I believe an evening like this, with so many brilliant folks supporting the Mexican American Bar Association of Houstonis exactly what my parents imagined when they came to the U.S. from Saltillo, Coahuila to deliverus to the American Dream.
Of course, they did not imagine how fragile democracy could be and how vital we would be to it. The Mexican American Bar Association of Houston addresses this on a daily basis.
When Arizona banned our history and culture, MABAH was the first group to donate to the 2012 Librotraficante caravan to smuggle the books back into Tucson. They joined us in declaring,“If you are going to ban our History, we are going to make more.”
When right wingers in Austin submitted a racist textbook for Texas Schools, MABAH donated to pay for busses and joined us to take 100 Houstonians to Austin to make sure that book was rejected.
There are more examples. And there will be more victories.
Thank you for the Amicus Award. If I speak boldly, it isbecause I have the benefit of yourwisdom and intelligence. I am honored to walk together into our generation. This is our time. Gracias.
Writer, activist, and professor Tony Diaz Diaz, El Librotraficante, was the first Chicanoto earn a Master of Fine Arts Degree from the University of Houston Creative Writing Program.
Diaz is a political analyst on “What’s Your Point” which airs live weekly on Fox 26 Houston. He founded Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say in1998, and he co-hosts their weekly bilingual radio program whichcovers Latino Literature, Art, andPolitics on KPFT 90.1 FM Houston. His essays have appearedin the Houston Chronicle, Texas Observer, CNN.com, the LosAngeles Times, and Huffington
Post Latino Voices, among other publications. He posts new essays weekly on his blog “The Cultural Accelerator” at www.TonyDiaz.net. He wrote the novel The Aztec Love God and is included inHecho En Tejas: The Anthology of Texas Mexican Writers.
Diaz was the leader and co-founder of the Librotraficanteswho defied Arizona’s ban of Mexican American Studies by organizing the 2012 Librotraficante Caravan to smuggle books banned inTucson back into Arizona. The Librotraficantes returned to Texasand fueled the state’s campaign for Mexican American Studies which led to the TX SBOE unanimously endorsing MAS statewide.
Diaz currently resides in Houston where he continues to fight for Intellectual Freedom and Freedom of Speech, and he is a a professor at Lone Star College-Houston North.
www.TonyDiaz.net
www.Librotraficante.com
www.NuestraPalabra.org
Sundays TV 7am – “What’s Your Point” on Fox 26 Houston.
Tuesdays 2pm –
New column on “The Cultural Accelerator” at www.TonyDiaz.netTuesdays Radio 6p – NP Lit Radio 90.1 FM KPFT, Houston, Texas. Livestream at www.KPFT.orgPodcast at
www.NuestraPalabra.org
