Isabel Galván graduates with her children Nayomi and Issac Salas Esperanza’s Escuelita de Paz y Justicia July/Aug 2023 Vol. 36 Issue 6 San Antonio, Tejas
La Voz de Esperanza July/Aug 2023 Vol. 36 Issue 6 Editor: Gloria A. Ramírez Design: Elizandro Carrington Escuelita Photos: Kayla Miranda & Luissana Santibañez Contributors Tarcisio Beal, Elizandro Carrington, Don Mathis, Kayla Miranda, Nonye Okoye, Luissana Santibañez, Kai Velásquez, Lily Zeng La Voz Mail Collective ...is sheltering at home due to COVID-19 but will return when it is safe. Extra funds are being raised to pay for the folding of La Voz. Esperanza Director Graciela I. Sánchez Esperanza Staff Angel Cantú, Sherry Campos, Elizandro Carrington, Kayla Miranda, René Saenz, Imane Saliba, Susana Segura, Rosa Vega Conjunto de Nepantleras —Esperanza Board of Directors— Richard Aguilar, Norma Cantú, Brent Floyd, Rachel Jennings, Amy Kastely, Ana Lucía Ramírez, Gloria A. Ramírez, Rudy Rosales, Lilliana Saldaña, Nadine Saliba, Graciela I. 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 • www.esperanzacenter.org Inquiries/Articles can be sent to: [email protected] Articles 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 Letters with intent to slander individuals or groups will not be published. Lerma’s Grand Opening The heart of conjunto music was alive in Lerma’s Nite Club for more than 60 years before it closed in 2010 facing the threat of demolition. Through the efforts of individuals, community groups like the Westside Development Corporation, grants, pro bono services and a hard push by the Save Lerma’s Coalition—Lerma’s was saved and has now been restored. After the group joined a national movement to save historic buildings, This Place Matters, Lerma’s earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011 and in 2015, was voted Texas’ Most Endangered Landmark. In 2016 The City of San Antonio awarded the Esperanza Peace & Justice Center funds to restore the building with Bexar County following suit with matching funds. A groundbreaking ceremony on July 15, 2019 included the presence of the mayor, activists, musicians, artists, politicos and conjunto aficionados. Little by little Lerma’s is being revived as each of the 5 sections opens up in the community cultural arts center that now serves the Westside of San Antonio. La música de conjunto is embedded in the restored turquoise Lerma’s building at 1602 N. Zarzamora St. and, fittingly, the first occupants of Lerma’s are the Conjunto Heritage Taller, dedicated to the preservation and perpetuation of traditional Conjunto music. Soon, the other four sections will also be occupied with entities that will serve the Westside community. Join us as we celebrate the grand opening of Lerma’s on Sunday, July 23rd from 3-5pm with conjunto music, speakers, food and drink as we look to the future when Lerma’s will be a fully functioning community cultural arts center. In this issue of La Voz de Esperanza we also celebrate and laud the first graduating class of the Escuelita de Paz y Justicia, a great collaborative effort with the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center and UTSA’s Democratizing Racial Justice project that was funded by the Mellon Foundation’s Just Futures Initiative. ¡Felicidades y Adelante—onto the 2nd year! –Gloria A. Ramírez, editor of La Voz LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • July/Aug 2023 Vol. 36 Issue 6 • 2 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. ATTENTION VOZ READERS: If you have a mailing address correction please send it to lavoz@ esperanzacenter.org. 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 At left: Community members celebrate funding for Lerma’s by Bexar County. Below: Beatriz Llamas and Blanca Rodríguez of Las Tesoros at the groundbreaking ceremony on July 15, 2019. Sadly, Beatriz passed away this summer. Blanca, the last surviving member of Las Tesoros, will perform at the Grand Opening on July 23rd. Above: The original Lerma’s Nite Club and accompanying sections before the restoration process began in 2019.
By Kayla Miranda I’m sure that at some point in your life, someone has told you that as one door closes, another opens. Or maybe you’ve heard book references, the end of one chapter is the beginning of another. For me, this first year of Escuelita de Paz y Justicia is both a celebration and a point of finality. I am so proud of what we created, the relationships we built, the progress we made. At the same time, it’s sad. No matter how far we go, how much this Escuelita grows, the first year will forever be etched in my memory. I’m sure this sentiment is shared among everyone involved. But, we also know that we can not stay stuck in our comfort zone if we wish to rise higher in our purpose. So we celebrate our accomplishments and look ahead to a bright future full of possibilities. When I started out as a community fellow in the Mellon Grant collaboration between Esperanza Peace and Justice Center & UTSA’s Democratizing Racial Justice, we had several ideas on how to use the funds to better our neighborhood. I had finished my fellowship with Texas Houser’s Academy, a statewide Leadership Academy for Housing Justice Organizers, a few months prior. I represented San Antonio, alongside Teri Castillo who had become councilwoman as we were graduating. This program was amazing for experienced organizers, but my personal thoughts while going into Escuelita were to make a lot of the knowledge more accessible and understandable to community members, while also addressing much of the deeper need that is often overlooked. Esperanza already had many ideas and experience around Barrio Escuelitas. My fellow teacher Luissana Santibañez also had experience with facilitating community circles. The amount of knowledge, expertise and creative imagination in the group of individuals planning this program was incredible. Through this collaboration, our Escuelita was born. If you didn’t have a chance to read the first article about Escuelita, check out the March 2023 issue of La Voz. Since then, we’ve worked on both local and statewide actions. In March, our class attended the NACCS Tejas Foco at the University of Texas Brownsville for three days. For many in our class, it was the first time they had set foot on a University Campus. Several of the students participated in a student panel and presented Escuelita from their perspective. It was incredible to hear their experiences in their own words. Luissana & I also presented on a panel with the UTSA professors from our perspective, which was an honor but not nearly as important in my mind. We stayed in a shared house, cooked together, worked together and strengthened our bonds. We were afforded the great pleasure of spending the last day at the beach in South Padre, a fun ending to our trip. In May, our class took a trip to the Capitol in Austin to Endings Bring New Beginnings LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • July/Aug 2023 Vol. 36 Issue 6 • 3 Escuelita students learned from instructors on location at the Rinconcito de Esperanza and at various sites while attending events and conferences such as the NACCS Tejas Foco at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, UTRGV.
