Black Music and Religion: Gospel Choirs at 2010 Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Conference [VIDEOS]

Music, poetry, singing, spoken word, the art of expressing oneself has been perhaps among the most powerful ways for African Americans to thrive for a better life, to resist and survive injustice, and to register their stories and their plight, their journey to their freedom, their survival, their success.

It is because of music and all forms of arts that Black Americans have overcame abuse and exploitation, and they have raised to be one of the most progressive and influential communities in the United States. African Americans have thus contribute to the shaping of American culture, as most of the musical genres of this country, were created by Black artists.

Gospel music is for Blacks in the U.S. -and through them many African communities in the world- not only a way to express their faith and love for God but also to celebrate, to reinvigorate the values that come along with their faith. Because a religious service in a Black church is more than just praying, it’s singing, preaching, celebrating, an out loud conversation with the one that is listening.

Photos and video by Carlos A. Quiroz

This is what I saw at the Gospel Extravaganza program, organized by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation as part of its 40th Annual Legislative Conference, and held at the United House of Prayer for All People church in Washington, DC, on September 16, 2010. I recorded four videos that you can see here. In this post I decided to included these two videos that touched me deeply.

This first video is an incredible performance by the Benedict College Gospel Choir (South Carolina), and the extra talented and young violinist David D:

The last song of the program: the four participating Gospel choirs from Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Mississippi singing together.

This is African American Gospel: a musical religion, a religious music. A faith that was imposed to their ancestors, but which was converted into a new form of religion, that mixes old and new beliefs with Christianity, that carry on the same beliefs of yesterday but reaches out to the new Black, the new America, the new world. Many can say religions are tools for domination, for control of masses. I won't go there. When I saw these choirs, I heard the beauty of Gospel, because if there is a God, this was the proof.

To find out more about the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation 2010 ALC visit its website.


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Fiesta DC 2010: Business [& Community Leaders] Running the Only DC Latino Festival

Photo by Nestor Sanchez via PoP

Today is the 39th annual Fiesta DC Festival (former Latino Festival) held at its historical location in Mount Pleasant Street NW, between Park Road NW and Argonne Place NW. Fiesta DC is perhaps the most vibrant and popular street festival in Washington, DC, its organizers say that more than 80,000 people attend every year.

The festival kicks off around 11:00 am. until 7:00 pm. and includes 3 stages with live music and dance performances, a Children Fair, food stands, and booths of sponsors and other private businesses along the street. One of the best features of Fiesta DC is its Parade of Nations which starts at 1:00 pm. including more than 900 dancers representing the different races and heritages of the Americas.

The festival has overgrown its location, but attempts to move it to 14th street NW have failed. Fiesta DC is rooted in the history of Mount Pleasant but still it has a foreign flavor to many, including NBC that calls it an “international party” while The 42 Bus blog calls it “the de facto Mount Pleasant Day”. The bad part is that reinforces the wrong concept that all the peoples and cultures of Latin America share one Hispanic heritage, which is false.

See Fiesta DC website, my photos from the 2009 Fiesta DC. Map of the festival:

View Larger Map

Fiesta DC New Directors

This year a new group of directors took over the non-profit Fiesta DC. The previous administration went under fire when the Ted Loza-Jim Graham scandal came to light. Alfonso Aguilar was the previous Fiesta DC executive director but he did not support Ted Loza during the FBI investigation, actually he revealed that Loza had asked him to give a job at Fiesta DC to his ex wife Lidia Munoz. Months later, a new directory was appointed after allegations that Aguilar and his board of directors were misusing its funds.

Fiesta DC receives most of its funding from the D.C. government, and it depends greatly from Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham, who has to do with the fact that Ted Loza was one of the persons behind the creation of Fiesta DC as a non-profit.

Who are the new Fiesta DC directors?

Most of the new Fiesta DC directors are close allies of Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham and also well connected to DC Mayor Adrian Fenty, they are business owners. There are not not grass-roots activists or cultural educational professionals in this directory.

Ivonne Rivera, Chair, is a consultant, president of the Rivera Group Inc, she hold a Master degree of Public Health from the George Washington University, with experience in pharmaceutical research, Rivera has worked for at the Children’s National Medical Center where she built a Language Services Program to provide medical interpretation to parents and children from various groups. Long time D.C. resident, Rivera was born in El Salvador and her family migrated to the U.S. when she was 13 years old. She is married to Enrique Rivera, who is the Director of Language Access Programs at the DC. Metropolitan Police Department.

A reader's comment: "Ivonne Rivera is and has been very supportive of the community. She is originally from El Salvador and works with our communities all over the country. She founded the first Salvadoran folklore group in Washington DC, "El Cipitio", in 1981 to celebrate our indigenous roots and share our culture. She has and is very supportive of community activities. Her husband helped found the Latin American Youth Center and was the Director for years and is a community activist himself."

Ivan Gaviria, Vice-Chair, list himself in Linkedin as “Partner at LCHIP Development Group, and Executive Vice President and COO at Gaviria Group Consulting, LLC, Business Development Manager at Keystone Plus Construction Corporation (KPCC)”. KPCC is a company that has obtained contracts under the Mayor Fenty administration. Not surprisingly, Carlos Perdomo, CEO of Keystone Plus Construction, was a member of the Host Committee for Mayor Adrian Fenty's Birthday Reception this year. Both Gaviria and Perdomo are Colombian and they are co-founders of Todos Por Colombia, a non-profit for Colombians living in the Washington DC area, involved in political activities in support of the right-wing government of former president Alvaro Uribe, accused of human rights atrocities.

Gunther Sanabria, Director, is an attorney specialized in international trade, born in Peru he currently is a Case Manager at the U.S. International Trade Commission, and is an Attorney at International Legal Group. Sanabria worked before as an International Trade Consultant at the NAFTA Secretariat, in Washington, DC. The destructive free trade agreements are one of the reasons that caused undocumented immigration of poor workers and farmers from Latin America to the U.S. For instance, NAFTA has increased ten times undocumented immigration of Mexicans to the U.S. while the Peru-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) has caused the massacre of Bagua in 2009. The Central American FTA has caused also violence, unemployment and destruction of the environment in that region. A pending FTA with Colombia is now under negotiations.

