Galeria La Sirena, at 2905 E. Broadway will be hosting a meet & greet event on October 5 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. with Mirian Masaquiza, a Salasaca indigenous person from Ecuador.

Mirian is currently First Secretary of the Permanent Mission of Ecuador to the U.N. and will be the key note luncheon speaker for the National Law Center for Inter-American Free Trade, a non-profit research and educational institution affiliated with the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona. Mirian will be speaking at 6 p.m.at the gallery about what the U.N. is doing in the field of indigenous peoples’ and women’s education.

Her father Rudy is a tapestry maker and his lovely art work will also be on display at the gallery.

one of Rudy Masaquiza's tapestries

The National Law Center for Inter-American Free Trade is “dedicated to developing the legal infrastructure to build trade capacity and promote economic development in the Americas. The Center was founded in 1992 and has worked closely with the public and private sectors on legal reform and development of best business practices in a number of substantive areas, including (but not limited to) the following: alternative dispute resolution, banking, bankruptcy, business formation and associations, competition law and policy, customs, electronic commerce, environment, family law, intellectual property, investment securities, judicial reform and training, labor, products liability, real estate, securitization, secured transactions and transportation.”

Refreshments will be appetizers based on native Tohono O’odham traditional foods.

For more information call Sherry Teachnor, Esq., proprietor of Galeria La Sirena at 319-1262.
This unique gallery (which features Latin and Caribbean art) is west of Country Club, on the north side of Broadway.

Another event at this gallery will an art opening on October 17, 5 to 7:30 p.m. of the work of Peruvian artist Chunga, and an annual tribute to Dia de los Muertos.

Can we truly unlearn racism if we were taught that as young people? It seems common knowledge that we human beings are taught the differences between ourselves and another culture, tribe, group, community, nationality, etc. This is our identity. And sometimes instead of appreciating and embracing that other person or group, we could be taught even as very young children, to hate “the Other” based on appearances, without any rational reason.

The YWCA of Tucson has an excellent Racial Justice project, including ongoing Time to Talk forums, Understanding Racism Community Education, Racial Justice Youth programs, and an Anti-racism and Diversity Resource Directory. They have been conducting these workshops in Tucson for decades, in their attempt to carry on their mission: “to create opportunities for women’s growth, leadership and power, and the elimination of racism wherever it exists.”

The Unversity of Arizona has Social Justice Programs which “supports, advocates, and educates the University of Arizona and greater community in the areas of inequality and social injustices found in our society. We look at what we can learn from the distribution of power, privilege, and oppression. Our mission is to create a socially conscious campus.” They are sponsoring several upcoming films and workshops on rights for LGBT, women, disabled, racial minorities, etc. A workshop on Power & Privilege is being held today from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in room 404 of the Student Union.

Growing up in multi-cultural Hawaii, I was not immune from racism/hatred directed against some white people (the Hawaiian term is “haoles”), or even the single bi-racial black/white family in our rural sugar plantation community. I heard the heckling and animosity directed against these individuals, and I knew in my heart that it was wrong.

My own mother (second generation Japanese American, a U.S. Citizen born in the Trust Territory of Hawaii) instructed me as a teenager not to ever date Black men. And I heard her still say that same statement to my son when he attained his dating age as well. She unfortunately must have learned this prejudice from her parents who had immigrated from Japan.

I skeptically listened to my mother out of filial respect for her, but when I went to college I met more people of all races at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. It was there that I realized that my mother was wrong to make such a blanket statement against blacks.

I unlearned the racism that was taught to me as I realized when I grew into adulthood that there were no reasons to hate someone based on their skin color, or any other criteria for that matter (i. e. gender, religion, nationality, sexual orientation). I think that people can be taught to realize the prejudices they have learned as they grew up, and then consciously undo this teaching and embrace diversity.

These two programs at the YWCA and the U of A are there to enable social change to occur in our community, even after decades of racism.

And thanks to “Blogbits”- Steven Smith for his 9/1/09 blog “No One is Born Prejudiced“

So said Rebecca Ruopp, a City of Tucson employee in the Dept. of Housing and Community Development, in starting off the first Community Key Services Dialogue tonight at the Northwest Neighborhood Center. 7 more meetings in the 6 city wards will be held in October to get feedback from city residents on several questions: 1) what do you like about Tucson and 2) what would you most like to see improved about Tucson?

7 tables of about 10 residents dialogued with each other and a facilitator in answering these initial questions, followed by brief welcomes from Councilmember Karin Uhlich and City Manager Mike Letcher. A budget analysis disclosed that the discussion tonight was to concentrate on the 32% of discretionary funds of the City’s budget.

Then the same tables were asked these questions: 1) What City services do you use? 2) What City services would you maintain or cut, and why? 3) What new resources, revenues or efficiencies should be pursued by the City? 4) What services should the City invest in for our community’s future?

I recognized several activists present at the meeting: John Kromko, Tres English, Dick Bayse, Judith Anderson (Pro Neighborhoods), Jim Murphy (PCOA), and Ben Buehler-Garcia, candidate for Ward 3 Council seat. About 15 City staffers (including TPD officers) were available as resource persons.

No consensus was reached or vote was taken in answering these questions, but records of each table’s discussion with lots of creative, varied responses will be collated and put onto the City website at: www.tucsonaz.gov/dialogues. I question whether these comments won’t just be a compilation of anecdotal responses from all 8 dialogues/ meetings, without any clear mandate from the participants. Let’s wait and see since the website says that the goal of this process is “working together to set city budget priorities”.

The calendar for the upcoming meetings are listed in my previous blog and by clicking on the link above. The next meeting will be on Sat. 10/3 at El Pueblo Neighborhood Center, 9 to 11 a.m. Questions/comments can be directed by email to dialogues@tucsonaz.gov, or by calling 520-791-4204.