May 8, 2001
From Hal Netkin
To: President, NCLA (National Council of La Raza)
Attention: Raul Yzaguirre
Dear Mr. Yzaguirre
As a Jew, I commend you for your statement in your message below.
As an American, I would like to know where NCLR stands on the national organization called MEChA. As an Jewish American Anglo of European ancestry, I find it offensive that in their El Plan de Aztlan manifesto, they are bigoted against Anglos and Europeans. Here are two excerpts from that manifesto that I find offensive: "In the spirit of a new people that is conscious not only of its proud historical heritage but also of the brutal "gringo" invasion of our territories." and "Aztlan belongs to those who plant the seeds, water the fields, and gather the crops and not to the foreign Europeans."
Will you state unequivocally as you did below, that you repudiate MEChA?
Hal Netkin
NO ANSWER TO DATE
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May 7, 2001
STATEMENT OF RAUL YZAGUIRRE, NCLR PRESIDENT ON LA VOZ DE AZTLAN
Washington, DC - Recently the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) became aware of a website and other information that is being circulated on the Internet by La Voz de Aztlan. The phrases the site frequently uses, "La Raza de Aztlan" or "La Raza," are generic terms that many use to refer to Mexican American people in this country. NCLR has no connection whatsoever to the website or its sponsoring group.
I am issuing this somewhat unusual statement because, after a cursory review of the website, I found it to be full of reprehensible and bigoted references toward a number of communities - in particular, to the Jewish American community. No responsible Latino organization or leader of my acquaintance agrees with the misinformation being dispensed on the site, nor do I know of any who concur with the grotesque stereotypes that appear in many of its alleged "articles." This site purports to be an "advocacy clearinghouse" for the Mexican American community, but it is anything but that. Its rhetoric is completely antithetical to anyone truly committed to civil rights for all in this nation - it not only disparages Jews, it is full of ugly and snide references to gays and lesbians. Moreover, it attacks the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), a major Hispanic civil rights organization, apparently because some of its staff have chosen to marry people of other faiths.
These manifestations of hate, intolerance, and bigotry should be condemned by all Americans, especially when carried out in the name of fighting discrimination and oppression against our community. All Americans of conscience should know that this site is the work of a tiny, fringe group and does not reflect the opinions and feelings of the overwhelming majority of Latinos in this country.
