Worthington
09/18/2007
WorthingtonI am sorry to say that my community of Worthington made the Minneapolis Tribune again. The topic was the same as before, racism. Below is an article that explains what happened. I am the lone white woman mentioned in the story. Following the article is a statement from Roberto Ramirez. I am proud to say that Roberto is the affirmative action officer for our Senate District.
- Deb Hogenson
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Worthington complaints: About music, or Hispanics?
The music at a heritage celebration was shut down by police, prompting a senator to raise the issue of racial bias.
By Bob Von Sternberg
Star Tribune
September 17, 2007
When about 600 Hispanic residents of Worthington gathered in a city park Sunday to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, the musical portion of their bash was abruptly shut down by police, who cited neighbors' complaints.
The neighbors' reaction, along with the general level of acceptance of Hispanics in the historically white town, "was one of the saddest things I've ever seen," said Sen. Patricia Torres Ray, DFL-Minneapolis, who had driven to Worthington to take part in the festival.
"Yesterday I found myself in a town so segregated it looks like apartheid in South Africa," said Torres Ray, the state's highest-ranking Hispanic official. "It's not what the officer did -- he did what he was charged to do. But it said you are not welcomed here. You're not welcome to celebrate your heritage."
Worthington city officials said they didn't believe the complaints stemmed from racism, but were an honest reaction to amplified music in a residential neighborhood.
"I can't control people's perceptions, but we try not to treat anyone different," Police Chief Mike Cumiskey said Monday after meeting with some festival organizers who were protesting at City Hall over what happened Sunday. "We can't control who calls the police, but with more than 15 calls, only one caller even mentioned 'Mexican music.'"
Volume went down, then off
Even after organizers turned down the volume of the amplified music at a bandshell in the park, the complaints continued, so officers asked them to shut down the music, which they did, Cumiskey said. No arrests were made.
"People in the community were just trying to have a good time," said Roberto Ramirez, one of the festival organizers. "We want them to know we have rights, too, like everybody else in this city."
Hispanic migration over the past few decades has transformed the city, which now counts Hispanics as more than a third of its residents. Many work in the city's Swift and Co. meatpacking plant.
"It's as if white people are saying it's OK for people to be in the plant, but nowhere else," Torres Ray said. "That's your place, not the school, not the park, not celebrating your heritage."
She said she was disheartened by the almost total lack of ethnic intermingling she saw Sunday afternoon. "I can't tell you how depressed I was," she said. "All these Hispanic families, and one white woman among them. That's not the Minnesota we know."
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Last Sunday the Hispanic community of Nobles County gathered to commemorate the day the peoples of Latin America began their struggle for independence. Influenced by the concepts of liberty, equality and democracy exemplified in United States' war for independence, my ancestors fought for freedom. Their sacrifices are worthy of my respect and remembrance. The love of liberty is one of the many things ancestors of my blood have in common with the founders of our nation, who are the ancestors of my heart. It is ironic that a festival marking the day Latin American people threw off colonial oppression was also the day were we reminded that even in America justice and equality are not always granted to people of color.
Shortly after slavery was abolished the leaders of our nation determined that the promise of liberty and justice must be available to all, regardless of color or nation of origin. They believed the United States should be a nation where no government body, federal, state, or local, should treat one class of people as better or less than another. They passed the 14th amendment to our Constitution to ensure that governments can not deny to any person equal protection of the law.
Last Sunday the Latino people of Worthington gathered at Chautauqua Park with our elders and with our children to remember the sacrifices of our ancestors in their fight for freedom and to honor the many Latinos who continue the fight for freedom in the United States armed services. We gathered to celebrate our heritage and our hopes for the future. Our festival was similar to many other festivals in Worthington. We had food, we had an inspiring speaker, and we had music. It was not unlike Worthington's International Festival, Regatta, or Turkey Day. Yet, only our festival was ended by the police.
Because we are a peaceful people we ended our festival and left the park. But we left hurt and angry. We knew we were being treated differently than our Anglo-American brothers and sisters, and we wondered aloud if the policemen who ordered our families from the park understood the irony of ordering an end to a celebration of the greatest of American values: liberty.
The Latino people of Worthington ask the City Council of Worthington to consider amending the city ordinance regarding noise. Either the ordinance must be enforced at all times, or it must be revised to recognize that there are times when the ordinance should not apply. We believe it would be in everyone's best interest to resolve the issue of inequality of enforcement before the county fair grandstand shows or car races, the outdoor music of the Regatta, the outdoor music of International Festival, or the city band concerts in Chautauqua Park.
We also ask the city of Worthington to reimburse the Nobles County Hispanic Community board $800 to cover our contractual obligation to the band whose music we were not allowed to enjoy.
The two actions of amending the city ordinances and reimbursing our community for our losses will allow the hurt experienced by the Hispanic community to heal. We look forward to planning our second annual festival for 2008 and we invite all the people of Worthington and surrounding communities to join us!
- Roberto Ramirez