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NEWS
| October 8, 2003
Words
on the Rise
A faculty member will take a sabbatical
this spring to write his 8th book about Hispanic empowerment.
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| The Shorthorn: Brandon Wade |
| Jose Angel Gutierrez, political science
professor, has written seven books promoting political
and social control for Hispanics. “Gutierrez is
a part of Texas history, and UTA is lucky to have him
on our faculty,” said Allan Saxe, political science
associate professor. |
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By Crystal
Apodaca
The Shorthorn staff
Jose Angel Gutierrez knows firsthand the ugliness of racism. He
learned that being a Mexican meant being inferior after his father’s
death in the 1950s.
“Whites wouldn’t give me the time of day,” said
Gutierrez, 58, a political science associate professor and part-time
attorney.
His father had been a respected doctor in the South Texas town of
Crystal City, and that respect extended to Gutierrez and his mother,
he said. After his father’s death, though, “the Anglo
social doors shut tightly on us.”
The annual gifts Anglo employers had given to the family before
stopped coming, restaurants refused their reservations, and banks
denied loans to cover funeral expenses.
He said it seemed race weighed more heavily than qualifications
after being turned down for a teaching job in Crystal City —
twice — despite receiving a masters degree from St. Mary’s
University in San Antonio.
These are just some of the instances Gutierrez uses as examples
that he was treated different because of his race. Those early experiences
fueled his ascension as a fervent leader for Hispanics, he added,
so he has dedicated the last 30 years to gaining political and social
power for Hispanics.
Rising political power
Gutierrez has been involved in several organizations and written
seven books over the past three decades. He will continue to promote
Mexican social awareness as he takes a sabbatical during the spring
semester to write two biographies on Albert Peña Jr. and
Severita Lara.
During the social upheaval in the 1960s, Gutierrez emerged as a
political icon and gained national attention when he co-founded
the political party La Raza Unida in 1970. The party’s purpose
was to wrest political control for Hispanics where it counted —
the ballot boxes.
The party did so through staging boycotts and protests.
His involvement with La Raza Unida led to political unrest in his
hometown.
Even before he formed the party, though, there was trouble in Crystal
City. He had given public speeches but decided that the speeches
were neither long nor detailed enough to convey his message. He
decided, with a few college friends, to publish an underground anonymous
newsletter.
Gutierrez was kidnapped and threatened for publishing the newsletter,
“In Fact of Fiction,” in which he largely exposed white
practices he and some friends considered to be scandalous. He wrote
about the then-taboo of sexual relations between white women and
Mexican men. He accused people of being alcoholics.
In his book, The Making of a Chicano Militant, published in 1998,
he relates these tales in detail. As he was getting off a bus in
Crystal City, Gutierrez said, armed men including the county commissioner,
the justice of the peace, the sheriff and a Texas Ranger seized
him and said they would kill him if he didn’t cooperate by
telling the public he was a communist. That was in 1963 when he
was 18 years old.
“I thought I was going to die, but the threats were just that,”
Gutierrez said.
Described as fearless by some and a radical by others, Gutierrez
isn’t afraid of ruffling some feathers to accomplish his goals.
There can’t be progress without risk, he said.
One of his colleagues, political science associate professor Allan
Saxe, said Gutierrez is a strong leader who has seen a lot in his
time.
“Gutierrez is a part of Texas history, and UTA is lucky to
have him on our faculty,” Saxe said. “While I teach
about the stuff, he’s actually lived it.”
Chicano philosophies
His political ambitions have taken a toll on his family, though.
His wife, Gloria, said following his path has not always been easy
for them.
They have received countless angry letters over the years. She said
she was never concerned enough to take her children elsewhere to
protect their safety, but her husband’s previous wife in Crystal
City did.
In their nearly 20-year-long marriage, Gloria Gutierrez has seen
her role as keeping the family together and informed. Throughout
lawsuits, they have kept their children informed, excluding most
of the hate mail. Her only concern now, she said, is that her family’s
information is readily available to the public.
