Miguel Ortega is a longtime community organizer in Tucson, Arizona. As a young activist in the mid-1990s, Ortega was instrumental in establishing the first public high school Mexican-American Studies program in the country. He  served as a member of the Tucson Unified School District MAS Advisory Board, and, in 2010, he was one of the community leaders in fighting against HB2281, the state law that forbids the teaching of Ethnic Studies in Arizonaclassrooms. 

What do you remember about the year 2010, specifically regarding HB2281?

I remember a lot of organizing, a lot of planning, and the intense TUSD board meetings, where we demanded protection of the Raza Studies program. I remember some iconic direct actions, such as when the students chained themselves to the school board dais.

However, there was also a great deal of chaos and panic. This isn’t to belittle all of the organizing efforts that took place at that time. The time was chaotic because we were caught off-guard. We were in a defensive position.

In the 90s, we started a Mexican-American Studies program that became very successful, and was the first of its kind  in the U.S. When the attacks on the program came down from Phoenix, it caught us off-guard. Previously, we felt a sense of security, because we thought that we had a program in place that was politically protected, after the community did the heavy lifting to get the program up and running. But in retrospect, we came to realize that we didn't do enough to hold our elected officials accountable, to help us protect and safeguard this program that the community worked so hard for.

How does the battle from 2010 compare to the organizing that took place in the 90s? You have a very unique perspective, in that you were highly involved in both of those struggles. How do they compare?

In the 90s, it was all about building the Raza Studies program; in 2010, it was all about defending it.

In the 90s, when we started the effort to obtain and build the program, we were working from an energy and a reaction to things that were happening nationwide. In ‘92 there was the Rodney King beating, there was the signing of NAFTA in ‘94, there was the Zapatista uprising, there was the “Three Strikes, You’re Out” laws, and the Bill Clinton era of increased law enforcement. There was a great deal of police brutality, as well as a lot of gang activity. So there was a lot happening around us.

At that time, I was doing a lot of teatro. I worked with the Teatro Javelinas, and we did a lot of political theater in the streets. Later, I worked with Maricela Robles and the Robles sisters, who led grassroots efforts to organize the youth, through the Raza Unida Bike and Car Club. All of that eventually led to our formation of the Tucson Xicano/Mexicano Coalition Committee for Self-Determination (TXMC).

At that time, we pushed for the bare minimum of even having a Raza Studies program in TUSD. We knew that the first step was to make the case of why the program should exist in the first place. As I mentioned before, this was a very turbulent time for people of color, nationwide. Therefore, we made the case that, given what was happening around us, we really needed this type of program for our youth. We needed our young people to be educated about their heritage, their political history, and about the importance of self-determination.

In ’98, once we were victorious in obtaining the program, we continued to work on the many other issues that were important to us, such as housing, jobs, union organizing, clean water in our barrios, and so forth. We always felt that Raza Studies was not the goal, per se. Raza Studies has always been the means. The vision of Raza Studies was to have a foundation for us to organize and obtain all the things that I mentioned, so that we could flourish, thrive, and walk with dignity. It was never about just succeeding in establishing the program, and then kicking back and saying “Okay, we’re done. Everything is going to be great now.” We never really saw it that way.

To get back to your question, a big difference between then and 2010 was the new, young voices who emerged as leaders. That was really great. Many of these young voices continue to organize, to this day. That's very refreshing, and during these turbulent times that we’re currently in, they’re recognizing once again an organizing principle that’s always true, which is that we can never be led by politicians. The people must always lead. The leadership vanguard should always be from the barrio, from the community. All of our efforts should be barrio-centric. When we strive away from that, we end up with what we have now, which is an all-Democratic Tucson City Council that passed an ordinance that empowers police to determine where people can videotape their activity from. Barrio power erodes when we don't hold elected officials accountable and we don't continue to drive change as leaders, as opposed to relinquishing our leadership to elected officials. So that's kind of different. I think a lot of the young people now are not being caught off-guard. I think that there is a stronger reaction to false leadership, or leadership that is against or not about self-determination, or barrio-centric policies. They are much quicker to act, and to call out that false narrative. That's something really positive that I see.

Do you think that HB2281 has had an effect on Arizona's business and economy. If so, why? Or if not, why?

Yes, definitely. Over many years, we’ve established that the teaching of Ethnic Studies benefits a community, on a number of levels. With regard to business and economics, it's a no-brainer. Arizona learned that lesson way back in ’91, when former Arizona Governor Mecham refused to honor the MLK holiday. We know that the rest of the nation does not look favorably upon racist policies, and upon states that don't celebrate inclusion.

