Los Siete Defense Committee - Revision history

Ccarlsson at 04:55, 30 September 2023

2023-09-30T04:55:34Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:55, 29 September 2023
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	After the May 1st incident, The Committee to Free Los Siete de la Raza organized itself and published the ''“Basta Ya”'' newspaper with the message: Free Los Siete. Other articles related to the oppression and exploitation of the community and the Third World, it also emphasized national liberation struggles all over the world. Not only did it have a national but an internationalist perspective as well. The first issue was printed on the back of the Black Panther Party newspaper, “The Black Panther.” Los Siete folded it back to show only the “Basta Ya!” side. One morning at Mission High School one of my staunch student allies, Diana Monge, felt that because the Panther paper was attached to a brown people’s paper it would not do well. Then as now there was much competition between Blacks and Browns.		After the May 1st incident, The Committee to Free Los Siete de la Raza organized itself and published the ''“Basta Ya”'' newspaper with the message: Free Los Siete. Other articles related to the oppression and exploitation of the community and the Third World, it also emphasized national liberation struggles all over the world. Not only did it have a national but an internationalist perspective as well. The first issue was printed on the back of the Black Panther Party newspaper, “The Black Panther.” Los Siete folded it back to show only the “Basta Ya!” side. One morning at Mission High School one of my staunch student allies, Diana Monge, felt that because the Panther paper was attached to a brown people’s paper it would not do well. Then as now there was much competition between Blacks and Browns.

			[[Image:Los-Siete-Rally-at-Garfield-Park.jpg\|380px\|right]]

			''Poster design: Yolanda Lopez''

	I didn’t actively participate in the campaign to Free Los Siete outside of speaking out in their support. I would explain to people that they were victims of police brutality and completely innocent. Some of us knew that our Los Siete were not perfect and, but we always made them out to be organizers and heroes, we never mentioned that when the pigs approached them on Alvarado Street as they were transporting an alleged stolen TV into the Rios home. In our zeal, we made Los Siete into heroes and messiahs of the Brown Movement, even though we knew and ignored the facts but it was the spin we put on the story. We had arrived at group-think mentality a la Brave New World . But there was a large grain of truth in our portrayal. Tony, Mario, and Popo were active in the movimiento, recruiting brown youths into college and organizing in the movimiento. In the ghetto the political and personal overlapped as the need for survival leads the lumpen-proletariat to participate in the black market.		I didn’t actively participate in the campaign to Free Los Siete outside of speaking out in their support. I would explain to people that they were victims of police brutality and completely innocent. Some of us knew that our Los Siete were not perfect and, but we always made them out to be organizers and heroes, we never mentioned that when the pigs approached them on Alvarado Street as they were transporting an alleged stolen TV into the Rios home. In our zeal, we made Los Siete into heroes and messiahs of the Brown Movement, even though we knew and ignored the facts but it was the spin we put on the story. We had arrived at group-think mentality a la Brave New World . But there was a large grain of truth in our portrayal. Tony, Mario, and Popo were active in the movimiento, recruiting brown youths into college and organizing in the movimiento. In the ghetto the political and personal overlapped as the need for survival leads the lumpen-proletariat to participate in the black market.
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	The Los Siete committee adopted a serve the people style of work. We were applying a method of service the Black Panthers had adapted to their own community work. So, our Committee, adopting the serve the masses style, began a breakfast program, a community paper, also called, the “Basta Ya!” and a restaurant, also called the Basta Ya!, where the community could get a coke, a hamburger, and fries for a dollar! The Basta Ya! Restaurant is where my link with the Committee strengthened. I attended functions at the restaurant, with a wide range of people, community and movement. It was there that I first attended a poetry reading, and what a poetry reading it was! Many of the people I had recently met performed revolutionary poetry, including Roberto Vargas and I was really impressed by Tony Miranda, it was quite an inspirational experience for a kid in the US only six years.		The Los Siete committee adopted a serve the people style of work. We were applying a method of service the Black Panthers had adapted to their own community work. So, our Committee, adopting the serve the masses style, began a breakfast program, a community paper, also called, the “Basta Ya!” and a restaurant, also called the Basta Ya!, where the community could get a coke, a hamburger, and fries for a dollar! The Basta Ya! Restaurant is where my link with the Committee strengthened. I attended functions at the restaurant, with a wide range of people, community and movement. It was there that I first attended a poetry reading, and what a poetry reading it was! Many of the people I had recently met performed revolutionary poetry, including Roberto Vargas and I was really impressed by Tony Miranda, it was quite an inspirational experience for a kid in the US only six years.