“Even now he still gets a lot of hate mail,” she said.
“It concerns me because of the Internet.”
Despite those troubles, she said she doesn’t have any doubts
about the worth of her husband’s cause. He’s strong,
and she and her children have a lot of respect for his work, she
said.
Gutierrez’s first book, A Gringo Manual on How to Handle Mexicans,
raised some eyebrows when written in 1976. He said people in his
hometown reacted strongly against his words about Chicanos’
lack of power. Some people in Crystal City are still upset by the
book, he added. His wife said people often threatened him for what
he preached.
In his book, which he sold out of the trunk of his car, he humorously
listed some tricks Gringos use to “keep Hispanics down.”
The last trick in the book, No. 141, promises a second book on tricks
Chicanos could use to extend their power when the time came.
Gutierrez kept that promise after 27 years with what he considers
his most significant work. A Chicano Manual on How to Handle Gringos
was published in April and is considered a book of empowerment among
Hispanics.
Gutierrez emphasizes his definition of “gringo” to mean
anyone with anti-Hispanic views, though the term literally means
someone of Anglo-Saxon descent.
“There are all kinds of gringos, even Mexicans who deny their
heritage can be called gringos,” he said.
Business at UTA
Gutierrez came to the university in 1992 because there was an opening
that he called “right up my alley.” He began teaching
political science and founded the Center of Mexican American Studies.
October marks the 10th anniversary for the center, which became
a political power base under his direction.
But in 1996, the center saw a wave of controversy. The Shorthorn
then reported that Gutierrez was removed as the director for what
then-President Robert Witt said was “mismanagement.”
An audit of a Tejano music festival that May showed a loss of $27,000
and alleged the center was misused for political purposes.
Gutierrez said he sued the university to get his name and integrity
back and he won. He was reinstated as director of the center for
the rest of the fall semester and was to head a committee to purchase
Hispanic literature for the Central Library.
After the books were purchased, he was prematurely removed from
his position as special adviser to Witt. He said he was “unfairly”
removed and sued the university again in 1997 for breach of contract.
His original appointment had stated he would remain in the position
until 1998.
He was awarded nearly $100,000 in legal fees and other expenses
in both lawsuits, including the $25,000 procurement to purchase
the literature.
Although he is no longer affiliated with the center, Gutierrez remains
a professor here and continues to impart his ideas to his students.
Mayra Pineda, a criminal justice senior, enrolled in one of his
classes her first semester here and said “he is definitely
not afraid to speak his mind, and some students will either love
him or hate him.”
Keeping an open mind will help to understand the issues he raises
and where he’s coming from, she added.
“The most rewarding aspect of being a professor is stretching
minds to view a different perspective, as well as doing research
that no one else takes the initiative to do,” Gutierrez said.
The next 20 years
Gloria Gutierrez said her husband’s demeanor has softened
over the years. The way he delivers his message has changed, she
said, but his ideas and politics have not.
He doesn’t try to force his philosophies on anyone, she said.
With age, he’s found new ways to relate his values.
His children are some of those ways.
Gloria and her husband have always made sure their seven children
were aware of the Chicano position — taking them to meetings
and marches — not to make them believe in one philosophy but
to educate them.
“Jose knows the key to our future lies in the hands of our
younger generations,” she said.
The average age for Hispanics in the United States has dropped to
25.8, as indicated by the 2000 national census. Therefore, Gutierrez
said, it’s important to teach the younger majority about who
they are, where they came from and where they need to go.
Gutierrez said he foresees many changes happening in Texas and throughout
the United States within the next 20 years.
“Just look around you, and you will see Mexicans comfortable
being Mexican,” he said.
Hispanics are now the largest minority group, but there has been
little gain with numbers alone, he said.
Most Mexicans are poorer and less skilled than in past generations,
he added.
“We must focus on becoming trained and skilled so that we
can go from being the governed to governing,” he said.
Gutierrez is working on his eighth book, Chicanos in Charge. He
continues to extend recognition to prominent Hispanic leaders with
lectures at universities and biographies.
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