09/26/23 09/26/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> latino history is american history. we need to acknowledge our colonial past. amy: as the nation marks hispanic heritage month, we look at a brewing controversy over the creation of the smithsonian's national museum of the american latino. we will speak to two historians

who have been hired to create a temporary exhibition about the latino civil rights of the 1960's, but the museum shelved the exhibit after coming under criticism by conservative latinos. instead the museum is now working on an exhibit about salsa music. but first, chilean president gabriel boric made a historic trip to washington, d.c., over the weekend to mark the 50th anniversary of the u.s. backed coup in chile. boric visited the site in washington, d.c., where in 1976 agents of the pinochet dictatorship assassinated former chilean diplomat orlando letelier and ronni moffitt of the institute for policy studies. >> when some people dare to ask the victims to silence their grief, to turn the page, i would humbly like to tell them, having

spoken to many of those victims, this reconciliation is only possible with truth and justice, not with forgetting. amy: we will speak with orlando letelier's son juan pablo letelier, a former senator in chile. he has just returned to santiago -- santiago from washington, d.c. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. at least 20 people were killed and nearly 300 others hospitalized monday as an explosion ripped through a fuel depot for refugees in the south caucasus territory of nagorno-karabakh. it's not clear what caused the blast, which added to the misery of tens of thousands of ethnic armenians fleeing the disputed territory one week after it was seized by azerbaijan. armenian officials report nearly 14,000 of nagorno-karabakh's

120,000 residents had fled to armenia as of tuesday morning. thousands remain without food, shelter, and clean sources of drinking water. >> we don't know what happens to us next. we don't know what the government has in store for us. there is not a single chance to go back was not if there were chances, we would not lead in the first place. it is very dangerous there. amy: on monday, representatives of karabakh armenians met with azerbaijani officials for second round of peace talks. no details about the meeting were made public. in baku, azerbaijan's president ilham aliyev pledged his government would ensure the security of everyone in nagorno-karabakh, countering armenia's claims that an ethnic cleansing is underway. >> the people living in the region are azerbaijan citizens regardless of their nationality. their well-being will be insured

by the state of azerbaijan. amy: diplomatic officials from armenia and azerbaijan are in the belgian capital brussels today to prepare for october 5 peace talks. the summit will include the leaders of france, germany, and the european council. ukrainian officials say russian air strikes and artillery fire killed six people and destroyed grain storage infrastructure at the black sea port of odesa monday. the damage further degrades ukraine's abilities to export food and fertilizer to world markets two months after russia withdrew from a deal that granted safe passage to agricultural exports. monday's attacks came as ukraine's military said its -- it has confirmed the deaths of the top commander of russia's black sea fleet, along with 33 other officers, in a ukrainian missile attack on russian-occupied crimea last week. the kremlin claims that just one member of the russian military is missing after the attack. meanwhile, the united nations independent commission of inquiry on ukraine says investigators have found continued evidence of war crimes

committed by russian forces in ukraine. the commission's chair erik mose testified to the u.n. human rights commission in geneva on monday. >> the use of torture by russian armed forces in areas under their control has been widespread and systematic. further, the commission has found russian soldiers raped and committed sexual violence against women of ages ranging from 19 to 83 years, often together with threats of commission or other violations. amy: in immigration news, mexico has accepted demands from the biden administration to start deporting migrants who are apprehended in northern mexican border cities back to their home countries. mexico's government has also agreed to enforce over a dozen policies to block migrants and asylum seekers from reaching the united states. this comes as u.s. immigration officials have reported a sharp increase in the number of people

attempting to cross the u.s.-mexico border in recent weeks as thousands seek protection from violence, conflict, extreme poverty, and the impacts of the climate crisis. the mayor of el paso, texas, has said his city is at a breaking point as shelters are at capacity, forcing many asylum seekers onto the streets. another texas border city, eagle pass, has issued a state of emergency declaration as thousands of asylum seekers have arrived in recent days. meanwhile, immigration rights advocates have denounced the biden administration for deploying more military personnel to this southern border and not addressing the massive backlogs greatly delaying the processing of asylum and immigration cases. a recent report by syracuse university found a backlog of some 2.6 million cases in u.s. immigration courts. new jersey senator bob menendez says he will not resign and will seek to clear his name after he

and his wife were indicted friday on federal bribery charges. on monday, he said the nearly $500,000 in cash found in his new jersey home was being stored for emergency personal use. menendez did not mention the gold bars and mercedes-benz also seized by federal agents, nor did he answer questions from reporters. >> i recognize this will be the biggest fight yet. as i have stated throughout this whole process, i firmly believe when all the facts are presented, not only will i be exonerated, but i still will be the new jersey senior senator. amy: on monday, two more democratic senators, sherrod brown of ohio and peter welch of vermont, called for menendez to step down. they join pennsylvania's john fetterman, whose campaign promised to return $5000 in contributions from a political action committee tied to senator menendez in "envelopes stuffed with $100 bills."