Arizona has paid the consequences on several issues where it has not done right by our community. Sadly, however, it’s our small mom-and-pops who suffer the most, because in Arizona, especially Tucson, our economy depends on tourism. Many people go on vacation and want to learn about and celebrate the culture and history of the people in that community. When they find out that our state leadership does not celebrate or recognize diversity, those people will take their money elsewhere.

So, at the very, very least, for those who aren’t interested in politics or the social aspects of these kinds of policies, and who are pragmatic about the state economy, it’s clear that these racist policies are very bad for business.

Many of the protagonists involved in HB2281 and SB1070 have been voted out of office, or have left office in disgrace and/or controversy (Arpaio, Horne, Huppenthal, etc). Does this affect the legitimacy of these laws in any way?

I don't know. On one hand, there’s something to be said about the different ways that we can energize people to take action. When you have polarizing figures that are obviously on the wrong side of history, such as the people that you mentioned, it can be helpful to point to them as examples of why folks should organize and get politically engaged. And when those figures are voted out, or toppled symbolically, it feels good, and it hopefully motivates us to continue our work.

But it doesn't really do anything for the systemic problems that are in place. So while we should celebrate the fact that the Tom Hornes and the Pete Wilsons and all the rest are gone, there are plenty more Hornes and Huppenthals ready to come back up.

The other danger that we run into when we focus too much on the villains, is that we take attention away from some of the people on our side who should be held accountable. For example, it’s a problem when we assume that entities such as the Democratic Party leadership will always do right by us, and we don't hold them accountable, as we do the villains.

In other words, it's easier to attack the guy wearing the Black Hat. It's easier to organize around toppling the guy who made the obvious racist comments, and who's pushing blatantly racist or biased policies. But they are part of a systemic problem. And that systemic problem involves people that are on the conservative side, as well as people that appear to be on our side. There are a number of “progressive” politicians who are subject to re-elections, and, therefore, vulnerable to the big money that supports their campaigns. If we don't hold them accountable, even more so than the obvious guys in the Black Hats, then we'll have this never-ending cycle, where maybe we'll win an Ethnic Studies program, but ten years later, we’ll have it toppled, because we lost focus.

In my opinion, that's one of the mistakes that we made, after we succeeded in getting Raza Studies in ’98. We lost focus. We assumed that our friends were going to protect us on the TUSD school board and at the City Council, and they didn’t do it. That's a tough thing, because addressing this issue requires a heart-to-heart community conversation. Many believe these elected officials to be “on our side”, therefore making it uncomfortable to hold them accountable.

But like they say in the corporate world, “it's just business.” If a company is going to take over another company, or make a major corporate decision, they say that it’s “just business, not personal.” The way I see it, protecting our community, our families, and our barrios is just self-determination business. It’s nothing personal. We shouldn’t personalize our work, in that regard. It’s just the business of protecting our barrios and our self-determination.

That's something that we still need to contend with, that we still need to grapple with. How do we hold our local elected officials accountable? How do we proceed with courage, and focus on what needs to be done for our community, and not be distracted by symbolism or by things that we think “ought to be.” What if an elected official is wearing a White Hat, and he’s supposed to be the good guy, but he's not? If he doesn't do right by our people, then that person needs to be held accountable.

Speaking of “taking care of business”, many people believe that there’s unfinished business that remains. HB2281 is still on the books in Arizona. Do you have any thoughts about the potential to repeal this law?

Many elected officials and other people in electoral politics hold the cynical view that because we’re dealing with a conservative state legislature, we can’t get anything done. They say that our primary objective should be changing the legislature to a Democratically-controlled power structure. It drives me crazy that this is always their answer. They say, “just vote us in, and we’ll make that change.” We've heard it over and over again. They say that “our elected officials will get to that issue, once we have the right people in office.” That's the carrot that we're always told to chase after. But once they get elected, they never get the courage to follow through.

I think the idea is to continue to put pressure on not just the “Black Hats”, but also on our elected “friends”, and demand for that action to take place. HB2281 could be overturned, and no we can't just wait for the “right people” to be elected, because the cycle that I mentioned will continue over and over again.

So, can it be done? Absolutely! Because when you organize, it's not so much about making change the very next day. The idea is to always continue to be engaged with the community, and put that pressure on, keep the pressure on, and follow that North Star, so that when an opportunity comes, we're ready to push even further to win. Because the moments in history when we do win, they occur when a community is organized, prepared, ready, and does not relinquish power. We continue to push, and when the environment is right, and the circumstances are right, we tend to win.

