Mexico's President and his remarks about Blacks

Mexico's Fox Defends Comment on Blacks
Source: Associated Press by TRACI CARL 05/16/2005

MEXICO CITY - President Vicente Fox refused to apologize Monday for saying Mexicans in the United States do the work that blacks won't - a comment widely viewed as acceptable in a country where blackface comedy is still considered funny and nicknames often reflect skin color.State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City had raised the issue with the Mexican government. "That's a very insensitive and inappropriate way to phrase this and we would hope that (the Mexicans) would clarify the remarks if they have a chance," Boucher said.Fox's spokesman, Ruben Aguilar, said the remark has been misinterpreted as a racial slur. He said the president was speaking in defense of Mexican migrants as they come under attack by the new U.S. immigration measures that include a wall along the U.S.-California border.

Stung by the U.S. crackdown
on illegal immigrants, many Mexicans - including Mexico City's archbishop - said Fox was just stating a fact."The president was just telling the truth," said Celedonio Gonzalez, a 35-year-old carpenter who worked illegally in Dallas for six months in 2001. "Mexicans go to the United States because they have to. Blacks want to earn better wages, and the Mexican - because he is illegal - takes what they pay him."But the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rev. Al Sharpton, two black U.S. civil rights activists, said Fox should apologize. "His statement had the impact of being inciting and divisive," Jackson said.Lisa Catanzarite, a sociologist at Washington State University, disputed Fox's assertion. She said there is intense competition for lucrative working class jobs like construction and that employers usually prefer to hire immigrants who don't know their rights."What Vicente Fox called a willingness to work ... translates into extreme exploitability," she said.

Fox made the comment Friday during a public appearance in Puerto Vallarta, saying: "There's no doubt that Mexican men and women - full of dignity, willpower and a capacity for work - are doing the work that not even blacks want to do in the United States."Responding to the criticism Monday, Aguilar read a statement expressing Fox's "enormous respect for minorities, whatever their racial, ethnic or religious origin.""The purpose (of the comment) was none other than to show the importance Mexican workers have today in the development and progress of U.S. society," Aguilar said, repeating a statement released Saturday.He refused to comment further, saying only that Fox would "intensify his diplomatic efforts to protect the integrity of the Mexicans living in that country."The dispute reflects Fox's growing frustration with U.S. immigration policy and deteriorating relations between the two nations.The Mexican government was expected to send a diplomatic letter to the United States on Monday protesting recent measures that include requiring states to verify that people who apply for a driver's license are in the country legally, making it harder for migrants to gain amnesty, and overriding environmental laws to build a barrier along the California border with Mexico.The measures have been widely criticized in Mexico, where residents increasingly see the United States as adopting anti-migrant policies.Even Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera, the archbishop of Mexico City, criticized the U.S. policy as ridiculous and defended Fox's comments, saying: "The declaration had nothing to do with racism. It is a reality in the United States that anyone can prove."Gilberto Rincon, president of the National Council to Prevent Discrimination, said the statement was "unfortunate." But, speaking after releasing a report on racism in Mexico, he said it reflected outdated language more than a racist attitude.Fox has championed the rights of minorities and the disabled and has led a successful campaign to amend the constitution to make discrimination a crime. George Grayson, a Mexican expert with the College of William & Mary in Virginia, said the dispute will hurt Fox's campaign to liberalize immigration laws, adding that it shows "once again how tone deaf Mexico's president is with respect to the United States."

While Mexico has a few, isolated black communities, the population is dominated by descendants of the country's Spanish colonizers and its native Indians. Comments that would generally be considered openly racist in the United States generate little attention here. One afternoon television program regularly features a comedian in blackface chasing actresses in skimpy outfits, while an advertisement for a small, chocolate pastry called the "negrito" - the little black man - shows a white boy sprouting an afro as he eats the sweet. Many people hand out nicknames based on skin color. Victor Hugo Flores, a 30-year-old bond salesman, cringed when asked what he thought of Fox's comment, but said it isn't too different from popular sayings celebrating what Mexicans see as a strong work ethic among blacks. "It was bad, but it really isn't racist," he said. "Maybe the president shouldn't have said it. But here we say things like, 'He works like a black person,' and it's normal."

___ On the Net: http://envivo.presidencia.gob.mx/?NLangen ___
National Writer Erin Texeira contributed to this story.
==============================

Now, it is always interesting to me when I hear opinions on Black Americans from people from different countries. It always seems to contain some negative ideas that imply Blacks some how being on the bottom of the "racial" and ethnic ladder. The seeds of division that permeate through relations between African and Indigenous people worldwide are amazing to witness. The dissension sprouts so well, that it does not need the "fertilizer" of the Western European world to assist in its growth.

It is unfortunate that Vicente Fox said this, but it is not surprising. Images put out into the rest of the world of Black people are negative, and in many ways have been reinforced by Black people themselves. The fact that Fox thinks that Blacks are so low on the totem pole that only they would even come close to taking the jobs that illegal immigrants are many time forced to take, just shows how Black Americans are regarded in this world. It's terrible, but it is real. Let's get free and let's control and own our image!

a note on friendship

You know, friendship is a weird thing. It can be very delicate or very strong. I think for some people friendship is about calling each other on the phone everyday, going out with each other every weekend, and stuff like that. But really, isn't friendship more about being counted on when needed. Whether it's the big things or the little things, friends are there when you need them. There was a girl in college who told me that "You're always on time." I guess that's what being a friend is, it's like that damn Ja Rule song, "I'm not always there when you call, but I'm always on time."