two people have announced they are running against menendez in next year's election. new jersey commerce member andy kim and community activist lawrence ham, the chair of the people's organization for progress. former president donald trump has called for the outgoing chair of the joint chiefs of staff general mark valley to be put to death. trump made the remark monday in a social media platform truth social, accusing him of secretly speaking to china's government behind his back in the final months of his administration. trump wrote "this is an act so egregious in times gone by the punishment would have been death." in georgia, a fulton county judge has granted a request by prosecutors to restrict the release of personal information about jurors in the georgia election interference case. district attorney fani willis requested additional protections for jurors in the case against former president donald trump and 18 co-defendants after

members of the grand jury who brought the indictments had their home addresses, phone numbers, and other personal information posted online, leading to threats and harassment. willis and members of her team also received death threats. in colorado, a judge over seeking a case to bar donald trump from the 2024 presidential ballot has issued a protective order barring threats and intimidation. crew argues trump was disqualified under clause of the 14th of movement that prohibits people from holding office if they have "engaged in insurrection against the united states." meanwhile, trump's presidential campaign is denying the former resident purchased a glock pistol during a visit to a gun store in south carolina monday. video shared on social media shows trump admiring the weapon which was decorated with his name and likeness and saying he would like to buy it. federal law bars the sale of firearms to people who are under indictment for crimes carrying sentences of more than a year,

which would include trump. this comes days after president biden unveiled a new white house office of gun violence prevention. pres. biden: after every mass shooting, we are the same message all over the country, "do something." do something to prevent the travesty that leaves behind survivors who will always carry the physical and emotional scars. amy: the gun violence archive reports nearly 32,000 people across the u.s. have died from firearms so far this year. 519 people have been killed in mass shootings. microsoft is on track to complete the largest-ever merger of technology firms after british regulators approved its $69-billion purchase of the video game maker activision blizzard. this comes after a federal judge in july refused the biden administration's request to issue a temporary injunction stopping the merger citing anti-trust laws. the federal trade commission

argued the merger would hurt competition in the video game industry. members of sag-aftra have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike against video game companies. union negotiators representing about 2600 performers have been in negotiations for a new interactive media agreement for nearly a year without success. they're seeking wage increases to make up for high inflation and want guarantees against the unregulated use of artificial intelligence. the strike authorization comes as hollywood actors remain on strike even after major studios reached a tentative agreement sunday with screenwriters in the writers guild of america. the wga has paused picketing but remains on strike pending ratification of the contract. wga leaders are scheduled to vote on the agreement today. once it's approved, the contract will be made available to about 11,000 union writers to vote on. no talks are currently scheduled between hollywood studios and sag-aftra actors who have been

on strike since july. libya's top prosecutor ordered the arrest of eight libyan officials as part of the investigation into the collapse of two dams in the eastern port city of derna earlier this month . the disaster killed thousands of people after tsunami-level floods decimated entire neighborhoods. thousands of survivors held recent protest demanding accountability from government officials as the reportedly ignored mounting warnings that if the dams were not urgently maintained, derna faced a potential catastrophe. in canada, hundreds of sikh community members gathered outside indian consulates and diplomatic missions across multiple canadian cities monday angered by canadian accusations the government of indian prime minister narendra modi was directly involved in the assassination of the prominent canadian sikh separatist leader

hardeep singh nijjar in june, who killed outside a temple in british columbia. it can one week after prime minister trudeau said took parma there is credible evidence gathered by domestic intelligence linking the indian government to nijjar's murder. >> we would like the canadian government to completely abolish their embassy and remove it from here because they have already broken international law. they have compromised the safety and sovereignty of canadians. and the longer they are here, who knows who they are targeting next? >> you cannot control violence. they will pay the price. amy: india has said the accusations are absurd. an investigation is underway after an individual threw at least one molotov cocktail at the cuban embassy in washington, d.c., sunday. cuban foreign minister bruno rodriguez said on social media

