NOTES
Preface
1. The inner symbol, popular within the ancient Aztec and Mayan cultures, is the ollin, which means “movement,” and here is surrounded by flower petals. The images have been brought together by Chicano healers to underscore the type of leadership required today—people drawing the best from all our cultures toward becoming a more loving and just society.
2. Dr. King’s concept of “beloved community” includes a commitment to love, nonviolent social action, and a truly caring society. For a more extensive overview of the philosophy and practice of beloved community, see www.thekingcenter.org or www.belovedcommunitiesnet.org.
3. Other immediate family members to note are Marcos’s full family, including his wife, Robin, his oldest son, Canek, and his young daughters, Maya and Julianna. Canek’s mother, Irene Peña, is also considered family despite her divorce from Marcos more than 15 years ago.
Introduction: Awakening to Activism
1. Among Latinos, those of us who identify as Chicanos are often Mexican-Americans who are committed to sustaining a connection to our indigenous culture, which, given our history, often involves a mix of values and practices from indigenous people from throughout the Americas. One of our cultural values is also to develop our social consciousness through understanding our historical origins and contemporary realities. Occupied America: The Chicano Struggle Toward Liberation, by Rodolfo Acuña (San Francisco: Canfield Press, 1972), and Chicano Manifesto, by Armando B. Rendon (New York: Collier Books, 1971), are excellent resources.
2. As a youngster I grew up within the culture and traditions of several Latino Methodist churches, affiliates of the United Methodist Church.
3. For an excellent resource on the Great Turning, see The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community, by David Korten (San Francisco:240 Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 2006). In this book, Korten reviews more than 7,000 years of history to present how our evolving social and ecological crisis is a result of the “empire” form of society, which has dominated our planet for the last 5,000 years, and the choice we currently have to evolve what Korten calls “Earth Community,” a society characterized by people working together to advance a culture and economic system that ensures the sustainability of our earth and well-being for all. Another resource is Joanna Macy, scholar of Buddhism and international voice of peace. For an introduction to Macy’s explanation of the Great Turning, visit http://joannamacy.net/html/great.html.
Part I: The Family Perspective
1. James and Grace Lee Boggs, Revolution and Evolution in the Twentieth Century (New York: Monthly Review Press, 1974), pp. 19 and 21.
2. Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families (New York: Golden Books, 1997), pp. 320 and 321.
Chapter 1: Making Family Your Cause
1. For example, Marcos’s organizing activity led to a coalition of advocacy organizations that have influenced the passage of living wage ordinances that increased the wages of more than 5,000 families in Ventura County, California. The volunteer social work and prayer network maintained by our Mama Tita has uplifted the lives of many hundreds of people and families. The counseling centers Roberto cofounded have served thousands of families in the greater Oakland Bay Area. The combined cultural projects advanced by all the brothers have influenced thousands to appreciate the healing qualities of the Days of the Dead tradition and to see art as force for inspiring cultural and social change.
2. In regards to military service, conscientious objector (CO) is a status granted to people who have proven their opposition to serving in the armed forces and/or bearing arms on the grounds of moral or religious principles. During the Vietnam War, COs had two service options available to them: to serve in a noncombatant capacity within the armed forces or to serve in a job that made a meaningful contribution to the nation in terms of health, safety, or other public interests. A number of COs (such as ourselves) made a two-year commitment to organize and provide health care services for the underserved.
3. I joined the staff of La Clinica de la Raza (The People’s Clinic), a community health center founded by student activists in 1971, which now operates with a $27 million budget and 19 facilities that serve the medically indigent of Alameda and Contra Costa counties. The mental health center initially called El Centro de Salud Mental, was cofounded by Joel241 García, Ron Soto, Carmen Carrillo and myself, and was later named Casa del Sol (House of the Sun).
4Many of these questions regarding vision, strategy, and the Great Turning emerged during a national convening of activist leaders I facilitated for the Positive Futures Network. This work is documented in a booklet, Movement Building for Transformative Change, by Frances F. Korten and Roberto Vargas (Bainbridge Island, WA: The Positive Futures Network, 2006). For more information, visit www.yesmagazine.org.