	At the Basta Ya! on Valencia between Duboce and 14th Streets, next to the Levi Strauss factory, was an intersection of the movement: Black, Brown, Yellow, Red, democrats, Communists, Panthers, Red Guards, Puerto Rican nationalists, revolutionaries from across the country, Latin America and the world. All trekked through the Basta Ya! progressive and revolutionary whites came. It was not a reformist hang out. During those times the spirit of the times was organizing and mobilizing, every sector of society was on the move, prisoners, soldiers and sailors, welfare moms, workers, Blacks, Latinos, Indians, and throughout the world; Asia, Africa and Latin-America waged national liberation wars. Boy! those were the days. There was a sense of effervescence in the Mission I would walk down the street announce marches or pickets and people would show up on the day, time and place. One time when Art Agnos was running for Mayor, he came by to feel us out and seek support, but since no one bothered with him, he just walked back out the door. People were about the truth, radical change not electioneering lies.		At the Basta Ya! on Valencia between Duboce and 14th Streets, next to the [[Letters from the Boss--Cartas del Dueño 1960s Conditions\|Levi Strauss factory]], was an intersection of the movement: Black, Brown, Yellow, Red, democrats, Communists, Panthers, Red Guards, Puerto Rican nationalists, revolutionaries from across the country, Latin America and the world. All trekked through the Basta Ya! progressive and revolutionary whites came. It was not a reformist hang out. During those times the spirit of the times was organizing and mobilizing, every sector of society was on the move, prisoners, soldiers and sailors, welfare moms, workers, Blacks, Latinos, Indians, and throughout the world; Asia, Africa and Latin-America waged national liberation wars. Boy! those were the days. There was a sense of effervescence in the Mission I would walk down the street announce marches or pickets and people would show up on the day, time and place. One time when Art Agnos was running for Mayor, he came by to feel us out and seek support, but since no one bothered with him, he just walked back out the door. People were about the truth, radical change not electioneering lies.

	Two social-political currents clashed during the founding of the defense committee. One was the reformist current represented by the work-within-the-system side and the other was the overthrow the system current (the revolutionary side). To my understanding the reformists wanted to wage a strictly legal defense while the revolutionary wing pushed for a political defense and a legal team be engaged). The anti-system side won the struggle took control and a political defense ensued tactics consisted of politically mobilizing the community exposing the racist nature of the “system” and police brutality, which the system caused. The idea was to consistently expose the class nature of society and it’s oppression of “the people,” domestically and internationally. That was called “raising the level of consciousness” and to show that that was the reason for the Brothers being attacked and being in jail. On the reformers side there was a desire to avoid controversy because it might upset the funding source; aka the man.		Two social-political currents clashed during the founding of the defense committee. One was the reformist current represented by the work-within-the-system side and the other was the overthrow the system current (the revolutionary side). To my understanding the reformists wanted to wage a strictly legal defense while the revolutionary wing pushed for a political defense and a legal team be engaged). The anti-system side won the struggle took control and a political defense ensued tactics consisted of politically mobilizing the community exposing the racist nature of the “system” and police brutality, which the system caused. The idea was to consistently expose the class nature of society and it’s oppression of “the people,” domestically and internationally. That was called “raising the level of consciousness” and to show that that was the reason for the Brothers being attacked and being in jail. On the reformers side there was a desire to avoid controversy because it might upset the funding source; aka the man.
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	As I looked around the room I saw Roger Alvarado, President of the Third World Liberation Front, brother and sister Gary and Linda Perez, Donna James, Nilda, Chente, Alberto Martinet, Oscar Rios, Reynaldo Aparicio, Yolanda, Jimmy, Greg, Veda, Paula, Judy Drummond, Ralph, Tony Herrera, Estella Richardson, Marty Montemayor, Tom Oneida, surely I missed someone. of all the participants some had retired by then and others arrived later. A prominent feature of the men was that they wore Army fatigues and boots; of course long hair goes without saying. Ralph told me that the dress wasn’t just for show, but because of its sturdiness, that when on the picket line and under attack by the SFPD Tactical Squad one should have sturdy protective clothing. It was also what Che Guevara, one of our revolutionary heroes, wore and for sure the clothing was an identity thing and a fashion statement. I was more into the red bandana and the sarape. Surely some egos were pleased by the show. For sure the women had the look of the counterculture fashion of the day.		As I looked around the room I saw Roger Alvarado, President of the Third World Liberation Front, brother and sister Gary and Linda Perez, Donna James, Nilda, Chente, Alberto Martinet, Oscar Rios, Reynaldo Aparicio, Yolanda, Jimmy, Greg, Veda, Paula, Judy Drummond, Ralph, Tony Herrera, Estella Richardson, Marty Montemayor, Tom Oneida, surely I missed someone. of all the participants some had retired by then and others arrived later. A prominent feature of the men was that they wore Army fatigues and boots; of course long hair goes without saying. Ralph told me that the dress wasn’t just for show, but because of its sturdiness, that when on the picket line and under attack by the SFPD Tactical Squad one should have sturdy protective clothing. It was also what Che Guevara, one of our revolutionary heroes, wore and for sure the clothing was an identity thing and a fashion statement. I was more into the red bandana and the sarape. Surely some egos were pleased by the show. For sure the women had the look of the counterculture fashion of the day.