"target of a terrorist attack." the building did not receive significant damage and there have been no arrests so far. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. when we come back, the chilean president gabriel boric paid an historic trip to washington, d.c., over the weekend to mark the 50th anniversary of the coup in chile and the 1976 assassination on u.s. soil a former chilean diplomat orlando letelier and his colleague ronni moffitt, killed by agents of the peltier dictatorship. stay with us -- pinochet dictatorship. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman in new york, joined by democracy now!'s juan gonzález in chicago. hi, juan. juan: hi, amy. welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world.

amy: we begin today with the ongoing events marking the 50th anniversary of the other september 11, september 11, 1973, when the u.s. backed military coup in chile unfolded that ousted the democratically elected president salvador allende who died in the palace that day and lead to a 17 year repressive dictatorship of general pinochet. saturday, the chilean president gabriel boric eight an historic trip to washington, d.c. come to visit the site where on september 21, 1976, agents of the pinochet regime assassinated orlando letelier and his colleague ronni moffitt of the institute for policy studies for the work to defend democracy in chile.

at the time letelier was murdered, he was director of the transnational institute of ips, progressive think tank. this is the late filmmaker and author saul landau in a video produced by the ips describing the attack and his close friend orlando letelier. >> wanted to bring democracy back to chile and on human rights in general. with the codirectors ips, thought it was a good idea. we hired him. he did not stay all that long because pinochet blamed him for several of the bad things that were happening to chile as a result of pinochet's human rights violations. the kennedy amendment, which cut off all arms sales and shipments to chile and the harken amendment that cut off the rest

except for humanitarian aid. although orlanda was not responsible for either one of these, pinochet and his narrow shaped blame blamed him -- brain blamed him. nobody who was ever involved with these two people will or could ever forget this horrible day. it was a warm, slightly drizzly morning and orlando's car came to rest here at the embassy's doorstep. there was a bomb where it would blow straight up. ronni was sitting next to him and took a piece of metal in the throat. i felt overwhelming sadness and felt we have to get the people who did this. there was no question in my mind the only possible suspect was pinochet. pinochet never got his name on

the indictment with the signature of the u.s. attorney, and that was a tragic blow to american justice. amy: that was saul landau in a film produced by the institute for policy studies where orlando letelier was working when he was assassinated. the ips was co-founded by marcus raskin, father of democratic congress from maryland jamie raskin, who addressed the memorial ceremony saturday at the site of the 1976 assassination, in sheridan circle. the event took place a couple of days after independent senator bernie sanders joined democratic congressmembers alexandria ocasio-cortez and others to introduce a congressional resolution apologizing for the u.s. role in the 1973 coup, and calling for further declassification of u.s. records for related events. congressmember raskin spoke after he presented a copy of the resolution to president boric. >> i was 13 years old when

orlando and ronni were killed right here. i had a message sent to school that i should come home right after school. i was on the bus and we were stuck for sever h on. it was before cell phones took place. i remember going to see ronni moffitt's family that night with my parents and michael reconstructed the details of what had taken place and describing the horror of the explosion of the car. i remember everybody weeping for

days at the loss of orlando and ronni, who often babysat for me and my siblings. i remember my dad and others holding a press conference and to clearing that whatever else would happen, ips would find the killers of their colleagues. amy: that is congressmember jamie raskin who was also referring to michael moffitt, the husband in the car, though not killed, along with ronni moffitt and orlando letelier. also there on saturday was two of orlando letelier's sons spoke, including his juan pablo letelier, a former member of the chilean senate who will join us in a minute from santiago. this is what he said saturday. >> dear friends, this is the

site of cultural memories. this is a memory site that has been built in the last 47 years, led by the ips. this has been a place where voices have built a memory site. struggles built here today. we are full of gratitude. amy: after he spoke on saturday, the chilean president addressed the crowd. he began in english. >> i have been to a lot of acts

of remembrance. i must confess i am really taken now after hearing orlando's sons, after hearing that incredible speech jamie raskin -- there you are. after feeling this energy here, washington crying but all of us here gathered happy and celebrating life not death. that is a way to say we won. that orlando and ronni's ideals won. i was born 10 years after

