VivirLatino

Every now and then VL gets tips from readers around quite controversial subjects. Many are hard to confirm and we choose not to publish them, but I found a tip I received today so disturbing that I felt it needed to be shared with readers.

Are the words “feminist” and “racist” always contradictory? Many women of color who considered themselves isolated from the women’s movement of the 1970s would probably say no. And if what we gather from the following tip is true, it would look as if racism is alive and well in the California chapter of N.O.W. not just in the form of exclusion, but in the form of ignorance.

VL is publishing the following information in good faith as the opinion of a VL reader, but we can’t prove or disprove the statements, so please read on with that caveat in mind. If anyone wants to counter the accusation or clarify any points, this is your forum as well. Here’s the letter in its entirety:

“I am a member of the California chapter of the National Organization for Women, and attended my first CA NOW Board meeting on February 24th this year. It was open to the public, so I see no problem in sharing statements that I heard there.

The California chapter president, Kimberly Salter, who was talking about visiting New Orleans during the National NOW State Presidents’ conference and talking to New Orleans residents, stated that the residents were all very appreciative of “the Mexicans” for coming to work there and live in tent cities, and she added that it was a cultural issue, because Mexicans were used to leaving their families and living in tent cities to send money home, and that other cultures wouldn’t do that.”

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