Workshop Panelist at Upcoming Conference on Democracy and Direct Action

by Efrén Paredes, Jr.

November 6-7, 2009 the Xicano Development Center will be hosting the Conference on Democracy and Direct Action. Day One of the conference will be held at East Lansing High School. Day Two of the conference will be held at Michigan State University.

I will be participating as a panelist of a workshop via phone on Nov. 7 along with other Xicana/o community leaders. We will be discussing my campaign for freedom, the anatomy of effective networking, and the value of Xicano prison programs.

People from across the nation will be presenting at the conference about a variety of important issues including the arts and activism, building solidarity across color lines, indigenous border issues, and other subjects.

The keynote speaker at the conference will be Ward Churchill. Churchill is a prolific American Indian scholar/activist, Ward Churchill is a founding member of the Rainbow Council of Elders, and longtime member of the leadership council of the American Indian Movement of Colorado.

Churchill has written over 20 books and is the former Chair of the University of Colorado/Boulder Ethnic Studies Department, where, until July 2007, he was a tenured Professor of American Indian Studies and where he received numerous awards for his teaching, scholarship and service. Professor Churchill is currently suing the University of Colorado for violating his First Amendment rights by firing him in retaliation for his observations on 9/11 and his exercise of his First Amendment-protected speech and in violation of the doctrine of Academic Freedom.

Also appearing at the conference will be New York Hip Hop group Rebel Diaz. Rebel Diaz came together at a critical moment in U.S. history. In early 2006, as Latinos throughout America found themselves under attack with anti-immigration laws, Rebel Diaz was in the streets of The Bronx, New York, organizing the community to fight against proposed racist legislation. Rebel Diaz performed in front of hundreds of thousands of people in massive protests from Chicago to Washington, D.C.

Using the power of hope and the struggles of the past as inspiration, these sons and daughters of revolutionaries express their wishes and demands for a just and compassionate world. In the streets of every ghetto across the world, one can hear the sound of people fed up with poverty and second-class citizenship. Rebel Diaz arises from these conditions to fan flames of change through songs that inspire, educate, and celebrate life.

I am looking forward to sharing my knowledge and experience about the subjects I will be discussing, and using the opportunity to dispel some of the myths that exist about prisons and those who its walls hold captive. It will be a rewarding and transformative experience for all who attend and aspire to foster a liberating consciousness.

Efrén Will Participate in 2009 Feminism(s) & Rhetoric(s) Conference Workshop Panel

Saturday, October 10, 2009, a workshop about women advocates of incarcerated men and women will be conducted at the 2009 Feminism(s) and Rhetoric(s) Conference which will be held at Michigan State University (MSU).

The conference is sponsored by the Coalition of Women Scholars in the History of Rhetoric & Composition and hosted by the Rhetoric & Writing program at MSU. The conference will take place October 7-10, 2009. The theme for this year's conference is "Enabling Complexities: Communities/Writing/Rhetoric".

According to the conference web site, "So our aim in organizing FemRhet 2009 has been to bring together the unique breadth and diversity of our experiences as scholars, teachers, and community members in order focus on the complex knowledge work that we do together."

They add, "In bringing the conference theme—Enabling Complexities—to life, we believe that we have created a conference that both examines the knowledge work we already do as scholars and community activists and that creates more space for the complicated, difficult work that must follow if we want to adequately reflect the deep structure of connections/intersections/overlaps that are critical to our shared future."

Workshop panelists will include Efrén'smother, Velia Koppenhoefer, a Xicana community leader and MSU graduate student, and a former Michigan prisoner who was incarcerated 29 years and served as an advocate for women. Efrén will also be joining the panel via phone to offer his insight from the perspective of an incarcerated male.

There will also be discussion about the global campaign to free Efrén, and an update about the status of The Injustice Must End (TIME) Committee's petition to Gov. Granholm asking her to grant Efrén's commutation request seeking his release.

Response to Week-Long Article Series in The South Bend Tribune

For the past six days The South Bend Tribune ran a series of articles about Efrén's case. Below are links to each of the articles for your review.

• September 27, 2009 - A fateful workday ends in grisly murder in St. Joseph Township
• September 28, 2009 - Manager's murder was St. Joseph Township's first in more than a decade
• September 29, 2009 - Teen's stories about night of St. Joseph Township murder vary
• September 30, 2009 - Fight for Freedom: Family insists on Efren Paredes' innocence
• October 1, 2009 - Fight for Freedom: Prosecutors say case against Paredes solid
• October 2, 2009 - Paredes makes case to commute sentence

It appears the author attempted to provide balanced reporting in the series. With the exception of referring to Efrén as a "friend" of Eric and Alex Mui, Steve Miller and Jason Williamson, the remainder of the articles were accurate for the most part.

