essential for prompting plans, projects and dreams. Books retain secrets and mysteries. They are like a brilliant light that invites us to reflection, the encounter with our self and as aids helping us understand the time we live in. Books exercise our powerful imaginations to envision a more just and equitable society. May we all continue to find delight, joy and comfort in reading and may books continue to enchant and enhance our lives… gracias. v

Books exercise our powerful imaginations to envision a more just and equitable society.

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McALLEN July 3rd - When I heard stories of great famines occurring in Africa — I would think to myself,

“How close does a starving child have to be for local people to show concern? Would a child starving to death on my front lawn be enough to soften the hearts of neighbors to respond? What if the child lived in North Texas or in Mississippi? Is that too far away to get involved?”

Today we have children right in our midst who need attention, love, and care. Fortunately, the majority of citizens are stepping up to the plate and responding with time and resources. Fortunately our local leaders, the Mayor of McAllen, Jim Darling, and Hidalgo County Judge Ramon Garcia, along with their emergency management officials, have been so supportive of these families. Unfortunately, elected officials who do not live here and who cannot look these children in the eye are offering quite a different response. These politicians suggest that we militarize our Rio Grande Valley, that we waive existing laws and that we expedite the deportation of these children as soon as possible.

A study of over 400 children leaving their countries in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico, done in December of 2013 by the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees and the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops found that a majority of the children had viable causes to request for asylum.

A civilized nation does not send refugees back to their country of origin until the issues that caused their flight are cleared up. You just don’t do that. We did that once during WWII when

we sent back boatloads of Jews fleeing death camps because our immigration policy had met its quota. History did not look kindly on us for that move.

A civilized nation does not put children in jail. What’s happening right now in the Border Patrol Detention Centers for unaccompanied children is horrible. The UN’s document, Children on the Run, points out that we need to refrain from practices that unnecessarily restrict children’s liberty, especially with regard to detention as it gives continued harm and has a detrimental impact on the well-being of the child.

Our government must do better and we citizens who have these children in our communities need to be raising our voices about what is happening. We need to educate our Senators and Governor about what constitutes a refugee and why they should not be returned as quickly as possible, without due process, which they are not guaranteed.

Thank goodness for the response of our Catholic Bishop Daniel Flores and Sr. Norma Pimentel with Catholic Charities Río Grande Valley. Other faith communities & families have also responded in unprecedented numbers to volunteer and to bring supplies of food and clothing.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and an Equal Voice Network coordinator remarked that the situation of these children provides us as Americans the opportunity to show the world just how great we are. I am reminded of the late Bishop John J. Fitzpatrick who responded to the refugee crisis in the 1980s by opening up a shelter for those fleeing the wars in Central America. He told me once, “I supported opening up the shelter because I believed that the Gospel was calling the church to be the face of Christ for the refugees. To my surprise, they became the face of Christ for us.” And indeed the parents and children who are here in the Valley now are the face of Christ for us today, what an opportunity we have to serve them. Let us continue doing that and supporting those who are working very hard to make that happen. In the long run, we are the ones who will be blessed by them. What an opportunity we have! vBio: Ann Williams Cass is a community organizer in the Rio Grande Valley.

Craig Pennel, man-about-town, and community organizer, was a gregarious, unassuming man who was very popular in the Southtown area of San Antonio. He served as secretary of Aquifer Guardians in Urban Areas (AGUA) and was an active member of the Jump-Start Theater when it was located at the Blue Star Complex. He often showed up to rallies and marches supporting peace, social justice and environmental causes. A graduate of Trinity University, Craig was know for his generosity especially in mentoring young artists. An avid anglophile and traveler, Craig also loved Mexico and collected and sold Mexican folk art for a period of time with Danny Lozano at the famed Tienda Guadalupe at Beauregard and S. Alamo Streets. Known as “The Wicked Wit of Wickes Street”, Craig’s sociability and sense of humor will be missed but his presence will remain in the streets of Southtown. May he rest in peace.

Craig Tallman Pennel January 6, 1949 - June 21, 2014

by Ann Williams Cass

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Dear Mr. President, efugee and Immigrant Center for Education & Legal Services (RAICES) is a non-profit organization whose primary mission is to assist vulnerable members of the immigrant community, including asylum seekers, unaccompanied minors, immigration detainees, and

survivors of crime. Our largest program provides free legal information and direct representation to unaccompanied children in the custody of the Dept. of Health & Human Services (HHS).

RAICES Letter to President Obama:“Protect Refugee Children”

For the last six weeks, RAICES has been the only provider of “Know Your Rights” presentations and confidential legal screenings to nearly 1,200 unaccompanied children currently in HHS custody at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, TX. We have carefully peer-reviewed the intakes of 925 children so far, and our assessment is that 63 percent of these 925 children are likely to be found eligible for relief by a U.S. Immigration Judge. In RAICES’ 20 years of experience, the cases that our staff screen and determine to be eligible for relief ultimately have a success rate of 98% in proceedings before immigration judges. Thus RAICES’ preliminary legal determinations are supported by hundreds of favorable adjudications on behalf of our unaccompanied minor clients.

The children we serve at Lackland are fleeing unspeakable violence. The vast majority are from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. Our interviews confirm that many of these children are victims of sexual assault, trafficking, domestic abuse, gang intimidation, persecution, and torture. RAICES’ staff and volunteers have met with girls as young as 12 years old who fled criminal gangs attempting to force them into sexual exploitation. The phenomenon occurring in these countries can be described as a “war on children,” where local gangs target boys and girls as young as 8 or 9 to transport drugs, coerce them to join through death threats, and intimidate them into participating in the new normalized criminal activity that is rampant and wide-spread. The children and their families who have faced such violence and difficult conditions have made a conscious decision to seek refuge in the United States because they fear their very lives are at stake.