orlando was killed. my generation is deeply moved and deeply grateful of the life they gave to us. amy: as chilean president gabriel boric continued his address, he transitioned to spanish. >> could a taws are never inevitable. there will always be a space for dialogue, for conversation, for respective different opinions. even today, there are many who continue with impunity. when some people dare to ask the victims to silence their grief, to turn the page, i would humbly like to tell them, having spoken to many of those victims, this reconciliation is only possible with truth and justice, not with forgetting. and with deep convictions that

this can never happen again. we expect that the u.s. has reflection, a more deep reflection -- i know you're doing that, but a more deeper reflection on what they pushed in chile. not only chile, other places in latin america. amy: that was the chilean president speaking saturday washington, d.c., the side of orlando letelier and ronni moffitt's assassination. for more, we are joined by juan pablo letelier, member of the chilean house and senate for 32 years. he was in high school when his father orlando letelier was assassinated with u.s. activist ronni moffitt in a car bombing on embassy row september 21, 1976. his socialist party is also part of president boric's coalition.

joining us now from santiago, chile. still after all of these years, our condolences to you, your family, your country, juan pablo letelier. >> thank you very much. thank you for having me. amy: it is great to have you with us. if you can talk about -- we heard congressman raskin talking about him being 13 years old when your dad was assassinated. can you talk about your experience at that time? your father was the chilean ambassador to the united states until 1973, then moved on to be leading critic outside chile of pinochet before he was murdered. talk about where you were. >> i was at high school. we used to live in bethesda, maryland. i was a senior. i was called over to the dean's

office, the principal's office. when i got there, he mentioned to me my father had been in an accident. he did not give me more details. he only mentioned my aunt was going to pick me up. a little while after she did, two of my brothers were in the car with her. i got in the car and sat in the backseat with what of my brothers francisco, who asked if i knew what had happened. i told him that i did not. he simply said they put a bomb in dad's car. they put a bomb in dad's car. we drove down were into d.c. to the hospital. we were listening to news briefs, reports of all types, different information, confusing information. one person dead, to persons dead, no information. when we got to the hospital, there was a lot of people, a lot of press, a lot of confusion.

we were kind of hustled in. suddenly, we were in a room with my mother. she came to us and hugged three of us that were there. what she said was, the only thing i ask of all of you is that after all of this is over, you won't hate anybody. that was her way of telling us that my father was dead. juan: juan pablo letelier, can you talk about the fight afterwards to bring justice for the people responsible and especially the loan request to hold pinochet directly responsible? >> this has been a very long fight. the institute for policy studies, saul landau, along with journalist john dinges, did a big investigation. they searched for information. they picked up information.

the fbi also did its effort. there was a trial initially in the u.s. around 1978. i will say, which unfortunately, despite all the information being available, it was considered a mistrial, amazingly . where the cubans who lived in the u.s., who collaborated with pinochet's police or secret police, they were off the hook, unfortunately. they have been identified. this was a big effort through many years, many human rights workers cap struggling to get justice done. finally, thanks to many people who pushed this effort, once we recovered democracy in chile's in the 1990's, during the second democratic government we had,

just on that occasion the head of the chilean secret police and another collaborator were sentenced and condemned. previously, the agent who went to the u.s. and had gone into a plea bargaining agreement. he had been tried in the u.s., spent barely five years in jail for seven years after this terrorist attempt in washington, d.c., the first one, as it occurred then on u.s. soil where an american citizen was also sentenced along with my father and ronni moffitt. we have been able to advance justice. there are things that are pending. in the search of that information, there have been wonderful people who have struggled in chile and in the u.s. to get more truth. there has been a wonderful

person at the national archives, people at the ips come human rights workers who have helped get more information. there are still some facts pending and we are confident the truth will prevail and we also are very satisfied, allow me to say it, a group of congressional reps, senators, house of representatives forward motion to get history straight. there always were a group of senators and reps to accompany the cause of democracy in chile, but what is about to be voted in the next days is part of the administration of justice in creating or getting facts correct. juan: could you talk about the challenges still facing chile

and boric participating in the events in washington? >> president boric as he said when he was there was or in 10 years after my father's assassination. -- was born 10 years after my father's assassination. he is a man extremely committed to human rights in chile and abroad. he is the conviction that no democratic society can exist without full respect of human rights, not mattering if it is the government of one political tendency or another, can be from the right or left. human rights have to be upheld. he has maintained that position internationally regarding cases like nicaragua or venezuela or elsewhere. he also has been very committed to what is happening in chile. he has announced an initiative

