Jesse Diaz

What Adelfa Callejo said about political relations between Dallas' Latinos and Dallas' blacks will most definitely peak the interest of most Hispanic voters who reside in the many Hispanic barrios in North Texas. Whether one agrees with Mrs. Callejo's comments or not, the impact of public release of this subject matter comes at a time in Dallas' (March 4th Primary) history where many Hispanic voters very well may have this issue on their mind when they cast their respective vote.

You would have to be simply politically ignorant if you are Hispanic, lived in this region for an extended period of time and not noticed the many disparities that have existed between blacks and Hispanics in the North Texas Region for the past few decades. I also serve on the Dallas Achieves Commission. I agree wholeheartedly with Mrs. Callejo's comments.

Several weeks ago, I posted on the CNN blog, several of the following comments listed below:

Dallas Hispanics fully understand the impact of the meaningless political coalition that supposedly exists between blacks and Hispanics in Dallas. Hispanics in Dallas County know very well the harmful effects of the infamous 'buddy system' Dallas blacks have utilized for decades (DART, DISD, City of Dallas, Dallas County, local Post Office locations) within the public sector resulting in huge Hispanic under-employment, under-representation and vast disparities of Hispanic business procurement.

Appointments to City of Dallas and Dallas County boards and commissions are considered entry level training ground for Hispanics and citizens who are interested in serving their respective communities. Yet, adequate representation of Hispanics to boards and commissions within the aforementioned entities is almost non-existent.

The obvious racist and negative attitude DISD trustee Ron Price has exhibited towards DISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa along with his recent outburst threatening to break away from the DISD in order to create a separate school district gives Dallas' Hispanic community a pretty good picture of just how bad things are between blacks and Hispanics in Dallas.

The article 'Ghosts of racism' by UT Professor Michael Phillips, author of the book White Metropolis was published in the Dallas Morning News, April 9, 2006. In the article, Professor Phillips says: "Mainstream Mexican-American politicians such as Jesse Diaz viewed black gains in administrative appointments at the Dallas Independent School District as coming at the expense of Mexican-Americans, claiming that "the oppressed have become the oppressor."

On February 26, 2008, the Fort Worth Star Telegram published the article Democrats' racial divide becoming ever more evident written by Star-Telegram staff writer Jay Root.

I coined the phrase "the oppressed have become the oppressor" to describe race relations between Dallas' blacks and Dallas' Latinos. To what degree this is now the case is up for debate although recent racial tensions between black and Latino students at Seagoville High School and Skyline High School indeed give a brief snapshot of this picture. The general media won't give this issue the attention it deserves. although Dallas' Latino media has aired and printed many stories on this issue to their credit.

Adelfa Callejo will always be highly regarded as a lady who has championed the cause for many Latinos in North Texas. She may have a blunt way of getting her point across, but I sincerely believe Mrs. Callejo's comments were not meant to be primarily based on race, but on the same foundation I base my opinion on this subject matter. You go beyond race in this issue and rely on the facts on the ACTIONS of some within Dallas' black leadership who have a history of facilitating the obvious disparities that exist between blacks and Latinos in Dallas and Dallas County.

"The Oppressed have become the Oppressor." -- There may be a few die-hard Latino politicians who would want the general public and media to believe there is a love-fest out there between our respective communities. But, go out to the many barrios within Dallas proper and surrounding Latino communities within Dallas County and ask La Raza on the streets for their take on this subject. You'll see Adelfa has ample support from an abundance of Dallas' Latinos.