A reader's comment: "Gunther Sanabria, from Peru, he has been extremely helpful."

Ana Reyes, treasurer, is a financial specialist, there is not information available online about her whereabouts, but some sources say that she works for the D.C. government. Reyes migrated from El Salvador to Washington, DC.

A reader's comment: "Ana Reyes is originally from El Salvador, Chirilagua, and has helped the community in many ways, she is a success story that you may like to hear one day and is "grassroots" as they come."

Maria Patricia Corrales, Vice-Treasurer, works in the construction industry; she is a member of the National Hispanic Construction Association and with ties to Keystone Plus Construction Corporation as well. Corrales is a political activist in the Democratic Party and the DC Latino Democratic Caucus, which endorsed Vince Gray these elections, she has worked in the Obama campaign in 2004 and attended the Democratic convention, and she co-organized the 2009 DC Latino Presidential Inauguration Celebration in Washington, DC.

Rosibel Arbaiza, Secretary, is a business owner including two hair salons in Mount Pleasant Street NW and in Hyattsville, Maryland, she also is from El Salvador.

A reader's comment: "Rosibel Arbaiza, a Salvadoran who came in the early 1980s from Intipuca, has done so much for the community and her people, you have no idea."

Alicia Higgins, Director, says in the Fiesta DC website: “Through my career in banking and now as a financial consultant, I have always helped the Latino community. I want the non-Latinos to have respect for the Latino community. I want them to know that we count and that we will be part of the change in the future.” This sounds good to me.

A reader's comment: "Alicia Higgins from Ecuador is a financial consultant and works with many community groups as a volunteer. Alicia knows the DC community well and again, has worked quietly, helping others."

Jim Graham and KPCC

Is not a secret that D.C. politics have a strong influence from private corporations, look at the current gentrification process. But how ethical is to involved them in political proselytism?

Here is a photo of Councilmember Jim Graham giving school supplies with political propaganda to poor Black children at Park Morton apartments, in March 2009 with the help of Jackie Reyes, director of Latino Affairs and Community Outreach for Graham, Dottie Love Wade the D.C. State Board of Education member (Graham helped her to get elected), and the folks of Keystone Plus Construction Corporation:

See more photos here.  Keystone Plus Construction Company is listed as a heating and house repair company and it has been awarded the project of a community park at the former Gage-Eckington school, a bridge at Navy Yard waterfront, and the beautification of Park Street NW, among others.

Here is a video of Carlos Perdomo of KPCC helping Jim Graham with his annual Christmas gifts giveaway -don't forget to vote for me- party... que pena!

Why are business people running a community festival? Let me go now, I'm going to take some photos at Fiesta DC.
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Fight for DREAM Act Continues: Blocked by GOP Senators But it Can Be Passed as Stand Alone Bill: TAKE ACTION!

Millions of undocumented students and LGBT members of the military across the U.S. were crushed in disbelief and dissappointed yesterday, after 41 Republican and 1 Democrat Senators voted to block the 2011 Defense Appropiation Bill, which included a provision to end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and an amendment to pass the DREAM Act. 

But the figth for the DREAM Act and to overturn the DADT bill continues.

Photo credit: Sonia Guinansaca

The next 10 days will be crucial to push for these inititiaves to be passed as stand alone bills, before the mid-term elections. I spoke to Sonia Guinansaca (New York State Youth Leadership Council) and Carlos Saavedra (United We Dream), two student activists advocating for the DREAM Act:

TAKE ACTION TODAY!

Please Call (202) 224-3121, say where you live and speak to your Senator. You can say:

“Hello, this is [NAME] and I live in [CITY, STATE]. I am calling to ask Senator [SENATOR’S NAME] to support and vote in favor of the DREAM Act bill. This bill will allow thousands of undocumented American youth to fix their status by getting a two-year college degree or joining the military.The DREAM Act is critical for America’s future.”

A press conference will be held today with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and young student leaders, to discuss the future of the DREAM Act.


The anger and frustration among progressive activists was obvious, as partisan interests were more imporant to these Senators, than the human rights of millions of people of this country. See how the Senators voted yesterday.


For the Dreamers this is the chance of their lifetimes. The next task for for the DREAM Act and anti-DADT activists -and their supporters- is to demand their Senators to vote on those initiatives in the next 10 days. Losing a battle doesn’t mean the fight has ended, and we all need to support them.
 

Senator Durbin (D-IL) with DREAM Act activists. Photo by Carlos A. Quiroz

Why the DREAM Act should be passed

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Why Adrian Fenty lost in Washington DC

D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty lost his reelection bid in Washington, DC, for a few simple reasons. Many people who don't know D.C. well are wondering why he lost. His supporters, including the local media and private developers, know exactly why Fenty lost, but they don't talk about it - perhaps out of fear that the same may happen again in D.C. and other cities across the U.S.

Adrian Fenty after losing the 2010 Primary elections. Photo AP

Some friends and readers of this blog who don’t live in Washington, DC, have asked me this same question: Why such a good and popular Mayor like Adrian Fenty did not win his reelection bid? I joke about it by responding “It was NYC Mayor Bloomberg’s fault” after he endorsed Fenty. 

Actually, it's true in some way. Like Bloomberg, Fenty was mostly supported by neighbors of the richer parts of D.C. by newcomers, and by private corporations. Fenty was defeated by his political rival groups but mostly by a word-of-mouth campaign of grass roots organizations and unhappy citizens, working-class Blacks and Latinos.

For once, I’m alright with Fenty losing. Although I like some things he has done for the city, but we are living in times when democracy in the U.S. is losing a lot of its real meaning, thanks to the influences of money, privileges, status and special private interests. In this moment, in this city, the power of the people is not what many want to see growing but is something that is much needed.

Fenty didn’t lose because he is a bad Mayor nor he lost because of racial issues. Is not that he run a bad campaign neither. Fenty didn't lose because some people in D.C. don’t want better schools or a safer city.

Fenty lost mostly because he is a bad politician and he forgot how to be the good candidate. Fenty lost because he used the Mayoral office as his private venture, because he is surrounded by arrogant technocrats who ignore the cultures and the peoples of this city.

