Anti-racist rally in LA forces "SOS"to flee the scene with police protection

By David Pierson and Patricia Ward Biederman
Times Staff Writers
May 15, 2005
For 12 years, public artwork near the Baldwin
Park Metrolink station never caused a stir.
But when a Ventura-based group that opposes
illegal immigration got wind of what was
inscribed on the artwork this month, they
organized a protest that garnered attention when
it was announced on the "John & Ken Show" on
KFI-AM (640).

By Saturday, activists on both sides of the
immigration issue mobilized, resulting in a
sometimes chaotic confrontation in the San
Gabriel Valley community.
Members of Save Our State, a 7-month-old
organization, say they are offended by
"anti-American" inscriptions that read, "It was
better before they came" and "This land was
Mexican once, was Indian always and is, and will
be again" on the 20-foot-high arch.
"I find it incredibly offensive," said Joseph
Turner, the group's executive director. The
quotation "is seditious in nature. It essentially
talks about returning this land to Mexico."
Turner said he wants the offending quotations
removed before the Fourth of July.
The artwork, "Danza Indigenas," was commissioned
by the city and created by artist Judy Baca, who
was asked by residents for a structure that
evoked the historic San Gabriel Mission and
reflected the community's heritage. Baca said the
structure is a "layered history piece" that
honors the Native Americans, immigrants and
others who have lived over the centuries in what
is now Baldwin Park.

Other inscriptions on the artwork include, "Use
your brain before you make up your mind" and "The
kind of community that people dream of rich and
poor, brown, yellow, red, white living together.

"The irony, Baca said, is that Save Our State's
complaint about the quote being a Latino lament
over the coming of Anglos is wrong.
"It was better before they came" was uttered by
someone Baca described as "a white man from
Arkansas, a civic leader" who was lamenting the
influx of Mexican immigrants after World War II.
As a Chicana, she said, the remark offended her,
but she was also intrigued by it.
"When it went on the arch, its ambiguity became
profound," she said. "The 'they' could be any
'they.' "

Most of this nuance was absent at the rally,
which quickly descended into a heated face-off
for over two hours at Pacific and Downing
avenues. Protesters on both sides hurled
obscenities and taunts, and at times argued
face-to-face before police arrived.

Opponents of Save Our State consisted mainly of
young adults who said they sent e-mails to Latino
and immigrant worker advocacy groups. Many were
politically active teenagers and college students
who skateboarded to the scene.
"People from Ventura are coming to our town
demanding we take down artwork? That's just
ridiculous," said Joe Lozano, 23, a Baldwin Park
resident.
By 1:20 p.m., police in riot helmets formed a
line in front of the Save Our State group, whose
40 supporters seemed outnumbered 10-to-1 from all
sides. Streets were closed off and an officer
informed Turner at one point that they could not
guarantee the safety of him and his supporters.
"They're calling reinforcements," said Turner,
28, who grinned at the counterprotesters with his
arms folded.

Randy Selenak, 56, of Orange, was carrying the
Stars and Stripes and wearing a T-shirt with red,
white and blue that read, "These Colors Will Not
Run." The Save Our State supporter said that
going to Baldwin Park — where 70% of its 80,000
residents are Latino — was "like going into the
lion's den. I just want to get out of here in one
piece."
Police were called in from other departments,
including Arcadia, Covina, El Monte, Glendora,
Irwindale and West Covina, as were deputies from
the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
An elderly woman standing on Save Our State's
corner was allegedly hit by a thrown water
bottle, and required medical attention at the
scene.
"I've never seen anything like this," said the
woman's friend, Robin Hvidston of Upland.
Baldwin Park police said there were no arrests or
injuries.

By 2:20 p.m., police carrying batons and shotguns
escorted the remaining Save Our State protesters
to their cars.

Turner said he was emboldened by the experience.
"I love it. It's great," he said, looking at the
angry counterprotesters.

"They're communicating my message better than I
could because Americans see them and reject them.
They're basically a bunch of socialists."
Preston Wood, a member of the antiwar and
anti-racism group ANSWER LA, said the protest
reminded him of rallies against Proposition 187,
approved by state voters in 1994, which barred
illegal immigrants from receiving some public
services. A court later struck down the
proposition.

"It has the same feel," said Wood, 60.
"This is a real grass-roots mobilization of
people who are outraged over racist ideology in
Los Angeles of all places."

Many of the Latino organizations that came to
protest said they were familiar with Save Our
State, which has confronted day laborers at Home
Depots in recent months.
Opponents of Save Our State started the day with
a rally in front of the arch with Mayor Manuel
Lozano, other elected officials and Baca, the
artist.
"This project will be here 20, 30, 40 years so
your grandchildren will enjoy it," Lozano said,
eliciting a large cheer.
A troupe of traditional Azteca dancers then
performed near the corner where Save Our State
supporters were confined by a city permit.
City Councilman David Olivas said members of Save
Our State have "created an atmosphere of hate"
and that he and other Baldwin Park officials have
been inundated since their phone numbers and
e-mail addresses were posted on the group's
website.
"The e-mails I've received are bordering on hate
crimes," said Olivas, who added that the messages
would be sent to the district attorney's office.
Turner said that when people describe him as a
racist, "usually they are projecting their own
racism."

As to the claim that his group is anti-Latino,
Turner said it has Latino members.
The artwork cannot legally be altered without the
artist's permission, city officials said.
Baca said she has no plans to change it.
She said the work was not simply a personal
artistic statement but a collective one that
resulted from "a democratic process, an inclusive
process" involving members of the community.
"What is at stake is a community's right to
express itself," Baca said. Copyright 2005 Los Angeles Times