It is very difficult for traumatized children to speak about the abuse or violence they have endured. They need time to articulate their fears, and it requires interviewers with special skills and training to help them do this. RAICES offers culturally-competent and trauma-informed services that encourage the child’s meaningful participation in the legal process. Following the presentation, we typically spend a minimum of 45 minutes to one hour with each child, carefully asking difficult questions about their lives, their families, and their journey to the U.S. In many cases, follow-up interviews are necessary. We go through all the different forms of relief that may be available. The primary forms of relief identified include asylum, “U visas” for victims of serious crimes, and “T” visas for victims of trafficking. We then help them find pro bono attorneys across the country.

The screening that RAICES and other organizations provide to unaccompanied children is essential. It is often the only opportunity these children will have to articulate their claims, talk with an

attorney, and to access the protections that our laws provide. It may also be the only opportunity to be assessed for vulnerability to future trafficking. Without this screening, the 63% of children who likely qualify for relief might never have been identified.

We are aware of proposals to amend the 2008 Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act to truncate the screening and adjudications process for these children and thereby speed up their deportations. Given the vulnerability of children and the risk that improper screening would further endanger these children if the process is rushed or handled by inadequately trained adjudicators, I urge you to resist any proposals to change the law and ensure that every child receives adequate due process and the required humanitarian protection.

But in addition to screening, children also need legal representation. The importance of counsel to help a child prepare and present a claim cannot be understated. Yet many if not most children face removal proceedings alone. Even children who have survived trauma or persecution or who live in fear of return are often left to navigate removal laws on their own and present their claims without any legal assistance. Having legal representation has been shown to be the single most important factor in determining the outcome of asylum claims. We should not be a country that allows children seeking protection to stand in court alone. I urge you to provide additional resources to ensure that every child receives a legal orientation presentation and has legal counsel to represent him or her through this process.

How we respond to the current regional humanitarian crisis, in which children are fleeing and in need of safe haven, says a lot about our country and ourselves. RAICES has been providing legal services to unaccompanied children for more than two decades. We know first-hand that affording these children proper screening for trafficking and persecution, as well as the opportunity to be represented by counsel and receive fair and full consideration of their legal claims before an immigration judge, could well be the difference between life and death. We urge you to prioritize the protection of these children and ensure that they receive full due process. v

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Sincerely,

Jonathan D. Ryan Executive Director, RAICES

To help and for more info see www.raicestexas.org

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Gentrification is a shift in an urban community toward wealthier residents and/ or businesses and increasing property values. In our case, the only wealth we have is our faith and love of our family ties — our wealth is not monetary. Local governments may favor gentrification because of the increased tax base associated with the new — high income residents, as well as other perceived benefits of moving poor people. (Actually, let’s call it what it really is — displacement.) I know that gentrification is occurring all over the world and not just in our community in San Antonio, TX, but I do not live all over the world. I reside at 1515 Mission Rd. Mission Trails Mobile Home Community.

Gentrification has been occurring since the 3rd century A.D., and just because it continues to happen this does not mean that this is just or fair when this involves people’s lives and the way it impacts their lives. Our community did not want the re-zoning to pass but this point is now moot. Whether our community favored this change or not does not mean that anyone has the right to treat us as if we do not matter, because we most certainly do.

No one should have to live through what we continue to go through on a daily basis. Just last night we had another waterline break. My husband and Mr. Valdez, another resident, fixed the problem because the maintenance man was not available, and while the Manager was contacted, he has nothing in place for such emergencies. Had this not been taken care of last night, I guarantee you our water would have been shut off today turning it into an all day inconvenience for everyone. Because the owners have failed to maintain this property, these occurrences are happening (water issues) — not to mention the raw sewage that is seeping out of some of the residents’ living areas.

While code compliance has been contacted, and the manager and owner are aware of this problem, to date there has been no

action taken to remedy it. We still live here and continue to pay rent. We are not

living here free and we are not looking for anything other than the responsible parties to step up to the plate and make things right. In an interview that Lauren Graham of Channel 4 did with Councilwoman Viagran for District 3, she stated that what we are going to do is to make sure that we follow through with all the commitments that the city made. I can tell you that the incentive that was made by the developer is not a viable plan. The attorney for the developer stated that everyone is on a case-by-case basis. Well, here is my husband’s and my case:

Moving Costs:

not going to another Mobile Home Community — preferably, looking for property.

• Alamo Movers, Joe Richardson — Mobile Home (licensed, insured, permit): $2400. • Porch patio cover, storage sheds (tear down/set up): $800.• Aramendia AC, Isidro, (disconnect and reconnect) : $600 • Two Guys Moving, Jennifer — (est. 5hrs. @ $90hr.): $450• Mission Rd. Mini Mission Storage (3Br 10x10): $99mo. • Boxes needed, Esme: $52.56 — Total: $151.56 • Phone, At&T, John: Service cost: $49.00• Hotel (approx. 2 nights $118+tax): $260.00

The following information is from Palm Harbor Mfg.: • Utilities, Sebastian — Reconnect (If on site): $1500• Water — Hook Up (onsite): $1800• Land Purchase: Earnest Money: $1500 Septic: $1000• Land contract — Attorney: $300 and Title Co.: $200• Title Search Fee: $57.00. Recording fees: $174. Courier Fee: $40. Title Commitment: $380. • Tax Certificate: $470. Appraisal: $400, Property Survey: $350 Total of $12,881.56.

And that’s not including the federal meals and incidentals allowable per person a day: $66 each.

