Griego: Latino gathering vows to foster 'Summer of Peace'

Published April 9, 2007 at midnight

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It was not by accident that Friday's gathering on Latinos and gang violence took place at Escuela Tlatelolco. The school was born of the Chicano movement and the Crusade for Justice, and it still symbolizes a time of awakening. As such, it is a touchstone when one is sorely needed.

About 80 percent of the city's gang members are Latino, said the meeting organizer, Cisco Gallardo, who is a former gang member himself. I've never been able to get police to confirm that number and had no luck at the meeting, either, though gang unit Lt. Ken Chavez spoke for many when he told the group he was tired of seeing the bodies of dead youth, whether they be Latino or not.

"I'm tired of seeing sangre en la calle," he said. "I'm tired of seeing blood in the streets."

Whatever the percentage, we know it is too high and, in the end, I don't suppose exact numbers matter much to the families of Gilbert Garcia or Dominic Gonzales, both of whom were killed in gang violence this year.

What's happening daily in the poorer parts of this city, in the graffiti-marred neighborhoods where mothers are afraid to open the door is unacceptable. It's not just the violence, which is tragic enough; it is the missed opportunities, the lost potential of so many young people, who are drifting toward the streets or who have been claimed by them already.

Dismiss this as the bleeding of a liberal heart if you'd like, but then go out and talk to the kids at YouthBiz, talk to some of Gerardo Munoz's students at the Contemporary Learning Academy and try denying their intelligence and creativity, their hunger for something better.

What might help keep young people out of gangs, the adults ask a teenage girl at the meeting. And she answers so simply it is heartbreaking: a chance to shadow professionals at their jobs because most of us come from poor communities, and we don't get out.

The meeting was led by Gallardo, a charismatic 35-year-old, who graduated from Escuela Tlatelolco and is now director of the Gang Rescue and Support Project. Gallardo has been something of a John the Baptist on the matter of gang violence in the Latino community, a voice in the wilderness. He is not accustomed to being heard by the larger Latino community, and he said he was stunned when this time nearly 100 people, clergy, teachers, their students, social workers, case workers, cops and others answered his call.

"Apathy is the No. 1 enemy," Gallardo told the group.

And he's right.

He was equally on target when he said: "This is a problem that affects our community, and we need to take responsibility."

That point was made repeatedly in voices both sorrowful and determined. It was the most striking and most heartening theme of the meeting.

"Cisco is right," said school Principal Nita Gonzales, daughter of school founder and Crusade leader Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales. "We have been asleep at the wheel."

Her brother, Rudy Gonzales, added: "If you leave it up to the government, it's not going to get done. It has to come from the grassroots. It has to come from the community. It has to come from ourselves."

So, what's to be done? There were pledges to put aside the turf wars and the political feuds that have divided the Latino community, to be better role models, to reach out to youth in both faith- and culturally based programs, to try to bridge the gap between American-born and foreign-born Hispanics, to demand the city waive recreation fees for youth, to provide more parent education.

"Say 'no,' " Nita Gonzales said. "Say 'no' you can't go out. Say 'no' you can't have a car. Say 'no' you can't watch TV. Say 'no' you can't play video games. . . . You can say 'no.' You are the parent."

Students at the meeting asked for more after-school and weekend programs, for mentors, for more parent involvement in the schools and a better relationship with police.

All these ideas were applauded, but a spirit of impatience seized the room, and there were vigorous nods when Van Lucero, a Boy Scouts field director said: "We need to do something. Now."

He's right, Lt. Chavez said, we just went through a winter of violence; do we want another summer of violence?

Which is how the idea for the Summer of Peace came up. It would call for a truce between gangs, for a campaign to stop gang violence. It's a great idea, a public demonstration of resolve. The sooner, the better.

A teenage boy was sitting across from me during the meeting, and as the adults talked about what the Summer of Peace campaign might look like, he muttered to the man next to him: "How is there going to be peace? There's too much beef. They just killed my friend Gilbert."

Time is short. As more than one person at the meeting noted, school is out in fewer than 60 days.

griegot@RockyMountainNews.com

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