meet with state representatives and learn more about policies being discussed in 2023. It was another first for most of us. Locally, we took up work on the Scobey Project. It was extraordinary to see students who at the beginning of the year were shy and afraid to speak up, stand in front of large groups to fight for their rights and for our community. They asked hard hitting questions of elected officials, told their stories in their own words and gave their honest thoughts/opinions. On June 2, 2023, our 1st year of Escuelita students graduated in a beautiful ceremony that allowed them to walk the stage, receive certificates and take pride in their hard work. For many in our class, it was another first. This time they were able to share the moment with family & friends. With a full audience, we shared in a powerful reflection of the year, the joy of our connection to each other and the hope we have for the future. Our guest speakers were passionate and full of conviction, moving not only the class but the audience as well. Our students made us laugh, swell with pride and cry a little. By the end of the night, I was honored to have participated in something that has touched so many lives in a positive way. LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • July/Aug 2023 Vol. 36 Issue 6 • 4 Top: After the visit to UTRGV, Escuelita students gave thanks in ceremony on the beach at South Padre Island. Center: Escuelita teachers, Luissana Santibañez and Kayla Miranda (at the table) and the students (right) participated in panel discussions with professors on site and online. Bottom: At Rinconcito, students and teachers met with Juanita Reyna and Petra Mata (center L & R) of Fuerza Unida who sewed the students’ graduation stolls..
We thank Fuerza Unida for the handmade stolls worn by our graduates. Fuerza Unida, a non-profit/grass - roots organiza - tion and garment workers coop was founded in 1990 to challenge the neo-liberal agen - da of employer, Levi Strauss Co. who closed their plant in the San An - tonio to open operations in Mexico without fair compensation for the em - ployee’s job loss. Fuerza Unida empowers women and families to achieve social, economic and environmental justice through programs such as Threads of Justice, Youth of Fuerza and School of Justice . Finally, I want to thank all who were a part of Escuelita. Without the collaboration with UTSA’s Democratizing Racial Justice Project funded by the Mellon Foundation, we would have not been able to have such a life altering experience. Without staff support from the Esperanza & our wonderful guest speakers, we could not have pulled it off. Our second year will be coming soon. Here’s to new beginnings! BIO: Kayla Miranda was one of two Mellon grant community fellows,with Luissana San - tibañez, that were coordinators of Escuelita in its first year. Kayla is also a community housing activist and on the staff of the Esperanza. She is also the mother of two Escuelita graduates, Melody and Nadia pictured in front of the Escuelita’s Westside banner above. Escuelita Class of 2023 Pearl Antu Kassandra Apolinar Jose Colón, Jr María De La Cruz Isabel Galván Enrique Iglesias Adriana Leija Melody Miranda-Colgrove Nadia Miranda-Colgrove Athny Pérez Jose Ramón Jeannette Rico Fray Xavier Reyes Issac Salas Nayomi Salas Crystal Valdez Michael Valdez Lisa Vogt UTSA Fellows Jerry González Jose Villagran Sonya Aleman Carolina Arango LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • July/Aug 2023 Vol. 36 Issue 6 • 5 The Escuelita Class of 2023 celebrated graduation at the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center. Professors that lectured throughout the semester were in attendance along with family, friends, Esperanza staff and Escuelita teachers. The program will continue next year.