One thing we want to make clear is that Efrén was not friends with the above-named youths. They were students he knew from school. Even they denied being Efrén's friend. Steve Miller also denied liking Efrén in a statement to police.

The article series demonstrated that there exists clear evidence of problems with Efrén's case and the undeniable fact that he did not receive a fair trial. It did not bring out every piece of evidence which would have increased awareness about other aspects of the case, however, the purpose of the series was obviously not to exonerate Efrén.

Each day a number of comments were made in response to the online version of each article. Some were positive, others were negative, hate-filled and incendiary. Some of the victim's supporters even called for Efrén's execution.

Efrén and our family are committed to not speaking negatively about the Tetzlaff family (i.e., the victims in this case). We will not be a party to dialogue that causes them any further pain. Instead, we will continue to pray for their healing.

We have publicly expressed our condolences to the Tetzlaff family for their tragic loss. We have also always been open to sitting down with their family in an effort to discuss the case and share evidence and information with them in our possession which supports Efrén's innocence. They deserve to know about it more than anyone else.

Our invitation remains open. We are willing to meet with the Tetzlaff family with clergy or in any place of worship to discuss the case, or to help our families and the community find ways to heal. Civil discourse is essential to both families.

Harboring anger or hatred towards Efrén is not going to bring anyone closure, and listening to the inflammatory remarks of outsiders will only serve to further polarize us. If everyone can put their egos to the side for a moment, be open to peace and reconciliation, and put God first we are convinced progress can be made.

Those serious about working to help both the Tetzlaff family and our family truly begin the healing process can contact us via phone at 269-849-9056 or via e-mail. We ask everyone to please keep both of our families in your prayers.

On Behalf of the Family of
Efrén Paredes, Jr.

Velia Koppenhoefer

________________

* We invite people to click here to read a detailed account of what actually occurred in Efrén's case which was prepared by The Injustice Must End (TIME) Committee to Free Efrén Paredes, Jr.

Raising Funds for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer and Fifth Grade Classroom

by Efrén Paredes, Jr.

The past week has been challenging. It seems like I haven't had a moment's rest.

Having to prepare assignments for my University of Michigan weekly creative writing workshop, working on various social justice campaigns, raising funds for the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer campaign and funds to help a Detroit fifth grade classroom purchase a new laptop and printer, have all been mentally taxing and time-consuming.

This Saturday, October 3, 2009 I will walk in the American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk at the G. Robert Cotton Facility at 1 PM along with other prisoners who helped raise money for the campaign. In all we raised $1,046. That's a lot of money considering prison work assignment pay prisoners less than $50 per month on average.

I am pretty excited about my contribution to help purchase the laptop and printer for the Detroit elementary school classroom. I know the children who will benefit from it will be very grateful. Their school district could not afford these items, so the teacher was compelled to independently raise funds to acquire them. The teacher will use the laptop and printer as tools to teach ESL students how to make comic books.

According to the teacher, ""Making comic books can inspire an emerging ESL learner to spread his or hers artistic wings. They will learn to construct and understand the structure of the English language at their own pace. Reading aloud published work will instill a confidence to teach themselves to self correct their own grammatical errors."

She added, "Constructing comic books is a great role model for demonstrating parts of a story, defining characters, recognize setting, and coming up with some crazy plots and far-out solutions. Showing my students what the power of words can do for written text helps them develop an incredible eye for detail on their own writing. After a few months my shy students are no longer shy but are then replaced with imaginative artist and engaging authors."

The money I helped raise will be used to assist finding a cure and prevention to breast cancer, and also empower the lives of young people in school. I hope that it will also inspire others to help people in need. All our lives are enriched when we make even one contribution to helping make the world a better place.

Ending the Xicana/Latina Drop-Out Crisis

by Efrén Paredes, Jr.

Yesterday many schools opened across the nation to commence the new school year. For many it will mark new aspirations, for others it will signal the painful reality of dreams deferred and evaporating hopes.

August 27, 2009 a new report titled, "Listening to Latinas: Barriers to High School Graduation," was released by the National Women’s Law Center and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF).

According to the report, "Latinas are dropping out of school in alarming numbers. Forty-one percent of Latina students do not graduate with their class in four years—if they graduate at all. Many Latina students face challenges related to poverty, immigration status, limited English proficiency, and damaging gender and ethnic stereotypes. And the high teen pregnancy rate for Latinas (53% by the age of 20) reflects and reinforces the barriers they face."

The gravity of this disturbing reality is exacerbated by the fact that 80% of the students surveyed want to graduate from college and perhaps go further, and 98% reported they want to graduate from high school. One-third of the girls who were surveyed do not expect to achieve their educational goals.

