UMN to Latinos: "Thanks For Voting Obama"
I had the best
flan that I’ve ever had last night. It had two distinct layers – one thick and
creamy and another light and eggy – with a miraculous caramel swirl on top. Let’s
hope the Union of Minority Neighborhoods (UMN) has more receptions in the near
future; I can go for freshly smashed guacamole and accompanying sweets more
often.
Of course, there
won’t be too many occasions like this. The UMN threw the informal cocktail
party “to thank the Latino community for its overwhelming support of Barack
Obama.” That’s right; for those who are unfamiliar with the urban sociopolitical
landscape, subgroups of cyclically oppressed non-white folks are historically
unwilling to unite for the common good.
Due to stubborn
religious intolerance and the Cuban Missile Crisis, many Latinos regularly vote
Republican – an abhorrent trend that it looks like Obama might have dented.
Without pandering or condescending (like I will), UMN Executive Director Horace
Small simply wanted to thank other minorities who pulled for his guy. “Your
schools suck, and so do ours,” reminded Small.
Though people
weren’t shy to crack Heinekens and enjoy themselves, this was no celebratory
gloat session. With Question 1 denied and Obama in the White House, UMN workers
are already hard at work on issues such as CORI reform that rode the bench during
election season. Also be on the lookout for more blacks and Latinos running for
public office across Massachusetts;
local NAACP organizer Michael A. Curry is plotting a statewide recruitment drive.
The most popular
person in the room was state senator-elect Sonia Chang-Diaz. Following a regrettable
race in which some of her opponent’s allies questioned her ethnicity and in
some cases even rejected her after their candidate was bagged by FBI officers, the
Second Suffolk’s legislative rookie is understandably anxious to forge ties
with groups that set minority agendas.
It’s no secret
that Chang-Diaz has a boulder-riddled road ahead, and her constituents are up
front about demands. That said; considering the sentiments of both those who
did and those who did not support her against Dianne Wilkerson, there won’t be
hard feelings so long as Chang-Diaz fights for communities that are regrettably
underrepresented at the Statehouse.
Make no mistake:
a lot of white people – both those who are ruthlessly bigoted and those who
just don’t like their daughters dating black and Latin dudes – will do
everything they can to prevent minority power structures from blossoming. But
if more people of color are given the opportunity to bond over delectably
toothsome homemade flan, then I’m certain that they can upset racist agendas
and unbalanced Caucasian dominance on Beacon Hill
and beyond.