Poet Luis Rodriguez Releases A Book About Violence Against Latinos

(Photo : flickr.com)

In a time when anti-Latino hate crimes continue to surge, Luis Rodriguez gives a glimmer of hope.

The poet laureate is set to release a collection of essays reckoning with xenophobia and racism in the United States, on January 28, 2020, according to an article by Remezcla.

Rodriguez said the collection "From Our Land to Our Land: Essays, Journeys, and Imaginings From a Native Xicanx Writer", is a response to the a reader's comment about his 2003 short story collection The Republic of East LA saying, "You teach Mexicans a little English and now they think they can write books."

The collection which takes on the form of ars poetica, explores the writer's role in a world increasingly marked by racial violence and natural disaster, reflecting his relationship with language and the way activism, faith, pop culture and identity has shaped his poetry throughout the last four decades.

Remezcla reports, these essays seem like a natural extension to his critically acclaimed 1993 memoir Always Running: La Vida Loca, which reflects his life growing up in the '70s surrounded by gang culture in East Los Angeles. His essays talk about teaching in prisons, his work as a poet laureate and the violent racism he continues to experience despite his accolades.

For instance, one passage shows how racism first taught him the power of language when he was still in elementary: "On my first day, I went from classroom to classroom because I couldn't speak English and teachers didn't want me among their students. A teacher finally let me stay, but she had me in a corner playing with building blocks most of the year. I'd pee in my pants since I didn't know how to say I had to go to the restroom. Whenever a Spanish word left my mouth, I was punished, including being swatted by the school's principal. I made the mistake one day of stepping into the kindergarten class my sister was in so I could pick her up. The teacher slapped me across the face in front of everyone."

"Every time there's a racist person, it challenges all of us to find the language to speak out and insist that we all belong," said Rodriguez.

The author also noted that this is an exciting time for Latino poets.

"There are some powerful, wonderful, fantastic Latino writers coming out, young people and older writers, too. I'm very excited about where poetry is going," he said.

According to FBI's recent report, the personal attacks motivated by bias or prejudice against Latinos in the U.S. is at its highest in nearly a decade, revealing 485 hate crimes against Latinos in 2018. This figure is 58 more than reported in 2017 and even outpacing a drop in assaults targeting Muslims and Arab Americans.

The FBI has made a significant effort in recent years to increase awareness and response rates but still, many cities and some entire states failed to collect or report the data last year, according to an article by New York Times.

The bureau also reported that more than half of all victims of hate crimes never file a complaint with the authorities in the first place.