			[[Image:Los Siete bring the brothers home to the Mission.jpg\|400px\|left]]

			''Poster design: Yolanda Lopez''

	I was one of the youngest so I felt like a kid among giants who had taken on the power of the state. I realized that I knew all of them, not intimately, but I was familiar with all. I was like at “I know them all” and the fantasy burst. This relatively small group had an influence far larger than their numbers. This small number could mobilize hundreds of people in a moment’s notice. We had a large influence not only in the Mission, but throughout the Bay Area. For example, when Vicente Gutierrez was murdered by the pigs we leafleted San Francisco so thoroughly that the Chief of Police went on Spanish language stations saying that the leaflets were lying about the actions of the police and were not to be believed. Whoever it was, they were just troublemakers outside agitators, typical comment of the authorities when faced with political resistance. The same charge was used in Egypt and Libya in January 2011. It wasn’t just a large network, but the consciousness Los Siete created in our community was large. The committee continuously brought up the fact that we live in an exploitative capitalist system that enjoys tremendous wealth due to the imperialist exploitation of people of color in colonized countries throughout the world. These were precisely the politics that had been struggled over with the program people, the reformists and the narrow nationalists. In their zeal to integrate they were unwilling to bring up these kinds of issues because their funding would be jeopardized. Historically it is common for governments to fund the opposition in order to control its direction and activities. Just like what happened to MCO. The Committee didn’t take government money. Of course the radical political orientation has its own shortcomings.		I was one of the youngest so I felt like a kid among giants who had taken on the power of the state. I realized that I knew all of them, not intimately, but I was familiar with all. I was like at “I know them all” and the fantasy burst. This relatively small group had an influence far larger than their numbers. This small number could mobilize hundreds of people in a moment’s notice. We had a large influence not only in the Mission, but throughout the Bay Area. For example, when Vicente Gutierrez was murdered by the pigs we leafleted San Francisco so thoroughly that the Chief of Police went on Spanish language stations saying that the leaflets were lying about the actions of the police and were not to be believed. Whoever it was, they were just troublemakers outside agitators, typical comment of the authorities when faced with political resistance. The same charge was used in Egypt and Libya in January 2011. It wasn’t just a large network, but the consciousness Los Siete created in our community was large. The committee continuously brought up the fact that we live in an exploitative capitalist system that enjoys tremendous wealth due to the imperialist exploitation of people of color in colonized countries throughout the world. These were precisely the politics that had been struggled over with the program people, the reformists and the narrow nationalists. In their zeal to integrate they were unwilling to bring up these kinds of issues because their funding would be jeopardized. Historically it is common for governments to fund the opposition in order to control its direction and activities. Just like what happened to MCO. The Committee didn’t take government money. Of course the radical political orientation has its own shortcomings.

Ccarlsson at 06:47, 18 February 2019

2019-02-18T06:47:58Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:47, 17 February 2019
Line 3:		Line 3:
	''by Francisco FloresLanda, 2010''		''by Francisco FloresLanda, 2010''

	[[Image:Marty Montemayor and Roger Alvadaro.jpg~~\|360px\|thumb~~\|left]]		[[Image:Marty Montemayor and Roger Alvadaro.jpg\|left]]

	'''Marty Montemayor, a youth from the Mission. Roger Alvarado, President of the Third World Liberation Front, coordinating body of the SF State College student strike in 1969. Here they staff a booth at a 1969 community fair at Precita Park in the Mission District of San Francisco.'''		'''Marty Montemayor, a youth from the Mission. Roger Alvarado, President of the Third World Liberation Front, coordinating body of the SF State College student strike in 1969. Here they staff a booth at a 1969 community fair at Precita Park in the Mission District of San Francisco.'''

Ccarlsson: moved Mission Memoir of Los Siete de la Raza and More to Los Siete Defense Committee

2011-12-19T07:47:23Z

moved Mission Memoir of Los Siete de la Raza and More to Los Siete Defense Committee

← Older revision	Revision as of 00:47, 19 December 2011
(No difference)

Ccarlsson at 21:18, 10 December 2011

2011-12-10T21:18:38Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:18, 10 December 2011
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	As time went on, as a clinic volunteer, while simultaneously being actively a clinic organizer, I was informed by Nilda that people in the Los 7 committee felt I should be attending the general committee meetings of Los Siete. At first I didn’t go but word came back that I needed to attend those meetings. I had the idea that those meetings were for the important heavies. So I went to a Saturday general meeting at La Casa de La Raza. This house was a mini-mansion a doctor, unconnected to the clinic, had donated for the use of the Los Siete organization on Guerrero Street between 21rst and 22nd Streets. It served as our headquarters and as a halfway house for the pintos, ex-cons, who were allowed out of prison under the supervision of Mike Molano. Work with pintos was viewed as another area of work in the serve the people projects. It was also used as a work space for our newspaper, as housing for some of the members, and as a crash pad and sleeping quarters for out of town visitors, among other things.		As time went on, as a clinic volunteer, while simultaneously being actively a clinic organizer, I was informed by Nilda that people in the Los 7 committee felt I should be attending the general committee meetings of Los Siete. At first I didn’t go but word came back that I needed to attend those meetings. I had the idea that those meetings were for the important heavies. So I went to a Saturday general meeting at La Casa de La Raza. This house was a mini-mansion a doctor, unconnected to the clinic, had donated for the use of the Los Siete organization on Guerrero Street between 21rst and 22nd Streets. It served as our headquarters and as a halfway house for the pintos, ex-cons, who were allowed out of prison under the supervision of Mike Molano. Work with pintos was viewed as another area of work in the serve the people projects. It was also used as a work space for our newspaper, as housing for some of the members, and as a crash pad and sleeping quarters for out of town visitors, among other things.

