Latino group convenes in Newport

Lolita Harper

The largest and oldest Latino civil rights organization held its

annual state board meeting Saturday here to discuss “critical agenda

items,” which included Newport Beach City Councilman Dick Nichols.

Organizers of the California chapter of League of United Latin

American Citizens, commonly known as LULAC, moved its statewide board

meeting to the Newport Beach Radisson in an effort to confront

head-on issues of race and culture that challenge people in the area

today. League officials described Newport Beach as “on of the most

controversial communities in California today,” largely because of

public remarks made by Nichols regarding Mexicans using the grass

areas at Corona del Mar State beach.

“We [were] invited to Newport Beach by LULAC members that are

concerned of recent racial comments from a local city councilman,”

state director Mickie Luna said. “[Our chapter] will always support

the local efforts of its members, and will always seed to be a

positive source in resolving any challenges facing the Latino

community in California.”

Nichols’ Mexican comment, made in June during a phone interview

with a reporter from the Daily Pilot, sparked a city-wide controversy

and drew national media attention. The councilman said he opposed

expanding grassy areas at Corona del Mar State Beach -- one of the

numerous changes slated for the site -- because “with grass we

usually get Mexicans coming in there early in the morning and they

claim it as theirs and it becomes their personal, private grounds all

day.”

His comment sparked heated debates and pulled back the surface of

much of the politically-correct speech largely found in the peaceful

-- but overwhelmingly Caucasian -- beach community. Nichols gained

spirited supporters, vehement detractors and concerned residents who

wanted to spread more tolerance.

LULAC members are among those who hoped to spread tolerance in

light of the negative situation and talked about his comment Saturday

morning, before other topic discussions on the gubernatorial recall

election and Proposition 54.

Views ranged about attitudes of intolerance and how to communicate

to people the Latino community is not one dimensional. Education was

deemed important to spread knowledge of the vast differences between

the various Latino cultures and to inform people who speak with

prejudice that the Latino community is a viable and educated

community.

Members of the California chapter of the league will continue

their conference in the city today. LULAC was founded in 1929 and has

a national membership of 115,000, with more than 600 councils in

nearly every state and Puerto Rico. California has always been one of

the largest chapters, officials said.