Let's put marchers' unity to work for us by Suzanne Ontiveros

Let's put marchers' unity to work for us Suzanne Ontiveros
Copyright by The Chicago Sun Times
May 6, 2006

For the last few days, I have been trying to figure out why I was all choked up from the minute I arrived at Union Park on Monday for the immigration rally and march.

I mean, let's be honest here. I may be a Latina, but I'm not an immigrant. Neither are my parents. English is the first -- and for most of us, only -- language of my extended family. Fact is, near as I can tell, my ancestors were living in what is now Oklahoma long before the pilgrims ever hit Plymouth Rock. Me and mine are about as American as they come.

But I got off that L train, saw the mostly Latino crowd, and my eyes just welled up. I got hold of myself pretty quickly -- I mean, jeepers, I was there as an objective journalist -- but more than a few times Monday I'd look out at that sea of very joyful yet dignified and proud marchers -- sometimes entire families from white-haired abuelitas to newborn babies in arms -- and I could feel myself getting all emotional all over again.

I think I finally put my finger on what sparked my unexpected show of emotion. I got to that park and realized I was seeing real Latino unity. This is something I haven't witnessed in a long, long time.

Getting Latinos here united has been a tough sell. Oh, sure, there is an issue here or there that will bring a small group together. But any organization generally is fleeting.

Then there's the situation with one's country of origin. Chicago Latinos have ties to so many different Latin American countries, and that has meant we're more than likely to stick to our own kind, which doesn't exactly promote solidarity.

And I am going to refrain from picking on any one group, but the only thing some longtime organizations have done is align themselves with the mainstream powers-that-be and deliver votes for them. That's just another form of cronyism that rarely helps Latinos as a whole. I'm still disappointed in the Chicago Latino aldermen who last year were willing to sell out the street vendors, just when those Latino workers really needed someone in their corner.

Honestly, for me, the last time I felt this kind of unity was back in the late '60s when the late, great labor leader Cesar Chavez persuaded us not to eat iceberg lettuce and grapes. So that's why Monday's scene really got to me.

But, now what?

I don't know the march organizers, so really there isn't much reason for them to listen to me. Yet, I hope they can see that the movement they've sparked has the potential to be the start of something really big and something very much needed in the Latino communities of Chicago.

The organizers really are at a crossroads -- maybe one they didn't expect -- but I pray they are able to take this momentum and run with it. I hope they'll use it to gain access to members of the House and Senate to develop some much-needed reform in our country's immigration policy.

I know our Latino brothers and sisters in California are pushing for a more radical approach, but I have to say that is more than likely to cool Latino support in the more conservative Midwest.

I'm counting on these organizers to continue to reach out to other ethnicities, too, because so many of the issues that are important to Latinos -- access to high-quality education, better housing, safer communities -- are their concerns, too. And forging a relationship with the African-American community is vital as well. Imagine the power a cohesive diverse coalition could flex.

Monday's march left many Latinos ready for the next move. I've got my fingers crossed that the march organizers find a way to make this more than a pleasant, but fleeting moment.