	I arrived at the meeting in awe (well not quite at awe). I was attending this organizational meeting it meant I was going to be a member of the hallowed group (in my mind). Los Siete partially carried the mantle of the 1968 San Francisco State Strikers led by the Third World Liberation Front. It was kind of an elite revolutionary group, which ranked up (or out there) there with the revolutionary people-of-color groups—the Panthers, the Red Guards, the Young Lords, I Wor Kuen, KDP a revolutionary Filipino group, among others in the Bay Area. Circa 1969 marked the year when the student movement moved from the campus to the community across the nation. The movement had analyzed and concluded that revolutionary change wasn’t going to be achieved on campus but in the community. Later on, after the movement had matured, the emphasis was to change into organizing the working class in work places (circa 1974). In other words, another re-evaluation concluded that revolutionary change would not occur in the community but at the point where the capitalists and the workers face each other daily, on the job. Essentially, the thinking was that the fight was a class fight between the capitalists and the workers and that Latino liberation depended on the unity and triumph of the multinational working class. For the United States is made up of many ethnicities or ~~nationionalities~~. Nowadays, we Marxists are like the Christians awaiting the day of judgment when Jesus will return likewise for Marxists who await the day of liberation.		I arrived at the meeting in awe (well not quite at awe). I was attending this organizational meeting it meant I was going to be a member of the hallowed group (in my mind). Los Siete partially carried the mantle of the 1968 [[STRIKE!... Concerning the 1968-69 Strike at San Francisco State College\|San Francisco State Strikers]] led by the Third World Liberation Front. It was kind of an elite revolutionary group, which ranked up (or out there) there with the revolutionary people-of-color groups—the [[Black Panthers\|Panthers]], the Red Guards, the Young Lords, I Wor Kuen, KDP a revolutionary Filipino group, among others in the Bay Area. Circa 1969 marked the year when the student movement moved from the campus to the community across the nation. The movement had analyzed and concluded that revolutionary change wasn’t going to be achieved on campus but in the community. Later on, after the movement had matured, the emphasis was to change into organizing the working class in work places (circa 1974). In other words, another re-evaluation concluded that revolutionary change would not occur in the community but at the point where the capitalists and the workers face each other daily, on the job. Essentially, the thinking was that the fight was a class fight between the capitalists and the workers and that Latino liberation depended on the unity and triumph of the multinational working class. For the United States is made up of many ethnicities or nationalities. Nowadays, we Marxists are like the Christians awaiting the day of judgment when Jesus will return likewise for Marxists who await the day of liberation.

	When the community came together to defend seven of its members in St. Peter’s Hall in 1969, persons who were fresh from the [[STRIKE!... Concerning the 1968-69 Strike at San Francisco State College\|strike at SF State College]] confronted reformers who viewed that integration was the way to liberation. These people had confronted the San Francisco Police Department Tactical Squad, Mayor Joseph Alioto, SF State College President S. I. Hayakawa, Governor Ronald Reagan, and the FBI and all its secret agents. They weren’t going to allow the reformists lead the defense of Los Siete without exposing the contradictions of the system and its culture i.e., class exploitation, colonialism, racism, sexism and so on. So most of the reformers retired from direct defense work even though most continued to support Los 7. In the Mission, the [[MCO and Latino Community Formation\|Mission Coalition Organization (MCO)]] was the vehicle of reformism, Model Cities money was the bribe by the Federal Government, after the money arrived the MCO became irrelevant by factional divide, to put it differently, because fighting for control of the money (“da monies”) in Mission Model Cities Corporation became primary. Precisely the intent of COINTELPRO.		When the community came together to defend seven of its members in St. Peter’s Hall in 1969, persons who were fresh from the [[STRIKE!... Concerning the 1968-69 Strike at San Francisco State College\|strike at SF State College]] confronted reformers who viewed that integration was the way to liberation. These people had confronted the San Francisco Police Department Tactical Squad, [[Mayor Joe Alioto\|Mayor Joseph Alioto]], SF State College President S. I. Hayakawa, Governor Ronald Reagan, and the FBI and all its secret agents. They weren’t going to allow the reformists lead the defense of Los Siete without exposing the contradictions of the system and its culture i.e., class exploitation, colonialism, racism, sexism and so on. So most of the reformers retired from direct defense work even though most continued to support Los 7. In the Mission, the [[MCO and Latino Community Formation\|Mission Coalition Organization (MCO)]] was the vehicle of reformism, Model Cities money was the bribe by the Federal Government, after the money arrived the MCO became irrelevant by factional divide, to put it differently, because fighting for control of the money (“da monies”) in Mission Model Cities Corporation became primary. Precisely the intent of COINTELPRO.

