Letters to the editor:
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Naïveté on Latino Issues

Before I address Mr. Contreras' letter [letters, Oct. 17], I would like to express my personal appreciation to Ms. Attica Scott for her words of advice expressed in the Color Conscious segment of the Sept. 26, 2002 issue. I would like to also to thank her for her efforts in establishing a coalition of power between Latinos and African Americans. Her contributions to the Forging Connections Forum, the culmination of the Hispanic Heritage Month, were very valuable. Those of us who are daily involved in assisting marginalized Latino workers to improve their quality of life and develop a voice in the region are interested in constructing bridges and forming alliances among cultures that could empower all of us. We certainly do not want to be left alone!

To Mr. Contreras, I would say that you have to be very naïve to believe that the politicians in Tennessee are representing and speaking for us in a fair manner. The Latino issues on the agenda of organizations such as the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the Council of La Raza, the Puerto Rican Forum, and the League of United Latin American Citizens, among others, include: immigration reform, language prejudice, fair housing, understandable education, and equal opportunities in the work place. In our region, these issues have become the platform for Latinos Unidos, a local grassroots organization fighting for the development of a voice for the Hispanics in Tennessee.

Although I am often asked to speak for the Latino community, I never claim to speak for all Latinos. We represent people from 30 different countries who are at different stages of accommodation into the local culture. For many, assimilation has been facilitated by the work and sacrifice of those who came before them. For them, it is easy to live as if prejudice, discrimination and under-representation does not exist. The people I work with experience that and more on a daily basis.

Loida C. Velázquez
Knoxville

Get off Davenport's Back

I read the article in Metro Pulse about the Knox County Public Library System ["One for the Books," Oct. 24] concerning Charles Davenport as interim director. I have worked for the library for 13 years, and I have known Charles Davenport for that long, and I know that he can do the director's job if people would stop degrading him. Leave the man alone and let him do the job to the best of his ability. He did a great job for the library system when he was president of the board and now the interim director, and I don't think the Friends of the Library should have any input in what his job is. He has done great so far, and he will continue to do so.

Buford Stafford
Knoxville