<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" > <channel> <title>protest march – Amigos805.com</title> <atom:link href="https://amigos805.com/tag/protest-march/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /> <link>https://amigos805.com</link> <description>Information for and about the vibrant Latino community in Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties 805 region</description> <lastBuildDate>Sat, 04 Apr 2015 01:23:23 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en-US</language> <sy:updatePeriod> hourly </sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency> 1 </sy:updateFrequency> <generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.2</generator> <item> <title>April cover story: One reporter’s view of a 20th-century icon</title> <link>https://amigos805.com/april-cover-story-one-reporters-view-of-a-20th-century-icon/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Amigos805.com]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 01 Apr 2015 13:30:43 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Cultural]]></category> <category><![CDATA[News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Cabrillo Village]]></category> <category><![CDATA[César E. Chávez]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Oxnard]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Piru]]></category> <category><![CDATA[protest march]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Santa Paula]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Saticoy]]></category> <category><![CDATA[UFW]]></category> <category><![CDATA[United Farm Workers of America]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://amigos805.com/?p=22476</guid> <description><![CDATA[Coverage of march from Santa Paula to Cabrillo Village in Saticoy opened up the world of reporting on local, national events By Frank X. Moraga / Amigos805 Was it really more than a quarter of century ago when I first…<p class="more-link-p"><a class="more-link" href="https://amigos805.com/april-cover-story-one-reporters-view-of-a-20th-century-icon/">Read more →</a></p>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_22477" style="width: 368px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-22477" class="size-full wp-image-22477 " src="http://amigos805.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/César-E.-Chávez-—-April-2-1982-Protest-March-e1428110286438.jpg" alt="" width="358" height="593" /><p id="caption-attachment-22477" class="wp-caption-text">César E. Chávez on March 27, 1982, completing the second day of a 40-plus-mile protest march from Piru to Oxnard. Photo by Frank X. Moraga © 2015</p></div> <p><span style="color: #800000;"><strong><em>Coverage of march from Santa Paula to Cabrillo Village in Saticoy opened up the world of reporting on local, national events</em></strong></span></p> <p><strong><em></em>By Frank X. Moraga</strong> / <em>Amigos805</em></p> <div> <p>Was it really more than a quarter of century ago when I first laid eyes on an individual who had become synonymous with self-sacrifice, determination and the willingness to do what it takes to elevate the working conditions of his fellow human beings?</p> <p>It was a typical spring day in Ventura County. The April showers threatened to arrive a few days early on Saturday, March 27, 1982.</p> <p>And there he was, wearing his traditional black nylon jacket and dark t-shirt with that look of determination as he walked the final steps that late afternoon from Santa Paula to the farmworker-owned housing at Cabrillo Village in Saticoy.</p> <p>César E. Chávez had begun his march the day before in Piru, with the end point to be his old community organizing stomping grounds in Oxnard, a 40-plus-mile journey.</p> <p>For Chávez, and the intimidating body guards walking nearby, it just seemed like a typical stroll, not that day’s 11-mile trudge that would have had many of us journalists hanging our tongues and counting our blisters.</p> <p>Along with the several hundred striking farmworkers and supporters in attendance, Chávez was soon surrounded by the media horde, including yours truly, as we struggled to take photographs and ask questions of the man who had long since become a cultural legend, lauded by individuals such as the late Robert F. Kennedy and Coretta Scott King, wife of the late Martin Luther King, Jr.</p> <p>For Chávez, it was all about getting another union contract signed with local growers.</p> <p>“The two big issues are wages and the duration of the contract,” Chávez was quoted in a Ventura College Press article about the strike against citrus growers ~ Coastal Growers Association in Oxnard, L & O Growers and Limoneira Co. of Santa Paula (1,200 strikers) and mushroom grower West Foods Inc. in Ventura (1,450 strikers).</p> <p>Chávez, who had marched with farmworkers in the lettuce fields of Salinas and the vineyards of Northern California, felt the demonstrations were an effective way to gain public attention and support.</p> <p>“It (the march) is going to have a definite impact,” he said. “The march is an effort to document our struggle…. If we don’t settle the strike soon, we will try to get between 20,000 and 25,000 supporters to protest in Oxnard.”</p> <p>Chávez was joined that day by Mario Obledo, the former California Secretary of Health and Welfare, who was waging a long-shot candidacy for the Democratic nomination for governor. Obledo would eventually lose that nomination to Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, who would lose that fall to Republican George Deukmejian.</p> <p>But on that late March afternoon, the mood was celebratory, with plenty of speeches by UFW union members and supporters. For Chávez himself came the realization that he had yet another day to go before ending this particular march in Oxnard, adding to the hundreds of miles he had already marched throughout California and elsewhere.</p> <p>“These marches are always very difficult and painful, especially when walking on blisters,” he said that day. “I feel tired like most of the people who have marched today, but I also do feel pretty good.”