There was a question asked of me by a reporter who will remain unnamed. The question that people were asking, while not

A Mission Trails Mobile Home Community Resident Speaks by Mary Flores

Editor’s note: A People’s Luncheon, Real Solutions to Gentrification took place Monday, June 23rd at the San Antonio Main Library. Mary Flores spoke on the displacement she will experience since the Mission Trails Mobile Home site she lives at was sold on July 25th to a developer who plans to build a $75 million dollar apartment complex.

Good Morning. My name is Mary Flores and my

husband and I live at 1515 Mission Rd. at the Mission Trails Mobile Home Community. I am one of the many faces of gentrification along with my resident neighbor, Mía Chávez.

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taking sides was: why we just didn’t find some land and move. My response to him was that that’s a very good question and I’ll answer that for you right now. I told him that we attended several meetings with certain council members and a proposal was made that — what if we were to acquire some land for the residents and make all the necessary living conditions that go along with just

living whether it be a mobile home or a house. Where is that land?Then we had another proposal made by another city council

person who suggested — what if each resident was given $30,000 for moving costs — I replied that was a great idea. Where is that money?

We’re not looking to make money from this, we just want what is fair to cover our moving expenses if it comes to the fact that we will have to move. We should NOT have to pay anything out-of-pocket.

I believe at the end of all this — that this journey we are on — that god has a better plan for all the residents. So how does the reporter end the story that was Mary Flores’ and she says she doesn’t expect to move? Anybody watching this interview will look at it and think, “Oh, what a STUBBORN, STUBBORN

WOMAN — SHE WILL NOT MOVE!” I never made the statement that I would not move.

This plan is one the city, the land owner and developer wanted so they need to step up to the plate and do right by the residents of Mission Trails Mobile Home Community. The San Antonio Express-News dated, 5-6-2014 stated that the city coffers had

assets of $6.4 Billion dollars. If the City can use these monies as incentives for the developers, then they can certainly use these monies to cover our moving costs.

In the future when there is a development project being proposed, the City needs to take a closer look and make sure that this is about growth and what is good for the City and not let greed be the driving factor in all their decisions. Do Not Continue To Build Over People’s Lives!

It’s pretty ironic that our Mayor is being nominated for HUD Secretary. If the people of San Antonio couldn’t be helped at the City level, how will the Nation benefit? v

Ricardo Gallardo Montano ,

Medico Cirujano, born April 3, 1922 in Mexico City, went to be with The Lord at the age of 92 on June 28, 2014. A

beloved doctor of the Westside community in San Antonio with a clinic at the corner of Buena Vista and Pinto St., Dr. Montano is survived by his wife Zita Garza de Montano and his children. Dr. Montano and his wife, Zita were avid fans of the esteemed elder singer, Rita Vidaurri and rarely missed one of her concerts. The Esperanza Center extends condolences to Zita and Dr. Montano’s family, patients, and friends. Que en paz descanse.

Peace-builder Tom Flower a friend of peace activists: John Stanford, Tom Keene, Jack Elder and Tom Wetzler died June 28,

2014 at 83 years old. He was the local coordinator for the American Friends Service Committee in the

60s and was arrested and convicted for “trespassing” onto Ft. Sam Houston. The conviction was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court with the help of Maury Maverick. Ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church, he later conducted a food ministry in San Francisco for 15 years. He returned to San Antonio continuing his peace activism and leaves behind his “flower children”--two daughters, two sons, and lots of grandchildren.

May he rest in peace.

Residents of Mission Trails Mobile Home Community rally at City Hall to announce lawsuits against the city of S.A. and property owners American Family Communities. Photo: Jeremy Gerlach / Southside Reporter | www.mysa.com

Do Not Continue To Build Over People’s Lives!

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O ne Sunday morning as I was hurrying to Travis Park United Methodist Church, a man who lives on the streets called me over: “Miss! Miss, listen! Come here, okay?” Knowing he would ask for change, I began looking for coins. “Do you see that sign?” he said,

pointing to the Don’t Walk sign. “When I crossed the street when that sign was on, the cops arrested me. They call it ‘jaywalking.’ Don’t cross the street with the Don’t Walk sign on, okay? Cause the police here will arrest you.” The man’s story may have been a way to catch my eye so he could ask for money. As I was about to enter a church that makes claims about serving the homeless, he succeeded in getting me to stop, chat, look him in the eye, and hand him a little money.

Whatever his motives, the man’s story was plausible. Recently, a fellow churchmember told me that police have been trying to clear downtown of homeless people within a perimeter from San Fernando Cathedral to Martin St., and the River Center Mall to Flores St. by using arrests for loitering, public camping, public intoxication and the like in order to make the central city more amenable to tourists, office workers and apartment residents. Even on Sundays, police have been known to bring the paddy wagon by Travis Park UMC to arrest people. Indeed, a large portion of the church’s congregation consists of homeless people who attend worship, Sunday school and Bible study. A yellow “donation station” designed to look like a parking meter stands at the intersection of Travis and Navarro streets. A reminder to passersby of corporate influence is a sign that says, “This meter made possible by Rivercenter Mall.” The sign asks visitors not to “support panhandling” and “to make a change here” by placing donations for Haven for Hope) in the coin slot. I, however, often make a point of giving money directly to “panhandlers.”