By Tarcísio Beal Our nation’s present nightmarish political crisis is being compounded by a mostly partisan Supreme Court and part of the federal judiciary. The majority of the Supreme Court and a large number of federal judges have been empowered by the Republican party and have been subservient to its policies, goals and interpretations of the Constitution. Donald Trump and his Republican and conservative/MAGA, wealthy supporters have succeeded in not only seating 3 of the present 7 members of the Supreme Court but also 54 judges of the Federal Courts of Appeal plus 174 heads of the Federal District Courts. These, like the judges of the SCOTUS, have a lifetime appointment and can be impeached only by a 2/3 vote of the Senate. This means that some of the most incompetent and “trumpist” lawyers will be going along with the largest segment of the Republican party which stands as a threat to American democracy and to the basic human rights of millions of Americans. In the 1960s, when the Democrats controlled the White House and Congress, especially under Robert F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, they worked on the dreams and ideals of the “Great Society” where everyone counted, especially the majority of blacks who were denied socio-economic and civil rights. A major step forward had already been taken in 1954 with the congressional passing of the Brown v. Board of Education Act, which made racial segregation illegal. Attorney General Earl Warren followed up on the race issue and led Congress to pass the 1965 Voting Rights Act, a basic political measure that is now being shredded all over Republican-controlled States. Things began going backwards, however, in the decade of the 1970s when the GOP regained control of the government with the election of Richard Nixon (1868-1974), whose largest number of supporters were from the old Confederacy: 62% of the whites, but only 12% of black voters. Yes, the Supreme Court approved and turned into law the 1973 Roe v Wade bill, which guaranteed a woman’s right to abortion and full control of her own body. However, one should note that the 1973 Roe v. Wade also made it illegal to promote and even to write about contraceptive devices, thus reversing the Supreme Court’s 1873 Comstock Law. Under Attorney General John Mitchell, who shared Richard Nixon’s views, the Supreme Court made a sharp move to the Right. At first, two of Mitchell’s nominees, namely, Florida’s Harold Carswell and South Carolina’s Clement Haynesworth, were judged as too racist, so they were rejected by a two-thirds vote of the Senate. But Nixon was still able to successfully appoint four conservative justices, namely, Warren E. Burger, Harry Blackman, Louis F. Powell, Jr., and William Rehnquist. No surprise, then, that Nixon’s Court proceeded to assault the freedom of the media, including denying a journalists’ right to refuse to answer questions from grand juries. Ultimately, however, Nixon paid dearly for it because the media later played a major role in exposing the Watergate spying scandal and helped force him to resign the Presidency. Now, there is no doubt that SCOTUS, as spelled out by the Constitution, plays a central role in the American political system and, consequently, its judges should set the standard in their decisions and exemplify it in their personal lives. How can the Justices decide on important cases that are at the heart of American democracy and that directly affect human rights if they choose to be partisan and their decisions threaten the very lives of people. Take, for example, the issue that has become central to our contemporary society, that is, the safety of human lives that are being threatened daily by the mentally disturbed and others because of the abundance and easiness to acquire guns. The Supreme Court’s ineffectiveness or refusal to do anything about arms sales and the multiplication of mass killings by playing along with the Republican control of the House of Representatives is truly shameful and a disgrace. At the center of the multiplication of killing weapons is, as we all know, the National Rifle Association (NRA). In 1840, the Supreme Court of Tennessee ruled that the Second Amendment authorized Americans at large to possess arms to hunt, and not otherwise. But the National Rifle Association, established in 1871, began expanding its interpretation by adding the needs to fight a war and for sports/rifle competitions. As Heather Cox Richardson forcefully remarks (heathercoxrichardson@ substack.com), it is quite clear that the early National Rifle Organization itself viewed the Second Amendment as the right to establish a wellregulated militia for the security of a free State to It Is Time To Straighten Scotus LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • July/Aug 2023 Vol. 36 Issue 6 • 6 Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch are involved in potentially serious legal conflicts for dealing with billionaires who have business before the Court. Continued on Page 12
By Elizandro Carrington I grew up in a wonderful part of Chicago at a wonderful time. We used to walk or bike to the Lake Front in the summer. Sometimes we’d go to Montrose Beach or Foster beach or we’d go diving off of the Rocks, which wasn’t a beach at all but was a series of boulders plunked in the water to stave off beach erosion. You’d hop from rock to rock until you reached a point where you could dive into the water. . . if you were brave. If we didn’t want to go to the beach, there were two movie theaters within a mile of our neighborhood, down Clark St.: The Century and the Parkway. This was the era of double features. We could literally spend the entire afternoon in air conditioned comfort in a Theater, one of which had actual red curtains that opened and closed. If we couldn’t go to the movies we could go to the Cigar store. The alley across the street was a shortcut to the corner of Clark and Belmont. Across Belmont was the Cigar Store that sold cigarettes, cigars and Comic books. We’d take part of our allowance and search for new issues of Archie or Sad Sack or Superman if that is what you liked. If we went back home by taking the long way around the block, we could stop at Jesse’s who sold candy, Hostess Twinkies and other sweet stuff. My favorite was the glazed donuts that came fresh from a bakery. They sat on the counter next to the cash register. Jesse’s was the store at the end of the block that keep us going between grocery runs. I’ve heard the term bodega and that is what Jesse was but to us, it was just Jesse’s. Everyone knew Jesse and Jesse knew everyone. To my everlasting guilt my best friend Kenji and I stole two of those glazed donuts when Jesse wasn’t looking. We ran out of the door and we could see Jesse running out the door yelling at us. Did he recognize us? Did we get ourselves into trouble? Will