To help combat the factors that are contributing to the drop-out rate of Xicana/Latina high school students and bring attention to this issue, I asked members of The Injustice Must End (TIME) Committee to Free Efrén Paredes, Jr. to create a Facebook group on my behalf named, "I Pledge to Help Xicanas/Latinas Graduate."

With over 250 million Facebook users, according to Nielsen NetView, I felt it would be a great way to connect people who are serious about ending this cycle and offer them a platform to share ideas, resources, programs, and information about ways to accomplish this.

In just 11 days the group has reached 1,300 members and continues to grow each day. This is an indication that people are serious about wanting to end this crisis. Several people have expressed interest in the group and gratitude for conceptualizing the group's creation. People are already networking and sharing important information.

One group of students at Michigan State University is currently creating a mentoring group for Xicana/Latina students in the Lansing area. I recently spoke to the students and offered to help them in any way I can, including helping develop a workshop or offering relevant educational materials they can utilize.

Several students at various universities have also asked to publish my poem "The Wise Latina" in campus newspapers and feature it on their web site. I have granted permission for all of them to do it and have been grateful for the interest it has generated nationally.

I invite everyone to read "Listening to Latinas: Barriers to High School Graduation" and share it with other parents, educators, clergy, community leaders, and others who can help contribute to the campaign to help Xicanas/Latinas graduate from high school and pursue their dreams.

This call to action is not only to assist members of my own family and friends, but for every other Xicana/Latina student who dreams of graduating from high school and matriculating at a university.

Xicana/Latina students across the nation are depending on us. We have to be their voice and advocates. We have a responsibility to them and it is our mission to fulfill it. Last year half the children born in this country were Xicano/Latino and that number is expected to rise each year.

We have a lot of work ahead of us. But, we also have a lot of hands, strong hearts and brilliant minds to do it.

Click here to join the Facebook group and become a part of this effort. Share the link with others, invite your contacts, and spread the word. You can also download all the reports and fact sheets related to this issue by visiting the MALDEF web site.

President Obama to Deliver Positive Message to School Children

by Efrén Paredes, Jr.

There has been a great deal of controversy surrounding President Obama's message to school children which will he plans to deliver to U.S. primary and secondary students via webcast and C-Span Tuesday, September 8, 2008 at 12 PM ET.

Many people initially objected to having President Obama deliver his speech. No such objection was made by Republicans when both George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan delivered their direct-to-the-classroom talks in the 1980s and '90s.

What is very disturbing about this manufactured controversy is the level of hypocrisy and intellectual dishonesty being exhibited by people protesting President Obama's message. Some have even tried characterized his message as an attempt to indoctrinate children using subliminal messages cloaked in socialist ideology.

To quell the concerns of parents and educators the White House released the text of the President's prepared remarks on Monday. President Obama wanted to give people an opportunity to review the speech before making a decision about whether or not to allow students to view his message live on Tuesday.

One of the President's staunch opponents of delivering his message was Jim Greer, the Florida Republican party chairman. Last week Greer accused the president of trying to "indoctrinate America's children to his socialist agenda."

After the text to the prepared remarks the President will deliver were shared with the public yesterday Greer now says he will let his children watch what he calls a "good speech," one the president "should give."

Greer added, "It encourages kids to stay in school and the importance of education and I think that's what a president should do when they're gonna talk to students across the country."

Obama's intentions for Tuesday is tantamount to a presidential pep talk about taking education seriously. The President's message is one that should resonate with every educator and parent across the country, and one that they should encourage children to view/hear.

People would be remiss in their responsibility to our nation's children to pass up this learning opportunity and positive message directed at encouraging children to succeed and do good in life.

Update 9/9/09: You can watch the video of President Obama's message delivered yesterday below.

Efrén Speaks to Youth in Toronto, Urges Calm

Saturday, August 15, 2009 Efrén spoke to 160 youth via phone at the Second Annual Justice for Alwy 3-on-3 basketball tournament held at Carlton Park in Toronto, Ontario (Canada).

The event is dedicated to all victims of police brutality. It began in 2008 in remembrance of 18-year-old Alwy al-Nadhir, an unarmed teen who was shot and killed by Toronto Police on Halloween night, October 31, 2007 in Riverdale Park, Toronto. Click here to read more about how Alwy died.

After Alwy's tragic death his family, friends, and other local community organizers saw the need to get organized to put an end to the siege on their communities. Together, they created the Justice for Alwy Campaign Against Police Brutality.

Since Alwy's murder tensions between the police and youth have escalated, resulting in conflicts and additional acts of police brutality towards youth. Many Toronto urban youth have conveyed experiences about the daily harassment, false arrests, brutal beatings and verbal confrontations many have had with the police.

