August 11-12, 1996 San Diego, Califaztlán:
On August 11, 1996, the National Chicano Moratorium Committee (NCMC) organized the National Raza Unity Conference: A Conference which carried
the Revolutionary Spirit of Our Heroes like, Zapata, Che, and Las Soldaderas,
that was organized and led by Raza, that was created by the conditions the
Republican and Democratic Parties have put on our gente. A conference that,
by the end of the day, had inspired all Raza to unite, struggle, and build/join
organizations within our Movimiento.
The Conference took place at San Diego City College. The Unity Conference
was only open to organizations. More than 20 organizations from all over
Aztlán were present. More than 200 Raza attended this conference
which carried the banner of self-determination for the Chicano Mexicano
people. This conference was the first part of a two day event. On the second
day the NCMC organized the Raza Marcha Against the Republican Party Convention.
Objectives Of The Raza Unity Conference
The objectives of the Raza Unity Conference were: 1) to bring together
progressive Movimiento forces to discuss and share perspectives on the burning
issues facing nuestro pueblo and what needs to be done to resolve them;
2) to form a network among movement organizations - as a way of more effectively
working in the future; 3) to develop a joint "Declaración de
Lucha" that will outline key issues and how to concretely address them;
and lastly 4) to advance organizational building of activism within the
struggle for Raza self-Determination.
The Conference started with chants like "Somos Un Pueblo, Sin Fronteras"
y "¡Que Viva La Raza". The audience responded with very
energetic voices. Presentations were made by activists of historical significance
to the Movimiento. All speakers delivered very strong and inspiring messages
to la Raza: from the importance of knowing our true history to recognizing
Chicano activists that have continued organizing. The speakers were Xenaro
Ayala from La Raza Unida Party; Antonio Marín from El Congreso Chicano
de la Comunidad - El Paso region of the NCMC; María Ortíz
former CASA member, and presently with the NCMC San José region and
Unión del Barrio; David Rico from the Brown Berets de Aztlán;
Rudy Acuña Chicano Studies Professor at Cal State Northridge (CSUN)
and author of Occupied America; Raúl Ruiz former editor of La Raza
magazine and Professor at CSUN; and Alurista, the Chicano poet laureate
of Aztlán as well as one of the original writers of El Plan de Aztlán,
who presented several of his inspiring poems that carried a message of true
Chicanismo.
During lunch there was an "Organizational Teach-in" where several
organizations spoke about themselves and what they are doing for la Raza.
One of the main reasons why this system has been able to come out with racist
laws geared against our Raza (like Prop. 187, 209, and the English Only
Laws) has been because we are not organized at a national level. The NCMC
sees this as a major contradiction in Aztlán because the racist laws
will continue coming and we are not prepared to struggle against them.
Conference Workshops
After lunch, the main body broke into the following five workshops: 1)
Building a National Movement for Raza Self-Determination, the speakers were:
Ernesto Bustillos from Unión del Barrio, Jaime Cruz from Los Angeles
NCMC, José Moreno from Oxnard NCMC, Armando Navarro from the Tomás
Rivera Research Center at U.C. Riverside, and Xenaro Ayala from La Raza
Unida Party. 2) Grassroots/Barrio Organizing, the speakers were: Elba Alvarez
from Riverside/San Bernardino NCMC, Ismael Avilez and Hector Muro from Mexicano
Unidos en Defensa del Pueblo, Seferino García from the Brown Berets
de Aztlán, and Eric Gonzalez from Unión del Barrio. 3) Youth,
Women, and Prisoners: Working with Key Sectors of Nuestra Raza, the speakers
were: Ericka Zamora from Unión del Barrio's Comité de Mujeres
Patricia Marín, Adriana Jasso from Oxnard NCMC, Jesus Alvarado from
UTEP M.E.Ch.A., Harry Barra from Somos Raza and Unión del Barrio,
and Tony Rodríguez from Unión del Barrio's Chicano Mexicano
Prison Project. 4) La Lucha En México: EZLN, EPR, FAC-MLN and other
struggles of Raza South of the Militarily Imposed Border, the speakers were
Pablo Aceves National Coordinator of the NCMC, and Judith Galarza from FAC-MLN
Ciudad Juarez, México. 5) Critical Issues Facing La Raza, the speakers
were: Rudy Acuña from CSUN, Consuelo Manríquez from Unión
del Barrio, Roberto Martínez from the U.S./Mexico Border Project,
Francisco Romero from Oxnard NCMC, and Nicolás Crisosto from the
Barrio Defense Committee and Unión del Barrio. The main body reconvened and Omali Yeshitela, from the African People's
Socialist Party, gave a solidarity statement to the participants of the
conference. Compañero Omali gave an electrifying speech that made
the audience respond with a standing ovation and with our Raza chanting
¡Que Viva Africa! He congratulated us for holding a very historic
meeting where the banner of Self-determination had been raised high.
