Throughout American history, many people immigrated to the US with hopes of providing a better life for their family. As a result, their children had/have access to better opportunity, more extensive social networks and education. It is the first and second generation children of immigrants who have the best opportunity to develop representation for the Latino community. Like Barack, they have the advantages that their parents did not.

I think for comparison’s sake, the examples of President-Elect Obama and Governor Jindal might be more fruitful to pursue. Recently, I read an article about this particular comparison in Gambit Weekly. The article is linked here:

http://bestofneworleans.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A47375

Although the article makes no mention of the effect that Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath may have had on Governor Jindal’s campaign, the author nevertheless makes a compelling argument about why race was not a factor in Jindal’s campaign. He simply ignored it. Whereas Barack Obama has embraced all of his heritage–both black and white–Bobby Jindal has ignored essentially ignored his own. Personally, I think that Mr. Jindal’s extreme is not the solution; if anything it adds to the problem. However, he is a politician who used a political strategy to get elected. Certainly Mr. Obama has embraced his heritage, but nevertheless he has not highlighted it, which I think is also not the way to address the race dialogue.

But then again, how else can anyone get elected to state-wide office in Louisiana without essentially ignoring the race issue? Mr. Cao certainly benefitted from the fact that his election was within the confines of “diverse” New Orleans. Had Mr. Cao run for an office state-wide there is little evidence that leads me to believe that he would have been victorious. Although I was not exposed to much of his campaign, my impression is that he never ignored the fact that he is Vietnamese. On the contrary, in his victory speech he highlighted the fact and further, he even chose to include his support for all his constituents, no matter their race, creed, etc. I must concede, that was a savvy political strategy for this campaign, but one that would hold up in, say, a governor’s race? Not in Louisiana. Not now, unfortunately.

So what about Latinos in Louisiana? Raf, you are correct in highlighting how electing Governor Jindal and Rep. Cao does not point to an integrated Louisiana, but I agree that it does give us a glimpse and hope for the future. Latino leadership in Louisiana is sorely needed to effect representation and political change. The reality is that Latino leadership in the region is not visible. Could that be that Latinos in the Deep South are arguably the most assimilated in the country? Is assimilation in this region a result of conscious deference or a necessity to prevent from being marginalized? Although most would like to think it is the former, I have mostly observed the latter taking place. Latinos, like any other group, do not want to be targeted or ostracized. We just want to live our lives peacefully. Many of us came to this country seeking that peace and stability that is not found in our home countries, but at what price? The price of being ignored politically?

We have a horrendous past (and present) of racially-based atrocities, and we have also had a greater level of interaction between different racial and ethnic groups than in a lot of other cities. Likewise, we have a significant population of non-white peoples. (Gladly many have achieved and are beginning to achieve representation in decision-making roles, though, like you say, this definately does not indicate integration or even that the people that they claim to represent, or are voted in by, are even represented.)

We have a great diversity among non-white groups, and have also had many things to celebrate, including acts of resistance and the creation of amazing cultural practices and products. I by no means wish to say that race and racism is more or less of an issue here than in the rest of the United States, but I have always felt that it’s more on the surface here than in other places. This facet gives me room for the great hope that we can be a leading force in truly addressing racism, tearing it down, and building a new way of being together.

More directly to your piece, however, while I am excited by the recent elections of the likes of Barack Obama, nationally, and Anh Cao, locally, there some things that worry me. Concentrating locally, I think that Cao’s election could be a really good thing. I don’t know much about him (except for what I heard on NPR), but he seems like he has been affiliated with groups and interests that I am invested in and share.

What I’m about to say has no reflection on what I think of him and his achievement, nor the achievement of the Vietnamese community. I celebrate with them. But: this, in conjunction with the election of Bobby Jindall (moreover, when Jindall was being talked about as a possible Vice Presidential nominee), raises for me a worrisome thought: it seems like in New Orleans, precisely because of our tense racial past and present, a non-Black person of color is the only viable competition to a Black elected official. Again, not to denounce the merits of Cao nor to say that Jefferson should have stayed in office, but in my gut, I can’t help but feel like we’re being bamboozled in a way.

I’m using these examples not really to speak of the individuals, but more symbolically and historically. One of my biggest fears is that non-African American immigrants and people of color will get pulled into the pre-existing U.S. racist system (yes, I’m gonna say white supremist system) in a way that is detrimental to Black people. History has shown this happen. I always come back to an excerpt I read of the book, How the Irish Became White. As many of us know, the Irish were an extremely oppressed group for quite some time. But, contrary to the popular myth, they didn’t just work hard, pull themselves up by their bootstraps and eventually be thought of as White. They were pulled into the pro-slavery movement and, in their (concretely) joining in the continued oppression of Black people, eventually got the pressure off of themselves. Yes, I know that this is a very simplified version, and there were a lot of good hardworking Irish, but I encourage you to look more into this matter, and look around you for examples of oppressed peoples trying to separate themselves from and elevate above other oppressed peoples.

As much as I want integration and I want marginalized and oppressed groups to gain power, and I work for it everyday, I hope that it will not come at the expense of other marginalized and oppressed groups. And none of this is to put blame on the groups that want power and want to integrate. Of course people want to better their lives and those of the family and friends. I think this is a function of a white racist system, and why we must work to dismantle it.

We will not be pitted against one another. Our liberation is bound together. Liberation does not need to be a “zero sum” gain, but I feel that we do need to acknowledge the history of it playing out this way. This is yet another reason why we must work across racial and ethnic lines and explicitly address racism in all its manifestations.

So how do we do this? Simply put, I don’t know. Obviously, dialogue is a huge part (and I’m glad for this space to do so), and this dialogue must be done constantly–interpersonally, communally, and with decision-makers in our various institutions. This dialogue must lead to action, and we must find ways to hold ourselves and each other accountable. I don’t know how that all looks, and I hope we can continue working on this. I don’t mean to offend anyone, and please call me out if I said something messed up, but I’m attempting to honestly grapple with these issues and bounce ideas and emotions around with you all. What do others think?