</p> <p>As reported that day, Chávez waved to the crowd of people as he approached the village. “Muchas gracias,” he said as he passed a throng of well-wishers.</p> <p>I recall seeing Chávez one more time, probably a year or so before he passed away on April 23, 1993. He was speaking in Spanish to a crowd packed into the cafeteria at the old Juanita Elementary School in La Colonia neighborhood of Oxnard, a school that would be renamed for him on Sept. 24, 1993. It just amazed me that such a soft-spoken individual could still command such a huge following, audience members who hung on his every word. But they did just that, as people continued to remember the impact this man from Yuma had on the American labor movement.</p> <p> </p> <h2>For more information on the life of César E. Chávez, visit</h2> <p>> The Nation review of 2014 movie “Cesar Chavez” — <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/179121/not-cesar-chavez-i-knew#" target="_blank">http://www.thenation.com/article/179121/not-cesar-chavez-i-knew#</a></p> <p>> A&E Channel biography — <a href="http://www.biography.com/people/cesarchavez-9245781" target="_blank">http://www.biography.com/people/cesarchavez-9245781</a></p> <p>> History.com biography — <a href="http://www.history.com/topics/cesar-chavez" target="_blank">http://www.history.com/topics/cesar-chavez</a></p> <p>> Ventura County Star 2002— Chavez celebration grows to week — <a href="http://www.vcstar.com/news/chavez-celebration-grows-to-week" target="_blank">http://www.vcstar.com/news/chavez-celebration-grows-to-week</a></p> </div> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Guest commentary: Support Francisco Romero — Todo Poder al Pueblo!</title> <link>https://amigos805.com/guest-commentary-support-francisco-romero-todo-poder-al-pueblo/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Amigos805.com]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 09 Feb 2015 17:00:16 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Cultural]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Education]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Local]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Armando Vazquez]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Francisco Romero]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Oxnard Police Department]]></category> <category><![CDATA[protest march]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Todo Poder Al Pueblo]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://amigos805.com/?p=21469</guid> <description><![CDATA[Editor’s note: Amigos805 welcomes guest columns, letters to the editor and other submissions from our readers. All opinions expressed in submitted material are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the viewpoint of Amigos805. By Armando Vazquez / Guest contributor On February…<p class="more-link-p"><a class="more-link" href="https://amigos805.com/guest-commentary-support-francisco-romero-todo-poder-al-pueblo/">Read more →</a></p>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_21140" style="width: 360px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="http://amigos805.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Armando-Vazquez.jpg" target="_blank"><img decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-21140" class="size-full wp-image-21140" title="Armando Vazquez" src="http://amigos805.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Armando-Vazquez-e1422407693942.jpg" alt="" width="350" height="511" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-21140" class="wp-caption-text">Armando Vazquez</p></div> <p><strong>Editor’s note: </strong><em>Amigos805 welcomes guest columns, letters to the editor and other submissions from our readers. All opinions expressed in submitted material are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the viewpoint of Amigos805.</em></p> <p><strong>By Armando Vazquez</strong> / <em>Guest contributor</em></p> <p>On February 25, 2015 our dearest companero Francisco Romero, one of the co-founders of Todo Poder al Pueblo, will be in a Ventura County courtroom, once again fighting trumped up misdemeanor charges; a victim of a selectively target hit conducted by the Oxnard Police Department.</p> <p>The conduct of the OPD has been outrageous, petty and illegal from the onset of this foolish episode. The OPD wants nothing more than to intimidate and eliminate the constitutional protected rights of assembly and freedom of speech of activist like Francisco Romero and organizations like Todo Poder al Pueblo in Oxnard.</p> <p>The sorry events that lead up to Francisco Romero being cited for five (5) misdemeanor traffic infractions was as follows. On October 13, 2013, Todo Poder al Pueblo organized a community march against police brutality, repression and the killing of Alfonso Limon Jr.,Jose Zepeda, Pobert Ramirez Jr. and Micheal Mahoney at the hands of the Oxnard Police Department. This is what the historic march was about the killing of young men in our community by the cops.</p> <p>By all accounts, mine included, the demonstration was well organized, informed and united. The crowd of about 150 to 200, ranging from young children to adults was well informed, passionate, loud and orderly. In every instance during the few hours long march the designated demonstration leader exercised their many years of local and regional experiences in safe demonstration crowd organizing protocol; safety for all of the demonstrators was paramount. It was a glorious and peaceful local example of the people exercising their constitutional protected rights!</p> <p>The OPD it has now been revealed, through the power of various discovery motions, to have deployed approximately 91 cops to monitor the peaceful October 13, 2013 march. Tens of thousands of tax payer were needlessly wasted in overtime and supervision pay for the 91 cops. In the videos that have been turned over by court order to the defense attorney, the cops can be heard singling (targeting) out Francisco Romero and no one else in a crowd of 150 to 200 demonstrators. If you look at the videos you can clearly discern that Francisco Romero is doing everything in his power to keep the demonstrators following safely the organized march route.