In addition to the donation station, Travis Park has undergone other renovations. Workers have cut trees, planted shrubs and flowers, and placed landscaping stones along the corners of sidewalks. Dog waste bags are available free for pet owners. Recycling bins stand next to regular trash cans. Water fountains provide filtered water and tap water. A small dog park contains a dog-sized water fountain and a bench. In the center of the park, two Civil War cannons near the obelisk have been freshly painted and restored. Wooden picnic tables offer a place for lunch under the trees. In the middle of the workday, yellow and aqua colored metal tables with umbrellas are placed around the obelisk. A

kiosk allows visitors to borrow games and books. Food trucks offer quick, tasty meals. Many will cheer these new amenities, since seemingly anyone who visits the park can enjoy them.

Other changes include stern new signs reminding visitors that park hours are “5:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.” and that “sleeping and loitering” are against the rules. Such language criminalizes the homeless that has made use of the park for rest, drinking water and socializing. Rules also forbid “skateboarding and rollerblading,” thus curtailing the number of youth at the park. No sign forbids the use of Segways typically used by affluent urban dwellers. The presence of police ensures the enforcement of rules. Such changes at Travis Park reassure visitors who are unaccustomed to mixing with people of dissimilar backgrounds while discouraging use by people who are poor, homeless, or young and active.

Throughout its 144-year history, the park has reflected the patriarchal and capitalist values of colonialist San Antonio.

Efforts to displace the poor and homeless are the current, sad chapter in the poignant history of a site that has often been hostile and unwelcoming to Mexican Americans, African Americans, LGBT persons, and other socially marginalized populations. Indeed, Travis Park reminds us that marginalization most literally refers to existence on the margins of a geographical place, whether a park, an area within a city, or the wider city itself. Marginalization is segregation.

Other signs provide the park’s name and the year it opened: “Travis Park, est. 1870.” These signs also display the new logo, a white silhouette of the tall Confederate monument (obelisk) that towers over the square. The soldier who tops the monument cannot be identified with any specific army. Absent from the signs are the inscriptions on the monument: “Our Confederate dead” and “Lest we forget.” Also missing is the name of the group that sponsored the monument, the “Barnard E. Bee Chapter, Daughters of the Confederacy, Mrs. A. W. Houston, President.” First-time visitors, whether local or out-of-town assume the statue represents William B. Travis, the commander of troops at the Alamo after whom the park is named. The park is only a short distance from the Alamo and other sites related to the Texas Revolution. In this silhouette, the image ensures that the distinction between the Confederate soldier and Texan revolution is obscured.

Making eye contact, lest we forget

Part One of a series by Rachel Jennings

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As problematic as the colonialist history of the Alamo and its defenders might be, the public views the official Alamo narrative as less offensive and threatening than a sympathetic representation of the Confederacy and its legacy of white supremacy. Because schoolteachers and docents at the Alamo, the Shrine of Texas Independence, elevate men like Travis, Bowie, and Crockett to the status of tyranny-hating freedom fighters, many people embrace this romanticized portrayal. If visitors associate Travis Park with its namesake rather than with the Confederacy, then, image-obsessed park designers may not be disappointed.

Times, though, are changing. The Alamo has become so closely associated with Anglo domination and anti-Mexican racism that many of the culturally liberal inhabitants of downtown distance themselves from the history of the Alamo and William B. Travis as much as from the Confederacy. Many embrace what they feel to be a more cosmopolitan, less Texan, self-image. From the perspective of urban planners, a recalibration of Alamo symbolism has become necessary. That recalibration includes more than representing the Confederate obelisk in silhouette.

To enhance its cultural appeal to tourists, the City also emphasizes the connection of Travis Park with San Antonio’s Catholic missions dating back to the 18th century. The City’s website informs readers that the park “was once part of the upper farmlands of mission San Antonio de Valero (today called the Alamo).” Since the online history

of the park includes no mention of the Confederate statue, this reference to the 18th century history of mission San Antonio de Valero is noteworthy. A historical link to the mission provides a new way of envisioning and culturally interpreting Travis Park. At the northeastern corner of the park, a large sign features a maroon-colored geometric shape resembling the

legendary Rose Window, La Ventana de Rosa, at the San José Mission. While the mission was founded in 1720, the window dates to about 1775, making it one of the oldest architectural artefacts in the city. Inside the shape of the Rose Window on the Travis Park sign is the silhouette of a big, leafy park tree.

Ironically, while park designers now wish to emphasize the mission roots of Travis Park and the city, many 19th century residents of downtown San Antonio worked to consolidate Anglo cultural and commercial hegemony.

During that period, cultural and economic clout shifted from “Plaza de las Yslas, or Main Plaza, which,” had “served as the center of town” where elite Mexican Americans, including descendants from the Canary Islands, lived, to Alamo Plaza, dominated by Anglo-American and German interests. For example, after the Catholic Church closed the Mission San Antonio de Valero, Francisco García purchased the land in 1819. By 1851, Samuel August Maverick, a wealthy, influential Anglo, had bought the land. Building his home “at the northwest corner of Alamo Plaza,” Maverick used the property as his orchard (City of San Antonio). Previously, Maverick had lived off of the Main Plaza, the more prestigious section of the City. In her memoirs, Maverick’s wife, Mary, writes, “I felt that

I could not live any longer at the old place [on Main Plaza], and Mr. Maverick, too, did not want to live there. We concluded the high ground on the Alamo Plaza would be a more healthful location” (qtd. in Flores 44). In 1855, another wealthy San Antonian, William Menger, “constructed his home on the southwest corner” (Flores 44) of Alamo Plaza. In addition, “the Mengers also ran a boardinghouse and a brewery from this property, which they expanded into the Menger Hotel in 1859” (44). Thus, one sees two trends in 19th century S.A.: 1) the shift of cultural and economic power from Main Plaza and Military Plaza to Alamo Plaza, formerly San Antonio de Valero Mission and 2) an increased use of the land around Alamo Plaza for commercial purposes, including “mercantile and tourist enterprises” (52), which contrasts with the primarily social and religious uses of space around the Main Plaza. The activity surrounding Travis Park, likewise, became increasingly commercial in character.

