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• Latinos, Asian Americans, African Americans Carrying Obama to Victory

  Saturday, Nov 1, 2008 1:58AM / Standard Entry / Members only
  2 comments

  
  
  Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hljtL80klM
  

  
  

  After reading this article in today's Washington Post, I've been thinking about how the collapse of the Republican Party directly corresponds to its abandonment of any pretension of reaching out to communities of color. But which came first?

  
  The article in the Washington Post focuses on Colorado, where one of the nation's most notorious anti-immigrant politicians is a Congressman (former Republican Presidential candidate Tom Tancredo). In my research on the immigration battle in 2007 (on which my upcoming film is based), I found that it was electoral dread and desperation that led Republicans all over the nation to experiment with the politics of fear and resentment that fuel the anti-immigrant movement issue. We also saw it on Republican news programs and Republican talk radio. I think it's safe to say it backfired.

  CNN reported yesterday that 70 percent of people of color in Florida are voting for Obama/Biden. Nationally, African American support is in the 90 percent range, and among Hispanics it is 66 to 70 percent. Asian American polls depend on the region, but I'm proud to say that in areas of the country where Asian Americans are empowered and informed, Obama/Biden is the preferred ticket by a 2 to 1 margin similar to Latinos (only with more undecideds).

  My analysis of this is that Sarah Palin's hateful speeches and the hateful reactions from her followers have reminded people of color across the nation how ugly and how dangerous racism can be. I think a similar repulsion is reflected in the movement of moderates and independents toward Obama/Biden in recent weeks.

  In contrast, you have Barack Obama, who's mixed ancestry and immigrant father say to all people of color that, if you look at America as a whole (as opposed to the factions of the Republican party) there is no longer a privilege or an advantage to being Caucasian, no, not necessarily. Obama doesn't have to say that in his speeches. We know this to be true because he is winning.

  So that's my introduction to this video demonstrating a strong collaboration between Latino and Asian American artists, including myself. It's a brand new English Language version of "Si Se Puede Cambiar" (With Obama, We Can Change).