It has been the buzz for more than a week. Just what is this new organization, the Arizona Latino Research Enterprise?
What exactly are political consultant Mario Diaz and well-connected young attorney Sal Rivera up to?
Right now, the charter members conceive of it as:
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A fledgling Latino Morrison Institute, eventually able to pound out solid research on the Hispanic community and policy issues.
- A Latino-style Arizona town hall, annually gathering hundreds of interested citizens to discuss critical issues and build consensus.
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An advocacy group, like the Children's Action Alliance, willing to lobby and speak on behalf of a cause it believes in.
Last week's initial session, a luncheon in downtown Phoenix, was stunning for its turnout. No fewer than 240 people showed up, double what would have been expected. After all, it was the first real meeting of an organization no one ever heard of. With an out-of-state speaker. A politician at that.
We saw a lot of familiar faces, to be sure. But clearly, the underlying mission is to pass the torch of leadership to a new generation of Latinos, those under 40 who have education, security, upward mobility, ambition...
But are not exactly sure where they want to go...or what they want to accomplish once they get there...
In interviews with Arizona Republic reporter Yvonne Wingett, local Latinos made some interesting admissions:
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Latinos suffer some cultural, generational, economic and language divisions. These chasms between native-born and third-generation Mexican-Americans and recent immigrants have always existed. But the exploding population of Latinos in the past decade has made them more visible.
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These divisions, which most recently were revealed in the Proposition 200 campaign, have rarely been acknowledged, often papered over by political correctness or dismissed by the existing leadership.
It was perhaps this frank admission, so rare when we talk race and ethnicity, that spurred the interest.
Arizona Latinos have plenty of advocacy organizations. Most of them seem to be run by the same people - and have been for the past 30 years.
The organization won't add much if its main focus is personal agendas - helping the new generation ascend, replacing the older generation.
It must be willing to take risks. It must be ready to challenge political policy orthodoxy. It ought to be open. Its founding leaders, as talented and ambitious as they are, ought to be willing, even eager, to recruit new leaders.
Its monthly programs will have to be provocative, not politically correct. They ought to be a showcase for new thinkers, new activists, radical ideas, people who will make all of us squirm - but think in new ways.
We will watch ALRE. We wish them well. |
