BEWARE THE Center for New Community. They are Liars.

[JohnB2012]

I think you may have either missed or misread my earlier statement on this issue. For the sake of clarity, allow me to reiterate that the term “La Raza� doesn’t mean “The Race!� as you think it does.

The term “La Raza� as used by the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) actually has its origins in early 20th century Latin American literature, and translates into English most closely as "the people," or, according to some scholars, "the Hispanic people of the New World."

8. That you were wrong when you kept referring to the National Council of La Raza as "the race."
La Raza may mean the race or the people or the "hispanic people". Regardless of semantics, I don't support organizations that promote illegal immigration and racist politics.

I just checked La Raza on four on line translation sites. It came back on all four as The Race. On two it also had an additional translation of The Breed.

La Raza sounds pretty racist to me. Have you done a report on them yet? How exactly do you choose what organizations to do reports on? How did you choose ALIPAC? When you do your reports do you actually go out and interview people or do you just regurgitate stuff from books, magazine articles and web sites?

[Judy]

Thank you all for verifying that La Raza means "race". It does indeed.

Consider this: During the 1600-1800 in Mexico, Mexico had a slave trade from Africa that equaled if not at times exceeded that of the United States.

Consider this: Today, Mexico has a black population that is less than 1% of its population. The majority of this 1% is huddled in little remote rural villages on the western seacoast of Mexico.

How does this happen? How does a country eliminate its black population? What did Mexico do to its Blacks? Does anyone know?

Wait....I'll bet Burghart knows....HEY BURGHART.....what did Mexico do to its Black Population?

HEY BURGHART--I've got another new "charity" job for you and this is right up your alley of "fighting racism"....why don't you pop yourself and your little org down to the land of La Raza, organize an international board of inquiry, and find out WHAT MEXICO DID TO ITS BLACK POPULATION?

Mexico is a racist nation. La Raza is a racist Mexican concept. Racism abounds in Mexico. If you REALLY wanted to fight "racism", you would be standing with US to fight the entry of illegal aliens from Mexico and any other nation that extolls with pride through its "LA RAZA", which is just a spanish version for genocidal racism against blacks.

But wait....you're on their side....you're on the side of LA RAZA....oh silly me.....I lost my head for a minute....

You're a Phoney Bell-Ringer, Dunghart!

[Bootsie]

Gosh, Judy. Your brain just probably hasn't caught up with your body from vacationing!!! OF COURSE, THEY are RACIST. IF they WEREN'T, WHY do you think they would refuse to ASSIMILATE??? WHY do you think they would DEMAND everything in THEIR language? WHY do you think they would DEMAND that THEIR CULTURE be taught in OUR SCHOOLS???

I had almost forgotten the discussion we had MONTHS ago about the absence of blacks in Mexico. I don't believe we EVER figured that one out, did we???

[JohnB2012]

Some people (including Mr. Gheen) have mistranslated "La Raza" to mean "The Race," implying that it is a term meant to exclude others. In fact, the full term coined by Vasconcelos, "La Raza Cósmica," meaning the "cosmic people," was developed to reflect not purity but the mixture inherent in the Hispanic people. This is clearly an inclusive concept, meaning that Hispanics share with all other peoples of the world a common heritage and destiny, and that Latinos provide an example of a world in which traditional concepts of race can be transcended.

http://www.consejoculturalmundial.org/a ... cation.php

"The “José Vasconcelos� World Award of Education has been established as an acknowledgment of those who have the all important labour of teaching the underlying basis of our present civilization.".......

"Among his other principal works are: La Raza Cósmica (1925, “The Cosmic Raceâ€?) and Bolivarismo y MonroÃÂ*smo (1934, “Bolivarism and Monroismâ€?).

http://www.colegionacional.org.mx/Vasconc0.htm

"He wrote the following studies, history and philosophy:........

La raza cósmica (The Cosmic Race) (Barcelona, 1925); .........."

http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0850523.html

"He denounced democracy and tended to glorify force and racism."

[Bootsie]

I'm just PUZZLED by this COSMIC BS. Sounds like they are from OUTER SPACE rather than MEXICO.

[gearhead]

The term “La Raza� as used by the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) actually has its origins in early 20th century Latin American literature, and translates into English most closely as "the people," or, according to some scholars, "the Hispanic people of the New World."

