We do not have enough Chicano / a thinkers out there. We need to have people that will speak up for us. We need critical thinkers who will speak about Aztlan, the United States, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, all of Latin America and the world in general.

We need people who aren’t afraid to speak the truth. People who don’t have to worry about jeopardizing their jobs or positions. We need people who don’t have to worry about their next election or political career.

Although we have had a few of these before, we have no national or statewide spokespeople. We have some national and statewide organizations, but they have to worry about their board of directors and their corporate sponsors to take tough stands.

If not we will be like the blacks in South Africa years ago, many people, but no voice or vote.

I realize that I will probably write more about what is going on right now than what has already happened. If I had written the book 5, or 10 years ago, it would be different. I would have used different reflections. Similarly if I waited 5, or 10 more years it would be different. In other words, I am writing about what I am experiencing, hearing, thinking, feeling, and reading about now. This is who I am and what I will write about.

I read recently that there are more Latinos in the US than there are Canadians in Canada Also, I once heard Arsenio Hall addressing other blacks on TV. He said, “We have to love ourselves even if no one else does”. And I agree with him about us loving ourselves, all of our community.

Let us both, you and I, take this incredible journey together and see where it takes us

With all of my heart les ofresco estas palabras y pensamientos. It has been a labor of love.