When Samuel Maverick died in 1870, the land was “deeded to the City, and an 1873 map calls the square, Travis Plaza” (City of San Antonio). In the early years of San Antonio, as Miguel A. Rojas-Mix states, the plaza was “the key to urban organization” (qtd. in Flores 39), reflecting Spanish and Mexican values related to social interrelatedness and openness. As Richard Flores writes in Remembering the Alamo (2002), “the dissolution of a Mexican social rubric and its reorganization through the practices associated with capitalist modernity mark a growing class division between Anglos and Mexicans” (36); in fact, “spatial dissolution and displacement was a key element of political conquest” and “served to fortify the norms, values, and cultural practices of the dominant group” (37). In its changed identity from Spanish Catholic mission farmlands to private ownership and then to a “plaza” and, finally, a “park,” Travis Park exemplifies this “dissolution and displacement.”

The “dominant group,” Anglo men in business and commerce, decided in 1899 to erect the Confederate obelisk in Travis Park to commemorate the Confederate dead, since their soldiers had been garrisoned nearby. Indeed, affluent nearby

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churches had Confederate veterans in their congregations. These churches also reflect a shift in the symbolic power

base of the city from Main Plaza to Alamo Plaza. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the center of San Antonio

was the San Fernando Cathedral on Main Plaza. In 1846, the congregations that later became

the First Presbyterian Church and Travis Park UMC, according to the Travis Park UMC website,

“held services together in the Old Courthouse on the East side of Main Plaza, preaching on alternate

Sabbaths.” By the end of the century, both had moved closer to the Alamo, First Presbyterian to Alamo St.

and Travis Park UMC across from Travis Park. These two churches as well as St. Mark’s Episcopal, also near Travis Park, had strong ties to the Confederate cause. A historical marker in front of St. Mark’s, established in 1850, recalls that “Col. Robert E. Lee, stationed in San Antonio . . . was a leader in parish activities” when “church construction began in Dec. 1859.” Unfortunately, for

Lee and the church, the “Civil War interrupted construction.” Thus, the finished church is a sort of a commemoration of the war. A marker on the grounds of Travis Park UMC reads, “In memory of Texas pioneer Methodist Preachers who gave their services to the Texas Confederate Soldiers Stationed in the block 1861-1865. Dedication by the Robert E. Lee Chapter, No. 188, U.D.C., Commemorating the Texas Methodist Church-South Centennial, Sept. 3, 1934. Violet A. Haynes, Pres.” The obelisk commemorating the Confederate dead, therefore, would have had deep significance to both churches.

This Confederate history was unknown to me

in 1999, when I first saw Travis Park.

I took the bus daily from the VIA station on San Pedro to the University of the Incarnate Word, where I was a visiting professor in the English Department. At Travis Park, I changed buses. I contemplated exploring the park, but did not wish to miss my next bus. Especially stunning were the two Civil War cannons and the huge obelisk topped with a uniformed soldier pointing skyward. When I saw it, I wasn’t quite sure if the soldier was in Confederate uniform. Always curious about memorials, statues and historical markers, I walked to the middle of the park to study the inscriptions and to examine the uniform closely.

The sheer size of the monument shocked me. Growing up in East Tennessee, a “border region” between the North and South in which families and communities were deeply divided, the trauma of the Civil War has resulted in a relative paucity of public monuments. While Confederate flags and similar images are far too popular in the region, official discourse and visual representations tend to be sober and muted.

Sidling up to the obelisk for a closer look, I avoided eye contact with visitors, whether tourists or locals. Somehow, I felt deeply embarrassed. Whether the statue was of William B. Travis or a generic Confederate soldier, I did not wish to be identified as a white person with an interest in either the Texas Revolution or the Confederacy. Most passersby, after all, were brown or black, the sort of people who were my neighbors and fellow bus riders, while I was simply some white newcomer, a southerner who was intrigued by a huge Confederate statue.

Imagine how I felt when I came across Iris Dimmick’s “Avoiding Eye Contact on a Walk Through Travis Park,” an article in the Rivard Report published May 24, 2013. Dimmick does not refer to racial embarrassment as a cause for avoiding eye contact. Describing her stroll through Travis Park, Dimmick mentions the “United Daughters of the Confederacy monument” only as a minor detail with no commentary.

What causes Dimmick consternation, however, are the people who linger there. Describing her walk to a meeting at the St. Anthony Hotel on plans to renovate Travis Park, she relates how frightened and threatened she feels while encountering these people. “It would have been hard (and naïve),” she writes, “not to be aware of the intimidating glances during my stroll through the park.” The people she encounters are not friendly and view her as an outsider. “Perhaps,” she speculates, “the presence of my camera added to my out-of-place-ness.” As she crosses the park, a young man asks, “What’s up, girl?” and licks his lips. “Hey, man,” she replies. He and a friend laugh at her. Later, she hears them yelling “at a homeless man” sitting on one of the concrete benches surrounding the Confederate monument.

Any woman who has experienced mocking shouts on a street can sympathize with Dimmick. Nevertheless, much is missing from her narrative. Who are the man and his companion? Did they seem to be homeless? Did she suspect them of being criminals? What is their race and class? Dimmick’s reference to the camera is also evocative. In an essay in which she describes “avoiding eye contact,” she refers to a camera, a device that is used to see or to capture images. She does not say why she has a camera. People in the park, however, might resent or fear being photographed. Also, the camera might have been expensive enough to function as a marker of her privilege and their lack of privilege. She needs “to work on saying nothing at all” to people in the park, Dimmick says. In her article, certainly, she succeeds in saying nothing to readers offering no analysis of what she has experienced.