This is Burghart spin, you see he says "as used by" the NCLA, if you go to this site you will see the definition Burhart is quoting from and at the bottom you will see,

(Source: The National Council of La Raza)

http://www.latinoiowa.com/2002/11/04/LaRaza.html

[Judy]

National Council of La Raza is the most racist organization in the United States. They have stolen opportunities, jobs, benefits and power from American Blacks having secured "minority" status for Hispanics based upon their "language". Hispanic means Spanish Speaking. Most Hispanics are white caucasian catholics. Yet they qualify under a law signed by Jimmy Carter in 1974 for all the programs the United States put in place to end racial discrimination. Every "hispanic" business that got a loan based upon minority status stole that loan from a Black American. Every "hispanic" business that got a government contract based upon minority status stole that contract from a Black American. Every "hispanic" that got a job because of minority status stole that job from a Black American. Every "hispanic" that got a seat in college based upon minority status, stole that seat from a Black American.

How easy it was to divert the resources and maintain the status quo. How clever it was to create a competing minority "race" based upon "speaking spanish" and put caucasians in the seats, in the jobs, in the businesses set aside for Black Americans.

[ALIPAC]

Thanks gang.

So Mr. Burghart, would you like to explain how a "researcher" of your caliber can be incorrect about the title La Raza? I thought you said you had looked into this? Perhaps you did and someone from La Raza said "Oh no, that word does not mean what those xenophobes say it means."

That would be good enough in your book?

W

[newcomm]

How many times have you been asked to "PRESS 2 FOR FRENCH? GERMAN? POLISH? CZECH? DUTCH? Italian?" NEVER! I rest my case. I think, frankly, it's racist of YOU to support the government providing services in ONLY SPANISH. Doesn't that sound a little biased to you? How do all of these other immigrants manage to get along in our country and the Spanish-speaking ones just can't seem to get it? So, my argument is either provide it to ALL or provide it to NONE.

Dear "Bootsie:"

Guess what? The government already does provide information in many, many different languages. The U.S. Government's official web portal, for instance, has material in Albanian, Arabic, Armenian, Cambodian, Cantonese, Chinese, Dutch, Farsi, French, German, Greek, Haitian-Creole, Hebrew, Hindi, Hmong, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Samoan, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.

And look, our country is still standing.

I never suggested that I wanted government services available only in Spanish. I'll choose many over "NONE," thanks.

"English Only" laws are grounded in false stereotypes of new immigrants. Such laws do not only malign the immigrant's native languages but assault the rights of the people who speak the languages.

"English Only" laws are inconsistent with the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. "English Only" laws interfere with the right to vote by banning bilingual ballots or with a child's right to education by restricting bilingual instruction. Such laws also interfere with the right of workers to be free of discrimination in workplaces where employers have imposed "speak English only" rules.

You say that ALL of these Hispanics are just lining up to learn English and that is just WRONG. I see it right here in my own small town.

Well, you can claim its "wrong," but the data is overwhelmingly against you on this one. There is a huge demand for English language classes. Perhaps if you spent a little less time "glaring" at immigrants, and a bit more time getting to know them, you'd know this reality.

How huge is the demand? According to the Center for Adult English Language Acquisition, almost half of the 1.2 million adults in federally funded adult education programs are there to learn English. Waiting lists for class slots are often so long that some immigrants wait months or years before getting a space.

Try to go register for an ESL class in your community and see how easy it is. Studies by the National Center for Education Statistics suggest a pool of as many as 3 million adults who are interested in ESL classes but not enrolled for a variety of reasons, including the fact that the classes are oversubscribed.

If you're so concerned about language acquisition by new immigrants, there is a proven path to success: acceptance, and celebration, of the differences that exist within our ethnically and linguistically diverse country. The bond that unites our nation is not linguistic or ethnic homogeneity but a shared commitment to democracy and equality.

If you're so concerned about language acquisition by new immigrants, why not support programs that address the needs for additional language education classes, instead of programs that serve only to divide, antagonize, and harm democracy?

You are right that providing access to government in multiple languages costs a little more, but we believe that adhering to the principles of democracy and our Constitution are worth it. How about you?

Sincerely,

Devin Burghart
Director, Building Democracy Initiative
Center for New Community
http://www.buildingdemocracy.org

[Brian503a]

What's the drop out rate of these English classes? I've heard several stories that a lot of immigrants do not finish the courses. Over packed classes reminds me of college. Usually the classes are packed to standing room only at the start but within a few weeks the excess thins. By the end of the semester you only have a fraction of the class remaining.