Baldwin Park
4085 Downing Ave. Baldwin Park, CA 91706
In 1993, Judith F. Baca was hired by L.A. County to erect a monument in the city of Baldwin Park, California. The monument itself is very large; consisting of a 20 foot arch and a 100 foot plaza. Ms. Baca allowed local residents to influence her creation by including quotes to represent the Latino community and tell the invisible history of the city and its people.
The monument became controversial because of one quotation: “it was better before they came.” The monument was erected and stood without controversy for a dozen years. In 2005, Save Our State (SOS), an anti-immigrant organization, discovered the monument and organized to have it removed because of its supposedly anti-American ideology. After the 2001 terrorist attacks, it became common for anti-immigrant groups to label minority groups’ art, culture, and history as anti-American. Not surprisingly, SOS falsely claimed the quote was part of the Reconquista Movement, a movement which supposedly intended to give back Mexico the lands that once belonged to it, including California. To this day, there is no proof this radical organization ever existed.
Dr. Laura Pulido has argued that anti-immigrant organizations, such as SOS, have used Latino organizations as scapegoats. In other words, SOS will use manipulation to portray Latino groups as supporters of anti-American ideologies. In this case, the goal of SOS was to portray Baldwin Park as a haven of the non-existent anti-American Reconquista ideology to remove the monument. The executive director of SOS, Joseph Turner, argued that the monument was “seditious in nature, it essentially talks about returning this land to Mexico” and organized a protest for its removal.
The controversial quote forced Ms. Baca to reveal the fact that the quote was said by a local Anglo resident who was originally from Arkansas and disapproved of the number of Mexican people inhabiting the city. Ms. Baca selected the quote because it represents the mentality of the past and present, which Latinos continue to endure and overcome, and because of its ambiguity. In her words, “it was designed to say more about the reader than the speaker.” SOS clearly and maliciously interpreted the quote for the purpose of “destroying a spiritual site of public memory….to see [Latino] history silenced and erased…. [and] to incite violence through hate and fear”. Preston Wood, a defender of the monument described the animosity of the protest and claimed a locally organized demonstration was “a real grass-roots mobilization of [Latinos] who are outraged over racist ideology in Los Angeles".
In a larger context, the tension between Latinos and SOS was expected. After September 2001, most immigration legislation has sought to make it more difficult for immigrants to live a normal working life in the US. For instance, H.R. 4437 was passed by the US House of Representatives in 2005 and although it did not pass the Senate it generated rancor between groups such as SOS and Latinos. Not only was the bill intended to increase the militarization of the US and Mexico border, but also required all police to deport immigrants for any legal infraction and forced employers to verify their employees’ legal status.
The day of the protest, approximately 50 SOS members were present and encountered 500 counter protesters made up of Latino residents defending their rights to the monument, their history, and to demonstrate they would not be intimidated. City Mayor Manuel Lozano exclaimed that the monument would stand for over “40 years so your grandchildren will enjoy it!” As a Latino, he understood the frustration of many of his constituents and stood with them against SOS and the anti-immigrant legislation seen across the US. This event only amplified the meaning behind the monument because it demonstrates the power struggle between Latinos and anti-immigrant groups. However, the monument will forever remind people of a time in which the Latino community flexed its will to maintain their identity in the face of adversity and persecution.
This declaration foreshadowed the massive demonstration which would take place on May 1st, 2006 where an estimated 1 million Latinos and their supporters marched in the streets of Los Angeles for amnesty and worker’s rights for Mexican-immigrants.
For More Information
Pierson, D., & Biederman, P. W. (2005, May 15). Protest Over Art Forces Police to Draw the Line - Los Angeles Times. Featured Articles From The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 4, 2013, from http://articles.latimes.com/2005/may/15/local/me-mural15
Pulido, L. (2007), A Day Without Immigrants: The Racial and Class Politics of Immigrant Exclusion. Antipode, 39: 1–7. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8330.2007.00502.x
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