	As I looked around the room I saw Roger Alvarado, President of the Third World Liberation Front, brother and sister Gary and Linda Perez, Donna James, Nilda, Chente, Alberto Martinet, Oscar Rios, Reynaldo Aparicio, Yolanda, Jimmy, Greg, Veda, Paula, Judy Drummond, Ralph, Tony Herrera, ~~Estela~~ Richardson, Marty Montemayor, Tom Oneida, surely I missed someone. of all the participants some had retired by then and others arrived later. A prominent feature of the men was that they wore Army fatigues and boots; of course long hair goes without saying. Ralph told me that the dress wasn’t just for show, but because of its sturdiness, that when on the picket line and under attack by the SFPD Tactical Squad one should have sturdy protective clothing. It was also what Che Guevara, one of our revolutionary heroes, wore and for sure the clothing was an identity thing and a fashion statement. I was more into the red bandana and the sarape. Surely some egos were pleased by the show. For sure the women had the look of the counterculture fashion of the day.		[[Image:Scan0002.jpg\|720px\|thumb]]

			'''25th Anniversary group photo of the Committee for Los Siete de la Raza (bottom row left to right) Jorge Chacon, Alberto Martinet, Nilda Alverio, Gary Perez, Linda Perez, Yolanda Lopez, Stella Richardson, Stella's son. (top row, left to right) Francisco Flores, Paula Martinet, Tony Herrera, Judy Drummond, Donna Amador, José, Maria, Chente, Reynaldo Aparicio'''

			As I looked around the room I saw Roger Alvarado, President of the Third World Liberation Front, brother and sister Gary and Linda Perez, Donna James, Nilda, Chente, Alberto Martinet, Oscar Rios, Reynaldo Aparicio, Yolanda, Jimmy, Greg, Veda, Paula, Judy Drummond, Ralph, Tony Herrera, Estella Richardson, Marty Montemayor, Tom Oneida, surely I missed someone. of all the participants some had retired by then and others arrived later. A prominent feature of the men was that they wore Army fatigues and boots; of course long hair goes without saying. Ralph told me that the dress wasn’t just for show, but because of its sturdiness, that when on the picket line and under attack by the SFPD Tactical Squad one should have sturdy protective clothing. It was also what Che Guevara, one of our revolutionary heroes, wore and for sure the clothing was an identity thing and a fashion statement. I was more into the red bandana and the sarape. Surely some egos were pleased by the show. For sure the women had the look of the counterculture fashion of the day.

	I was one of the youngest so I felt like a kid among giants who had taken on the power of the state. I realized that I knew all of them, not intimately, but I was familiar with all. I was like at “I know them all” and the fantasy burst. This relatively small group had an influence far larger than their numbers. This small number could mobilize hundreds of people in a moment’s notice. We had a large influence not only in the Mission, but throughout the Bay Area. For example, when Vicente Gutierrez was murdered by the pigs we leafleted San Francisco so thoroughly that the Chief of Police went on Spanish language stations saying that the leaflets were lying about the actions of the police and were not to be believed. Whoever it was, they were just troublemakers outside agitators, typical comment of the authorities when faced with political resistance. The same charge was used in Egypt and Libya in January 2011. It wasn’t just a large network, but the consciousness Los Siete created in our community was large. The committee continuously brought up the fact that we live in an exploitative capitalist system that enjoys tremendous wealth due to the imperialist exploitation of people of color in colonized countries throughout the world. These were precisely the politics that had been struggled over with the program people, the reformists and the narrow nationalists. In their zeal to integrate they were unwilling to bring up these kinds of issues because their funding would be jeopardized. Historically it is common for governments to fund the opposition in order to control its direction and activities. Just like what happened to MCO. The Committee didn’t take government money. Of course the radical political orientation has its own shortcomings.		I was one of the youngest so I felt like a kid among giants who had taken on the power of the state. I realized that I knew all of them, not intimately, but I was familiar with all. I was like at “I know them all” and the fantasy burst. This relatively small group had an influence far larger than their numbers. This small number could mobilize hundreds of people in a moment’s notice. We had a large influence not only in the Mission, but throughout the Bay Area. For example, when Vicente Gutierrez was murdered by the pigs we leafleted San Francisco so thoroughly that the Chief of Police went on Spanish language stations saying that the leaflets were lying about the actions of the police and were not to be believed. Whoever it was, they were just troublemakers outside agitators, typical comment of the authorities when faced with political resistance. The same charge was used in Egypt and Libya in January 2011. It wasn’t just a large network, but the consciousness Los Siete created in our community was large. The committee continuously brought up the fact that we live in an exploitative capitalist system that enjoys tremendous wealth due to the imperialist exploitation of people of color in colonized countries throughout the world. These were precisely the politics that had been struggled over with the program people, the reformists and the narrow nationalists. In their zeal to integrate they were unwilling to bring up these kinds of issues because their funding would be jeopardized. Historically it is common for governments to fund the opposition in order to control its direction and activities. Just like what happened to MCO. The Committee didn’t take government money. Of course the radical political orientation has its own shortcomings.