Dimmick implies that those who live on the street make her feel uncomfortable. She suggests varied park programming would help put them to work, although details for this are fuzzy. Only a limited number of homeless could be put to work by Centro San Antonio “sweeping and staffing information kiosks.” The meeting she attends at the hotel, ironically, concerns plans to renovate

continued on p. 15

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by Yoly Zentella

I could no longer sit and watch as you walk past your destroyed homes carrying your dead to burial sites, only for the cemeteries to be bombed later by Israel. I had to act, to extend these words to you.

I am a Chicana, from el norte de Nuevo Mexico. The grassroots history in this part of our world is one of 19th-century colonization by Westward Expansion,

marginalization and dispossession from ancestral lands, forced acculturation — countered by resistance, activism, resiliency and survival. For us, this is a living historical legacy, it has not ended, we are still struggling with outsider gentrification designs, subtle racism, toxic oil and gas encroachment, and the preservation of our language and culture

particularly among our youth. When I think of our ongoing struggle, I think of you.

These days, as in the past, I walk around town and see Chicano families: children running, playing, laughing, parents eating with their children in the park. They keep their children safe by guiding them across the street holding their hands, holding bikes steady as the children learn to ride a two-wheeler. These are sunny, breezy peaceful summer days in our predominantly Hispano-Chicano town. Life for us is relatively gentle. Then my mind turns to the images independent news sources, Democracy Now! and Press TV bring us. Images of your beautiful Palestinian children being deliberately targeted and killed by the Israeli war machine, whole families being torn apart by bombs, neighborhoods pulverized, livestock killed, bodies buried under the rubble; continued devastation overlapping an unending crippling siege.

I am watching the repeated horror on the screen and imagine our children targeted in this way, our brothers, sisters, parents, and elders. I cannot imagine the desmadre, the chaos, in our part of the world were we to be trapped with no escape and unmercifully bombarded. I remember how Hispano-Chicano activists and supporters of land grant rights were, in the 60s, corralled at gunpoint in Tierra Amarilla, Rio Arriba County, Nuevo Mexico by the National Guard. La Alianza de las Mercedes, land grant activists, confronted the Forest Service to regain lands annexed by the U.S. government for the common good. The terror that ensued turned leaders into fugitives and prisoners. Reies Lopez Tijerina, spearhead of the movement, almost lost his life, his home destroyed. We live with this traumatic memory.

I could use this space to write about the devastating expulsion from your lands by the Zionists pre-1948 and the humiliating siege that you have been subjected to for many, many years. I could tell of the Israeli military drones that hover over you 24/7, the gunboats that control your waters and shores that could fire at any time, the loss of loved family members, mass arrests, imprisonment, and

torture. I could describe the precise bombardment that continues to eliminate, in particular, children — of the austerity measures imposed on you by Israeli policy of racial cleansing, of the murder of Palestinians. I could discuss the role of Hamas, and its demand for the lifting of the siege — of which Americans seem to know little of, thanks to our biased, conventional U.S. pro-Israel press. I could write of the open prison that is Gaza, and the racist, fascist environment in which you are forced to raise your children. But you experience this daily, and my words would not ease the indescribable pain and trauma that you are living, orchestrated to

terrorize you into submission, to give up the hope of a Palestinian state.

What I can say is that despite the relative silence from Europe and the support of our U.S. government of Israel’s dirty war, solidarity with you exists in the U.S. There have been, since the military assault on Gaza began in July, 2014, an estimated 100 + pro- Palestinian demonstrations in our country, civil disobedience actions, and independent news sources documenting and disseminating information that is not available in the mainstream media. I am aware of the deceptions and lies by the mainstream press that blame the Palestinian victims, and the fantasy Israeli idyll of democracy portrayed by their propaganda machine. These wealthy entities must think that I am ignorant, intellectually weak enough to believe unconditionally what they

tell me. But the pictures of massacred children, the recent video clip of boys playing on the Gaza beach killed by Israel’s military tell me what I, what we, need to know. Israel has no intention of achieving peace and establishing a two-state solution. I, along with many others, can clearly see they never intended to give you back one inch of land. Calculated terror and dispossession of Palestinians has been the Zionist benchmark before 1948. The U.N., Britain, and our country are shamefully implicated.

Despite the glossy, conventional media hype and empty words, we in the U.S. are boycotting, demonstrating, writing, divesting, blogging, discussing, in the interest of a free Palestinian state. But more important, Mother Palestine, I am with you as you mourn your dead. Your children, your family, are my family. I, in Nuevo Mexico, am with you in spirit. I am holding your hand in mine and am not letting go.

From el norte in solidarity. v

Bio: Yoly Zentella is an independent researcher, writer, psychology faculty and licensed psychotherapist living in el norte de Nuevo Mexico. You can reach her at [email protected]

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A Call for Equity

in Training Bilingual Educators

José García De LaraMay 19, 1940 - July 19, 2014

José De Lara danced the tango with the same grace that he lived his life. He was raised on the Westside of San Antonio attending public schools initially and then Central Catholic High School. A self-taught architect, José’s focus became historical preservation. In addition to his profession, José dedicated himself to community concerns with his involvement in LULAC. He fought to improve educational opportunities for bilingual/bicultural children by helping defeat the English-only movement and advocating for bilingual education and civil rights. In 1995, he was named to the State Board of Education. After marrying his beloved Janis McCrory De Lara, José began dancing tango and helped created Puro Tango SA. He is survived by his wife, daughter, granddaughter and many friends. Un buen hombre de la comunidad, José exited gracefully from this earth. The Esperanza Center extends our condolences to his wife, family and community. May he rest in peace. v

August 7, 2014

Dear School Districts,

As a bilingual teacher there is nothing more infuriating than being sent to a training that does not offer resources in the language I use to teach. Even more frustrating is asking if the material presented can be given in another language and being told I can easily translate it or have it translated by someone in the district.

