As many of you know, the Hispanic population in the U.S. is booming and won't be slowing down anytime soon. With this population growth comes potential political power. The manner in which the Hispanic community wields this potential power remains to be seen.
The clips below demonstrate how neither party is doing themselves any favors in currying the Hispanic vote. In clip #1, Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks discusses how President Obama's policies on certain issues important to Hispanics could come back to haunt him. In the 2nd clip, a Hispanic conservative appears on Al Sharpton's MSNBC show to talk about why she has walked away from the GOP. Below the 2nd clip is a link to an article about the Hispanic community's past, present, and future role in American politics.
Although 2011 has already started, I still wanted to take a moment and recognize or call out the people and organizations who I think deserve either bouquets or tomatoes tossed at them for their words and actions in 2010 regarding race issues.
Diversity Ink's Heroes of 2010: The Young Turks
Led by host Cenk Uygur (above center), The Young Turks have set the bar high when it comes to tackling race-related stories. In their pointed and humorous commentary, they don't hold their tongues nor do they pull any punches. Along with calling out the usual suspects (you know who they are ), TYT has also shined an unflattering light on lesser known people/institutions such as Sen. Jake Knott (who used the term "raghead" in reference to President Obama and then gubernatorial candidate for S.C. Nikki Haley) and the Walthall County School District (which was guilty of segregating students). Because accusations of racism aren't always cut and dry, TYT will sometimes question whether or not an incident is an example of racism or not. I also love the fact that the show has on guests that don't share their beliefs (for example, the controversial and far right Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson).
Honorable mentions for Heroes of 2010:
MSNBC (with a special nod to Rachel Maddow for her segments on the Southern strategy)
Shirley Sherrod
Turner Classic Movies
Joe Madison
The Phoenix Suns
Below is a clip from "The Young Turks" in which Cenk Uygur gives his take on Rush Limbaugh's comments about the Shirley Sherrod incident:
Diversity Ink's Villain of 2010: Fox News Channel
The Fox News Channel (aka the video equivalent of the "Southern strategy") knows that fanning the flames of race plays right into the hands of their followers who hang on their every word. Their overhyping of the New Black Panther Party case and the hit job they did on Shirley Sherrod are just two examples of how Fox does its part in widening the racial divide. The efforts of Fox didn't go unnoticed in 2010. Along with people like Howard Dean, the hosts of The Young Turks, and Shepherd Smith (one of the few hosts on Fox with any integrity), a program on one of its sister channels also got into the act of calling out Fox News for its underhanded tactics.
Dishonorable mentions for Villains of 2010:
Rush Limbaugh
Rep. Steve King
Jesse Lee Peterson
Sharron Angle
Gov. Jan Brewer
Conservatives/Republicans who will bend over backwards to defend one of their own no matter how heinous the offense, but will pounce on a liberals/Democrats for the slightest misstep
The clip below, in which Monica Crowley fills in for Bill O'Reilly, is classic Fox:
Who are your heroes and villains when it comes to race matters for 2010?
At Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, CA, a controversy erupted on Cinco de Mayo when five male students showed up to school that day wearing clothing adorned with the American flag. Officials at the school (which has a large Mexican-American student population) deemed the garments "incendiary" and "disrespectful". The officials feared that displaying the flag would incite fights between Mexican-American students and their five peers. While the quintet were at brunch break (brunch break?!), the vice principal asked two of the boys to remove the American flag bandannas they were wearing on their heads and for the others to turn their American flag T-shirts inside out. When they refused, the boys were ordered to go to the principal's office (do not pass "Go", do not collect $200!) The students were told that if they returned to class with their American flag-adorned clothing, they would be suspended. To avoid suspension, the students went home for the day.
Below is the story as reported by an NBC affiliate in the Bay area:
The following day, Morgan Hill Unified School District Superintendent Wesley Smith said, "While campus safety is our primary concern and administrators made decisions yesterday in an attempt to ensure campus safety, students should not, and will not, be disciplined for wearing patriotic clothing." For more on the story, click here.
Although I think the five students wearing the American flag on Cinco de Mayo was their way of saying "How ya like me now?" to the Mexican-American students, so what! Forcing them to change or else get suspended was the wrong move to make. It looks to me like the school officials hid behind the "safety of the students" shield to cover their overly PC asses. It's not like the quintet wore clothing emblazoned with swastikas or that said "white power", it was the American flag!
Side note: When I checked out the Wikipedia page for Morgan Hill this afternoon, I found it interesting that the "Politics" section ended with the following: "Morgan Hill is known for its excessive love for America and the American flag." I'd love to know if this sentence was there prior to the Live Oak High School controversy.
For those who know me, it will come as no surprise that my answer to the question in the title of this post is "yes". Something needs to be done about illegal immigration and Washington has failed to address the issue, but this is not the way to go. As you probably know, the law requires police to question anyone they "reasonably suspect" of being an undocumented immigrant and you don't have to be a MENSA candidate to know what "reasonably suspect" means. In a press conference held by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer after she signed the bill, a reporter asked her if she knew what an illegal alien looks like. The governor stammered and finally said she didn't know. Good answer.
For the segment of the conservative base that has spent over a year whining about losing their freedom and liberties, they have taken a callous attitude to the AZ Immigration law. They've argued that the bill is just because it instructs police officers to enforce the law. Imagine if North Dakota had a problem with Canadians entering the U.S. illegally and decided to sign a bill into law requiring police to question anyone they "reasonably suspected" of being an undocumented immigrant. How do you think that would fly with these same conservatives?
On the April 23rd edition of The Young Turks, host Cenk Uygur discusses the AZ Immigration Law and its ramifications:
In keeping with their reputation for putting a humorous spin on topical issues, the April 24th episode of SNL tackled the subject of Arizona's new immigration law in its "Weekend Update" segment:
Jaime Escalante, the East Los Angeles high school math teacher who was made famous by Edward James Olmos' portrayal of him in the 1988 film "Stand and Deliver," died Tuesday afternoon at the age of 79. He had been undergoing treatments for bladder cancer in Reno, Nevada, but was brought to his son's California home on Monday by Olmos (who remained close with Escalante throughout the years).
The Bolivian-born Escalante is perhaps best known for helping to turn the math program at East L.A.'s Garfield High School into one of the finest in the country. Escalante's success was dramatized in the aforementioned Stand and Deliver, which he described as "90% truth, 10% drama". He stated that several points were left out of the film:
It took him several years to achieve the kind of success shown in the film.
In no case was a student who didn't know multiplication tables or fractions taught calculus in a single year.
Escalante suffered a gall-bladder attack, not a heart attack. This distinction was clouded over in the film.
The news of Escalante's death is up on Edward James Olmos' website. He is survived by his wife Fabiola and his sons Fernando and Jaime Jr.
Below is a scene from the movie Stand and Deliver:
The real Jaime Escalante talks about being a teacher:
