From Ground Zero: In Lak Ech and A Love Message to the World

In lak' Ech

Tú eres mi otro yo.
Si te hago daño a ti
Me hago daño a mí mismo.
Sí te amo y respeto,
Me amo y respeto yo.
You are my other me.
If I do harm to you,
I do harm to myself.
If I love and respect you,
I love and respect myself.
Raza Studies-TUSD

* In Lak' Ech is Beyond Human Relations.
It is also about relations with all life,
and our relation to the earth and universe.

If we poison the earth, we poison ourselves.
If we pollute the waters, we pollute our bodies.
If we contaminate the earth; we contaminate our food and life itself.

If we take care of the earth; the earth will take care of us.
If we love the earth; we love ourselves.
If we respect the earth; we live.


If we love ourselves, we will take care of ourselves.
If we love humanity, we will not hate.
If we protect our sacred mother, we live.
If we understand our role in the universe, we create.


* The beauty of In Lak' Ech is that it is not taught by itself.
It's companion ethos is Panche Be


Panche Be
To seek the root of the truth – buscar la raiz de la verdad.
(Martinez Paredez 1970). To find the truth in the root(s)

Panche Be – a pursuit and a lifelong journey.

Panche Be – a way of life.

Never satisfied with official truths, official histories or official narratives.

Never complacent.

Always in relentless pursuit of that which is hidden or obfuscated.

Always in pursuit of peace and dignity… and justice.

* In academic parlance, this translates to both critical thinking and social justice.

Panche Be
is inextricably linked with the pursuit of truth, equality and justice.

It is to speak out against racial supremacy, against apartheid, the dehumanization of migrants, the criminalization of youths and against the relegation of women to permanent subservience.

It is youths and a community running from Tucson-Phoenix in 115-degree heat in 2009 to fight against the state’s attempt to eliminate Raza Studies.

It is more than 150,000 protesting racial profiling in Arizona in 2010. It is youths taking over the TUSD school board on April 26 2011. It is a community not backing off with more than 100 riot-equipped officers at the May 3, 2011 school board meeting; It is seven women getting arrested for daring to speak at the very same meeting. And it is young Chicana students with fists in air and shirts reading: You can silence our voices, but never our spirits.

It is the same message of 2006.

In Lak Ech and Panche Be.

It is the story of the battle over Mexican American Studies
It is a defense, not simply of a department
or even a discipline, but of a worldview.

Thanx to the world for supporting this courageous battle.

THANX SPECIFICALLY TO UNIDOS, SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EDUCATION PROJECT AND TO ALL THE MECHAS THROUGH THE YEARS THAT CONTINUE TO DEFEND THE RIGHT TO CULTURE, HISTORY, IDENTITY, LANGUAGE AND EDUCATION

Dr. Cintli
XColumn@gmail.com
Tlamanalca (Tucson), Abya Yalla
Feb 14, 2012