Fenty lost because he thought it was enough for him to be a good city administrator, in order to get reelected. He thought that he would do just fine after widely ignoring fired teachers, displaced neighbors, disappointed activists, frustrated housing advocates, unpaid young workers, resentful Council members. Fenty thought it was enough if he had the support of the richer part of town.

He ignored that D.C. is still a progressive town with a lot of poor folks who can’t stand arrogant yuppies. In a way, this was a victory of poorer Blacks: in Ward 8 (Southeast) Adrian Fenty received less than 17% of the vote, while in Ward 3 -the richest area in the city- Fenty obtained 81% of the preferences. 

Fenty lost because he is the leader a changing city, where the local population is afraid of being displaced like many of their former neighbors. Here is a process of gentrification and economic segregation, where only those who can make good salaries can survive, regardless of race, origin or sexual orientation, or political affiliation.

It wasn't a racial vote but mostly a class vote. Fenty -the son of a White woman and an Afro Panamanian man- lost because working class Blacks are upset about the changes happening in their city without their approval: gentrification, privatization of public services, the increase of privileges for the White rich, the lack of attention from the city government towards the needs of poorer areas of the city, and the sense that Fenty saw the poor and disenfranchised as second class citizens.

It was also a vote against the Washington establishment. The Washingtonians who supported Vince Gray didn't care about the endorsements that Adrian Fenty received from the local corporate media and influential private corporations, nor the millions of dollars that his rich supporters donated to his campaign. Obviously, many people in D.C. don't care what The Washington Post, The Examiner or the Washington City Paper say who they should elect.

Some call this the ‘vote of resentment’. What do you expect when a big part of the city is not getting the same quality of services that others are receiving? How can Fenty be supported by the East side (most populated Wards) when he seems concerned only to improve in the quality of the lives of the West side of the city, while expelling the homeless away from the shelters, selling public property to his friends and supporters, and giving special favors to his circle of buddies -- all while ignoring the protests of many.

When Adrian Fenty was first elected Mayor in September 2006, he was hugely popular and he won all the city’s precincts easily. At age 35, Fenty was a rising and promising leader in the city where he was born and raised. The son of a progressive and a business and community-oriented family, he was very approachable and he would talk to anyone on the street, well he still does. He was good at campaigning face to face, delivering an image that he was about people, not money or influences. But he aint.

We cannot deny the progress in the city during the Fenty administration, especially on matters of safety and the reduction of crime rates, urban infrastructure, etc. We thank Fenty as a leader supporting marriage equality and LGBT rights in the District, he also pushed for environmental protective measures in public transportation, he has improved urban services and public spaces and recreation services in some Wards. Under his administration many schools have improved performance scores and I have witnessed the good work of several charter schools.

But Fenty left very important issues aside.

Fenty and his supporters really believe that brutal capitalism is the best way of government, that social issues are secondary and that people should take care of them on their own. They support gentrification as a way to get rid of crime and the ugly poor. Under Fenty, the D.C. government has become an agent for developers, because it's eager to attract richer new comers to the city, who can bring more businesses and revenues to the area. 

So in order to attract richer people, Fenty improved the city - including better schools for the new kids in the block. Is not that he wanted to improve the city for its current habitants, necessarily. It's all about money, and in some way race: in this U.S. White people are still enjoying privileges than others.

Here the role of School Chancellor Michelle Rhee seemed more of being a promoter of private charter schools for the newer students, even when she always talked about poor students. All of this, while firing good and bad teachers alike, making them feel like useless and old disposable subjects. Not a smart move, because those teachers were perhaps the more aggressive anti-Fenty campaigners. Rhee needs to learn a lesson: schools are public services, they are not meant to be businesses.

At the end, it wasn’t a vote for Vince Gray more than a vote against Fenty.

We must be aware that Vince Gray will not represent much of a change, because he is another bureaucrat involved in the D.C. government for decades, and some people don't have good things to say about him either.  It's hard to expect that Gray will bring important reforms to the city, but I really hope I’m wrong.

Because D.C. needs big changes - especially when it comes to its affordable housing crisis, an alarming unemployment rate, bad public education, alarming public health issues, economic and racial segregation, a deteriorating Metro system, and especially its obsolete and confusing urban design.

We will need to see if the gentrification-Whitening process continues in D.C., because if that is the case, Adrian Fenty should run in 2014. By then, he might have a wider and broader base of supporters. Maybe he can run the city again. 

Hopefully then he will be more mature, less arrogant, less egocentric and less corrupted. Can a politician change? Is the question. Fenty should remember that a Mayor is supposed to serve all peoples of a city equally. Fenty should learn how to listen to people, especially to those folks that voted him out of office this year and who happen to be mostly African Americans, progressive Whites and Latinos.

Photo by Carlos A. Quiroz

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The Dream Act Might Come True Today! Immigration Bill with DADT Repeal in Senate Defense Bill

The DREAM Act might become a reality today after more than 10 years of a long struggle and a fight that many thought impossible to win. Also, the Don't Ask Don't Tell bill will be overturned. 

UPDATE: All Republican Senators led by Senator John McCain (AZ) voted yesterday to block this Defense bill stopping the DREAM Act and the repeal of DADT bill. The final vote was 56-43 with 2 Democrats voting against: Senator Lincoln (KS) and Reid (NV) who voted against in order to have a chance to bring the bill back to the floor.

This will benefit millions of young Americans who lack of proper immigration documentation -most of whom are Latinos- while the repeal of DADT will benefit millions of LGBT Americans serving in the military.

United in the struggle: Gay activist Lt. Dan Choi with 'Dreamers' Matias Ramos, Yahaira Carrillo, Lizbeth Mateo and Prerna Lal. Photo credit: Wendy Carrillo

The passing of the DREAM Act bill along with the overturn of the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” (DADT) bill have been included within a Defense budget bill (2011 Department of Defense DOD Authorization bill S. 3454), thanks to a political maneuver of the Democratic Party, currently holding the majority in Congress.

Some Latino and Immigration activists are not too happy about the DREAM Act being included in a military funding bill. However, for the millions of undocumented “Dreamers” this is a moment they have been dreaming about most of their lives, really.

