What it Takes
So I have been working around town with different groups who have been struggling to create various coalitions intent on fixing our many broken systems. At the heart of all of our talks are two key elements, regardless of the issue at stake, that present significant challenges: race relations and civic will/participation. It seems that the former, as viewed by fellow advocates and colleagues, is the largest issue our community faces, and the latter is the second largest issue to tackle if, and when, we can get past the apparent non-cooperation created by fear, blame, suspicion, misunderstanding and misinformation.
As a Latino involved in these various discussions on a weekly basis, I am constantly asking myself how I, as a member of a traditionally excluded group, can help inform the dialogue in such a way that we can move the work in new directions. I have learned through this process over the last several months that it takes a great deal of patience, a great deal of relationship building, and a great deal of difficult discussions just to get to a place where I and another community leader have a meaningful understanding of what we both hope to achieve in our community. It turns out, from what I have learned so far, that there is no other way to come to agreement with another group or another person than taking the time, the effort, to deal openly and honestly, fears on the table, and plow through our misunderstandings.
We have so much work to do in this city to turn it into what we all believe can be a great place, much better than what it is today, that can easily never be accomplished if we don’t figure out how to talk with each other. The civic will that flourished after the storm is now beginning to deflate. Before we lose the momentum that we gained after the storm, we have to quickly come to terms with our racial, socioeconomic, language, neighborhood, and other differences so that when we fight for a better community, we fight knowing that across town, our neighbors have our backs. If we don’t start to invest time and money and hearts into creating trust between-and-among different people from different walks of life in this town, I am not sure we will succeed in creating an engaged community that knows it can trust itself to do the right thing for not just one group, but for all members who live where we live. It will take a great deal more than talk and hearing a few concerns from target community representatives. It will take true leadership from every corner of town, from neighborhoods, from organizations, from government and business, advocates and educators, ministers and students, who in unison begin the hard work of eliminating the divisive language, the misinformation, and the fears that plague the prospect of any progress we may want to achieve. I agree with President Obama, it will take all of us. It’s time we figure this out in New Orleans by looking at how we can have greater opportunities to inform each other and have constructive debate while building a truly integrated community.
Tags: integration, latinola, lucas diaz, puentes director, race relations