we ever be able to go back to Jesse’s? We tried eating the donuts in the alley and we couldn’t. We felt so guilty. We ended up throwing them out in a garbage can and then we had the longest, slowest four house walk home of our lives. I snuck into the back yard and was walking up the stairs to the kitchen door when the door suddenly flew open and there was my mom. . . with Jesse. Like I said, Jesse knew everyone. Dinner was always homemade except for the occasional tub of finger lickin’ good chicken. My mother was a working mom who didn’t always enjoy cooking so now and then as a dinner treat we’d also have pizza. Our neighborhood had not one but two pizzerias less than a block from our house. I was a fan of Leona’s Pizza on Belmont Ave. with it’s old fashion wooden booths. I loved sitting in those tall back seats with the plastic white and red checkered table cloths. Many in my neighborhood preferred Pat’s Pizza with it’s outdoor seating. To me Pat’s looked like a bunker and lacked the charm that Leona’s had. My friends and I were evenly divided between Pat’s and Leona’s but it was a good rivalry to have because whether you went to Leona’s or Pat’s you still got great pizza. As we got older and we could venture a little further we could go have another culinary treat, a hot dog. If you didn’t mind a mile walk and weren’t scared to walk in front of the infamous garage where the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre occurred, you could eat at my favorite hot dog place, Frankville. Now these weren’t the famous Maxwell Street Polishes of my college years but I loved going there because it had over 10 different ways you could have your hot dog. From foot longs to sauerkraut you could eat your hot dog your way. I guess if you really wanted to be authentic and watch baseball while you ate your hot dog you could cross Gentrification can destroy the history of communities My Chicago is gone, preserved only in the amber of my memory LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • July/Aug 2023 Vol. 36 Issue 6 • 7 Cables were everywhere on Chicago Streets. Electrical poles on top of buses drew power from the cables above. A view of the intersection of Belmont Ave. and Sheffield Ave. from the train platform We passed by the Vic Theatre on the way to the “L” train. Under the “L” , train tracks
the street and buy a ticket at Wrigley Field. Yeah, I grew up within walking distance of Wrigley Field, home of the Cubs. The Cubs never won but in Chicago, if you lived in the Northside you were a Cubs fan, if you lived in the Southside you were a White Sox fan. I never was a baseball fan but I did love Wrigley Field. It was a very comfortable size stadium that butted right up to the street. People who were lucky enough to live across the street in the three/ four story high rises would have afternoon parties on the roof and would wave banners cheering on the Cubs. If you weren’t lucky enough to be invited to the roof top parties, you could be a bleacher bum instead. The bleachers were the Wrigley Field stadium seating that had no shade. In the bleachers you sat in the sun and the summer heat would bleach your bones. Only true die hard fans would sit in the bleachers (usually with lots of sun screen, no shirt, a hat, sunglasses and a baseball mitt) in the hopes of catching a home run ball. We were kids and sometimes watching a movie or baseball game was too passive for us. Then, we would go roller skating. Belmont going East took us to the Lake but take the bus going West and you ended up at the Riverview Roller Rink. The Riverview had two rinks and a live organ. My sister always skated in the main rink that also had a center section where you could practice skating. The rink had skate guards in black pants and striped tops who were skating pros and when the alarm rang they would usher everyone out of the rink. The board would change from “All Skate” to “Couples Only” or “Backwards Skate” or the infamous “Waltz”, where you had to be in perfect sync with your partner and switch from forward to backward skating and then back again. The guards not only helped people get up when they fell but they patrolled the rink and if you tried to cling to the rails or if you skated like you knees were stuck together they escorted you off the rink and made you skate in the practice rink. Behind the Riverview Roller Rink was Riverview Park—an inner city Amusement Park where we could go to eat cotton candy, pretzels and ride favorite rides like the Wild Mouse and the tilta-whirl. Hardcore roller coaster enthusiasts had the Comet or the Silver Flash or the Bobs wooden roller coaster that encircled the park. If you couldn’t find what you wanted in our neighborhood you had to go Downtown. Going Downtown was a treat. Our mom would dress us in our Sunday best complete with white shirts and ties or pressed dresses and we would walk down the street, around the corner and walk up to the train platform and take the “L” downtown. The “L” was shorthand for Elevated Train. I used to like riding in the very first car where you could see the train transition from being “Elevated” to being “underground”. Underground, the train noise became deafening. The train shrieked and howled and the train lurked left and right until you reached your stop. Downtown Chicago was a hub for all the other trains that shot out like veins to the other parts of the city. You could go South if you wanted to go to the Museum of Science and Industry or the Fields Museum of Natural History. Or, you could go West to reach some of Chicago’s closer Suburbs. For us, State Street was our goal and our primary shopping stores were either Marshall Fields or Carson Pirie Scott & Co. At these stores we could get everything that we couldn’t get in our neighborhood and the stores were beautiful to walk in. Ms. Damer who lived down the street from us was in charge of the restaurant at Carson Pirie. We wouldn’t eat there, we’d go to the Colosseum Cafeteria, instead. I remember it as being a double decker cafeteria that had sitting above and below. We got to go through the line with our trays and order what we wanted and then take an escalator and eat above street level and watch as people went back and forth. I could go on and on about my life in Chicago. It was a wonderful time because of where we were situated. Near the lake, near Downtown, near to so many things that I couldn’t list them all. My memories are defined not only by the people I knew and the way I was raised but it was also defined by location and geography. How do you preserve your cultural heritage in the face of profit and growth?. . . I want San Antonio to survive. LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • July/Aug 2023 Vol. 36 Issue 6 • 8 The Elevated train circled Downtown Chicago. Montrose Beach in Lincoln Park Shopping Downtown Chicago was always a treat.
