Interviews with the California Peace Prize recipients were conducted for The California
Wellness Foundation by Laura Saponara of i.e. communications in San Francisco. Excerpts of
the interviews are presented here.
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When you were younger, you used to organize football games with kids from
different gangs, different groups. What is it about you that makes you interested in
helping people connect, in spite of their differences? |
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Gilbert Sanchez: A lot of what I did when I was young had to do with the
fact that I had seen a lot of my friends get hurt. There was nothing out there for us to
do that was that positive. We used to have some real fights against other gangs and I
thought, "Why do we have to go through this?" It didn't make sense. I
generated a lot of strong bonds with my friends, my homeboys. I would be dead if it
weren’t for some of them. I cared a lot about people and I hated to see them suffer.
I thought, "There’s no way we’re going to overcome this thing, no way
we’re going to be the biggest, baddest gang and that people will just leave us
alone." We had to find other things to do. Football was one way to bring everyone
together, to help people connect so that they wouldn't be so angry. |
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What do you think is the source of the anger you see in a lot of the kids
you work with now? |
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Gilbert Sanchez: Neglect. That’s a big part of it. They don’t
like the feeling of being left alone, neglected, which happens a lot. Or angry because
they don’t know how to resolve an emotion. A lot of kids are angry because of
something they’ve experienced, they think, "Why did I have to go through
that?" And grief. A lot of these kids don’t know how to grieve. They don’t
know how to cope with the fact that they were a victim to violence or a witness to some
form of violence - domestic violence or whatever the case may be. Their solution is what
they call "squashing," squashing their feelings. It works for a while but it
catches up with you. Like everyone else, these kids need resources to deal with these
feelings. |
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Your work is about providing practical support such as after school
sports programs and job training. But you’re also talking about emotional support. |
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Gilbert Sanchez: Kids have to have meaningful and reciprocal contact with
positive adult role models. It's vital that kids be able to express their feelings without
being judged. I think we have got to take a step back and try to understand the
experiences of the youth and to be strategic about how we can help them move forward. I've
learned the importance of being patient. |
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When you talk about confronting the root causes of violence, what types
of solutions do you advocate? |
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Rubén Lizardo: The solution is not just to put folks in prison,
especially young people! Voters want security but they are also willing to invest in
prevention. In addition to strengthening families, we need to look to larger systems like
the economy, like our school systems. We have to ask, "Is the curricula relevant for
Latinos, Blacks and Asians?" Now that these groups form a majority of
California’s students, their academic performance and ultimately their role in the
state’s labor force must be of paramount importance to all Californians. The aging
population of our state will also be dependent upon a labor force made up primarily of
Latinos, Blacks and Asians; this labor force will have to provide the economic resources
to support the state’s public infrastructure. |
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You were very involved with pressing for the establishment of the Chicana
& Chicano Studies Department at UCLA. Why was that so struggle so important? |
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Rubén Lizardo: I am from Fresno and my parents worked as farmworkers and
gardeners. My mom retired form working in a fruit packing house. I am a product of the
social forces that were being studied in Chicano studies but I did not grow up with a
consciousness of class dynamics. At UCLA, we were fighting to provide the teaching,
research and program resources for "mainstream" students to learn of the
strategic importance Latinos play and will play in the region. We were advocating for a
paradigm shift away from the study of Latinos as marginalized "minorities"
toward Chicana & Chicano Studies as an essential element of 21st Century
education. I continue to believe strongly that if California is to thrive as a player in
the global economy, we must educate all students in a way that acknowledges the
interdependence of all ethnic groups. |
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What inspired you to become a community activist so quickly after you
arrived in this country? |
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Clara Luz Navarro: I was shocked when I came here. I could not fathom
that children were going to bed without food, without enough money to eat each day. I met
people who were living in sub-human conditions - tiny apartments with one bathroom housing
20 people. When I was working as a researcher and talking with undocumented immigrant
women in their homes every day, I came home and cried every night. I thought, "How is
this possible, am I living a nightmare?" I became an activist in part because as a
woman, I feel connected, I feel international. My heart is international as is my desire
to participate in the "problematic" of women, particularly with respect to
domestic violence, which is, of course international. |
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In addition to interpersonal violence, what types of violence are you
concerned with? |
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Clara Luz Navarro: Institutional violence, like the violence that results
from unjust laws, such as immigration laws that have a negative affect on the wellbeing of
women and children. Women without documents have a great deal of fear. When their husbands
are abusive, the women and their children suffer a great deal and hold the expectation
that at any given moment they’ll become "legal." The anxiety, fear and
vulnerability that result are a form of institutional violence. We need to change the laws
so that women don’t have to go through this. |
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Could you talk about the social isolation that you have witnessed among
immigrant Latinas who are suffering from abuse? |
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Clara Luz Navarro: I am so entregada [committed] and so
passionate about this problem because it is very much my personal experience. There are
millions of Latinos here, but many live in extreme isolation. This is the difference we
create within our organization, Mujeres Unidas y Activas – we are an extended family,
we nurture a feeling of unity, of sharing, of comadreo. Un comadreo positivo.
When I came here, I felt so alone, tan sola, for reasons I can’t explain.
The isolation affects many women, young and old. This is especially true here in San
Francisco. |
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How do you begin to talk with women about things like domestic violence
that are so difficult, so personal? |
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Clara Luz Navarro: In the first place, I develop a relationship of trust
and credibility. This is very important. Generally, people focus on the material aspects
of assisting women who are victims of domestic violence, such as the urgent need for
shelter. But the human aspects are often neglected. The immediate emotional needs of women
are often neglected. We need to identify and address these, too. |