If the DREAM Act is passed, approximately 2 million young students will get a chance to obtain U.S. citizenship through a 6-year process that requires them to either finish a 2-years college degree or to join the U.S. military. These undocumented American children, have been raised here without proper immigration documents but they love this as the only nation they know. Read details of the Dream Act here.

A Militarized Dream

Last week, the office of Majority leader and Nevada Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) released the following press release announcing that the Defense Authorization bill will include a provision to end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell) and an amendment to pass the DREAM Act:

“This work period, the Senate will consider the Defense Authorization bill. Along with critical support for our national security forces around the world, this legislation will address two other important issues that are long overdue.

“Passage of this bill would overturn the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ rule for our armed forces. We will finally send a loud and clear message that everyone who steps up to serve our country should and will be welcomed regardless of sexual orientation.

“We are also offering an amendment to pass the DREAM Act. This amendment will ensure that millions of children who grow up as Americans will be able to get the education they need to contribute to our economy. Students who come to America before age 16 and who have been here for five years should be able get their green card after they go to college or serve in the military. And many who have volunteered to defend our country can finally become citizens of it.

“I firmly believe these two amendments deserve strong bipartisan support and will work to ensure we pass this legislation before the end of this work period.”

The vote on the Defense Authorization bill S. 3454 will be on the floor today Tuesday. Read the bill text here (PDF file). President Barack Obama has expressed full support for the bill, and he promised he will signed into a bill immediately after it's passed in Congress.

Today, dozens of events, vigils and protests have been organized by the Dreamers in 22 states, in order to demand the undecided Senators to support the DREAM Act.


We have to remember that this bill is mostly an achievement of the grass roots and civil rights movement –which included online campaigns, protests, lobbying, rallies, sit-ins, independent media, walks and acts of civil disobedience- led by brave undocumented students from all across the United States, who challenged fear and a broken and repressive Immigration system.

In Washington, DC, a Press Conference is planned today around noon, with Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) hosting a group of activists and advocates for LGBT rights and the DREAM Act / Immigration Reform rights:

Assistant Senate Majority Leader Richard Durbin and Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chair Joe Lieberman will join Joe Solmonese of Human Rights Campaign, Iraq war veteran Eric Alva and Cesar Vargas, a law student from New York City, tomorrow morning to discuss how passing the Defense Authorization bill would help our military keep our nation safe. Many of our generals in the field believe that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” harms troop morale and combat readiness. And passage of the DREAM Act would ensure that students who come to America before age 16 and who have been here for five years would be able to earn a path to citizenship after they serve in the military. Republicans should join Democrats and support this bill that not only funds critical support for our troops like weapons upgrades and pay raises, but ensures that our military reflects our nation’s values.

Some Immigration Reform activists are opposing the DREAM Act because they feel this bill is a last-minute attempt to fulfill the promise of president Obama, who assured Latinos that he would pass Comprehensive Immigration Reform in his first year in office.

Others think that the DREAM Act is intended to increase the military recruitment of Latino youth. It’s expected that more undocumented students will choose joining the U.S. military, because it’s free and is a quicker way to obtain a Green Card and tuition money for college as well. Read the emotional testimony of Raul Ochoa, a young teacher in Arizona who used to support the DREAm Act movement.

It is what it is. The Democrats want to get the Latino and LGBT votes for the upcoming mid-term elections, This is how "Democracy" works in this country: you give as much as you want to get. Rather we like it or not, this bill will give young Americans and LGBT military personnel a chance to live without fear and with full citizenship.

At last, the Dreamers will have the chance to achieve a college education and become U.S. citizens. Now they will have a choice. Without this bill, they won’t have any for years to come. At last, LGBT members of the U.S. military will stop being targets of discrimination, violence and hatred. Today is a good day.

TAKE ACTION

The Immigrant Youth Justice League, one of many DREAM Act groups in the county suggests that these are the Senators you need to contact and ask them to vote for the bill:

Republicans:
Sen. Hatch - Utah
Sen. Bunning - Kentucky
Sen. Bennet - Utah
Sen. Gregg - New Hampshire
Sen. Bailey Hutchison - Texas
Sen. McCain - Arizona
Sen. Voinovich - Ohio
Sen. Snowe - Maine
Sen. Collins - Maine
Sen. LeMeiux - Florida
Sen. Brownback - Kansas


Democrats:
Sen. Hagan - North Carolina
Sen. Pryor - Arkansas
Sen. Landrieu - Louisiana
Sen. Conrad - North Dakota
Sen. Dorgan - North Dakota
Sen. Nelson - Florida
Sen. Baucus - Montana
Sen. Tester - Montana
Sen. Feinstein - California

Daily Kos and SEIU have put together this list of Senators that you have to contact, and they will place the call for you, as long as you report the response you get. Please take action today!

VIDEO

Gay activist Dan Choi meets with DREAM Act students

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DC Elections Results - Vince Gray Defeats Adrian Fenty - How Jim Graham Got Reelected in Ward One

Vince Gray has won the Democratic party nomination for the November 2nd elections with 53% of the votes, which means he will be elected as the new Mayor for Washington, DC. 

It was a victory of the poor: Gray received 83% of the votes in Ward 8 [poorest in DC] and Fenty got 81% of the votes in Ward 3 [richest]. The economic divide in Washington, DC:

Among the district's eight political wards, the most affluent, Ward 3, has an average income of $142,600, while the poorest, Ward 8, averages $30,100.

Photo by Washington City Paper

Other results of yesterday's Primary election, by the D.C. Board of Elections:

For Congress, Eleanor Holmes Norton was reelected for the House of Representatives with a whooping 91% of the vote Cool!]. Mike Panetta won as U.S. Representative with 58% of the general vote.

Phil Mendelson won the DC Council At Large nomination with 64% of the votes.

Kwame R. Brown is the DC Council Chairman nomination with 55% of the votes. [Congratulations!]

Jim Graham won in Ward 1 with 53% of the vote. Mary Cheh won uncontested in Ward 3 with 95% of the preference [congrats!]. Harry Tommy Thomas Jr. in Ward 5 with 65% of the vote [congrats!]. Tommy Wells in Ward 6 with 75% of the vote.

Since Washingtonians vote overwhemgly Democrat, most of the winners of yesterday's Primary elections will be elected in the November 2th general election. See the vote schedule in Washington, DC.