Chapter 2: Principles to Guide Family Activism
1. Phil McGraw, Family First (New York: Free Press, 2004), p. 7.
2. U.S. Department of Agriculture findings, reported by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), www.frac.org (accessed January 1, 2008).
3. Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) was a major political and spiritual leader of India and the Indian independence movement. He pioneered the philosophy and practice of Satyagraha, which he called “love-force.” His work developed into a mass civil disobedience and nonviolence movement that gained India’s independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom around the world.
4. Pablo Sanchez, the founding dean of the School of Social Work, San Jose State University, was a principle role model and mentor to many of the first generation of activist Chicanos to attend the university system in California.
5. erived from interviews with Puanani Burgess, Native Hawaiian healer, Buddhist priest, and executive director of the Wai’anae Coast Community Alternative Development Corporation, Wai’anae, Hawaii.
6. Martin Luther King, Jr., “The Power of Non-violence,” (1958), in I Have a Dream: Writings and Speeches that Changed the World (San Francisco: Harper Collins Publishers, 1992), p. 30–31.
7. Ibid., King, “Our Struggle” (1956), pp. 3–13.
8. Porvida is not to be confused with the concept of “pro-life” as used by antiabortion advocates. Porvida means to value all life, including Earth, wildlife, and all of humanity. Given this holistic perspective, one may be both opposed to abortion as a primary means of birth control and supportive of women’s right to choose whether to complete a pregnancy.
9. Interview with Donna Graves regarding her extended family in Chicago. Donna’s family has an extensive history of exercising family power within the family and community. Donna’s mother is Mary Gon-zales, principal leadership trainer for the Gamaliel Foundation (GF), whose mission is “to be a powerful network of grassroots, interfaith, interracial, multi-issue organizations working together to create a more just and more democratic society.” The GF is widely recognized for its242 social change leadership development program. For more information, go to www.gamaliel.org.
10. Marcos Vargas is founding executive director of CAUSE (Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy), a research and policy advocacy center in Ventura, California, that works for economic and social justice.
11. Sharif Abdulla, Creating a World that Works for All (San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 1999).
12. “Heaven on Earth” is an idea popular within liberation theology, a school of thought originating among Latin American Catholics during the 1970s, which espouses that Jesus Christ’s teachings demand that the church concentrate its efforts on liberating the people of the world from poverty and oppression. The role of the church should be to create heaven on Earth, to change the structures and ongoing processes of injury and oppression, and advance a society that is compassionate, courageous, and life-sustaining.
Chapter 3: The Familia Approach
1. Razalogia is a community learning process originated by Francisco M. Hernandez through his community work in California’s Imperial Valley and the Oakland Bay areas during the 1970s. Roberto Vargas writes about the application of this approach in Razalogia: Community Learning for a New Society (Oakland: Razagente Associates, 1984).
2. Conocimiento (côh•nôh’•sï•myûntôh) is an intentional conversation between people to get to know each other in a respectful way. Doing conocimiento is essential to connecting, developing group power, and movement building.
Part II: Tools for Family Power
1. John Perkins, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man (New York: Plume, 2006), p. 261.
2. Phil McGraw, Family First (New York: Free Press, 2004), p. 9.
Chapter 5: Getting Your Act Together
1. Claudia Horwitz, The Spiritual Activist (New York: Penguin Compass, 2002).
2. Within ancient Mesoamerican cultures, including the Mixtec, Toltec, and Aztec, different views prevailed about Quetzalcoatl. To some he was a god and to others an enlightened ruler of the tenth century who advanced their civilization and originated a class of priests who taught reform. While virtually all the texts of this period were destroyed, theoral 243tradition among various Mesoamerican indigenous people is that Quetzalcoatl taught by example that we have the responsibility to protect life, evolve a more respectful culture, and create social institutions that care for all people.