Efrén was invited to speak to youth at this year's Justice for Alwy basketball tournament by Pablo Vivanco, community activist and producer at Barrio Nuevo, a Latino community radio program based in Toronto. Efrén has previously appeared on two Toronto-based radio programs, Barrio Nuevo and Radio BASICS, to discuss his case and the imposition of life without parole sentences on juveniles.

At the basketball tournament Efrén urged the youth to remain calm and exercise patience and restraint. He urged them to take a proactive approach to finding lasting resolutions to existing problems, and cautioned them against allowing themselves to be reactionaries responding to taunts and acts of aggression or unprofessional conduct by police.

Efrén told the youth that there would be serious consequences for acting impulsively and ignoring the future of their actions. He told them that they could end up like many prisoners he sees every day who are condemned to die in prison because of their impulsiveness and refusal to listen to reasoned advice.

During his message Efrén told the youth they should work to resolve conflicts intelligently and in a non-violent manner. He told them they should organize rallies and engage the community in meetings to bring attention to the injustices they are encountering. They can call on local and federal investigations, meet with legislators, file complaints against police officers, initiate legal action against them, and even file human rights charges against the violators in an international forum, if necessary.

Efrén wanted the youth to know that avenues for redress and improving matters exist. He did not want them to feel a sense of hopelessness and or believe that violence or rebelling were the vehicles for them to obtain an illusion of justice.

He told them if elected officials do not listen or respond to their grievances they can always seek to recall and replace them with officials who will fulfill the responsibilities of their office. There is a process for officials to take office, and a process for them to leave if they are ineffective or remiss in their duties.

The event was a success and it was a reminder to all who participated that through organizing and a shared vision we can create space and events we need to achieve a desired purpose.

As Efrén stated, "If the youth could all work together to organize the tournament in Alwy's memory, they can work together to make other things materialize in his honor as well. They just need guidance and encouragement along the way."

Efrén's voice transcending prison walls to reach the listening youth in Canada served to do just that.

"The Wise Latina" by Efrén Paredes, Jr.

The Wise Latina

by Efrén Paredes, Jr.

Saturday morning,
protected by the colossal frontal columns
of the nation's Supreme Court
that were once like prison bars
seeking to lock you out of its halls —
before the blinding glare
of flashing cameras
bouncing off adorned walls
absent any images celebrating
your likeness —
there you stood,
the Wise Latina.

Your confirmation hearing
the true identity politics,
the underpinnings of tilted scales,
an indictment of a racist patriarchal system
that stains justice
with its misogynist ways.

Opponents clamored to defame you,

attempted to relegate you
to a footnote in history,
dismissing you
as a child of affirmative action,
as another marginalized brown face,
like the ones they built the wall
along the Mexican border to keep out.

Somebody forgot to tell them
affirmative action
didn't do your homework,
didn't graduate you summa cum laude from Princeton,
didn't edit the Yale Law Journal for you,
didn't make difficult choices
or bequeath you wisdom.

Your strength and poise made us proud
as we were fixated to television screens
at viewing parties
in skyscrapers and barrios,
inspired by your courage,
displaying your buttons and posters,
watching you deflect
the barrage of attacks
you bravely endured
to become the nation's
111th U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

The eyes of many Latinas y Latinos
filled with tears,
as their exuberant smiles
brightened the morning sky.

Your detractors never gained an advantage,
even in their failed attempts to diminish you.
They couldn't erase our illustrious past
or replace it with illusions of inferiority.
They couldn't write our Quinceañeras
or love for arroz, maíz y frijoles
out of our rich culture and heritage.

Carrying a legacy of struggle on your back
you transcended the tide of ignorance,
the protests and intimidation,
and rallying cries for your defeat.
The impotent Kyls, McCains and Sessions
couldn't change destiny,
they could only fulfill it.

It was the Wise Latina who prevailed,
who captivated the world.
Speaking loudly through your elegance
and quiet strength
you silenced your critics,
scattering them like the winds
of a fierce Summer storm.

At that moment
we all briefly touched the sky,
danced in the sun's warm glow,
and summoned the Ancestors
to celebrate your victory.


Copyright © 2009 Efrén Paredes, Jr.

Click here to download a PDF version of this poem.

This poem was featured on the Latina Lista blog on 8/14/09. It was featured on La Raza Chronicles on 8/18/09 and most recently appeared on ¡LatinoLA! on 8/19/09. In the Fall the poem will be part of an exhibit at the Cesar Chavez Library, Chicano/Latino Studies Department, Michigan State University.


Update 8/18/09 11:25 PM EST










You can listen to an MP3 recording of Efrén reading this poem to celebrated poet, storyteller and independent media producer, Nina Serrano, on the show "La Raza Chronicles" below.