Special gifts

If you voted for Jim Graham for Ward One, this one is for you. I don't blame you, I understand that sometimes people don't care anymore. Now that the election are over -- watch this. I recorded this video in 2008. It's self explanatory but in case you aren't aware, you need to know who is Abdul Kamus.

Feeling good now?


Primary lessons: no matter how popular you think you are, if you treat your constituents with arrogance and often ignore them, you will lose -- like Adrian Fenty. But if you treat those who actually vote like you are in a permanent campaign -gifts and parties included- you will get reelected no matter what. Ask Jim Graham.

Take note: luxury-housing developers could not buy the Mayor seat this time, but stay alert because they won't stop until they gentrify most of Washington, D.C. Notice that Fenty won in Wards where gentrification brought to D.C. richer newcomers.

Oh and to D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee, now that you lost your job, please re-educate yourself about labor rights, respect to all, and remember that education should not a for-profit business, arrogance is not a virtue, and that life is a learning journey.

See amazing photos of the Primary election in DC.
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Janet Napolitano says "Obama Wants DREAM Act and Immigration Reform" at CHCI 2010 Conference

Janet Napolitano said that president Obama wants to pass the DREAM Act and Comprehensive Immigration Reform, again. The Department of Homeland Security Secretary was demanded by the audience to address the immigration crisis when she spoke yesterday at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute 2010 Public Policy Conference.

Secretary Napolitano received tough questions from a panel that demanded her to take action, in order to stop current mass incarcerations, deportations and to move forward with the DREAM Act and/or Immigration Reform.

Activist Nathaly Arriola a CHCI fellow, asked Napolitano why the DHS' Secure Communities program is deporting more good hard-working people (a 75% rate according to ACLU) instead of real criminals, and Napolitano seemed surprised by the data showed.

Napolitano acted defensively when journalist Maria Hinojosa (PBS Latino USA) addressed issues that are affecting negatively the Latino communities across the United States, due to failed policies of the Department of Homeland Security, such as 287g and Secure Communities.

No show. Senator Bob Melendez (D-NJ) and Representative Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) did not show up for this event. Today, First Lady Michelle Obama addressed the CHCI Conference, and she talked about children nutrition, expressing the need to act facing high rates of obesity among Latino children.

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First Day at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute CHIC 2010 Public Policy Conference

Today was the first day of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute 2010 Public Policy Conference. I'm attending as an acredited blogger and social media writer.
 
The CHIC annual conference attracts young Latino leaders (interns and fellows), members of Congress, Latino professionals, leaders, members of the Cabinet, strategists and media specialists among many other people who are interested on knowing about the current trends among the Latino communities in the United States.

According to the organizers this year's CHCI Conference has attracted more than 850 attendees, but the number is more likely to increase as some people have registered today in-site. This year’s conference is focusing in the contributions of the Latino communities to this nation, in “our quest to the American dream”.

The highlights of today were the Opening Plenary “Americas’ Future: Economic Prosperity” with the participation of Rep. Xavier Becerra, the Secretary of Treasury, Timothy Geithner; the Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis, and Rep. Nydia Velasquez who is the CHIC Chair. This event was especially popular, the media credentials were not enough for the number of journalists.

In the afternoon, the panel “America’s Strenght: Immigration Reform” got a lot of attention because of the prescence of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, who in my opinion seemed defensive when the panelists and a member of the audience asked her about the negative consequences of the anti-immigrant policies of the Obama administration. Senator Bob Melendez and Rep. Luis Gutierrez did not show up.

During her presentation, Janet Napolitano had an [a bit intense] exchange of opinions with the moderator, journalist Maria Hinojosa (whom I interviewed afterwards). Napolitano said at the end of her presentation, that president Obama and herself support the DREAM Act and a comprehensive Immigration Reform. In other words, more promises.

These were the panels included during today’s Latino Leaders Summit Series:

• The Census and Redistricting: The Future is Now, which focused mostly in the demographic changes in the country, which should translate into a bigger political power among Latinos.
• Mental Health in the Latino Community (mucho locos among us). This panel covered the needs of mental health among Latinos, a group with one of the highest suicide rates in the country.
• Latinos and the Job Crisis: it talked about ways to cut barriers that make Latinos’ undemployment rate of 12.4 percent comparing to the national average of 9.5 and ways to “put America back to work”.
• Increasing College Graduation Rates for Latinos: Considering that the Latino population is the fastest growing in the country, this panel discussed on the need to increase access to queality education for our youth.

 Also, we need to mention the Opening Luncheon which included awards to CHCI alumni Gabriella Gomez, Rep. Ruben Hinojosa, and to the Nickelodeon network (the creators of Dora the Explorer).

At the end of today's program, there was presentation about about Latino children nutrition and obesity, which was almost empty, that was sad to see! But I guess that after the Immigration panel, most people left for tonight’s program (and later on to party in DC...).

Right now, there is a ceremony at the Organization of the Americas States (OAS) building, to celebrate the Spanish heritage of Latinos “in the 200th anniversary of the independence of Central and South American countries, and the 400th anniversary of the founding of Santa Fe” in New Mexico. There will be attending the Ambassadors of Colombia, Ecuador, Spain, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Guatemala and the U.S. Representative to the OAS.

I have conducted several interviews that I will post later on Youtube. This year’s conference seems to be very well organized, as one of the few acredited blogger I have recibed all the needed assistance from the CHCI staff, and the location is really nice, except by its name. One of the thing I like the most, is the spacious and well designed Microsoft bag provided by the conference.

Tomorrow I will continue with more reports, photos and commentaries, when First Lady Michelle Obama comes to the CHIC conference..

Latino Gay and Immigrant in Washington DC [VIDEO]

Being Latino, gay and immigrant [Indigenous, queer and refugee]. We are part of the LGBT community in Washington, DC, but very often we are invisible in the media.

We are a minority within a minority. We face a cultural shock when moving to a new country with different values and traditions, but here we are safer being queer and living in the U.S.

Here we learn to find ourselves, to deal with other types of discrimination, especially being from another countries and having a different race, ways of living and accents. Sometimes we find ourselves fighting self destructive behaviors, mostly due to lack of family support or self acceptance. But at the end we all thrive for equality, respect, dignity and happiness.

