Journal of Zeferino Ramírez

Journal of Zeferino Ramírez

June 12, 1927

Today was a stressful day, I knew I would be asked to stand in front of everyone to assert my opinion, and I knew that many would both agree and disagree with my words, but it is important to say what you believe.  I am not ashamed of what I said, and I am glad that it appears that I retain a good number of supporters in this naturalization and citizenship business. There are those who would like us to give up our citizenship, but I say they are foolish men.  How can you give up something which is such a crucial piece of who you are? How can you ask us to “naturalize”? I rarely feel what some may call “American,” and though I cannot imagine living in another place besides Belvedere, I do not think that we should have to give up who we are in order to stay where we would like.  I am fully aware that without American citizenship that we will not be a part of voting, but when has voting really helped people who are not white in this country anyway? All this said, I am not sure what will come of these conversations.  Whoever may read this journal one day, my grandson, my great granddaughter, you may want to skip ahead a few pages because I write this entry with great confusion, because though I say the things you just read above, there is a feeling in my chest that I am betraying my family, and those hardworking Mexicans living in Belvedere.  While I fight to keep our connection from where we’ve come, I am very afraid that this is a losing battle.  These white men look at our homes and part of town with hungry eyes, and if I had to be honest with myself right here, in the place where I should be the most honest, I am pretty sure that if the community decides to stand with me, we are going to lose.  Lose our homes, lose what we’ve built, but I have to keep faith in God that these things will not come to pass, and that those words God had me pour from my heart, will allow only good to pass.  I hope it will not be the undertaker who is the death of all we know…With that said, I will try to get some rest, but we will see about tomorrow.  God give me peace and protect us from those who would like to change us and see us gone… because I fear for the future.

“Wounded” by Scott Harrison, this picture was taken on January 31^st, 1971 during a Chicano demonstration somewhere in East Los Angeles.  One man was killed and eighteen residents were injured by Los Angeles County Sheriff Deputies (seven sheriffs were also injured).  Nearly seventy stores were damaged or destroyed.

Quotes from the text:

“How does one make sense of the contradictory aspects of this story? What does Zeferino Ramírez’s life, and his reaction to the prospect of changing his citizenship, tell us about the cultural adaptation of Mexican immigrants to the United States in the early twentieth century?” (p.4).

“‘Cultures’ do not hold still for their portraits.” – James Clifford, 1986 (A quote included by George Sanchez to start Part One of the book.)