Ccarlsson at 21:06, 10 December 2011

2011-12-10T21:06:01Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:06, 10 December 2011
Line 80:		Line 80:

	In conclusion, my time in the Committee to Defend Los Siete de la Raza had a profound effect on me. In politics I learned about the enemy being the capitalist system not white people and the fight has to be a multinational alliance of all ethnicities. I learned that change has to be systemic not just ethnic integration. On the personal level, I learned to view women differently than the traditional way. I had a son whom with after years of estrangement we have mended our relationship continually improving. I also learned that value as a person doesn’t depend on accumulation possessions. I am grateful for all the gifts I got from the experience.		In conclusion, my time in the Committee to Defend Los Siete de la Raza had a profound effect on me. In politics I learned about the enemy being the capitalist system not white people and the fight has to be a multinational alliance of all ethnicities. I learned that change has to be systemic not just ethnic integration. On the personal level, I learned to view women differently than the traditional way. I had a son whom with after years of estrangement we have mended our relationship continually improving. I also learned that value as a person doesn’t depend on accumulation possessions. I am grateful for all the gifts I got from the experience.

			[[Ricardo Carrillo; Mission Youth Activist\|Prev. Document]] [[Openers at Mission High\|Next Document]]

	[[category:Latino]] [[category:Mission]] [[category:1960s]] [[category:1970s]] [[category:Basta Ya! Community Newspaper]]		[[category:Latino]] [[category:Mission]] [[category:1960s]] [[category:1970s]] [[category:Basta Ya! Community Newspaper]]

Ccarlsson at 20:54, 10 December 2011

2011-12-10T20:54:43Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:54, 10 December 2011
Line 3:		Line 3:
	''by Francisco FloresLanda, 2010''		''by Francisco FloresLanda, 2010''

	[[Image:Marty Montemayor and Roger Alvadaro.jpg\|360px]]		[[Image:Marty Montemayor and Roger Alvadaro.jpg\|360px\|thumb\|left]]

	'''Marty Montemayor, a youth from the Mission. Roger Alvarado, President of the Third World Liberation Front, coordinating body of the SF State College student strike in 1969. Here they staff a booth at a 1969 community fair at Precita Park in the Mission District of San Francisco.'''		'''Marty Montemayor, a youth from the Mission. Roger Alvarado, President of the Third World Liberation Front, coordinating body of the SF State College student strike in 1969. Here they staff a booth at a 1969 community fair at Precita Park in the Mission District of San Francisco.'''

Ccarlsson at 20:54, 10 December 2011

2011-12-10T20:54:10Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:54, 10 December 2011
Line 3:		Line 3:
	''by Francisco FloresLanda, 2010''		''by Francisco FloresLanda, 2010''

	[[Image:Marty Montemayor and Roger Alvadaro.jpg]]		[[Image:Marty Montemayor and Roger Alvadaro.jpg\|360px]]

	'''Marty Montemayor, a youth from the Mission. Roger Alvarado, President of the Third World Liberation Front, coordinating body of the SF State College student strike in 1969. Here they staff a booth at a 1969 community fair at Precita Park in the Mission District of San Francisco.'''		'''Marty Montemayor, a youth from the Mission. Roger Alvarado, President of the Third World Liberation Front, coordinating body of the SF State College student strike in 1969. Here they staff a booth at a 1969 community fair at Precita Park in the Mission District of San Francisco.'''

Ccarlsson: moved Mission district adopted son remembers Los Siete de la Raza--Francisco Flores to Mission Memoir of Los Siete de la Raza and More

2011-12-10T19:33:00Z

moved Mission district adopted son remembers Los Siete de la Raza--Francisco Flores to Mission Memoir of Los Siete de la Raza and More

← Older revision	Revision as of 12:33, 10 December 2011
(No difference)

Ccarlsson at 19:29, 10 December 2011

2011-12-10T19:29:39Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:29, 10 December 2011
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	[[Image:Marty Montemayor and Roger Alvadaro.jpg]]		[[Image:Marty Montemayor and Roger Alvadaro.jpg]]

	'''Marty Montemayor, a youth from the Mission. Roger Alvarado, President of the Third World Liberation Front, coordinating body of the SF State College student strike in 1969. Here they staff a booth at a community fair at Precita Park in the Mission District of San Francisco.'''		'''Marty Montemayor, a youth from the Mission. Roger Alvarado, President of the Third World Liberation Front, coordinating body of the SF State College student strike in 1969. Here they staff a booth at a 1969 community fair at Precita Park in the Mission District of San Francisco.'''