This is a brief video that I recorded and is intended to show a part of our community. This includes opinions of three "Latino" gay men in Washington, DC (in Spanish), and  images from the Capital Pride Parade 2010.

Appearing in this video are, Jose Gutierrez of Latino GLBT History Project, Luis Suarez, the friends of Fuego DC, the guys of Somos DC, Candy Wrapper and friends, the Latin American Youth Center, and the Orion Program of the Northern Virginia AIDS Ministry, among many others.

The photo belongs to the Mpoderate LGBT group of La Clinica del Pueblo.

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September 11 National Day of Service: Remembering All Who Died [Not Only in the US]

Tomorrow is the September 11 Day of Service and Remembrance. A way to do right in response to wrong, a way to honor those who died that day and afterwards because of the 9/11 attacks, and to offer solidarity to those who survived. 

(*) Photography from WarShooter

President Barack Obama signed this year into law the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, establishing September 11th as a National Day of Service and Remembrance.

Washington D.C. – The first officially-designated September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance will be marked by service projects in all 50 states, with tens of thousands of volunteers expected to turn out to paint and refurbish homes, run food drives, spruce up schools, reclaim neighborhoods, and support and honor veterans and first responders. [...]

The September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance is the culmination of a seven-year effort started by 9/11 family members and support groups to establish the service day as a way to honor the victims and heroes of 9/11 and to rekindle the spirit of unity and compassion that followed the attacks. September 11 was officially recognized as a National Day of Service and Remembrance by the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, passed with strong bipartisan support and signed into law by President Obama in April.

WE should be a day to remember all those who died because of an attack that remains unsolved. Until now we still don't know who did it. What we know is who died: over 3,000 people in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, DC, plus over 4,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, and most importantly the millions of innocent Iraqi people who had nothing to do with this attack.


Participate in any of the events planned for tomorrow's September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance, go to these links:

• List of events in the DC area, courtesy of Greater DC Cares.
• Official website of 911 Day of Service by MYGoodDeeINC
• The U.S. government website of National Service < so you can volunteer not only on 9/11
• Read the proclamation by president Barack Obama.

So let's get to work folks, we all can do something!

Get Inspired. 

Watch this video of MyGoodDeed

If you are in NYC you might want to attend this:

Read more details at the International Action Center.

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Alvaro Uribe is Teaching at Georgetown: Students Protest his Human Rights Abuses and Corruption

Ask any Colombian person about what they think of former Colombian president Alvaro Uribe, and you will get mostly two answers. Those who live in comfortable neighborhoods of the biggest Colombian cities, who are hardly affected by the internal war of that country, and who even might benefit from the drug trafficking and violence, they will tell you that Uribe is one of the best president their country has ever had.

The other answer would come from those Colombians who have witnessed the atrocities of the violent right-wing paramilitaries of Colombia, or those who have a relative killed or displaced by those groups, or those who are aware that the Colombian media is controlled by those groups, and that democracy is weak and elections are completely manipulated by those interest groups. They will tell you that Uribe is nothing but a drug trafficker, a corrupted war criminal, a paramilitary thug.

Alvaro Uribe is now a professor at Georgetown University and he was received with protests today. Read details in Colombia Reports and the Georgetown Voice.

Alvaro Uribe has been the strongest ally of the devastating U.S. policies in Latin America, during the Bush and Obama administrations. His government was benefited by almost $800 millions of dollars annually as part of the failed Plan Colombia. So far, this Congress-approved plan has allowed the U.S. to give between 5 to 7 billion dollars to right-wing Colombian goverments.

Displacement. There are more than 5 million displaced people in Colombia, most of whom are poor farmers, Mestizos, Indigenous, and Afro descendants. They are escaping violence from mercenaries working for drug trafficking mafias, and as paramilitary security for private corporations with strong ties to the former Uribe government.

Contrary to what the Uribe says in the U.S., the Colombian internal violence hasn't decreased but moved to rural areas, while the paramilitary groups have now became political parties in cases of "demobilization".

These human rights violations in Colombia have been denounced even by the conservative Human Rights Watch when president Obama met with Uribe, last year.

The scandal of the "false positives" exposed the killings of thousands of civilians who were dressed as guerrilla members in front of the manipulated Colombian media.

Uribe also allowed its government's secret agency DAS to spy and blackmail on opposition leaders and human rights activists, who also received death threats from the agency. DAS also created manipulated news without legal consequences.


The new president of Colombia is Uribe's closest ally and former Defense minister Juan Santos, elected in marred and violent elections this year, and he is a co-owner of El Tiempo, the biggest and only nationally circulated newspaper in Colombia and he is member of one of the most powerful Colombian families.

Uribe is now teaching future U.S. diplomats. This is what the authorities of Georgetown are saying about him:

The former president of Colombia – Álvaro Uribe Vélez – has been named a Distinguished Scholar in the Practice of Global Leadership at Georgetown University, where he will teach students at the Walsh School of Foreign Service. 

We are looking forward to having President Uribe join our university community,” said Georgetown University President John J. DeGioia. “Having such a distinguished world leader at Georgetown will further the important work of students and faculty engaging important global issues.” [...]

“President Uribe will bring a truly unique perspective to discussions of global affairs at Georgetown,” said Carol Lancaster, dean of the Walsh School of Foreign Service. “We are thrilled that he has identified Georgetown as a place where he will share his knowledge and interface with Washington, and I know that our students at the School of Foreign Service will benefit greatly from his presence.”

Jesuits 

Georgetown University is run by the Catholic order of the Jesuits or Society of Jesus. It's one of several U.S. colleges and universities run by that order. The Jesuits entered today's United States in the 17th century, with the rule of the French empire. Jesuits used concentration camps (reductions or missions) to force Christianity in the Indigenous populations, even though they were less oppressive than other Catholic orders.

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Living with Jim Graham

Living, more like surviving a year in the apartment of Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham.

It’s been almost a year since I decided to move out of Jim Graham’s apartment. Jim Graham and I met at a reception for a D.C. based nonprofit that works assisting alcoholics and homeless people. I wanted to interview him for this blog. He seemed very pleasant and I was honored to met him. What I knew of him were only good things. We met again later on that night.