that is a national state guaranteed project or initiative where the government authorities and agencies have a legal obligation to aid all relatives of those who were detained and disappeared and whose bodies have still not appeared. more than 1100 persons. the state has an obligation to help find closure for these families with more truth than more justice. he is a president who is extremely committed with human rights and we as a family are extremely grateful. i am sure the moffitt family feels the same. he would have accompanied us last saturday in an incredible and emotive activity of showing the circle. amy: you are referencing the apology resolution in the united

states congress. talk more about what that resolution is passed, the one bernie sanders and go see bang -- alexandria ocasio-cortez is supporting. what would that mean? how did what happened 50 years ago and 47 years ago in the case of the assassination of your father shape chile today, juan pablo letelier? >> let me state the following -- the congressional church report, which was worked through with a number of senators in u.s. congress, after the coup in chile got part of the facts straight, it stated clearly that there was covert action by the nixon government against allende 's government. first trying to destabilize the government economically, then

politically, financing opposition, financing illegal and terrorist acts in chile. that information is what gave us the conviction for the overthrow of the allende government probably would not have occurred had it not been for u.s. covert intervention. that is something which still is a wound in chile. it is obvious there was political conflict in chile at the time. but what created the conditions for the breaking of democracy was this covert operation. over the years, there were many brave members of congress who accompanied the chileans who fought for democracy. senator harkin was one of them, kennedy, and many others accompanied us, george miller, and many other from the house of representatives. but this resolution, which is being put forth today, has an

additional value. i think it is very important to underline its importance. it will say, if approved, that congress has a body recognizes, one, these of covert actions is unacceptable, the use of violence is unacceptable as a mechanism of resolution of conflict of any type. and it states there is a conviction of profound regret of what has happened as a way of recognizing u.s. responsibility in what happened in chile and other countries. but in the case of chile, it is important because what occurred is the allende government came to power through a democratic process, a democratic process, fully democratic process. chile was one of the most stable democracies in latin america until 1973. we have recovered our democracy,

we are working on it today, but to have this statement by national congress helps to get history straight, it is a recognition of many people -- many movements -- many actors in the u.s. who do not accept the use of violence internally or externally to resolve conflicts. i think it is incredible not only for chile, but also important for internal u.s. policy, the way we have to as humidity and mankind and each of our countries, how we have to get things done. juan: could you tell us in their brief few seconds we have left for this segment, there was a national search plan approved recently by the chilean government to search for people who were disappeared during the pinochet dictatorship. what remains to be done in this area? >> i think the important

president boric initiative is twofold. firstly, business, not a responsibility of relatives alone. it can't be those who are victims are the only ones who are responsible for looking for the relatives, searching for the relatives, getting information regarding what happened to the relatives which the great majority of persons are under 30 years of age. the importance of boric's announcement is this will be a public state agency responsibility to search, to find, to discover what happened beyond the judicial branch. secondly, it is a way of recognizing there is a state responsibility in what occurred. they were agents of the state, persons who worked for the government, dictatorship i all means, but worked for the state

and hence the state will accompany the families, the relatives until they get justice done. trying to find out what happened , that we have some versions in chile that has happened to some of those persons, it is horrific. some were thrown into the ocean with railroad rails tied to their bodies, others were unburied at one point, put together and bombed the bones to shreds. there are many versions. it has to be said as official version so the families can find closure regarding what happened to the relatives. amy: juan pablo letelier, thank you for being with us, former member of the chilean house and senate for 32 years. was in high school when his father orlando letelier was assassinated with u.s. activist

september 21, 1976, on bombing washington, d.c.'s embassy row. next up, as the u.s. marks national hispanic heritage month , we speak to two historians about a brewing controversy over the creation of the smithsonian's national museum of the american latino. back in 30 seconds. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. we turn now to look at a brewing controversy at the smithsonian institution over plans to build a national museum of the american latino. in 2020, congress passed funding to create the museum along with an american women's history museum, but there has been a deep divide in washington over how latinos should be portrayed in the museum. last year, the museum opened a temporary exhibit inside the smithsonian's national museum of american history. the exhibition is called "presente! a latino history of the united states." republican lawmakers and other conservatives within the latino community have attacked the exhibition, leading the smithsonian to halt plans for a future exhibition on the latino civil rights movement of the 1960's. in its place, the smithsonian is