How do you preserve your cultural heritage in the face of profit and growth?. . . I want San Antonio to survive. Before I left Chicago in my late thirties it was all gone. The location is still there, the geography still exists but I am forever kept from my Chicago home because of gentrification. Gentrification is the process by which real estate is taken from those who can no longer afford to pay for property and is given over to those who want it. My community wasn’t about who owned what, it was about the people who lived there and the access we had to what made living there great. When property values go up, everything becomes more expensive. Property taxes increase so land owners have to either sell or pay the ever increasing costs. If they sell, they leave the neighborhood. If they stay and they have rental property, they have to renovate, and charge more rent so they can afford to stay in the neighborhood. If you can’t afford the higher rent, you leave. If you’re a merchant that owns your own property and most of your clientele has left, you either sell and leave or you stay and renovate. If you renovate, you have to charge higher prices and you are now catering to the newer more affluent residents. Merchants who rent and have their property have the same choice. Leave if the owner renovates or stay and raise your prices. It is a system designed to turn property over to those who want it from those who can’t afford to keep it and in the end what you have is a new neighborhood that no longer has “us” in it. My neighborhood in Chicago is gone. I can’t even afford to pay rent there. I’m not even sure I can afford to park there. I am sadden to see that the same process is starting up here in San Antonio. Access to resources is being restricted. People with money are given priority access to the River, while those with less have to go further and further away to access what little water San Antonio has. The Westside, a cultural incubator for some of San Antonio’s greatest performers, artists and advocates is being parceled and sold like other desirable locations on the East and Southside. Once you lose control of the land, you lose control of your culture. Once San Antonio loses it’s Westside what will we have left that will make us unique? San Antonio needs to look deeper at itself. San Antonio needs to decide what it wants to be. We are in a peculiar position among Texas cities where some of the poorest parts of us represent some of the best parts of us. Conjuntos, Murals, paletas from bicycle driven carts add a flavor to our city that far surpasses the cookie cutter houses that are being built in every available plot of land. Even when these houses are built to mimic the neighborhood they are being built in, they stick out like a sore thumb. Once you see one or two of them you can draw them from memory, change the color of the front door and it will match the house that was built at the end of the street. Add a coffee shop within walking distance and you have just completed San Antonio’s Urban Development plan. Remember to pencil in at the end of the plan“Change city name to Little Houston.” If you want San Antonio to survive as something special and have meaning outside of the Riverwalk or the Alamo, now is the time to act. Now is the time to figure out what so many other cities have failed to do. How do you preserve your cultural heritage in the face of profit and growth? I don’t know. But I do know that when you are walking down the street and the viejito with a bandana around his neck or the viejita with a plastic linen shopping bag has as much meaning to you as a jogger with an iphone on their arm, that you are on the right path. I am at this point venting the anger and pain that I have harbored for my lost city. Consumed by chain stores and commercial interest, Chicago is now a swimming sea of neon light and tinted glass. I can’t see it anymore. It’s like looking through a car window that has rain drops of condensation on it. Everything looks blurry and lights look like twinkling blobs of color. I end up focusing more on the window than on what is on the other side. I don’t want to go through this again in San Antonio. When I am sitting on my porch staring into the amber that preserves the Chicago of my past, I want the sound of the paleta cart jingling it’s bells to snap me out of it. I want San Antonio to survive. BIO: Elizandro Carrington is part of the Esperanza Staff and does the layout and design for La Voz. LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • July/Aug 2023 Vol. 36 Issue 6 • 9 Shopping Downtown Chicago was always a treat. A postcard view of Downtown Chicago A picture of the Wrigley Field Bleachers with apartment roofs behind the stadium
Choose Barrio Over Profit at Scobey EDITOR’S NOTE: The following article was written and compiled by interns working at the Esperanza center this summer. Many thanks to the interns: Nonye Okoye, Kai Velásquez and Lily Zeng, and Luissana Santibañez, Escuelita instructor, who aided in the process. On May 23, 2023, after multiple cancellations of open house meetings and an overall avoidance of community input, Westside community members decided to organize and voice their concerns at the VÍA board meeting, regarding VÍA’s plan for development of the Scobey building. Located on 301 N. Medina St, The Scobey complex, which once served as industrial storage, was initially purchased by VÍA in 2017. VÍA’s plans for the Scobey buildings are to convert them into spaces for luxury apartments, high end offices, and retail stores. The housing that is being offered is well beyond the range of affordability for the residents of the Westside, with the lowest option set to be within 60% of the area median income, approximately $47,460 for a family of three. Questions still exist regarding the nature of these units: how many bedrooms are allotted in a “family unit”, what does the square footage look like, and will tax credits and exemptions from private-public partnership guarantee deep affordability for the community they exist in? The plans for the Scobey building have been referred to as being a “catalyst” for other development projects on the Westside. However, many residents and community members fear that it could be a catalyst for continuous displacement for residents of the Westside. It is evident that the housing that VÍA intends to create is not intended for the people of the Westside, for a third of the residents live in poverty and the average median income of zip code 78207 is $26,000. The Westside needs housing that is deeply affordable, for the people that live there, not for gentrifiers. Here are some excerpts of powerful public comments made by people at the VÍA board meeting: “Our residents are not opposed to development in our community. However, development should not come at the expense of our residents… Our association cannot support VÍA’s current proposal which would only provide 10% of the housing units at 60% Area Median Income (AMI), which are not even affordable to a majority of our residents. If VÍA wants to become a housing developer, it cannot ignore the housing crisis that exists in our city, particularly for people that earn 30% AMI or below. The city’s strategic housing implementation plan specifically states that the housing at 50 and 30 percent AMI and below are what is most needed to address the housing crisis…If VÍA wants to go into development it should do so in a way that considers the quality of life for hotel housekeepers, restaurant staff, and public school teachers and individuals who are hardworking but still do not earn enough to pay rent at $1245 for a one bedroom apartment, which is what your development is proposing.” —Leticia Sanchez, co-chair of the Historic Westside Residents Association. “This is a historical neighborhood. This is where the Mexicano community and all the communities came because of that bus, that railroad station. We appreciate your interest in breathing life into Scobey with the intent to create housing for community members; however, your current scope of housing LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • July/Aug 2023 Vol. 36 Issue 6 • 10 Esperanza’s summer interns joined staff & Escuelita students protesting VÍA’s plans for the Scobey building without regard for Westside residents. Graciela Sánchez, director of the Esperanza, celebrates the graduation of Escuelita’s students in their first year. She was an active participant in the Escuelita’s programming and in events such as the protest at VÍA. Protests at the VÍA board meeting brought together community members, Escuelita students, Esperanza staff and interns as well as City Councilwoman, Terri Castillo (center with raised fist), to voice concerns about VÍA’s development plans for the Scobey building and how that will affect the Westside and its residents.