I'm really counting on our young people, who are the best BS detectors. By virtue of being young, they know the BS when they smell it. That's why the vanguard should always be the young people with that instinct, and with the sense to continue pushing forward and demanding that kind of accountability. So yes, it can happen. And we shouldn't compromise on that. It’s a horrible excuse to say “Oh well, we live in Arizona, that’s the best we can do.” Do we need to compromise? No. There are some things that you don’t compromise on, and racist policy is one of them.

The last one is a two-part question. Has anything changed in Arizona, in the ten years between 2010 and now? And how do you view the future of Arizona politics going forward?

I'm really encouraged by the new voices that are beginning to take a leadership role. I’m certain that these strong, independent voices will make some solid changes. The element of independence has been missing, for some time.

There are a few issues that I see in Tucson, and even nationwide. One is that the progressive community has its own demons to work out. Sometimes, we forget to look at organizing through the lens of science and basic principles. If you look at any effort, even if it’s not political, they move forward and succeed when they work from principles that have stood the test of time. In my experience, the principles of successful organizing are discipline, accountability, and independence. What I mean by true independence is that the vanguard of change must come from leaders that are independent of electoral politics. That doesn't mean we don't engage in electoral politics. You absolutely must engage in electoral politics. But our voice should be independent from it, so that we continue to push a community narrative, as opposed to a narrative that is based on the success of an elected official. There are some good elected officials, don’t get me wrong. But those good elected officials recognize that they’re there to follow. They're not there to lead. The politicians that recognize that they’re in a servant position, who are there to serve and to follow the lead of the community, they are the ones who really do get it.

For example, the People’s Defense Initiative (www.pdi.org) is a group that makes me feel much more optimistic as to the direction that we're going in, here in Tucson and statewide in Arizona. Because that organization does not compromise, on that front. When they worked on the ballot initiative to make Tucson a sanctuary city, they were very disciplined in not being co-opted by elected officials. Instead, they had a specific goal in passing this initiative, and they never strayed from that. They created an example, or a template of how other groups can organize. They organize in a disciplined way and a politically mature way.

Another thing is that when we organize to make change, we must have accountability for ourselves and our organizations as well. There’s no room for toxic engagement. We have to keep ourselves disciplined, so, if and when toxic voices arise, there shouldn’t be any room for them. I remember this principle from the 90s. We worked with the national Chicano Moratorium committee in Los Angeles, as well as other groups. They had very specific principles and rules of engagement. This meant that if you're going to come in as an organizer, you have to adopt the principles of self-determination, adopt independent politics, and engage in a responsible way. So that when you walk into a barrio, your Nana, your tios, and other people in the community look to you as a politically mature entity that's going to listen to their issues and protect them, moving forward. You should be held accountable by the barrio. So if you're out there spewing toxic comments on Facebook, if you're out there being undisciplined, there's no room for you.

I think that PDI has recognized that. I’m sure that they’ve had the same type of internal struggles that every group goes through. But they’ve created an example and a template as to how to move forward. Unfortunately, the Sanctuary City initiative didn't pass at the ballot box, but it did create a larger mechanism for us to move forward. I think if they continue the way they're going, and continue to focus on self-determination, our barrios, and independent politics, our community will make progress.

Finally, as organizers and servants to our barrios, we have to have a sense of humility. We have to recognize that we're the outliers, the ones that are not normal. And that we represent a very small percentage of the community. Even if you include the folks in electoral politics, we make up only 1% of the overall population in any particular community.

This is important because we should always recognize that there’s a huge section of people in the community who are savvy and smart enough to know that they're not going to engage with us, if they see leadership that’s not disciplined. They’re just not going to do it. That doesn't mean that they're not “woke” or conscious. It doesn't mean that they don't care, and it doesn't mean that they're apathetic or dumb. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. They're looking at us and saying “We voted these people in for decades, and we see the poisoned water that we continue to drink in our barrios. We see the elected officials that say they’re going to make changes and then they don't follow through. So you're telling me that you want me to spend my time, when I’m already working two jobs and trying to support my family? You're telling me that I need to give up two or three hours to be chingón with you on the streets? I don't think so. Show me first what you got. Show me first where you’re leading me. Show me first what I'm getting into, and once I have faith in what you’re doing, once you've earned my participation and my time, and my connections in the barrio, then I'll join you.” Once we earn their trust, that little 1% can become 10%, 20%, 30% of people who want change.

That’s what I mean about humility. Sometimes, we take ourselves way too seriously! But I feel optimistic about the future. There are a lot of things that are very special about this local community, and this state, and we have a rich history.

It’s interesting times right now, especially with the Black Lives Matter uprising. But it’s not the first time we've gone through what’s happening now. I remain optimistic about the future of self-determination and barrio-centric politics. And I feel really blessed to live in a community with such a long history. And I think we're going in the right direction.