now planning an exhibition on salsa and latin music. this fight is exploding into public view in the midst of hispanic heritage month, which runs from september 15 to october 15. this is jorge zamanillo, the founding director of the national museum of the american latino, giving a brief tour of the current exhibit in a video posted by the smithsonian. >> latino history is american history. until the full history, we need to acknowledge our colonial past. we feature a sculpture of a leader in 1680. we have a medicine woman, post colonial rule. these are important stories to feature and highlight how important they are shaping our future. these communities were around hundreds of years before european colonization. that is important. we further explore how racism

and colors and developed during the colonial period and we have a few examples from puerto rico that illustrate this point for visitors. this 1973 poster emphasizes the abolition of slavery on their island in 1873. we can find deep historical meaning in music. it has historically offered black put reagan's a space for creative resistance and renewal. -- black puerto ricans a space for creative resistance and renewal. latino is a label that brings together racially and racially diverse communities. it represents both our commonalities and differences, a core part of our work. amy: that was jorge zamanillo, the founding director of the national museum of the american latino. one vocal critic of the museum's exhibition has been the cuban-born congressman mario díaz-balart who threatened in july to block funding for the museum.

he serves on the house committee on appropriations and later backed down on his threat after he met with jorge zamanillo and lonnie bunch, the secretary of the overall smithsonian institution. after the meeting, the museum changed parts of the exhibit featuring a foam raft used by cuban refugees to flee the country. the original exhibition text said the refugees were "escaping cuba's economic crisis." in july, the text was changed to add a reference to fidel castro and "cuba's dictatorship, political repression, and economic crisis." some of the first public criticism of the current exhibition came from a group of conservative writers who penned a column in the hill last year claiming the exhibit offered a "unabashedly marxist portrayal of history." the controversy comes as the smithsonian is seeking to raise enough money to build the museum which will cost an estimated $800 million. "the new york times" reports $58 million has been raised so far.

we are joined now by two historians who have been hired to develop the now shelved exhibit on the latino civil rights movement of the 1960's for the museum. felipe hinojosa is a history professor at baylor university in texas. he's also the author of the book "apostles of change: latino radical politics, church occupations, and the fight to save the barrio." johanna fernandez is an associate professor of history at the city university of new york's baruch college. she's also the author of "the young lords: a radical history." we welcome you both to democracy now! johanna fernandez, let's begin with you. what has happened? i mean, the idea that this museum was going to be built either across the mall from the museum of african-american history or in the tidal basin, but your exhibit has led to this kind of uprising on the right.

can you explain with the current exhibit is, what the one is that has been shelved is, at least for now, that you and professor felipe hinojosa have been creators of? >> thank you for covering this evolving crisis. presente is an exhibition in waiting while the actual building of the latino history museum goes up in 10 to 12 years. what is important about presente is that it outlines the contours of latino history, which are complicated. one of the points it makes is

that the largest latino population in the united states was integrated after the united states war with mexico in 1848, which is responsible for giving the united states its contemporary boundaries. half of the united states was acquired during that war and the people who were in those mexican lands remained in the now borders of the united states and the integration of those people into a -- as part of american history. the presente! exhibition highlights the acquisition by the united states of puerto rico in 1898. it also policy has driven people

out of latin america and into the united states. what is important is it establishes the question, who are latinos? how did they get here? what is the relationship to their communities and to the nation and the world? unfortunately, conservative latinos don't want to hear that narrative. they want a narrative that emphasizes latino military service and business success of latinos in the united states. juan: professor felipe hinojosa, you work and come from texas, a state at the forefront of some of the culture wars that we are experiencing today. can you talk about how you

learned of the concern here and what you were told by folks at the smithsonian about what needed to change or did not need to change in terms of the work you are doing? >> thank you for having me. i am from texas, from the real rio grande valley post shapes who i am and the work that i do, writing about and teaching on the latino civil rights movement has been centerpiece of the work that i do. in joining with this work with the smithsonian, i think the biggest joy and thrill was to be able to present these questions that johanna fernandez has just mentioned. the larger and broader questions of who are we and who are we as a community and what is our relationship as a nation were

central questions for latino civil rights activists in the 1960's and 1970's. we worked on this exhibit smithsonian with the smithsonian for two years. we were 65% complete and the sort of rumblings that started to happen came immediately after the peace that was published in the hill i believe summer 2022 when that came out and there was some concern in terms of the kind of material we would be presenting. but i think for us our major concern was to make sure we were telling a truthful story, a complex story, and a nuanced story about how latinos have grappled with the relationship to the united states. the critiques that came to us and what we were told in terms of what could be and could not be included i think were alarming to us. when the email came in november