Teachers are required to attend workshops in order to grow professionally, and many training sessions focus on new curriculum. Surprisingly, these courses are not offered in languages other than English even though our districts offer bilingual and dual language programs. We, bilingual teachers, are asked to attend trainings in English when we teach in other languages. Rarely do we receive the information and resources from these trainings in the language we use to teach. When this does happen, content has been merely translated and is not true to the language of instruction.

It is a disservice to our students when teachers are not given resources

that match the classroom language.

We spend countless hours preparing, making copies, and researching, among many other things. Modifying ready-made resources to match student needs takes time. Bilingual teachers find themselves having to make their own custom versions of everything while monolingual teachers are handed ready-to-use materials.

There have been times when the curriculum calls for the use of specific texts that are only offered in English. This creates a problem for bilingual teachers who have to find compatible texts in the language of instruction. The main problem with not providing bilingual teachers with appropriate resources is having us use our limited time finding and producing material for the classroom. Bilingual teachers are capable of creating and “translating” resources, but doing so requires time that teachers don’t have because there is much more to do.

Offering bilingual and dual language programs gives our districts prestige. Students in these programs tend to have better test scores and higher grades when compared to students in monolingual classes. Bilingual teachers and students make a difference for our districts. It seems you take us for granted because even with little support we seem to be doing well. We deserve to be given appropriate resources and training for the sake of our students.

Sadly, there are fewer resources out there for bilingual teachers than there are for monolingual ones. The materials I have found are not always appropriate. The market is open and the need is great for bilingual materials. But bilingual teachers don’t want to hear this when they ask for help. We know there is money to be made producing resources for bilingual classrooms but we don’t have the time to create them.

We were hired for a job but do not have all the tools to do it. Give us bilingual resources. Offer us workshops in the language of instruction. Make us feel like we matter. We love our jobs. We believe in the power of bilingual education, and we are not going anywhere. v

Ana CantU, 2nd Grade Bilingual Teacher

Illustration: Margaret Scott (San Diego Free Press)

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Celebration Circle meets Sun., 11am@SA Garden Ctr., 3310 N. New Braunfels. Meditation: Weds @7:30pm, Quaker Mtg House, 7052 Vandiver. Call 210.533.6767.

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People’s Power Coalition meets last Thursdays. Call 210.878.6751

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Parents of Murdered Children, meets 2nd Mondays @ Balcones Heights Community Ctr, 107 Glenarm See www.pomcsanantonio.org.

Rape Crisis Center 7500 US Hwy 90W. Hotline: 210.349.7273 |210.521.7273 Email: [email protected]

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The SA AIDS Fdn 818 E. Grayson St. offers free Syphilis & HIV testing, 210.225.4715|www.txsaaf.org.

SGI-USA LGBT Buddhists meet 2nd Sat. at 10am @ 7142 San Pedro Ave., Ste 117. Call 210.653.7755.

Shambhala Buddhist Meditation classes: Tues. 7-8pm & Sun. 9:30am-12:30pm, 257 E. Hildebrand Ave. Call 210.222.9303.

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We hold pláticas and workshops; organize political actions; present exhibits and

performances and document and preserve our cultural histories. We consistently challenge City Council and the corporate powers of the

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Notas Y Más Brief news items on upcoming community events. Send items for Notas y Más to: [email protected]

or mail to: 922 San Pedro, San Antonio, TX 78212. The deadline is the 8th of each month.July/August 2014

Notas Y Más Brief news items on upcoming community events. Send items for Notas y Más to: [email protected]

or mail to: 922 San Pedro, San Antonio, TX 78212. The deadline is the 8th of each month.September 2014

Centro Cultural Aztlan is accepting applications for their fall arts exhibitions: Dia de los Muertos — Altares y Ofrendas, Zonarte — El Mercado de Aztlán and La Virgen de Guadalupe exhibit. Deadline: September 30, 2014. Contact 210.432.1896 or [email protected]. | www.centroaztlan.org

Call for submissions for Latinas in Politics: Shaping the Future of American Politics, an anthology by editors: Sharon A. Navarro, Samantha L. Hernández, and Leslie A. Na-varro. Send entries to [email protected] or [email protected] Dead-line: October 1st.

Join us at Baylor University in Waco, Texas on Oct 1-3, 2014, for Together at the Table: Hunger & Poverty Summit — an oppor-tunity for U.S. leaders and practitioners to

share their knowledge and expertise on ad-dressing poverty, specifically food insecu-rity. | www.baylor.edu/texashunger

Nominations are open for 2015 & 2016 State Musician, State Poet Laureate & State Artists (2D & 3D). All Texas citizens can nominate. Self-nominations encour-aged. Deadline is Oct. 15, 2014. See www.arts.texas.gov/initiatives/texas-state-artist

Writing for Social Justice with Barbara Renaud Gonzáles at Gemini Ink takes place Tuesdays, Oct 28, Nov 4, 11 & 18, 6:30–8pm. $50/4 sessions. Uncover research methods that deepen your investigative writing. See: geminiink.org/events/category/workshops/

The Julian Samora Research Institute celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2014 by

hosting a nationwide conference on La-tino communities Oct. 30 - Nov. 1 with the theme “Latinos in 2050: Restoring the Public Good.” Registration ends Oct. 29. | www.jsri.msu.edu/events/25years

SAVE THE DATE! Texas Indigenous Coun-cil’s 13th Annual Indigenous Dignity Day Human Rights March is set for Oct. 11, 2014. Join us as we continue to demand that San Antonio recognize October 12th as Indig-enous People’s Day. Contact 210.542.9271 or [email protected].

