In 1994, William Jefferson Clinton activated a new border enforcement policy, Operation Gatekeeper, that was designed to push people without papers away from large cities, to instead cross the border in the more dangerous and remote mountains and deserts of California and Arizona. Since 1994, Operation Gatekeeper and similar policies in New Mexico and Texas, […]
Unión del Barrio stands shoulder to shoulder with our African sisters and brothers, and together we denounce the brutal police terror that has been unleashed against Black communities across the United States. This wave of police killings, of which the murder of Alfred Okwera Olango is only the most recent, can only be challenged through the […]
In 1970, the Chilean people set out on an unprecedented path towards socialism in Nuestra America, the electoral process. In an act of electoral support for the construction of a workers state and the general platform expressed by the Unidad Popular, and its candidate Salvador Allende Gossens, the Chilean people voted for socialism. The Nixon […]
Our backyard has historically been neglected. People can call BASTA! NIMBY as much as they want but our backyard is full. Start storing stuff in yours… B.A.STA! is a grassroots, barrio based, loose knit formation of residents, artists, activists, small business owners and allies creating a movement. The sole purpose of this movement is to prevent […]
We must be organized raza! In a speech Donald Trump delivered on August 31, 2016, in Phoenix, Arizona, he increased the intensity of his anti-Mexican rhetoric to a level we have not seen within a presidential campaign, in at least a lifetime. Win or lose, his candidacy “a soltado los demonios,” and “trumpism” has become […]
On August 27, 2016, Unión del Barrio celebrated our 35th year of continuous struggle for raza liberation. From 1981 to this day in 2016, tens of thousands, perhaps even hundreds of thousands of hours, invested into meetings, rallies, marchas, PE sessions, conferences, congresos, etc. – all stitched together to form a unified banner of struggle. We […]
August 29, 1970: A Day Every Chicana & Chicano Must Remember August 29th marks the anniversary of the largest Raza-led mobilization against the U.S. imperialist war in Vietnam, and against the conditions of oppression and exploitation of our historically indigenous people by this colonial settler society on our own land. The August 29, 1970, Chicano Moratorium […]
Real Change Will Only Come From Those Who Struggle For Dignity, Justice & Self-Determination Editor’s Note: A version of this essay was originally published the day after the U.S. presidential elections on November 5, 2008. Responding to multiple requests, we decided to repost an updated version edited for readability and enriched with links from numerous outside […]
San Diego’s Chicano Park was the gathering point for at least 800 people who participated in a politically militant and well organized action to unwelcome the anti-Arab, anti-Black, anti-Mexican, anti-Woman, power-hungry, neo-fascist oligarch Donald Trump. The event took place on Friday May 27, 2016, and represented dozens of organizations, cultural groups, MEChAs, local businesses, artists, […]
“PA PENDEJO NO SE ESTUDIA!” A Historical Chicano Perspective Many persons have asked me what my political opinion is of presumptive Republican (the white) Party Presidential candidate Donald Trump. My response is the old Mexican saying, “Pa’ pendejo no se estudia’!” For Trump’s Republican voters & supporters, Winston Churchill’s quote; “The best argument against democracy […]
Since the founding of Unión del Barrio in 1981, educators have played a central role in the evolution of the organization. Evidence of this is how compañero Ernesto Bustillos, the principal founder of Unión del Barrio, worked as a teacher for the majority of his life, and was among the original founders of the Association […]
Unión del Barrio remembers and honors our Compas that lived a life of struggle and sacrifice. Compa Patricia “Pat” Marín; Compa Marco Anguiano; UdB founder and Secretario General Compa Ernesto “Neto” Bustillos; and Compa Pablo Aceves were each unequivocal in their commitment to struggle when they lived, and our memories of them will continue to […]
March 8th marks International Working Women’s Day, a date celebrated by many peoples of the world. It is a major global celebration that acknowledges the economic, political and social achievements of women and the just demands for equality, justice and dignity. The first celebration of International Working Women’s Day was put forward at the turn […]