How the Year Started vs. How it’s Going
Well, we know this year started with Trump coming into office amidst the Free Palestine Movement. There was a lot of uncertainty and even amidst that, I still felt that maybe - just maybe we could fuel some of the negative rhetoric, into positive movement forward. Some of the legislation being introduced, while far-fetched, seemed like they could offer up areas of opportunities for innovation and creation amidst a people who think differently and want to create transformational change forward. At that time, it seemed to me that La Raza Unida could become a creative hub, new creators building and collaborating with one another - the biggest problem - we didn’t have the platform to create such an engagement.
As I began to think of new opportunities and tried to dream up some new and innovative ideas, new attacks began to come out from the Trump administration. It now seemed like the hate was perpetual and consistently aimed at the same community. Over the past several months, governmental headlines, educational reels, and action advocacy prompts have all pointed to the Raza community. Looking back, as I recount it, it seems like the simulation curated on social media was 5 historical social movements all a once - Civil Rights Movement, the Chicano Movement, the Women's Rights Movement, the LGBTQ & Trans movement, and Immigrant Movement, the only one we haven’t paid much attention to or have been missing is the Labor & Compensation Movement. As I have seen this all go down on Social Media, I have questioned meanings, images, AI, and realism often wondering what is actually happening?
So, I’ve done what I’ve always done - show up. I have shown up to locations, actions, and virtual sessions to see for myself but also to engage in discourse about what is happening. While all these things occur and simultaneously seem to create attacks on vulnerable people and communities - the underlying fuel for all of this, in my opinion - gentrification. Given that the 2028 Olympics will be in LA, the government could see this as the perfect time to clean LA up. The biggest problem I’ve spotted? It just seems like the raza is taking itself out, outing themselves, families, and potential “at-risk” workers on the streets. While some would call this “hyper-vigilance” it could also be based on the fact that history tends to repeat while being repackaged.
