by Dionicio Morales
(Civil rights pioneer Dionicio Morales, founder of the California-based Mexican American Opportunity Foundation, for years the nation’s largest Hispanic-serving non-profit organization, passed away Sept. 25, two weeks short of his 90th birthday. Sometimes referred to as the urban version of César Chávez, he remained an active rights advocate to the end of his life. He authored occasional columns for Hispanic Link News Service syndication over the past quarter-century. Following is a commentary he shared with Link publisher Charlie Ericksen, a board member of the Equal Opportunity Foundation, the MOAF’s predecessor organization that Morales founded in the 1950s. This column was already scheduled to run during Hispanic Heritage Month).
For one who has been at the forefront over seven decades in the fight for civil rights, the present firestorm engulfing the issue of immigration has been acutely painful. This present hysteria is more befitting an angry mob in Western “B” movie, than a democratic “good neighbor.”
It is unfathomable that in this “era of the emerging Latino,” truth and logic have been thrust aside to open a floodgate of vilification against Mexico and our people with Mexican American roots in the United States.
The very words “Mexican Immigrant” — especially “undocumented” — have been branded with shame. “Illegal” is used so much that any essence of humanity has been completely removed. The crescendo of hysterical, xenophobic rhetoric deeply troubles many of us in the Mexican-American community.
Would the politicians in the chorus react as radically if the issue related to other ports of entry, such as Canada, New York or the shores of Florida?
Older Mexican-American recall too well the scapegoating and resultant mass forced “repatriations” of the depression years, as crowds of tearful humanity waited to be loaded for deportation in the railroad yards of Los Angeles. Hundreds of thousands of United States citizens were shipped off to a country they did not know.
Also lingering our memories are the so-called “Zoot Suit” riots, which brought wandering troublemakers in U.S. Navy uniforms into the barrios of East Los Angeles on a seemingly endless campaign of racial violence.
As we look back in history, we must not forget how Mexico relieved hundreds of thousands of American troops for front line duty by deploying military forces to guard thousands of miles of her coastline, in defense of our continent.
Why is it not more widely known that Mexico was our staunch and trusted ally in World War II? She declared war on both Germany and Japan, and sent Mexican Fighter Squadron 201 to the Pacific to fight at our side.
Surely the Mexican American display of patriotic valor on World War II battlefields should live on in our memories and dispel reoccurrences of open insensitivity, hostility and racism. After all, Mexican Americans won more Congressional Medals for valor, in proportion to their numbers, than any other ethnic group. Today in Iraq, our Mexican American young men continue to fight and die valiantly for this country.
At President Franklin Roosevelt’s request, Mexico replaced the men and women who were among the 12 million Americans called up in World War II with Mexican farm workers who came to the rescue, gathering crops to feed our fighting forces, country and allies.
To this day, the United States depends on their hands to feed this great nation and the globalized world. Surely, this alone should earn 30 million Mexican Americans immunity from the indignity of seeing incessant immigration bashing.
Even former U.S. enemies have been accorded the highest dignity and respect, going so far as to receive the status of economic co-partners. We rebuilt Japan and made her the bastion of influence in the Pacific. We helped rebuild Germany, and then made her one of 5620our strongest allies in Europe.
We are careful to send diplomatic delegations ahead to explain our every decision that could affect their interests before taking action. We would never think of bashing their people or countries.
How could it be that we are so absorbed in immigrant bashing, militarizing the border, and creating walls of separation while the happy memory of the fall of the Berlin Wall remains with us? Why should it now be appropriate to build walls to block from sight our friends in Tijuana, Mexicali or Laredo?
Why is the situation with Mexico so different?
Even with the grave economic issues at stake, we were able to meet in peace and negotiate with Japan and Germany. When, however, was the last serious border summit convened and attended by President Bush and Condoleezza Rice? When was the last real bilateral effort to meet and negotiate a package of practical remedies for our border crisis?
It was only in the last century that this country still decreed total exclusion of all Asians, including Japanese and Chinese. Adult Asians could not become citizens. But even then we had not sunk so low to deprive their children of citizenship – as has been proposed for children with Mexican parents.
Today, we are told that the United States will do everything in its power to set things right in far-off Iraq, but can we be assured that this country is ready to make such a commitment to the critical issues regarding immigration and the Mexican border?
It is folly to try to wish away the dictates of political geography, but history and nature has made Mexico and United States interdependent neighbors.
We then reserve the right to proclaim at the same time that the future of the continent and our two neighboring nations will be profoundly affected by the choices that are made between wisdom and hysteria.
We should be determined that the spirit of the “good neighbor” flourishes among us and penetrates our entire national consciousness. This then will extend the same opportunities to our next door neighbor, the Republic of Mexico, and will allow for bilateral consultations and peaceful negotiations on critical border issues, the same courtesy we offer all other friendly nations.
(Dionicio Morales, a civil rights leader, founded the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation. Readers’ comments addressed to editor@hispaniclink.org will be shared with his family and friends). ©2008 Hispanic Link News Service.
