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El Laberinto, 1971-1987
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1,000 Delegates at D.C. Chicano-Puerto Rican Meet - Wash. D.C. "Too much violence has been perpetrated upon us. Too many murderers walk the streets of too many places in this country, secure in the knowledge that they will never be prosecuted for killing a Mexican American or Puerto Rican!" So said U.S. Senator Joseph Montoya (D-New Mexico) to nearly 1,500 delegates at a conference of Puerto Ricans and Chicanos in the Hospitality Motor Hotel, Arlington Va., on October 23-24. YA BASTA! He exclaimed. As Montoya read off the names of the victims of police brutality, those int he audience shouted out the names of others of which they were aware of. The meeting was sponsored by Sen. Montoya, Congressmen Herman Badillo (New York), Manuel Lujan (New Mexico), and Edward Roybal (Calif.), and the attendance far exceeded the expected 300-400 delegates. Resolutions-- The delegates to the conference passed a number of resolutions, among them: 1. Voted to create a group to discuss formation of a national political action campaign, and establishment of a permanent Washington D. C. organization to loby congress in behalf of Spanish-Speaking Americans. 2. Favored formation of a commission to study the possibilities of starting a separate spanish-speaking political party. 3. Asked for abolishment of the dr(?) draft and immediate withdrawal of all U. S. forces from southeast Asia. 4. Supported equal rights for spanish speaking women. Tijerina-- Later, as Reyes Lopez Tijerina accused New Mexico state police of raping his wife, the conference heatedly demanded an immediate federal investigation on the matter. Law enforcement (or lack of it when it involves Chicanos and Puerto Ricans) was only one of a series of grievances aired at the historical coalition of Puerto Rican, Chicano, and other Spanish-Speaking groups. Tijerina said that one man, identified by Tijerina as a New Mexico state policeman, held a shot-gun to his wife's head, and forced her to smoke marijuana all night. Then the man and his colleagues raped her in front of their two young children. Tijerina indicated that a New Mexico district attorney was ready to prosecute the case. Most of the delegates made their way to Washington at their own expense. One of the initial gripes was being served an American cheese sandwich box lunch -- for $3.50! The conference also proposed the formation of a National Spanish Coalition with 53 representatives from the different geographical areas of the U.S., to work on formation of a permanent organization. The 53 member group will be composed of 15 Puerto Ricans from the north-eastern U.S., 15 Chicanos from the southwest, 11 Chicanos and Puerto Ricans from the midwest, 7 Cubans or Central Am., 2 Puerto Ricans from Calif., and 2 Chicanos from the north-western U.S. *****This article was taken from the November 1971 issue of the Forumeer. For further reading on this conference, copies of the Forumeer is available at the Chicano House free of charge. 5
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1,000 Delegates at D.C. Chicano-Puerto Rican Meet - Wash. D.C. "Too much violence has been perpetrated upon us. Too many murderers walk the streets of too many places in this country, secure in the knowledge that they will never be prosecuted for killing a Mexican American or Puerto Rican!" So said U.S. Senator Joseph Montoya (D-New Mexico) to nearly 1,500 delegates at a conference of Puerto Ricans and Chicanos in the Hospitality Motor Hotel, Arlington Va., on October 23-24. YA BASTA! He exclaimed. As Montoya read off the names of the victims of police brutality, those int he audience shouted out the names of others of which they were aware of. The meeting was sponsored by Sen. Montoya, Congressmen Herman Badillo (New York), Manuel Lujan (New Mexico), and Edward Roybal (Calif.), and the attendance far exceeded the expected 300-400 delegates. Resolutions-- The delegates to the conference passed a number of resolutions, among them: 1. Voted to create a group to discuss formation of a national political action campaign, and establishment of a permanent Washington D. C. organization to loby congress in behalf of Spanish-Speaking Americans. 2. Favored formation of a commission to study the possibilities of starting a separate spanish-speaking political party. 3. Asked for abolishment of the dr(?) draft and immediate withdrawal of all U. S. forces from southeast Asia. 4. Supported equal rights for spanish speaking women. Tijerina-- Later, as Reyes Lopez Tijerina accused New Mexico state police of raping his wife, the conference heatedly demanded an immediate federal investigation on the matter. Law enforcement (or lack of it when it involves Chicanos and Puerto Ricans) was only one of a series of grievances aired at the historical coalition of Puerto Rican, Chicano, and other Spanish-Speaking groups. Tijerina said that one man, identified by Tijerina as a New Mexico state policeman, held a shot-gun to his wife's head, and forced her to smoke marijuana all night. Then the man and his colleagues raped her in front of their two young children. Tijerina indicated that a New Mexico district attorney was ready to prosecute the case. Most of the delegates made their way to Washington at their own expense. One of the initial gripes was being served an American cheese sandwich box lunch -- for $3.50! The conference also proposed the formation of a National Spanish Coalition with 53 representatives from the different geographical areas of the U.S., to work on formation of a permanent organization. The 53 member group will be composed of 15 Puerto Ricans from the north-eastern U.S., 15 Chicanos from the southwest, 11 Chicanos and Puerto Ricans from the midwest, 7 Cubans or Central Am., 2 Puerto Ricans from Calif., and 2 Chicanos from the north-western U.S. *****This article was taken from the November 1971 issue of the Forumeer. For further reading on this conference, copies of the Forumeer is available at the Chicano House free of charge. 5
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