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Chicano/Latino Native American Cultural Center 25th anniversary celebration, December 14, 1996
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community is not a product. Rather, community is an ongoing, continuous, process dynamically shifting and changing. Finding those points that connect our worlds, creates a process from which we can plan together to make the world a better place for all from political to social-cultural concerns. Finding these points of connection is also how we build community. However, as Ruth, Tony and I learned, working together is never without struggle. And as you bring your differences together to work toward common goals you all will, no doubt, find this out. It is essential that we all understand that through our personal struggles we are given new perspectives which assist in the larger struggle. Each of our experiences are part of the strides and accomplishments that are made. This center has not grown without struggle. The key is not to walk away from conflict, which is the easy thing to do, but to embrace it in order to learn from it -- we cannot fall into the same pit of assimilationists, because if we do, we are no better than those who now question why we want to maintain our cultural identities. And so, while we acknowledge the difficult challenges that lie ahead, we must frame our thinking, and ultimately our actions, around the view of the profound opportunity that is found at this juncture. In short, we must continue to find ways to work together while at the same time create a network which can empower each one of us to realize our potential. 13
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community is not a product. Rather, community is an ongoing, continuous, process dynamically shifting and changing. Finding those points that connect our worlds, creates a process from which we can plan together to make the world a better place for all from political to social-cultural concerns. Finding these points of connection is also how we build community. However, as Ruth, Tony and I learned, working together is never without struggle. And as you bring your differences together to work toward common goals you all will, no doubt, find this out. It is essential that we all understand that through our personal struggles we are given new perspectives which assist in the larger struggle. Each of our experiences are part of the strides and accomplishments that are made. This center has not grown without struggle. The key is not to walk away from conflict, which is the easy thing to do, but to embrace it in order to learn from it -- we cannot fall into the same pit of assimilationists, because if we do, we are no better than those who now question why we want to maintain our cultural identities. And so, while we acknowledge the difficult challenges that lie ahead, we must frame our thinking, and ultimately our actions, around the view of the profound opportunity that is found at this juncture. In short, we must continue to find ways to work together while at the same time create a network which can empower each one of us to realize our potential. 13
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