Reflections on a Day of Action and speaking to writers at Bakersfield College - By N.L. Belardes

As a whole, you don’t often see the good people of Bakersfield expressing their political views on city streets. Usually, that’s left for talk in mayor’s offices, Quiet $5,000 plate dinners when Arnold is in town, paper shuffling in government buildings, and meetings in stuffy city council chambers.

One year ago the city political mood was different. It was a tumultuous time where there were many immigration reform protests, some counter protests, an anti-Bush protest, and anti political proposition protest. Generally speaking, people had become active about expressing politics en masse, and in the open.

But what’s happened? Where are the masses now? Where are the protests on Bakersfield streets? Was this truly just a once-in-thirty-years political climate? To go march city streets in defiance and celebration. To wave a flag: American, Mexican, Ecuadorian, Filipino or otherwise...

A drive around town today looking for any sign of the Day of Action one year ago was serene, quiet. Normal.


One year later, Beach Park is just a quiet echo of protest sentiment


One year ago, spirits soared in preparation for a march

I had an opportunity today to re-read the poem I read a year ago at the Day of Action for Immigration Rights in Bakersfield: Immigration Interrogation. This time it could have been for a similar celebration on the Fresno City College campus. I had submitted my poem to Culturas Unidas, a multicultural Fresno student group assembling poets.

A representative asked me over the weekend if I could come and read my poem. But by then, it was too late. I had already scheduled to speak to Nancy Edwards’ creative writing class at Bakersfield College.

I met Nancy Edwards before class and she shared an article in the Renegade Rip that talked about Noveltown.

I was quoted as saying:

The people who say that (there is no culture in Bakersfield) are not recognizing their culture. If you don't recognize culture then you are not a part of it. Culture is in the town, culture is in the bike path, culture is downtown, and culture is in the music and the theater. It is here.

I purposely didn’t bring up the political topic to the class. I was in the Humanities building to talk literary opportunities for writers, not politics. Although I did encourage writers to become active: active in everything from their verb tense to getting involved with community in their own lives.






Nancy Edwards looks over her Creative Writing class...

“Do you know what’s happening in the world internationally, nationally, and locally?” I asked the class. I encouraged students to get to know what’s going on in the world around them, and then to use their voice to take part in their own community. It was a blessing to talk to every student.


Drewey Drew hides behind a magazine after class...


Beverley Sowers takes a peek at The Noveltown Review


What about political ships?


Nick Belardes and Nancy Edwards

When I walked on campus I thought about the Day of Action a year ago. I wondered what the climate had been at Bakersfield, even though I hadn’t been on the grounds that day.

For some reason I thought about the first marches in Bakersfield—high school students pouring onto downtown streets, including just outside the Rabobank Arena, where I snapped a photo of Ed Jagels flustered, with his head in his hands.

The city lay frustrated. The criticism of the students would soon begin. My attitude was that even if kids didn’t truly know what their actions meant, that they would discuss, learn, and look back. The hope is that they would eventually become affected by their bold actions.

Later I drove to Beach Park. I imagined the stage where Bo Caballero and I read poems. I remembered where Dr. Ganzalo Santos brought Tortas and we ate on the field near a tree. I remembered music, and Latinos talking about ethnic groups, proud to be both where they were from, and Americans. I remembered the people, motivated, moving, marching, winding along the bike path, past Yokuts Park, and getting bottlenecked at government offices, and then returning with candles in the thousands.

What I saw was city silence and empty fields...







A year ago dust rose from feet trampling across a soccer field--the return from a long march through dusk. Bugs swirled in the air. Bats dove around lightposts.

Voices carried the evening past tired feet, and into a political air that for the people present, had meaning.

But who are those people?

Where are they now?

What kind of political culture do they now support?

Why are the streets so quiet?

Are we all just waiting?

Or has time simply passed...?
***********************************
LATimes, "Small turnout, big questions: Rallies draw a fraction of last year's crowd as activists ponder the movement's future. Clash erupts in evening."
Fresno Bee, "Demonstrators seek reform: Crowds in Fresno and Visalia are smaller than last year, but hope for immigration change still strong."
Modesto Bee, "A Call for Unity: Immigration demonstrators rally on May Day"
Porterville Recorder, "Rallies for reform lacking in South County"

This entry was posted by N.L. Belardes, on Tuesday, May 01, 2007. You can leave your response.