</p> <p>The OPD leadership, on this singular historic illegal selective prosecution of one of our community leaders, is if nothing else evil, vindictive and hardheaded and its creditability is at stake. But like the proverbial wolf that has been caught by a historically important precedent setting community trap (of their own making) they will rip and tear into their badly damaged “law and order” leg until they pathetically bleed to death. Why do cops take these kinds of boneheaded and repressive positions, here in Oxnard and all over this nation? The answer is as dangerous and chilling as it is clear, they can and they know it! Who in the community will stand up to their guns, mace, shackles, jails, all their toys, their laws? Todo Poder al Pubelo has and will and therein lays the first conundrum currently facing the OPD.</p> <p>Cops, the OPD included, are obsessively charged with one job; keep the community safe by exercising professional, objective, lawful, and judicious constraint. The Oxnard Police Department is omnipotent and omnipresent; they are in our public schools from elementary to high school, they are in our gyms, they are in our community meetings, in the entire daily discourse of Oxnard and this is dangerous to our community. The OPD by any objective measure now runs and controls to a large and dangerous degree the recreational and social services programs and agenda of this city.</p> <p>The OPD now runs and controls PALS, The Recreational Department (by Proxy), and the Family Alliance, City Corp, Cal Grip Programs (by Proxy), City Impact (by Proxy) and the other 16 or so programs that are post on their brag sheets. The Oxnard Police Department now has a yearly budget of approximately $120 million dollars or approximately 33% of the entire city budget and growing every year. In addition, the OPD get money from the city, state, federal government funds like CDBG, CalGRIP, Ventura County Probation, Department of Homeland Defense, and ICE to many only a few of the funding source at the disposal of the OPD. The OPDS has very deep pockets, and lap dogs throughout city hall.</p> <p>The eternal, and always ignored adage by the bully, is that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely! This then is the second conundrum now facing the OPD and modern policing practices and protocol and throughout America, cops are addicted to power and more power over the community! On a local and national level the cops have lost their way! Here in Oxnard and throughout the nation the cops have militarized and by sheer fire power control our communities. They are at war with youth of color, the homeless, the immigrants, the legions of unfortunates that are caught in the diabolical revolving door of the criminal justice system, and the addicted.</p> <p>The third conundrum facing the OPD is that is completely shameless and hypocritical in the current power play that has the OPD aligning itself to become the leading agents of social community building and empowerment engineering of our community. All the while the silence and fear of the lambs in Oxnard and throughout the nation acquiesce to the power of cops as they insidiously morph into becoming our our social workers, counselors, surrogate parents, confessors, therapist, educators and recreational professional. The lambs have forgotten that the wolf is a cop and nothing more.</p> <p>This, in my opinion, is why the OPD singled out Francisco Romero and Todo Poder al Pubelo to effectively harass, silence and eliminate the only organization in our community that has consistently challenged the omnipotent, omnipresent and much chronicled abusive and sometimes deadly actions of the OPD.</p> <p>It takes tremendous courage and bravery to stand up to the OPD, and police in general in this city, in this nation, and throughout the world. One misstep can get you killed! This is why Francisco Romero and Todo Poder al Pueblo are so vitally important to Oxnard. When these courageous brothers and sister see, hear or read about OPD abuse and misconduct they are not afraid to investigate it, challenge the abuse and demand justice.</p> <p>Where would Oxnard be without Francisco Romero and Todo Poder al Pueblo? It is a frightening and sobering thought. So please support the courageous work of Francisco Romero and the Todo Poder al Pueblo collective by showing up on February 25, 2015 at 3 PM, in court room 34, at the Ventura Court Building, 800 Victoria, Ventura, to support Francisco Romero, as he petitions the court to have the OPD’s trumped up traffic infraction charges dropped.</p> <p>This is a fight between the powers of the OPD and the will and courage of one brave man and one brave organization that love and honor justice in their community. The outcome of this constitutional decision will reverberate throughout Oxnard and the nation for years to come. The singular questions is do the people have the right to free peaceful assembly and freedom of speech, and can the cops curtail, infringe or eliminate (snuff) these rights. Todo Poder al Pueblo, All Power to the People!</p> <div><em>— Armando Vazquez, M.Ed., is the executive director of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/cafeona?ref=ts&v=wall" target="_blank">The KEYS Leadership Academy@ Café on A</a> in Oxnard.</em></div> <div dir="ltr"> <p><strong>Editor’s note: </strong><em>Amigos805 welcome comments on stories appearing in Amigos805 and on issues impacting the community. Comments must relate directly to stories published in Amigos805, no spam please. We reserve the right to remove or edit comments. Full name, city required. Contact information (telephone, email) will not be published. Please send your comments directly to <a href="mailto:fmoraga@amigos805.com" target="_blank">fmoraga@amigos805.com</a></em></p> <p> </p> </div> ]]></content:encoded> </item> </channel> </rss>