The final presentations were from people that facilitated the workshops.
They presented resolutions that came out of each workshop. The resolutions
targeted the importance of Unity among Raza organizations and they ranged
from supporting the 4th Annual Youth Liberation Conference in November of
this year in Oxnard, Califas to creating new regions of the NCMC. (For the
complete resolutions of this conference write to the NCMC at P.O. Box 620095
San Diego, CA 92162.)
The conference was a very historical event for many reasons. First, it
represented where our people are at. "The Movimiento was speaking for
itself during this conference", said Ernesto Bustillos, Chairman of
Unión del Barrio. Second, it showed a tremendous kind of Unity among
serious progressive organizations. Third, it showed that with organization
we can accomplish many things, like this Unity conference, and the Raza
March. By the end of the day, the participants of the Conference were ready
to march the next day with their minds filled with pride of Chicana and
Chicano Power.
The National Raza Marcha Against the Republican Party Convention
The National Raza Marcha Against the Republican Party Convention took
place the following day, August 12, 1996, at Chicano Park. This March was
also organized by the NCMC and it was a tremendous and necessary task to
take on. This Raza March provided us with an opportunity to expose to the
world the oppression and racism faced by the great majority of our people.
It enabled us to educate and raise the consciousness of our community to
the many issues which confront us, like Prop. 187, English Only Laws, migra/police
violence, etc. This Raza Marcha allowed us to raise the question of self-determination
as the primary question facing La Raza and to challenge the Hispanic-Vendidos
who want to sell-out our community to assimilationist, pacifist, and Democratic
Party politics.
The M.C.'s at the rally were Pablo Aceves and Adrianna Jasso, both from
the NCMC. All of the speakers at the rally gave one clear message: Self-determination
for the Chicano Mexicano People. The speakers at the rally before the march
were, Consuelo Manríquez on behalf of Unión del Barrio, Omali
Yeshitela from the African People's Socialist Party, David Rico and Seferino
Garcia of the Brown Berets de Aztlán, Judith Galarza from the FAC-MLN,
a compañera from the Mexican Political Association (MPA) and Maria
Ortíz from the San José NCMC region/Barrio Defense Committee
and Unión del Barrio.
During the entire rally preceding the marcha, Chicano Park was decorated
with militant signs saying "this is our land", "the Doles
are illegal", "Que Viva La Raza," etc. The Mexican flag dominated
the whole Marcha as well as banners flying high with orgullo with the faces
of Zapata, Che, and Fidel (painted by Chicano artista Mario Torero of the
Chicano Park Artists Task Force). The banner that headed the Marcha stated
"El Pueblo Unido, Jamás Será Vencido/La Raza Marcha Contra
el Partido Republicano" and the banner that closed up the marcha depicted
a hooded Klan member with blue eyes showing the California Civil Rights
Initiative as a racist piece of legislation (both banners were created by
Chicano artista Victor Ochoa of the Centro Cultural de la Raza). It was
clear that this Marcha was about self-determination for la Raza by la Raza.
Marchers Take To The Streets Of San Diego
The marchers took to the streets of Barrio Logan (without permits or
the approval from the Police) and marched through the Mexicano community.
Raza outside their houses, applauded and many joined the marcha. The marchers
chanted with mucho ánimo throughout the whole march. The Marcha started
at Chicano Park and went through Logan to Downtown, San Diego. It passed
the infamous "protest site" (that the police and city established
as a way of manufacturing dissent) and mocked those that govern the City
of San Diego by taking to the streets and not fearing their threats of shutting
us down. La Raza marched on our own land, on our own terms.
The whole world was exposed to the militancy of la Raza in Aztlán.
The media inundated our streets covering this historic period in our people's
quest for self-determination. Media representatives from all over the world
came to cover this event. This Marcha was a great success because it showed
the organization, dedication, and militancy of our Pueblo Mexicano. By the
end of the Marcha there were between 800 to 1000 compañeras y compañeros
marching proudly through the streets of San Diego and back to our little
piece of liberated land, Chicano Park.
The NCMC will follow up with the resolutions that came out of the Raza
Unity Conference. It is clear that we need to continue organizing on a national
level to accomplish our goals of Justicia y Libertad for our gente. The
message for all la Raza is to join an organization or create one under the
banner of Raza self-determination and independence from government funding
or control. As the next step in advancing our movement the NCMC will co-sponsor
and be a key player in organizing for the 4th Annual Raza Youth Liberation
Conference on November 16, 1996 in Oxnard, Califas.