	''Photo: Francisco FloresLanda''		''Photo: Francisco FloresLanda''

Ccarlsson at 19:20, 10 December 2011

2011-12-10T19:20:52Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:20, 10 December 2011
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	It was Thursday, May 1, 1969, the extraordinary day I saw helicopters flying over the Mission. I was not at Mission High, I was across the street at Dolores Park with friends; cutting class getting high across. We saw helicopters hovering over the Mission, our beloved Mission District. After school I went to 20th and Mission and saw the hood was crawling with squad cars, sirens blaring, and still, SFPD Gestapo helicopters hovering all around. Word was something crucial had happened on Alvarado Street in Noe Valley.		It was Thursday, May 1, 1969, the extraordinary day I saw helicopters flying over the Mission. I was not at Mission High, I was across the street at Dolores Park with friends; cutting class getting high across. We saw helicopters hovering over the Mission, our beloved Mission District. After school I went to 20th and Mission and saw the hood was crawling with squad cars, sirens blaring, and still, SFPD Gestapo helicopters hovering all around. Word was something crucial had happened on Alvarado Street in Noe Valley.

	The afternoon ''Examiner'' declared that "Latino hoods” had attacked and killed an officer. Finally, we learned that the young men were part of “La Veinte.” A large group (not a ‘gang’ in today’s vernacular) of Spanish speaking young male immigrants who either linguistically or culturally had not integrated into the ‘melting pot’ of the Mission. I belonged to this group because I had come to the US at age ten, and in 1969 I was seventeen years old and, significantly, lived around the block on Capp. I spoke Spanish and culturally identified with Latinos and Mexicanismo, instilled in me early in primary school in Mexicali.		The afternoon ''Examiner'' declared that "Latino hoods” had attacked and killed an officer. Finally, we learned that the young men were part of ''“La Veinte.”'' A large group (not a ‘gang’ in today’s vernacular) of Spanish speaking young male immigrants who either linguistically or culturally had not integrated into the ‘melting pot’ of the Mission. I belonged to this group because I had come to the US at age ten, and in 1969 I was seventeen years old and, significantly, lived around the block on Capp. I spoke Spanish and culturally identified with Latinos and Mexicanismo, instilled in me early in primary school in Mexicali.

	Out of the brothers that soon became known as [[LOS_SIETE_DE_LA_RAZA\|Los Siete de la Raza]], I was more familiar with José Rios AKA “El Popo” but I knew most of Los Siete since they came by “La Veinte” to hang out and socialize, play pool, or get into other stuff. We were teens, young adults, and some ‘viejos’ who hung out at the ‘billar’ on Mission Street between 20th and 21st Streets, and at Hunt’s Donuts, across the street, the coffee shop was famous for being “open 25 hours a day.” In contradistinction to other young Latino groups of the Mission La Veinte had not lost their Latino culture and language, like the 26th Street Boys, Lucky Alley, the 22nd Street Boys, Landers Street, 24th Street, 22nd and Florida, 30th and Mission, Precita Park, among others.		Out of the brothers that soon became known as [[LOS_SIETE_DE_LA_RAZA\|Los Siete de la Raza]], I was more familiar with José Rios AKA ''“El Popo”'' but I knew most of Los Siete since they came by ''“La Veinte”'' to hang out and socialize, play pool, or get into other stuff. We were teens, young adults, and some ''‘viejos’'' who hung out at the ''‘billar’'' on Mission Street between 20th and 21st Streets, and at Hunt’s Donuts, across the street, the coffee shop was famous for being “open 25 hours a day.” In contradistinction to other young Latino groups of the Mission La Veinte had not lost their Latino culture and language, like the 26th Street Boys, Lucky Alley, the 22nd Street Boys, Landers Street, 24th Street, 22nd and Florida, 30th and Mission, Precita Park, among others.