2022 this exhibit was going to be paused or canceled, i think it confirmed our fears the fact the smithsonian was not viewing the latino civil rights movement as they brought enough story, as a story that would raise the kind of funds museum needed to open in 10 or 12 years. i think from the work certainly we have done and the work we are engaged in for two years, nothing could be further from the truth. what is bigger and what's more central i think than young people asking themselves and the community how they can make this a nation that is better for all. juan: johanna fernandez, this whole issue of political leaders putting pressure on the museum to basically override the historians the museum has chosen to develop its exhibitions? >> i think we have to look at

this conflict in the broader history of the last 10 years. when conservatives have launched a calculated and broad sweeping campaign to essentially eliminate the teaching of black america history, latino history, ethnic studies, women's histories, lgbtq+ history in the schools. and now what we see is through this witch hunt, and by smearing historians and curators as marxists, these conservatives are using fear to essentially push through their agenda. and now, again, this has reached a federal museum. not just any federal museum, but

the largest network of museums in the world, which is known as the smithsonian. in many ways, this sounds and looks like a repeat of the red scare or previous moments of repression in the united states. amy: professor fernandez, what is your response to them sending you this email saying they're putting your next exhibition on pause? to be clear, smithsonian presente! -- presente! is now in the natural resume history and the one on the civil-rights 's pause, say they want to appeal to a larger audience special because their fundraising so they will shelved the civil rights issue and do instead and exhibition on salsa music and latin music. >> i think we have to say there is no more integral matter in

the united states than the struggle for freedom, democracy, and to redefine the united states as a country for all. that is integral and core to the american imagination. so to say that this issue is a minor one is really cannot understand the very essence of american history upon which the american revolution and its determination to fight for liberty and the pursuit of happiness is core. juan: professor hinojosa, in terms of -- in texas itself, there clearly is a very significant and strong conservative population in the

latino community. not only is this a national ethnic struggle, it is also a class component to help people view history. what was your sense of why it is so important to tell the story as you have researched it and looked into it throughout your career versus what some of the political leaders of your state might want? >> first of all, i would say a lot of political leaders are often disconnected from the grassroots community. they don't understand what the community is asking for. i have been in the classroom for over 20 years. students are wanting more of this history, wanting to better understand how latinos have shaped texas politics, have shaped the history of the united states. and not just latino students. i'm talking students of all backgrounds that are very

invested in telling a bigger story of american history and having a broader understanding of it. the other thing is demographic change, the demographics of -- texas is now a latino-majority state. to have those demographic changes that have taken place in the last 20 years across the state, i think it signals to us a tremendous responsibility to teach this history, to have a better understanding of the contributions of the community. we are not perpetual foreigners. we are not people new to the station. we have contributed for generations to make this country what it is today. in particular my own home state of texas, and the idea is not to simply talk about a liberal versus conservative idea of history. the idea is to tell a story that is complex, that is nuanced, and gets at this idea of democracy, gets at how different people from different sections of society have made this country

what it is today. i think in particular the state of texas. there is a reason why texas history classes fill up the way they do at universities across my home state of texas. people love this history. they admire it. as they should. but we need a bigger telling of it. we need a story that brings in marginalized voices that have been silenced throughout history, and i think our exhibit was one small step to try to do that. not only at the state level, but at the national level. juan: could you give some examples of you wanted to put forth in the civil-rights exhibit, especially in terms of taxes history that many americans -- texas history that many americans pay not be aware of whether it is crystal city uprising in the early

60's and others? >> we were looking at the ways in which latinos in the state of texas and across the southwest and across the country have not waited for the nation to do something for us. not sitting idly by. historically, we have taken matters into her own hands for political participation. you mentioned crystal city. in 1963, gaining ground to the crystal city council. there was a group of five mexican americans. that was a huge shift and i think a call to the state of texas that mexican americans were serious about political participation. they went on to form a party and ran a candidate for governor here in the state of texas. that is the kind of history that we want to tell, one of agency, one of power, one that gets at how latinos have not simply waited on but have acted upon to

make this country more democratic, more representative for all. amy: professor hinojosa, thank you for being with as a baylor university in texas, and johanna fernandez, professor of history at the city university of new york's baruch college. [captioning made possible by democracy now!]