Dear El Tecolote readers and Accion Latina community,
Change is calling. It is our duty at this time to answer the call. We usher change in with art, songs, rhyme, verse–– not least of all by providing a platform that elevates underrepresented voices via the power of making community media.
As I write this, there are thousands of migrant families and children in detention, indigenous suffering goes unacknowledged, LGBTQ voices muted—all as black families mourn the loss of life. COVID-19 has not magically disappeared, by the way.
We acknowledge the pain of losing our Black and Brown Brothers and Sisters; George Floyd, Tony McDade, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Oscar Grant, Michael Brown, Philando Castile, Amadou Diallo, Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland, Nia Wilson, Tamir Rice, Walter Scott, Alex Nieto, Amilcar Perez-Lopez, Luis Demetrio Góngora Pat, Mario Woods, Jessica Williams and many more.
It is the responsibility of arts and cultural organizations to serve artists and lead our community in imagining something different. Yes, especially during this triple crisis, we can and must imagine something better. We can re-emerge and a new dawn with new possibilities can come with it. As we practice and share the healing power of the arts, we will heal this land. Protesting is key, but it is not the endall. This is a long game that requires intentional and consistent action, every day, for the rest of our lives.
There is much to consider and much to be done.
We must also:
- Be reflective –– Acknowledge our own privilege and how we might benefit or participate in the system of white supremacy, patriarchy.
- Research –– It is our own responsibility to educate ourselves about race and the complex history of inequality and inequity in this country that has gotten us to this point.
- Commit –– Resolve to dismantling white supremacy and systemic racism wherever we may see it.
- Show up –– become civically engaged.
- (That could mean volunteering, attending a community gathering or rally or church. Yes it also includes voting and filling out the census).
- Remember–– All Black, Indigenous, LGBTQ and peoples of color (and their intersectionalities) in this country are targets. Show solidarity.
- Stick with it –– Stay persistent in our fight to end racism. Talk about it with your people.
- Believe –– Pray to the creator for grace, loving kindness and the will to practice patience.
- Create –– New strategies, new economies and systems. Yes, this includes policing. Monumental tasks.
Lastly, as El Tecolote Newspaper turns 50, we celebrate the people’s bi-lingial hub for community media — created by the same students who led the 1968 SFSU Ethnic Studies strike — let us also celebrate and uphold Black history, creativity, resilience and empowerment. Black lives matter, Black empowerment is all our empowerment.
With amor,
Josue Rojas
—Executive Director,
Acción Latina