doesn’t create any extremely affordable housing for most of the people who live in the 78207 zip code or who take the bus at the Central Plaza Transit Station… Yes, to restoring and rehabilitating the building, but no to the housing that you are currently developing. The Chicano Mexican-American community was segregated and pushed by the city leaders into the Westside over a hundred years ago. The current Scobey housing plan continues to segregate us—the wealthy and the middle class versus the working class poor and houseless. You have an opportunity to avoid the mistakes of the past, and you all should know better not to create the divisions and inequities of the past. You have a major opportunity to house people who need housing… We are watching you VÍA, and we will not disappear.” —Graciela Sanchez, Founder and Executive Director of the Esperanza Peace & Justice Center “We…would like to know the number of bedrooms in those 10 units for households earning 60% ($49,740 for a family of four; $34,860 for a single person) of the AMI. We would like to be clear about how many bedrooms are in those 10 units. We would also like you to add another layer of AMI’s to reach those wage earners who earn 30% of the AMI (or $24,850 per year for a family of 4). There is a need for yet another layer of “affordable” units for those wage earners at the federal $7.25/ hr minimum wage that earns $15,080/yr and waitresses who are “guaranteed” $2.13/hr in wages. And, yet, another for those who have had workplace accidents and get $1000 a month on Social Security Disability… The study conducted by Visit San Antonio reveals that tourism and hospitality businesses generated a total of $16.2 billion in revenue for the San Antonio economy and showcases the importance of tourism and hospitality in San Antonio. If this is the case, then how do we support those workers of the tourism and hospitality industry who are driving the top economic producer for the City…? Remember that the public schools in the area would not receive funding from the Scobey property because of the property tax exemption… The practice of exempting developers from paying property taxes for up to 99 years is part of the problem” —Rebecca Flores, District 5 resident “Today I speak for the voiceless youth and the mothers of the Westside. Please take us into consideration and use this building to help the community, invest into our youth, invest in the new teenage adults and the parents of the Westside. Greet them with resources. Offer a place to feel free during hardships. Some ideas can be a resource center for locals to learn basic skills like balancing a checkbook or financial literacy which can help them apply for assistance for financial aid for students.” —Jeanette Mesa, Alazan-Apache resident “ I couldn’t help but notice that a lot of people said that they weren’t completely opposed to the development of Scobey, but that what they are opposed to is the fact that VÍA has not engaged the existing community with their plans… I call it conscientious development. For too long the community has not been taken into account and has been left to fend for itself for decades. All of a sudden now there’s a newfound interest in our community. Taxes are going up, people are being displaced, and those of us that have been there since the late 50’s-60’s we’re trying to find a way to maintain our existence there on the Westside and continue to enhance the beautiful cultura that has long dwelled in the Westside.” —Jaime Macias, community member “My name is Anna and I am a mother of six children who lives in the 78270 zip code. I ride the 68, the 5, 24, and 77 every day… If you were to develop, I wouldn’t qualify to live in the housing. But I know with everything that I have contributed to my community, I deserve to be a tenant there.” —Anna Casteñeda, Alazan-Apache resident Genuine community engagement and inclusion, transparency in decision making between VÍA & Dream On and ethical publicprivate partnership contracts that guarantee deeper housing affordability and overall public benefit for the community that it exists in, are just a few demands that are non-negotiables for the residents of the historic Westside who care about preserving its barrio for future generations to come. To learn more & join the fight against gentrification and displacement projects in San Antonio, visit @pueblooverprofit_satx on Instagram or contact the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center for future actions and plans. LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • July/Aug 2023 Vol. 36 Issue 6 • 11 The Esperanza Peace & Justice Center located across from VÍA offices on San Pedro Ave and Evergreen St. allowed staff members, Imane Saliba and Angel Cantú, to join in the protest of plans for the development of the Scobey building that VÍA is spearheading.
be carried out by the military and the police as well as to hunt and for sports competitions, thus retaining the original interpretation of the Second Amendment. In fact, in 1925, when the NRA secretary began taking money from ammunition and arms manufacturers, he was immediately fired. In 1931, with the spread of bootlegging gangs, the NRA supported federal legislation to prevent gun possession by criminals and the mentally ill, requiring gun dealers to be licensed and to undergo background checks before selling arms. Then it supported the 1934 National Firearms Act which was later incorporated into the Gun Control Act of 1968. In the mid-1970s, the NRA turned politically conservative and began opposing gun control. In 1975, it created its PAC (Political Action Committee) and moved towards a literal reading of the Second Amendment, with the endorsement of President Ronald Reagan and of the Republican party. Soon enough it was spending millions of dollars to defeat gun control as spelled out by the Brady Bill that required background checks before the purchase of a weapon. Not surprisingly, the Supreme Court, in 1997, ruled the Brady Bill unconstitutional (Print v. US). From then on the NRA started spending the millions of dollars that they received from gun manufacturers and, at the turn of the century, it became one of the three most powerful lobbies in Washington. In 2008, it spent another $40 million to have the Court (District of Columbia v. Heller) strike down gun regulation and make the Second Amendment the legal