	Brodnick and McGoran were plainclothes narcotics officers who provoked a brutal confrontation with Tony and Mario Martinez, Gary “el Pinky” Lescallet, “Bebe” Melendez, Jose “El Popo” Rios, Nelson Rodriguez, and Gio Lopez, the result was that someone killed Brodnick. I think a couple of Los Siete weren’t there. But one gotta give it to the guys, they stood up and they didn’t let the pigs push them around. These two pigs were well known among Mission youth for their brutality and for planting dope on their victims. During the trial, Los Siete lead lawyer Charles Garry, who also defended Black Panther Huey Newton, suggested the only other person on the scene with a gun besides Brodnick was his partner, McGoran, so he must have been the person who killed the pig. Garry portrayed McGoran as a violent person and he lost all credibility. To back this claim up, his ex-wife testified that he had kicked her out of a moving car on the freeway. Garry managed to persuade the jury that Los Siete were not guilty beyond reasonable doubt.		Brodnick and McGoran were plainclothes narcotics officers who provoked a brutal confrontation with Tony and Mario Martinez, Gary “el Pinky” Lescallet, “Bebe” Melendez, Jose “El Popo” Rios, Nelson Rodriguez, and Gio Lopez, the result was that someone killed Brodnick. I think a couple of Los Siete weren’t there. But one gotta give it to the guys, they stood up and they didn’t let the pigs push them around. These two pigs were well known among Mission youth for their brutality and for planting dope on their victims. During the trial, Los Siete lead lawyer Charles Garry, who also defended Black Panther Huey Newton, suggested the only other person on the scene with a gun besides Brodnick was his partner, McGoran, so he must have been the person who killed the pig. Garry portrayed McGoran as a violent person and he lost all credibility. To back this claim up, his ex-wife testified that he had kicked her out of a moving car on the freeway. Garry managed to persuade the jury that Los Siete were not guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
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	Unlike most of the Mission who identified with and supported the cause to “Free Los Siete” I had a direct connection to Los Siete. Today, when I hook up with OGs (Old Guys or Old Gangstas) who were as close to the case as me the memory and influence of Los Siete and the Committee are remembered, felt, and hashed out. This case had a tremendous influence on individuals and the community, and has been immortalized in the various ways, a movie, a book by Marjorie Heinz, a play by Richard Talavera, and chapters in several books on Bay Area history. Los Siete continues to be remembered and motivates others who become familiar with the case. Men and women who were tots at the time speak of Los Siete in their families and social circles.		Unlike most of the Mission who identified with and supported the cause to “Free Los Siete” I had a direct connection to Los Siete. Today, when I hook up with OGs (Old Guys or Old Gangstas) who were as close to the case as me the memory and influence of Los Siete and the Committee are remembered, felt, and hashed out. This case had a tremendous influence on individuals and the community, and has been immortalized in the various ways, a movie, a book by Marjorie Heinz, a play by Richard Talavera, and chapters in several books on Bay Area history. Los Siete continues to be remembered and motivates others who become familiar with the case. Men and women who were tots at the time speak of Los Siete in their families and social circles.

	After the May 1st incident, The Committee to Free Los Siete de la Raza organized itself and published the “Basta Ya” newspaper with the message: Free Los Siete. Other articles related to the oppression and exploitation of the community and the Third World, it also emphasized national liberation struggles all over the world. Not only did it have a national but an internationalist perspective as well. The first issue was printed on the back of the Black Panther Party newspaper, “The Black Panther.” Los Siete folded it back to show only the “Basta Ya!” side. One morning at Mission High School one of my staunch student allies, Diana Monge, felt that because the Panther paper was attached to a brown people’s paper it would not do well. Then as now there was much competition between Blacks and Browns.		After the May 1st incident, The Committee to Free Los Siete de la Raza organized itself and published the ''“Basta Ya”'' newspaper with the message: Free Los Siete. Other articles related to the oppression and exploitation of the community and the Third World, it also emphasized national liberation struggles all over the world. Not only did it have a national but an internationalist perspective as well. The first issue was printed on the back of the Black Panther Party newspaper, “The Black Panther.” Los Siete folded it back to show only the “Basta Ya!” side. One morning at Mission High School one of my staunch student allies, Diana Monge, felt that because the Panther paper was attached to a brown people’s paper it would not do well. Then as now there was much competition between Blacks and Browns.

	I didn’t actively participate in the campaign to Free Los Siete outside of speaking out in their support. I would explain to people that they were victims of police brutality and completely innocent. Some of us knew that our Los Siete were not perfect and, but we always made them out to be organizers and heroes, we never mentioned that when the pigs approached them on Alvarado Street as they were transporting an alleged stolen TV into the Rios home. In our zeal, we made Los Siete into heroes and messiahs of the Brown Movement, even though we knew and ignored the facts but it was the spin we put on the story. We had arrived at group-think mentality a la Brave New World . But there was a large grain of truth in our portrayal. Tony, Mario, and Popo were active in the movimiento, recruiting brown youths into college and organizing in the movimiento. In the ghetto the political and personal overlapped as the need for survival leads the lumpen-proletariat to participate in the black market.		I didn’t actively participate in the campaign to Free Los Siete outside of speaking out in their support. I would explain to people that they were victims of police brutality and completely innocent. Some of us knew that our Los Siete were not perfect and, but we always made them out to be organizers and heroes, we never mentioned that when the pigs approached them on Alvarado Street as they were transporting an alleged stolen TV into the Rios home. In our zeal, we made Los Siete into heroes and messiahs of the Brown Movement, even though we knew and ignored the facts but it was the spin we put on the story. We had arrived at group-think mentality a la Brave New World . But there was a large grain of truth in our portrayal. Tony, Mario, and Popo were active in the movimiento, recruiting brown youths into college and organizing in the movimiento. In the ghetto the political and personal overlapped as the need for survival leads the lumpen-proletariat to participate in the black market.