3. I want to acknowledge the activist commitment of Canek’s mother, Irene Peña, for her conscious support of Canek’s development by continually offering him opportunities to do his own self-discovery, and for maintaining her family and community activist commitments. Canek is currently working as a youth organizer while pursuing his career as an educator.
4. Anthony Robbins, Get the Edge: A 7-Day Program to Transform Your Life (San Diego: The Anthony Robbins Companies, 2000), tapes 1 and 2 of a seven-tape series.
Chapter 7: Co-powering to Battle EL NO
1. Marianne Williamson is a spiritual activist and author. Her famous quote, often incorrectly attributed to Nelson Mandela, is found in her book A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of a Course in Miracles (New York: HarperCollins, 1992), pp. 190–191.
2. Francisco M. Hernandez is a community educator and cultural activist recognized as the initiator of a powerful community education process called Razalogia, which means “learning of and for the people.” This process is both similar to and different from the “popular education” approach taught by Pablo Friere, author of Pedagogy of the Oppressed (New York: Herder and Herder, 1972).
3. Williamson, A Return to Love.
Chapter 9: Learn, Communicate, and Teach
1. Albert Marabian, Nonverbal Communication (Chicago: Aldine-Atherton, 1972).
2. Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers, organizer, and social activist, also speaks throughout the nation inspiring all people to engage in organizing. She does this work on behalf of the Dolores Huerta Foundation. Check her website for “Parenting Guidelines for Activists” at www.dolores-huerta.org.
3. Kapua Sproat is director of community education at the Center for Excellence in Indigenous Hawaiian Law and a professor of law at the University of Hawai’i at Mãnoa.
4. Patricia Loya is executive director of Centro Legal de la Raza (Oakland, California), which is a legal aid center highly recognized for providing leadership in coalition building, community advocacy, and grassroots leadership development to create long-term positive change. Patricia244 followed in the footsteps of her sister, Ana Maria Loya, who is executive director of Centro Legal de la Raza in San Francisco.
Chapter 10: Be the Facilitator
1. M. Doyle and D. Straus, How to Make Meetings Work (New York: Playboy Paperbacks, 1980).
2. Rebecca Victoria Rubi (1949–2007). Artist, poet, educator, and cultural activist, Rebecca was a relentless voice for justice within her local communities and the world.
3. Everett Altamirano Vargas (1910–1989). Oldest son, who as a child labored to support his family. He became a self-taught lifelong learner, longshoreman, model of healthy living (eating fruits and walking miles), artist, and father who made hard labor a joy to financially support his family.
4. In his article “The Porvida Approach: For Multicultural Respect and Organizational Success,” Roberto Vargas provides a case study in which he uses many of the family council tools to advance the effectiveness and well-being of a major advocacy organization. The article can be found in Re-Centering Culture and Knowledge in Conflict Resolution Practice, ed. by Mary Trujillo, S. Y. Bowland, Linda James Myers, Phillip M. Richards, and Beth Roy (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2008). Similarly, the booklet Movement Building for Transformational Change, by Francis F. Korten and Roberto Vargas, provides another case example in which a number of these tools were used to design and facilitate council gatherings to build community among activist leaders from throughout the nation (Bainbridge Island, WA: The Positive Futures Network, 2006).
Chapter 11: Forming Unity Circles
1. Several years later, Blas commented on how the unity circle impacted his and others’ lives. At least two family members shared that this was the first time they had ever been able to speak in a public forum. Using the talking stick helped them find their courage, which they have since applied to other aspects of their lives. Meanwhile, Blas often uses his talking stick to encourage student participation in the leadership workshops he conducts throughout California.
2. The applause made popular by the United Farm Workers (UFW) begins with everyone clapping in unison, beginning at a medium-slow pace and speeding up in tempo until it is a loud rapid beat that typically ends with several “Vive” shouts, such as “Vive César Chávez” or “Vive la lucha” (“Long live César Chávez” or “Long live the struggle”).
