Respect is lifted up in sign campaign

By TRAVIS LOLLER
Staff Writer

When Rick Casares moved to Nashville four years ago, the first thing he heard on the radio was a talk show host calling immigrants "scumbags."

The son of Mexican immigrants and Los Angeles native was so incensed that he called the show and had a 20-minute on-air conversation in which the host accused Casares of lying about his Mexican heritage because he speaks perfect English.

Soon afterward an insurance saleswoman told him he should get uninsured motorists protection in case his car was hit by a drunken Mexican.

"There are a lot of misconceptions," he said. One example is "the continued portrayal of immigrants as somehow less than natives with phrases like Third World sensibilities, health risk, terror, terrorists."

Now Casares is part of a group that hopes to inject civility into the immigration debate and counter stereotypes. The organization, Welcoming Tennessee, announced a campaign Thursday to place 50 billboards throughout greater Nashville to promote the idea of welcoming immigrants.

One of the designs shows two children next to a biblical quotation: "I was a stranger and you welcomed me." The second shows a collage of immigrant photos, past and present, with the phrase, "Welcome the immigrant you once were."

A poll taken by Middle Tennessee State University in 2002 found that "attitudes toward immigrants have become more negative over time, at least in Middle Tennessee." In a 1998 sample of Middle Tennesseans only, 28 percent said Hispanics were making life worse, but that number jumped to 41 percent in the 2002 poll.

"Many churches have mission with immigrants and treat them very well," said Nashville lawyer John Lamb, who chairs the Welcoming Tennessee steering committee. "Most businesses and organizations and individuals treat people with decency and self-respect on a one-to-one basis. But at least in the public dialogue we haven't heard a whole lot of these values. We want to bring these values into the debate." •

Near a new billboard, Jose Gonzales photographs supporters at a news conference at Seventh Avenue South at Demonbreun Street.

(LARRY MCCORMACK / THE TENNESSEAN)
Reach Travis Loller at 259-8209.

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