I leave town for a week and the
place goes to pot.
So, I took last weekend to catch up to the
fiasco that is LULAC in Phoenix.
Over the past year we've become accustomed to
LULAC's shenanigans, so to see it embroiled in
another controversy is no big surprise, really.
But the new missteps raise LULAC's profile in
this state to the level of embarrassing as one
Latino boss is pitted against another in a silly
power struggle.
Early
this month, the League of United Latin American
Citizens Arizona education chief Silverio Garcia
resigned, apparently, after being dumped by the
national office, and the head of the state
chapter, Sam Esquivel, was suspended - official
word is pending.
Esquivel remains defiant and says he won't step
down. Garcia has moved on to another
organization that will allow him to work
unencumbered - to be able to get in the face of
people when he sees fit without seeking the OK
from any national office.
Badges? He doesn't need no stinking badges.
And that's how this whole mess started. Well
actually, you might have to go back 40 years to
where it really started in the Roosevelt School
District, but that's for another day.
Garcia, and to some measure LULAC, have
pressured Roosevelt to clean up its act at
Maxine O. Bush Elementary School for months,
ever since a Latino girl was assaulted by some
African-American students in April. The
Roosevelt board and then-interim Superintendent
Grace Wright did the Kevin Bacon Animal House
act, "All is calm, all is well," for months
before reluctantly forming a task force to look
into the matter.
Not satisfied, Garcia pushed for more,
especially for the dismissal of Bush Principal
Walsdorf Jenneford. Roosevelt staff members say
Wright has a sweet spot for Bush, where she
served as principal for years, and won't come
down on the school. Keep in mind that Bush is
one of the poorest-performing schools in the
state.
So Garcia pushed, and believing that he was
doing the right thing, interceded on behalf of
Latino kids and their right to a quality
education - something that is in LULAC's mission
statement. But the straw that broke the camel's
back was his getting under the skin of
Roosevelt's board members. Then the political
stuff ran downhill.
I actually like that Garcia was battling against
the grain here and doing what seemed right to
him. To be honest, I have no idea what LULAC
does in this state. They are virtually invisible
and seem to have no definite mission or course
here in Phoenix.
Where I differ with Garcia is not in principle
but in practice. His idea, er, threat, to pull
kids out of Bush to prove a point is pointless
if not harmful.
The students at that school are some of the
worst performers in the state. That is a matter
of record. They miss lots of school and have a
high turnover rate. So why would one use them as
political pawns and have no viable alternative
for them if they were to miss school? Garcia
should be doing more to keep them in school and
hold the Roosevelt board accountable for its
sorry record.
Conservative Anglo politicians in Arizona are
busy putting signs up at the border that say if
you speak another language besides English or if
you are an immigrant, we don't want you.
Meanwhile, so-called Latino "leaders" continue
to fight over a middle school melee like it was
the last round of a title fight with no one
watching.
It's called perspective, and if we don't watch
out, we're all going to be knocked out before
the bell rings.
Teclo Garcia is the editor of ĦExtra! and an
assistant city editor at The Republic. Reach him
at (602) 444-8281 or
teclo.garcia@arizonarepublic.com.