Sometimes I think D.C. has the authorities it deserves: corruption and greediness are covered up with a public image of fake charity and public service that is intended to get votes, but not to solve the main problems of this city.

In those days, I was practically homeless, renting rooms month after month. A friend recommended me to request housing assistance at La Clinica del Pueblo. For years I rejected the idea of using any kind of social services, I wasn't raised that way. After my paper work went through and I moved to a new place, my application was strangely rejected by an unskilled employee of La Clinica.

So I was again on the streets, but quickly I moved to a temporary place. This time I found a room in a house in upper Northwest, owned by a Salvadoran woman who rented a single family home to 14 people (!), also immigrants like me. It was one of those places you find advertised at bus stops, it was terrible.

Weeks later, Jim offered his assistance by asking his friend to let me stay at his apartment. It was a relief for me, but I was depressed and unemployed. After a few months of hanging out, we agreed that I could move into his place, under his rules. We were friends, never more than that. One of us tried to engage into a more serious relationship but I was honest with him.

Those days were nice but confusing as well. From being on the streets to be part of this Councilmember’s life meant an exciting change, but also it was very delusional. I wasn’t aware of many things, until a friend told me that in the eyes of many, I was Jim Graham’s new companion. There were plenty of differences between us, and it was not really what I had expected.

After I was clear about my feelings, things changed in his behavior, from “I will give you the world” uncalled promises to an almost daily situation of verbal abuse. He set new rules in his home, which he forced me sign into a little piece of paper, nothing big but a bit humiliating. I became his dog’s walker -I miss Guapo-, his translator, his photo editor, his house boy.

Living with Jim Graham was really stressful, he would force me to do things in his way, to live under his schedule and do the things he likes, including going out with him to boring receptions while wearing his ex boyfriend's clothes, acting like life was perfect, trying to overlook the racism of this city, so segregated and pretentious.

I was supposed to write this post a year ago, when I was really angry. Today I’m still angry, but time has helped with healing and also to accept my own responsibilities. I want to be fair in regards of my experience befriending Graham. Actually I was waiting for the D.C. elections to be over, so this didn’t seem like an attack with electoral purposes.

In recent days I read about the robocalls against Graham, and his attacks on his opponents, I heard comments from people on how Graham is asking business owners for money donations, and I read about the return of Ted Loza trying to intimidate business owners in Ward 1.

So I feel that I need to speak my mind. There are many people who are afraid to say what I'm writing here. Thinking about my experience living with Graham makes me upset, but the last line of the WCP article convinced me “this is not El Salvador in the ’80s. You can support [whichever] candidate you want.” I have no power on fighting against Graham, but I want to believe I'm free to speak.

The D.C. Primary Elections are next Tuesday. The debate is getting heated and it seems that our city will elect a new Mayor, and many think that Graham will be reelected. This post is not a way to attack Graham days before this decisive vote. Not at all, I do not endorse or support any candidate.

However I'm against abuse, especially political abuse and corruption. When I interviewed Ward 1 candidate Jeff Smith last May, I received several phone calls and text messages from Ted Loza, first asking me to edit the post -I wrote that a long period of time in government usually leads to corruption. Later on he called to demand that I delete the video in which Smith mentioned the FBI scandal in Graham’s office.

Let me clearify that I had never met Smith before that day, that I saw Graham in the same event but he kept on walking. Loza implied that I was ungrateful and I was betraying a ‘dear friend’. That video is still posted in this blog.

Many contrasting moments I endured with Graham, living with him had its ups and downs. From being invited to the Presidential inauguration to being almost forced to do things against my will. He opened the doors of his life to me so I won’t disclosure more details of his privacy, but I will express my outrage because I need to.

Being an immigrant and a gay man with health issues and no family support, led me to situations where I allowed abuse by other rich and powerful gay men (White and Black). This has been the pattern of my life in this city. Still, I was always seeing as the bad guy by those who saw this, as the one trying to take advantage of the situations.

So, this is more like a catharsis for me, a way to let go, a public protest against the pain I went through while I lived with Jim Graham. Several times I slept in The Ontario’s building basement, after he locked me out of his apartments in cold winter nights, just because I didn’t arrive on the time he set. Once he pushed me and yelled at me saying I wanted to burn his apartment down.

For many, Jim Graham is a good man but they ignore that he has a really bad side. Before I met him in person, I had the best concept of him. He was someone I would look up to learn, a true leader, a brave man who overcame a lot in his life. I especially liked him being an openly gay politician, elected in times when it wasn’t that easy to be out.

I thought of him as someone I could only admire, especially for his work at Whitman Walker clinic. What I really admire today is his intelligence, his taste for art, human history and cultures. We would have long talks about different topics, and I enjoyed that a lot.

With Jim I also learned that politics will bring you power and a fantasy life, while getting the worst of a human being. The fight for political gain and power will either destroy your life or will make you a cynical person. You have be someone else in front of people in order to survive. When he walks around people, he has a way to make them embrace him.

I’m not in the position to judge anyone. I have my own sins and faults to deal with, but also I’m not the person Graham accused me of being. He said everyone in town knew bad things about me, he implied that I don’t belong here and I need to return to my first country, he said that I was the luckiest person in the world because he let me stay with him. Not really.

My stay with Jim Graham allowed me to see that behind the politician there is a lonely and bitter man, who has been betrayed in life and who has learned to betray. Someone who doesn’t trust many, who smiles to his enemies, while pretending to be in charge in order to content his constituents. It works for him up to some point, but it’s poisoning his soul.

The good man I thought I had met, was not. Jim Graham is not a public servant anymore, I don’t think he doesn’t even like this city and its people. To me, he is an egocentric politician obsessed with his career, with money, and power. He knows how to please those who elect him, and to intimidate those who oppose him.

Politics is the life of Jim Graham, but his work has caused for him to lose a part of his humanity, he seems blinded by ambition, hatred and revenge. He needs to be in control of people, he surrounds himself with dependant and mediocre people, so he can use, control, manipulate and abuse them – and discard them when he feels like it.