Unfortunately, I think I have failed to be "on time" enough for one of my friends... Though she hasn't told me anything, I can feel her slowly drawing away. The funny thing is that when I really needed her I never called on her. Not because I didn't think she would help me, but because she was always my ace in the whole, and I never wanted to bother her with anything trivial because I knew if I needed anyone for a big favor, she would be the first person I knew would come through for me. It is actually kind of weird when you think about it. I probably value her friendship the most of any person I have met the last three years or so, yet I may lose her friendship so quickly.

I guess that is just another lesson in life...

"I Am Africa"

For every poem, or anything else I write, there is always a story behind it. This poem, "I Am Africa," comes from the different experiences and conversations I have had with people. Now, a lot of times when a person like myself is very self-affirming, as far as culturally and consciously, there is a tendency to romanticize the African continent. I would hope that this poem does not do that, but does justice to our cultural roots.

I Am Africa (I Am The Motherland)
I am...I am the mother...I am the mother of existence...Of Civilization.My children are kissed by the sun...Caressed by beauty.Yet many of my children fail to acknowledge me.

I am Africa

I am the motherland.I was the mother even when I was... Named something else... Before someone decided to call me Africa. My children are spread all over the world.And they crossed oceans before anyone else ever crossed them. Explored valleys before anyone else ever explored them.Created what no one else could ever create. But my children were never rewarded.Many of my children were ripped away from me. Locked, chained, sold, tortured, raped, and executed...For profit. Robbed, massacred, exploited, exiled, imprisoned, and disenfranchised... For the sake of "manifest destiny."Some of my children even helped in the terror.And they don`t remember...They can`t. My children have been conditioned to forget...Taught to vilify me. Many of those who have been reminded, don`t want to remember.But I am still The Mother.The Olmecs (Ulmecs), the Mayans, the Aztecs, the Incas, Teotihuacan, Yoruba, Ibo (Igbo), Bantu, Berber, Nilotes, "the Aborigines."(My children)Haiti to Mali, and Nigeria to New York, and Grenada to Ghana.From South Carolina to South Africa.From Cuba to the Congo.Mexico to Mozambique. California to Cameroon.Massachusetts to Madagascar. Libya to Louisiana.Brazil to Botswana. Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic to Ethiopia and Sierra Leone.Jamaica to Kenya. From D.C. to Guinea. Tunisia to Tennessee. Belize to Benin.Ecuador to Egypt... Yes, Egypt, too. I am the Mother, the Father, the Children. I am the roots of humanity.

I AM AFRICA!

2003 J.A.G. & Eastside Productions (c) Black/Latino/Aboriginal Thoughts Unlimited (c)

My Last Will and Testament for HUSL 2005

I leave my hope for the future of the law school to Angela A. (Class of 2007) – thank you Angie for reminding me of why I came to the HUSL – you are special! Always keep me in touch. I bequeath “my office” (the Rhatt) to Keitha J, Princess W (both Class of 2006) and Rosalyn R; please cherish it in all your days here.

To Yaida (What up, Yai?!), I leave a big pot of Jerk Chicken (smile) – You have been a true blessing this last year; you are an embodiment of grace. To my favorite Scorpio home girl, Shayla S, I bequeath those weird chairs in Classroom 3 that had us attached like Siamese twins during Sales – thanks for everything you’ve done for me – I’m sure we were twins in a previous life.
To Lisa, Tiffany, Monika, Jeremy, and Liz, I leave a gold plated replica of our table in the Rhatt during our first year… those were the days… I have a lot of love for y’all.
To Raina J (Class of 2006), I leave the gifts and virtues of PATIENCE and POSITIVITY, and I promise to cook dinner for you on your next birthday if you promise to add more food to your diet – you were a great adopted mentee; I luv ya, “Rains.”

To my closest buddies, Kayonia and Alexei, thanks for the great times filled with music, love and food – we were an interesting trio (the cynical Russian, the Afro-centric radical, and the choir director); love you both. Kayonia, you are the dearest person I have ever met; thanks for always looking out for me.

To Joel B, thanks for the laughs and insight, brother; take care of your beautiful daughter.

To Professor Dark, I leave you your very own video projector to do PowerPoint presentations so your lesson plans are never spoiled again; thanks for everything in helping me become a better student.

To Onjil, thanks for allowing me to be your confidant in all things – don’t turn the page without me being in the next chapter – you know what I mean.

To Section 3, much Love!
To the men and women of Class of 2006, 2007, and 2008, I leave LOVE – Love each other, love with each other, love for each other – we will not progress as a community if we are at each other’s throats.

- Jason Grant

Graduating from law school

So, I just graduated from law school and it's crazy that I am actually a juris doctorate. It feels kind of weird; it hasn't even really set in yet. I'm still getting used to not doing anything for a couple of days. My graduation was really lovely, and I'm glad that I will have such great memories from it all.
Now the key for me is the bar exam and finding what will be my passion for my career. It's crazy, I've been in school for the last 20 years of my life, and now I almost don't know what to do with myself. But "whatever it is, it's got to be funky."