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CONTENTS FEATURES 2 Levantando La Voz 4 The Question of Impeachment 8 The Demise of Jim Crow 14 One Hundred Years Of Turpitude 15 Coming of Age in Texas 17 Women and War 19 Visions of Houston Louis Dubose Dave Denison David Montejano Louis Dubose Ann Vliet Martha Boethel David Theis DEPARTMENTS 5 Dialogue 20 Political Intelligence 22 Social Cause Calendar Afterword: 22 On Trial in Nevada Lawrence Egbert Cisneros enumerates issue after issue and for each issue he insists “there’s enough.” Cisneros speaks with Jesse Jackson’s sense of timing and feel for the crowd. “There’s enough wealth in this state to educate our children,” Cisneros shouts above the microphone. “The next ten days will decide whether we go forward or backward. And we’ve got to go forward for the little children.” Even his critics are convinced. Then the crowd divides into the smaller Interfaith organizations, settles in under the pecans and oaks with local representatives before moving on to the capitol with their lists of legislators’ office numbers. All of this, an entire afternoon, is executed with the same precision by which IAF leadership and staff executes its legislative agenda. Nothing just happens. Interfaith staff and leadership seem omniscient, lining up speakers, watching the clock, recognizing legislators deserving recognition. It is evident that if this special session utterly fails them, there will be another day, another pilgrimage, another legislature. “They will tell you, “our best hope for social justice.” TWO WEEKS BEFORE Interfaith came to Austin, the nation’s largest Hispanic group convened in Corpus Christi. All seven Democratic presidential candidates and Republican Jack Kemp spoke to the 3,000 attending the League of United Latin American Citizens’ national convention. What all of this was about is what Jose Angel Gutierrez once described as the “coloring of America.” Jesse Jackson is waiting for the coloring of America: “We might not win next year,” Jackson said in Corpus Christi. “But there’s not only next year, there’s 1990 when the census will be taken, then 1991 when legislative district lines are redrawn. . .” And Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis is talking about the coloring of America. “Una faccia, una razza” Dukakis said one race and I have a feeling that Hispanics, and Mediterraneans, are on the rise in America.” Bruce Babbit, the former Arizona governor who responded in fluent Spanish to the questions of reporters from the Los Angeles daily La Opinion understands the demographic equation: “A Democrat can’t win without winning Texas and you can’t win in Texas without the Hispanic vote.” Every candidate, it seems, is after the imprimatur of the American Hispanic. But Jack Kemp? How very much like Bill Clements did Kemp sound when he told an applauding LULAC audience: “The economists say people are undertaxed. Ladies and gentlemen, I would rather listen to the first 2,000 names in the Corpus Christi phone book [46 percent Hispanic] than the Council of Economic advisors who tell us we’re does Kemp sound when he says: “I’m against high taxes and bureaucratic tax forms and I intend to make the no-tax-increase a central issue in 1988. . .” and “We can not turn our backs on a courageous democrat like Jose Napolean Duarte.” \(Kemp also sounds like Reagan when he says things like: “My friends, “We can be pro-English and pro-Hispanic at the same time,” Kemp insisted. But no. You can’t have it both ways. And neither can LULAC. They can not rail against Reagan and Clements, then elect a conservative Republican like Oscar Moran to lead their organization. Their leadership can’t hold an audience captive for Congressman Jack Kemp then dismiss it and leave when Agriculture Commissioner Jim Hightower steps to the podium. And they can’t stop farmworkers in the convention exhibition hall from explaining their table-grape and H.E.B. boycotts only because H.E.B. is a LULAC corporate sponsor. In a section of his book that is not included here, David Montejano observes that LULAC and the IAF organizations both benefited from leadership skills developed in the farmworkers’ and Raza Unida organizations. And LULAC, though always a middle class and assimilationist organization, played an important part in the demise of Jim Crow, particularly in Texas. But to be relevant again, even in the twilight of the Age of Reagan, they will have to abandon their Mugwump Mejicanismo . Ya basta! . The nation’s largest Hispanic organization needs new leadership and a unified agenda. L.D. A Departure After a year and a half with us, our layout artist Valerie Fowler has decided to spend more of her time and energy on her art career in Houston. We are sorry to lose her. Valerie has been more than just a reliable and talented staff member she has been one of. the rare workers who has been unflappable in the face of our unpredictable and idiosyncratic production schedule. We will miss her serenity and humor as well as her capable skills. We expect to introduce our long-planned design changes this fall. Patrick Flynn, the highly regarded art director of The Progressive magazine, has agreed to work on the Observer facelift. Consequently, we are now looking for a new production-and-layout staffer who will be able to work with Flynn’s design. We are looking for someone with experience in this field who will be able to give us a day every two weeks and who won’t be shocked by Observer wages. Interested persons should give us a call THE TEXAS OBSERVER 3