2453. María Ofelia Vargas (1941–1996). Educator, clinical social worker, tireless advocate for the rights and advancement of women, young people, and members of the Latino community, and cofounder of the Institute for the Study of Psychopolitical Trauma in Berkeley, California.
Part III: Moving from Family to Community Power
1. David C. Korten, The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community (San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 2009), p. 317.
Chapter 12: Creating Powerful Family and Community Gatherings
1. This specific ceremony event also involved recognition of the godparents for Tahnee, the daughter of Juan Camacho and Maria Aguilar.
2. Votantes Unidos (United Voters) was founded to empower citizens to become engaged voters. The organization provided citizen education and voter registration in Alameda County, California, between 1990 and 2002.
3. One of the meanings of carnal is “first cousin,” yet among many Latinos it often means being “tight brothers” with a shared commitment to support each other and “have each other’s back.”
4. Cultura, while literally meaning culture, for many Latinos means “all that is positive and inspiring of our Latino/Mexican/indigenous culture,” such as the love of familia, the nature of our relationships, our music, the feeling we have for community, etc.
5. While many men have participated in the Oakland Men’s Council over the years, I would like to acknowledge several men who have consistently served as principle caretakers for the group, including Jerry Atkin, Kosta Bagakis, Terry Day, Andres García, Joel García, Alberto Lopez, Samuel Martinez, Antonio Ramirez, and Marcos Tapia.
6. For a general list of men’s councils or support groups, visit www.mensweb.org or www.themenscenter.com. For information on developing councils similar in tradition to the Oakland Men’s Council, contact the National Compadres Network at www.nationalcompadresnetwork.com. As more support groups are usually available for women, a Web search should identify a variety of local resources.
7. Document from the Oakland Men’s Council, Roberto Vargas, February 1999.
Chapter 13: Expanding Family Action into Community Action
1. Jack Alen Vargas (1952–1995). Beloved brother and son, artist and gay rights advocate whose message was “Create beauty in all that we do.”
2462. The beautifully illustrated book El Corazon de la Muerte: Altars and Offerings for Days of the Dead provides tremendous insight into the Days of the Dead tradition and the Oakland Museum of California’s ten-year history of organizing annual exhibits and celebrations for this occasion. Published by Heyday Books, Berkeley, California, 2005.
3. The Days of the Dead Committee became a spin-off of the Latino Advisory Committee to focus on year-round organizing to develop the annual Days of the Dead program. Their orientation is to develop programs that respond to the needs of the community while modeling the positive values of familia and community. While many should be recognized for the ongoing success of this program, Barbara Henry, the staff of the Education Department, and the Days of the Dead Committee chairperson, Joaquín Newman, have provided many years of outstanding leadership.
4. For more information, visit the website of the Center for Art and Public Life, www.center.cca.edu or www.museumca.org/press/press_100_families.html.
5. The Castro Valley Latino Education Association was recognized by the Alameda County Board of Education in 2005 for the leadership they provided in fostering student success and multicultural understanding in Alameda County. Special recognition is extended to Rochelle Elias, Clare Enseñat, Judi García, Carlos Navarro, and Teresa Tirado for their years of providing active leadership for this organization.
6. Rockwood Leadership Program provides state of the art training for leaders of nonprofit organizations throughout the nation. For more information, visit www.rockwoodleadership.org.
7. For more information, visit www.1000flowers.org.
8. Among the affiliations of the North Brier Family Network are staff or board positions at the As You Sow Foundation, Black Rock Arts Foundation, Center for Resource Solutions, Environmental Grantmakers Association, Forest Ethics, Funders Working Group for Sustainable Consumption and Production, Further Foundation, Greenpeace, Green Schools Project, International Accountability Project, International Rivers Network, New Place Fund, the Progressive Leadership Network, Rainforest Action Network, Restoring Eden, Rex Foundation, the Samdhana Institute, the Social Venture Network, and a dozen other nonprofits.