So why am I writing this? This is not about revenge, that’s not me. I’m not going to find peace by creating more anger and frustration. But I can't remain silent about a man who manipulates people, certainly gets their votes with favors and shuts everyone who opposes him with his influences in the political world of Washington, DC. Besides, I’m a blogger, this is the city where I lived the longest and this place changed my life, so I do write about it.

A part of me is thankful for the things Jim Graham offered and provided for me, the experiences I lived and the things I learned from him, the arty places we went, the people I met. Part of me admires his strength and discipline to keep working at his age, and with so many enemies waiting for him to fall. So no, I wish him no harm, but the contrary. I believe he deserves to find himself, he needs to clean his soul and learn to enjoy what he has accomplished in life.

Another part of me is truly hurt, by his arrogance and sometimes even racist approach towards me, to my life and the reasons why I struggle so much in a daily basis. Part of me is disgusted at his corrupted ways to manipulate people in order to get what he wants. Like the time when he made this old Black man to run for ANC commissioner, Herb Price was his name I think, the guy could hardly speak about the issues in the community, he had no idea and he lost.

At first, Graham expelled me from his apartment, which was wrong considering that I had no place to stay. It was one of several times he ordered The Ontario's receptionist not to let me in. Days later I found a room and returned to get my belongings, but he asked me to move back in his apartment. He knew how to make me feel that I couldn't survive without his support.

The next day he was again the abusive man, gross and mentally disturbing. When he left for work in the morning, I walked away from his place, for good.

Jim Graham will always be his own man, someone who is good at the things he does, including providing for those who obey him without questions, or destroying those who are in his way or who refuse to kiss his behind. I want to believe that I survived his paranoia and bitterness. But I wonder if he would survive himself and another term in government, I wonder if he will be able to resist the lifestyle he is hardly keeping up with now.

Perhaps the best favor his constituents can do for Graham is to elect someone else. He should be in some Latin American city enjoying his retirement, buying antiques and reading books in front of a beach, surrounded by the Brown and Black men he likes so much and who would anything for a couple of dollars, he should be writing his memories, reinventing himself.

Or perhaps I'm all wrong. Possibly, Jim Graham needs to keep his job because that's what he loves the most. Maybe if he loses that he has worked so hard to keep, he would lose part of himself -- along with the people who surround him for convenience. So many smile to him when they really don't like him.

Then again, this is a democracy (is it?) and people should elect freely.

When I left Jim Graham's apartment I was sick, mentally and spiritually, but no more. I can see now that living with him was an amazing experience that turned into a nightmare. There are people who pretend to be the best in your life, but at the end they are the biggest threats to your well being.

It’s been a year of an internal struggle, and more depression. Life has put a lot into my path, good and bad. Months ago I met a good man who is on my side, who treats me with such kindness and respect. This friend of mine is the most humble person I have met in a long time, and partly because of him I’m still around today.

I wanted to get these upsetting feelings out of me. When I posted this yesterday, some friends suggested that I delete it, because they think Graham is a very revengeful person. Last night I went to play sports and I was mistreated by my teammates. My health and age have turned me into a really bad volleyball player. On my way back home, two young men called me “a faggot” in the train.

This morning I woke up and I thought, that I owe no apology to anyone for being who I am, that no one should face any kind of abuses, and mostly that no matter where I go I will always run into mean spirited people, and that silence won’t stop that. So I’m posting this again.

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Virginia Follows Arizona on Promoting Racism: Governor McDonnell Wants Police to Enforce Immigration

Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell (R) wants to expand the Department of Homeland Security 287(g) Agreement across the entire state. This agreement allows local and state police to enforce immigration federal laws, working along with Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE).

The 287(g) agreement is intended for police to identify, process and detain undocumented immigrants, but it often leads to racial profiling of individuals who “don’t look” to be U.S. citizens and other abuses. At the same time, it increases the distrust on the police forces by the immigrant community.

287(g) is bad for Virginia

J. Water Tejada, Member of the Arlington County Board, and Fr. Tuck Grinnell, Pastor of St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Arlington , explain why 287(g) should not be extended to all Virginia jurisdictions and what could be the solutions for the current immigration crisis, instead:

Bad record. The 287(g) agreement has allowed abuses in many states of the country. Last year I covered a Public Hearing at the U.S. House of Representatives, where witnesses shared their testimonies about how 287(g) is hurting their communities where it's already being implemented.

Because of 287 (g), Arizona's Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has committed horrendous abuses against immigrants, mostly Indigenous. Arpaio is being sued by the U.S. Department of Justice for allegedly blocking investigations against accusations of civil rights violations.

Anti-immigrant Virginia

Last month, Virginia Attorney General, Kenneth Cuccinelli (R) issued a public legal opinion saying that all police forces in Virginia are allowed to check on the immigration status of any individual they stop or arrest. But the American Civil Liberties Union protested and said such actions are unconstitutional.

Press Conference hosted by VACOLAO

Civil rights groups represented by the Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations (VACOLAO) have sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano asking her to reject Governor McDonnell’s request to allow the Virginia Department of State Police to enter into a 287(g) agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). A copy of VACOLAO’s letter to Secretary Napolitano is available online (PDF file)

The 287(g) agreement is already in effect in Virginia, in Prince Williams County, Loudoun County, the cities of Manassas and Herndon. In those places this agreement has allowed cases of police abuse and racial profiling –especially against Latinos- causing the destruction of families, incarceration of innocent civilians and distrust of police forces by immigrants:

“As one might expect, state and local enforcement of federal immigration law has presented challenges for immigrants,” said Jorge Figueredo, director of racial justice and immigrants’ rights of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Virginia. ”Since my office opened in Northern Virginia in June, 2008, I have received cases of racial profiling and excessive use of force by local police against immigrants, arising from Prince William County, Manassas, Loudoun, and Herndon, among others–jurisdictions where 287(g) agreements between local law enforcement agencies and ICE are already in place.”

Governor Bob McDonnell is a conservative (Republican), an Army veteran, he was elected as the Virginia Attorney General before running for Governor. He took office in January 2010 after winning with 59% of the general vote.

TAKE ACTION

Please contact the office of the Governor of Virginia, Robert McDonnell and demand him to stop promoting racism and xenophobia against immigrants and also U.S. citizens who are not of European heritage..