Bancroft Seminar on Latino and Borderlands History provides feedback on new work exploring topics in Latino and Borderlands History. Accepting proposals for fall & spring. Contact coordinators: David Montejano, [email protected] and Genaro Padilla, [email protected]

Travis Park and to discourage the homeless from occupying it.

The absence of references to class, ethnicity, or race in Dimmick’s account highlights a rhetorical strategy that seems to run through “Avoiding Eye Contact on a Walk Through Travis Park.” This strategy upends such concepts as diversity, pluralism, and accessibility by suggesting that affluent whites in the business and professional sectors are being excluded from the park. The homeless and poor have claimed the park for themselves, she suggests, and disallow the presence of others who represent “diversity.” “The homeless and drug dealers have taken it over,” Barbara Powell, who attends the meeting, tells Dimmick. “They ask for money, cigarettes... some talk to themselves.” Powell tells Dimmick that she would like a “more diverse crowd from downtown business and residential communities — true customers of the park’s public goods.” Another person wants “a park for all demographics.”

While Dimmick suggests that the wealthy and privileged or simply “mainstream” people (my quotation marks) have been unfairly excluded from the park, I would argue the opposite.

Like people of color and LGBT people in the past, as I will explore further in the next issue of La Voz, the homeless and poor have been systematically excluded from Travis Park.

They face pressure to confine themselves to Haven for Hope or at least to leave the parameters of downtown. v

Bio: Rachel, a local poet and teacher is a member of Travis Park United Methodist Church and buena gente of the Esperanza.

—Works cited can be requested from [email protected]

Travis Park...cont’d from p. 11

lawsuit update

la V

oZ

de ESP

ERA

NZ

A • Sept. 2014 V

ol. 27 Issu

e 7•

arlier this month, the Hays Street Bridge

Restoration Group vs. the City of San Antonio went to a jury trial. After 5 days of witnesses, cross-examination, and deliberation presided over by District Judge David A. Canales,  the twelve-member  jury upheld the Restoration Group on its breach of contract claim against the city.

While the Restoration Group didn’t win on the elections claim (that the city violated the state law saying you can’t sell parkland without a public election) the contract claim win makes an election unnecessary, since it gives the community a more direct basis for challenging the transfer of public land to Alamo Beer. 

What this win means is that the jury found that the City did have a contract with the Group that required the Group to solicit cash and in-kind donations (including land). In exchange, the City

promised to use the donations for the Hays Street Bridge Project, a promise the City breached by trying to transfer it to the Alamo Beer Company.

It also means the judge can order the city to perform the terms of the contract as reasonably understood.  This is an important win for the protection of public spaces and historic landmarks, and for the defense of democratic process from the influence of private interests. 

However, the process and our need for community support is not over. On August 7th, we attended a hearing in which the Restoration Group asked  Judge Canales to enter judgment based on the jury’s verdict, against the city’s attempts to argue that he should disregard the jury’s findings on the contract claim. At present, we are still waiting his decision. For updates, call Esperanza, 210.228.0201. v

la VoZ de ESPERANZA • SEPTEMBER 2014 Vol. 27 Issue 7•

Non-Profit Org.US Postage

PAIDSan Antonio, TX

Permit #332

la Voz de Esperanza922 San Pedro San Antonio TX 78212210.228.0201 • www.esperanzacenter.org

Haven’t opened La Voz in a while? Prefer to read it online? Wrong address? TO CANCEL A SUBSCRIPTION EMAIL [email protected] CALL: 210.228.0201

Join us for the 7th Anniversary of our monthly concert series

SaturdaySept. 13th

8pm

@ Esperanza $5 más o menos

Intimate Session III with Joe Reyes

LITERARY OFRENDAS! 300-500 word limitPay tribute to your dearly departed, whether people, places, pets, or bygone days!

CALAVERAS! 300 word limitTarget your favorite politicos and personalities with killer poetic satire!

25th Annual International Mercado de Paz / Peace Market

Applications due Wednesday, October 1st

Submit yourArtists, Writers, Buena Gente ! !

CALAVERA HAIKUS! 3-line poems with a 5/7/5 syllable countA new genre! Mock or pay tribute to death in haiku!

CALAVERA ARTWORK featuring Calacas (skeletons) or Katrinas

Email submissions to [email protected]

DEADline: MONDAY Oct. 6TH for our annual Nov. issue

Noche Azul de Esperanza

local Organizing for the Rights of

Mother Earth

FRI, SEPT 26 Film & Plática

7PM @ EsperanzaEleanor Bravo, Southwest

organizer for Food and Water Watch, will share insights from

working with communities in Dallas and L.A. to ban or restrict fracking. Following her plática, we’ll screen the

documentary “Rooted Lands/Tierras Arraigadas” about

a New Mexico county of Hispanos that has become the first to ban fracking in the US.

SAT, SEPT 27 Open Dialogue

11AM @ Casa de Cuentoswith Eleanor Bravo

www.esperanzacenter.org or 922 San Pedro, M-F 10am-7pm25years

Friday & Saturday, November 28 & 29, 2014Stonewall DemocratS Annual Awards Presentation & Comedy Show featuring

Vickie ShawSaturday, September 20th

7:30 pm @ Esperanza www.stonewallsanantonio.org

tickets $30