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Thursday, September 25, 2008
Racism Can't Be Resolved Until It Is Acknowledged
By Fernando C De Baca
Ex-chairman, Bernalillo County Republican Party
Last week I was asked by a British reporter to discuss our upcoming American presidential election and what we as New Mexicans thought of having an African American on the ballot. He explained that he wanted to share New Mexico's cultural perspective with readers in Africa, China and around the world.
As a native New Mexican on the front lines of fighting for minority rights throughout my life, I shared with him the unique history and culture of New Mexico that is intertwined with Hispanics, Anglo-Americans, Native Americans and African-Americans.
To share with him how far we had come as a state, I related stories from 60 or so years ago that my grandfather would tell us children to help encourage us when we were discriminated against, or even, as I was on more than one occasion, beaten bloody just because I was Hispanic.
I explained how my grandfather would tell us stories of historic conquistador grandeur, but also at times would share in the same breath his bigoted opinion of African Americans, some of whom had just beaten me up.
I specifically made the point of explaining to the BBC reporter that in my 70 years as a New Mexican, one can clearly find generational differences between people in my father's and grandfather's generations and those who had lived through the civil rights era of the 1950s, '60s and '70s. This is a historical fact, not a prejudicial opinion.
I was not speaking of any beliefs that I hold — I was setting the context of why I believe, as a student of history, culture and government, that some New Mexicans of different ethic backgrounds — cultural realities — would view this historic presidential election differently.
And I am not the only politically involved New Mexican who has made this observation. Just recently, Democratic state Sen. Mary Jane Garcia stated, "I don't know one single Hispanic over 50 who will cast a vote for Obama." Garcia is not a racist, nor is she being prejudicial. She is speaking from the perspective of one who has grown up in a culture steeped in the reality that many politicians today act like is non-existent.
I must emphasize that I was quoting my grandfather when I said the words that the British journalist extracted out of context. I apologize profoundly for contributing to this misunderstanding, and I can understand why people would be hurt and upset with me if they thought I believed those things. But I do not, nor have I ever believed such things.
In his landmark speech in Philadelphia on race relations, Sen. Barack Obama shared with the world similar memories of how his white grandmother — a woman who helped raise him, a woman who sacrificed again and again for him — once confessed her fear of black men who passed her on the street. Obama said she had uttered, on more than one occasion, racial or ethnic stereotypes that made him cringe.
I do not believe that Obama shares his grandmother's thoughts any more than I share my grandfather's.
The fact is that the historical truth I shared when asked how I, as a Hispanic American, viewed the dynamic between Hispanic Americans and African Americans, does indeed reflect the complexities of race in this state, and to a great extent in most of America.
As Obama explained, it is a dynamic that we've never really worked through. It is a dark part of our nation that stirs just beneath the surface. And if we just act like it does not exist, what good will we have done for anybody in this generation or the ones to come? And if we try and discuss it in historical terms, and people attack before they even investigate the context in which something was stated, then anxiety and knee-jerk accusations will continue to drowned out the dialogue, and the problem will fester.
I am disappointed by the behavior of the two otherwise good New Mexicans running for Congress in our First District here — both non-Hispanic and non-African American. They should not have started crying foul before they even heard the details of what was said about a historical issue they obviously know too little about. At this important crossroads for our country and our state, we require leadership, not one-upmanship. I forgive them both.
In retrospect, I am glad these issues have arisen. They should be discussed, and openly.
C de Baca stepped down from the county chairmanship Thursday. The controversial quote: "The truth is that Hispanics came here as conquerors. African-Americans came here as slaves. Hispanics consider themselves above blacks. They won't vote for a black president."
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