On Monday, October 30th, I had the distinct honor and privilege of speaking at the
Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Golf
Tournament. There are some who would consider the content of this speech as liberal, while others would view it as conservative, depending on which side of the fence you’re on. I say it’s neither. Rather, it is a common sense solution to two growing problems – discrimination and hostility against both Hispanic immigrants and U.S. citizens, and ineffective assimilation into the American culture. First and foremost, I am an American. Secondly, I am Hispanic. For the winds of change to blow, we must take positive action by gaining the respect we deserve, and by proving that the U.S. Hispanic population is a vital and productive ingredient in a flavorful stew of cultures that comprise a multi-ethnic society. I’m proud to be an American, and I’m proud to be Hispanic. My
speech is as follows:
Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament Speech
“First, I want to thank our corporate sponsors and partners for helping us put on this event. Without you, we couldn’t have done it. I also want to thank the staff of the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce for all the work they put in to make this a successful event. Let’s face it; they did all the work, so let’s give them credit. I
trust that everyone had a terrific round of golf and a great time today.
I want to spend just a few minutes today talking about what we hope to achieve in our community as
Hispanic Americans. Last
week I was in
New York City. I found myself walking along 5th Avenue between 51st and 59th streets. I
figured that during that 8 block walk, I passed dozens of buildings full
of people working, I passed thousands of people walking along the street
around me, and I heard at least half a dozen languages being spoken, and
nobody seemed to mind.
Based on some quick math, I estimated that I was
within 1,000 yards of about 380,000 people working and living together…in rather incredible unison. Passing
the intersections and buildings I recall hearing over half a dozen different
tongues and seeing over a dozen different skin tones.
Swedes to
Ethiopians.
Bulgarians,
Chinese, and
Mexicans. All
of that registered in just that short 5 minute walk.
So, when I started thinking about what comments
I might give tonight, I thought we should consider…Who are we? The Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Are
we immigrants?
Puerto Ricans?
Hondurans?
Latinos?
Hispanics? Do we have any Mexicans in the crowd tonight? Maybe it’s time to stop defining ourselves along ethnic lines; after all, in an ever increasing globalized world will our ethnicity even matter? It has for too long divided our community, the Hispanic community. It has for too long made us outsiders looking in on the American dream instead of active participants, leaders, and teachers. Defining our ethnicity along those lines has led to what some have called growth with no development. The theory says that economic growth, can be equated with a persons physical growth, it happens to just about everybody until sometime in your early 20’s, and then it stops. Economic development on the other hand, can be equated with how you develop after you stop growing and it doesn’t stop sometime in your early 20’s,
it continues for life.
Some leaders in the past have said that what’s wrong with the Hispanic community is that it suffers from growth but no development. Those leaders have pointed out to us that we have demographic numbers, but our kids aren’t graduating from high school, college, law school, medical school, engineering school, you get the idea. They’ve pointed out that we have jobs, but don’t own or lead the companies that create those jobs. Some in our community are fortunate enough to work for large corporations, the likes of which are represented here tonight, but we don’t run them and we don’t sit on the Board’s of those corporations. That
is why we grow and do not develop.
Development involves being part of the entire community. Yes,
you can speak another language, dress differently, and in some neighborhoods,
depending on the
Homeowner’s
Association Rules, you can even paint your house a different color, but
you must have the entire community in your field of vision, not just your
own. You must urge everyone, whether or not they are part of “your” community
to learn, get an education, understand kooky concepts like long term capital
sourcing strategies, and be leaders and owners of small, medium, and large
corporations.
What do we want? We want to be leaders in
the
Dallas community. Not just leaders in the Dallas Hispanic community, but leaders, owners, and corporate board members of the greater Dallas community. By leading for the betterment of all the community, and not merely our own community, we will gain acceptance versus intolerance. I, for one, do not identify myself first as Hispanic, but as an American, who happens to be Hispanic. I
was born in
Hawaii for goodness sakes! We, and by that I mean the Hispanic community, should all want to be Americans who just happen to be Hispanic, if we want both growth and development. We need to be a community that others gain from…and
not merely a community who wants to get more from others.
So, where are we going? We are going to lead
the
DISD and make it a great successful
public school system for everyone, not just for Hispanics. We are going to build successful companies that cater not just to Hispanics, but to the entire Dallas community. We are going to help guide the Dallas area’s largest corporations through Board stewardship. We’re going to help lead the Dallas area’s largest corporations by reaching the executive suite. We’re
going to do that not by practicing ethnic politics but by competing and educating
ourselves to be leaders in the Dallas community, not just the Dallas Hispanic
community.
I want you to leave knowing who I am… My
name is
Angel Reyes. That’s
right, the born in Hawaii, Hispanic,
Texan,
American lawyer. I am a Hispanic lawyer but I do not cater to only Hispanic clients. My firm’s
clients are
Asian-Americans,
African-Americans, Hispanic,
French,
Lebanese,
you get the idea. My firm represents people who speak Spanish, English, broken English, accented English; again, you get the idea. I want the entire community to flourish, not just the Hispanic community. I am proud to be an American and I am also proud of my Hispanic heritage, but I don’t
allow others to define me by it.
As you leave here today, I hope you will consider
who you are. Are you a contributor and educator of the entire community or do you remain in just “your” community? Do you set examples of inclusionism or do you simply promote special attention based upon ethnicity? Our
success as a community will ultimately be defined by the quality of our contributions
and not just by the simple fact that we are Hispanics.
Thank you again for your continued support. We
hope to see you back again next year.
©2007 Angel Reyes
www.ReyesLaw.com