protector of the individual’s right to buy, keep, and bear arms. Finally, in 2016, in order to ensure that its gun sales profits were not going to be threatened in the near future, the NRA spent $50 million on Republican congressional candidates, with $30 million going for the election of Donald Trump. As we have seen above, the record of SCOTUS is a mixed and controversial one, not always undemocratic, but too often subservient to partisan ideology and goals. At the moment, the majority of the Court, chosen by a republican-dominated Congress, is anything but exemplary, having made partisan decisions and failing to uphold the human rights of women (Dobbs decision) and of LGBTQ people, and allowing State District Courts to enact anti-people legislation all over the country. Two of the Court members were seated despite very serious complaints about their sexual abuse of women while the majority seem to judge some cases in light of their religious beliefs, and not on a proper reading of the Constitution and of fundamental human rights. Justices Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas are involved in potentially serious legal conflicts for dealing with billionaires who have business before the Court (cf. Heather Cox Richardson’s report of May 6, 2023 in heathercoxrichardson. substack.com). Furthermore, Thomas’ wife Ginny has been shamefully engaged in defending and spreading the “Big Lie” that Trump won the 2020 election and that Biden is an illegal occupant of the White House. The U. S. Congress now needs to set the ethical norms that will help restore the good name of the Supreme Court so that its appointees are worthy and prepared for the most important decisions within our democracy and will be able to supervise federal and district courts all over the country. At the present time, the constitutional right to vote is being restricted in several Republican-controlled states. The basic human rights of women and of LGBTQ people continue to be denied, making them victims of violence. The present activism and the crimes of white supremacists spelled out in anti-Semitism, racist disrespect, and even hatred of Blacks, Latinos, Asians, and Muslims can only be lessened with some decisive action by the Supreme Court. Furthermore, the Court’s ineffectiveness in curbing the overwhelming power of the National Rifle Association by agreeing with an interpretation of the Second Amendment that is totally contrary to the intention of the Founding Fathers is contributing to the multiplication of the epidemic of mass killings. Take, for example, the case of Shasta County, California: Patrick Jones, the chairman of its Board of Supervisors, is also the manager of a gun store. In early 2023, he announced his intention to turn the archconservative county into an “American Gun Sanctuary.” Finally, Congress, in concert with the Supreme Court, must also move to stop the MAGA campaign to destroy true education. The elimination of “Critical Thinking,” that is, of the whole truth of American history, is a maneuver to destroy free education and a major threat to the future of the new generation of Americans. Congress, especially the House of Representatives, which at the moment is paralyzed by partisan fever, must center on the real needs of the country and its people. For instance, there is also an urgent need for the courts and their lawyers to address the abuse and manipulation of the lies and false propaganda that are infesting the Internet and the sophisticated new technology that facilitates the infection of millions of American minds and is leading to violence and mass killings everywhere. The proper rule of law must guarantee the human rights of everyone and the civil rights of every American, period! BIO: Tarcisio Beal is professor Emeritus of History at the University of the Incarnate Word who has written extensively in La Voz de Esperanza. LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • July/Aug 2023 Vol. 36 Issue 6 • 12 Justice at the U.S. Supreme Court building must extend to the SCOTUS justices, themselves. It may be time to institute a Code of Ethics for the justices as more questions about their conduct arise. Straighten Scotus Continued from Page 6
SummerTime is for Dads Cloudy Memories The stratus in the distance lies flat like a memory of a memory Grey recollections begin to form swirling, joining, dissipating, uniting again Mammatus memories begin to build shaped by the weight of lenticular light Remembrances rise like cumulus into the atmosphere Cirrus shapes shift, lifting on the latitude, altitude, attitude, all rising And there in the cumulonimbus near the top of the troposphere, I see the face of my father –Don Mathis Summer has Arrived You know summertime has finally arrived when you open your car but don't get inside because the temperature is 125. Rain clouds appear but then they quickly fizzle. We'd be lucky if we just got a drizzle. Any rain evaporates with a sizzle. Electric bills will be astronomical. A high thermostat is economical, still, the kilowatt hours are comical. Ten minutes outside and you begin to fry. It's so hot; you think you are going to die. That's the way it is in a Texas July. But there is an upside to all of this heat. The beauty of summer flowers can't be beat. Who doesn't like the way the Crepe Myrtles creep? Texas Sage is one of the plants I love most, but its magnificence cannot come as close to the colors of the Pride of Barbados. This is the time for the river for swimming and check out the scanty clothes on the women. I think it's healthy, my wife thinks it's sinning. It doesn't get dark now until nine at night. So we've got these extra hours of daylight. The July sun at noon is never so bright. It's so hot and dry, even the rust has dust. And just when you think the heat index can't bust, you ain't seen nothing till we get to August! –Don Mathis A painting can inspire a poem. A remembrance can add texture. A Father’s Day reflection can provide depth. The Esperanza Peace & Justice Center wishes a belated Happy Father’s Day to all good men everywhere, every day. LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • July/Aug 2023 Vol. 36 Issue 6 • 13 Mark Maggiori, Once Upon a Time (image courtesy of Briscoe Western Art Museum)
