Spring Break
Montye Fuse speaks out on liberation
Monique Lewis
Fuse, an assistant professor at Arizona State University, introduced many literary works that exemplified the need to improve one's culture.
He spoke about George W. Gomez's works, which found that for some Latinos, assimilation into the dominating social class was the only option to succeed in life. However, Gomez said "one should celebrate and have pride in their culture."
Fuse discussed Ricardo San- chez's poems. Sanchez wrote poetry for nine years in jail during the "la Causa de Gente" (The Cause of the People), which was the Chicano Movement from 1967 to 1970.
"What was remarkable about his poems were that they reflected the struggle against racist, social domination acted out on the streets while he was in prison," Fuse said.
Sanchez felt the Latino race needed to fight for its liberation and focus only on its cultural needs.
Similarly, Fuse said Amiri Baraka, an African-American writer, expressed his views against other writers of his day.
"He raised the political standard for African-American writing," Fuse said. "African-American writers need to write about what is going on in their community and how to solve their problems."
Fuse's closing remarks included is own views of solutions for the struggle for liberation.
"We need to listen more and put aside one's stereotypical views of others in order to communicate well," Fuse said. "Also, we need to educate ourselves better of other culture's histories."
