M
»rtuiiary 9, 2008
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Page B J
200<S special ecfiiion
Civil Rights Begin with Education
Immigrants
learn solidarity
makes a citizen
by R aymond R endi . eman
T he P ort land O bserver
Martin Luther King Jr. wanted one aspeet of
the eivil-rights movement soon eradicated, but
never forgotten , the socalledCitizenship Schools
that he and Septima Clark made to flourish
throughout the Deep South, where segregation­
ists had forced aspiring African-American vot­
ers to demonstrate “constitutional interpreta­
tion” capabilities before they were allowed to
cast ballots.
Inhumanity of this magnitude has disappeared
with revised laws, but parallels remain.
Antonio Gonzalez, an academic support coor­
dinator for the Oregon Council for Hispanic
Advancement, echoes the spiritual and legal
emancipation that Martin Luther King Jr. and
othercivil-rights leaders envisioned coming with
education.
“The more you learn, the freer you are,”
Gonzalez says.
Citing census statistics that show two out of
five Hispanics over 25 have not graduated from
high school, the council endeavors to develop
mentoring relationships with young people and
create opportunities for their families' life-skill
development.
By sending folks like Gonzalez to schools
citywide, the organization provides English
classes, help in improving academic achieve­
ment, preventive health-care information and
job-interview preparation.
In addition to four weekly after-school ses­
sions lasting two hours, Gonzalez keeps a
caseload of Latino students that have been
identified as struggling. He sees parental con­
nection as the most important factor in deter­
mining student success, so he tries to split time
evenly among homework issues, acculturation
and learning about Hispanic heritage.
Being an AfroCuban in the U.S. puts Gonzalez.
photo
in R aymond R i m i i . eman /T hi - P ortland O bserver
Anfon/'o Gonzalez, academic support coordinator for the Oregon Council for Hispanic Advancement, works with families in
Portland Public Schools.
in a unique position to address civil-rights and
solidarity issues.
Experiencing racism here has surprised him
since he considers himself “from a country
where the color of your skin really doesn't
matter.”
He finds that his ethnic background some­
times triggers a barrier with black Americans.
and that even though his skin is black, he can
relate to Hispanic people more.
He combines his Cuban background with
work here to create his own way of thinking.
“In Cuba, as long as you have the IQ and the
grades, you will move forward,” he says, ac­
knowledging flaw s in the Cuban system. "I love
my country because I was born there, but it has
issues like anywhere else.”
Gonzalez tries to pacify competing political
forces by integrating values of respected Ameri­
can organizers with the likes of Jose Marti, who
earned status as a Cuban national hero by
leading its independence movement.
“ Marti and MLK have a lot o f ideas in
com m on,” he says.