UTSA announces Manuel P. Berriozábal, Ph.D. and María Antonietta Berriozábal Endowed Chair to support STEM-based education The Esperanza congratulates Maria and Manuel for a much deserved honor UTSA has created the Manuel P. Berriozábal, Ph.D. and María Antonietta Berriozábal Endowed Chair to honor and recognize the couple for their outstanding commitment to creating equitable opportunities for students of all backgrounds. Throughout their respective careers and beyond, the Berriozábals have given back to the UTSA and San Antonio communities. For over 40 years, they have each been individually honored for their contributions. From creating accessible education programming such as the Prefreshman Engineering Program (PREP) at UTSA to amplifying the voices of others through political activism, their countless contributions have improved the lives of thousands—ranging in all ages and from all underserved communities. The endowment signifies the first time the pair will be formally recognized together in their long history of impactful work to support a college-going culture in San Antonio. UTSA is planning to hire a new faculty position in mathematics to fill the Manuel P. Berriozábal, Ph.D. and María Antonietta Berriozábal Endowed Chair by Fall 2023. To recognize and honor Dr. Manuel P. Berriozábal for his firm dedication to student success and equitable educational opportunities, the UTSA PREP program will now be known as the Dr. Manuel P. Berriozábal Prefreshman Engineering Program Online Announcement: bit.ly/utsa-honor A return to in-person workshops at Trinity University July 25-29, 2023 www.macondowriters.com Fiction Helena María Viramontes Non-Fiction Ishmael Reed (virtual instruction) Poetry Rigoberto González Cross-Genre/ Performance Sharon Bridgforth LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • July/Aug 2023 Vol. 36 Issue 6 • 14 I would like to donate $________ each month by automatic bank withdrawal. Please contact me. For more information, call 210-228-0201. Make checks payable to: Esperanza Peace & Justice Center Mail to: 922 San Pedro, SA TX 78212. Donations to the Esperanza are tax deductible. Name ______________________________________________________________________________ Address __________________________________________________Phone ____________________ City, State, Zip ____________________ Email_____________________________________________ I am donating ___ $1000 ___ $500 ___ $100 ___ $50 ___ $25 $_______ La Voz Subscription ___ $35 Individuals ___ $100 Institutions ___ Other $ ________ Send your tax-deductible donations to Esperanza today! I would like to send $________ each __ month __ quarter __ 6-mos., through the mail. MACONDO A HOMELAND FOR WRITERS
Green Spaces Alliance’s Picture Your World Nature Photo Exhibition continues at the Witte Museum thru August. See https://bit.ly/notas-green-space Gemini Ink offers summer workshops with an array of award-winning authors. In July, Eddie Vega, Taco Poet of Texas teaches The Poetry of Food. In August, Andrew Porter offers Generative Flash Fiction while Xavier Garza will engage writers with Strange Family Stories: An Adult Picture Book Writing Workshop. For details and more go to: www.geminiink.org. The Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center offers its 7th annual Mariachi Summer Camp July 24-27, Mon -Thurs from 9am-4pm at the Galeria Guadalupe, 723 S. Brazos St. featuring world reknown mariachis including female trailblazer, Rhonda García. See: guadalupeculturalarts.org/ classes/music-academy/ Community meeting times and places may have changed. Check individual websites, FB and other social media for information. Call 210-228-0201 for meetings and events scheduled at the Esperanza or see: www.esperanzacenter.org Or, call 210.228.0201. Notas Y Más July / Aug 2023 Open to art and design professionals residing in the United States Request for Qualifications for St. James AMEC Culture Crossing Design Enhancements at San Pedro Creek Culture Park ¡Felicidades! ire’ne lara silva! 2023 Texas Poet Laureate https://irenelarasilva.wordpress.com/ Plática with Human Rights Activists Luis Eduardo Gutiérrez Marckwordt And Jennifer Harbury The Unfolding Human Rights Crisis in Guatemala / Historical Roots and Contemporary Realities July 8th & 6pm | Free & Open to the public “Ten Years of Spring” (1944-1954) • Assassinations • Los Desaparecidos • Genocide • h u man rights violations • the r p al acitil opf o noit azil ani mirc • wal f o el ur f o et ats s uoirace ctivists • police an d govern ment corruption Start your 2023 tax deductible gifts Give to the Esperanza in spirit of solidarity so we can continue to speak out, organize and fight for our communities for another 35 Years. Your support is needed NOW more than ever! Thank you for your gifts! Send donations to Esperanza Esperanza Peace & Justice Center 922 San Pedro Avenue San Antonio, TX 78212 To sign up as a monthly donor, Call 210.228.0201 or email: [email protected] Visit www.esperanzacenter.org/donate for online giving options. ¡Mil Gracias! LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • July/Aug 2023 Vol. 36 Issue 6 • 15
Noche Azul de Esperanza Mezclas Acústicas With Katchie Cartwright Aug 26 & 27 With Aaron Prado, George Prado, Dan Carillo, and more July 15 & 16 @ Esperanza, 922 San Pedro Sat @ 8pm, Sun @ 3pm tickets: esperanza.eventbrite.com call 210.228-0201 for info ROOTED IN CLAY Verónica Castillo y su arte By Josie Méndez-Negrete of Conocimientos Press Reading at the Esperanza in August Check FB:EsperanzaCenter and www.esperanzacenter.org for more info Sunday, July 23rd @ 3-5pm 1602 N. Zarzamora St. SA TX Featuring: Eddie “Lalo” Torres, Belen Escobedo, Bene Medina, Blanca Rodríguez & Conjunto Heritage Taller Lerma’s Nite Club Grand Opening Celebrating Music, History & Community Tango Macondo Reading and Closing Party • Sat July 29 @ 7pm / Free Esperanza Peace & Justice Center 922 San Pedro Ave. Food & Music by DJ Despeinada with Ruth Behar, Richard Blanco, Sharon Bridgforth, Rigoberto Gonzalez: & John Phillip Santos reading work by Ishmael Reed. Y de pilón, Sandra Cisneros, founder of Macondo! Haven’t opened La Voz in a while? Prefer to read it online? Wrong address? TO CANCEL A SUBSCRIPTIONEMAIL [email protected] CALL: 210.228.0201 LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • July/Aug 2023 Vol. 36 Issue 6 • Non-Profit Org. US Postage PAID San Antonio, TX Permit #332 ESPERANZA PEACE & JUSTICE CENTER 922 San Pedro San Antonio TX 78212 210.228.0201 • www.esperanzacenter.org