In my recent book, Against the American Grain, I wrote about how cultural resistance -aside from political action- needs to occur whenever the dominating forces of industry, governance, or media oppress or suppress the very people most in need.
I don’t know why anyone might be interested in cultural resistance at this moment in history –just kidding!– but let’s not forget that we can stand on the shoulders of those “Davids” that repelled Goliaths in the past. The charismatic characters I chose to profile in the book had little or no backup support, little or no training in social change, and virtually no financial support, but they overcame daunting imbalances to make the Americas a more diverse, just, equitable and enriching place in which to live.
We need to know their stories more than ever, and let them be our moral, ethical and spiritual guides to a healthier society, one not so terribly divided but united while still diverse.
Let us now praise Estevanico el Moro, Captain Tuerto, Maria de Agreda, Salvador Palma, Juan de Banderas, Coyote Iguana, Teresita de Cabora, Joaquin Murrieta, Alfredo Acosta Figueroa, Cajeme, Carlos Moctezuma, Wovoka, Fred Ross, Sr., Woodie Guthrie, Tim Z. Hernandez, Lalo Guererro, Luis and Danny Lopez, Doc Ricketts and John Steinbeck, John Fife and Jim Corbett, Reies Lopez Tijerina, Dolores Huerta, Cesar Chavez, Luis and Danny Valdez, Anselmo Valencia Tori, Vernon Masayesva, Devon Pena, Maria Varela, Antonio and Molly Manzanares, Jim Enote, Ernie Atencio, Octaviana Trujillo, Robert Valencia, Mona Polacca, Lorrain Eiler and Tracy Taft along with the many others who shine the light on justice in the borderlands through their peaceful acts of resistance.
They are my heroes, and they should be role models for all of us during these uncertain TOPSY-TURVY times!
