By Gabriel Lara, CSPL’s Economic Justice Organizer
My name is Juan Gabriel Lara and I work as an economic justice organizer with the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership (CSPL). I was born in a small town called El Terrero in Guanajuato Mexico. When I think about what gives me strength and what inspires my work, I think about my roots. The faith that I received from my mother, and the love and acceptance I received from my family.
The rising number of positive COVID-19 cases recently became much more personally impactful a month ago. At first, my brother informed me that he had tested positive with the virus. Then, his wife tested positive. Two days later, it was my sister and her two daughters, one in her early stages of pregnancy, who had now tested positive. I witnessed my niece’s isolation from everyone, even from her two sons in order to keep them safe. The rising number of positive COVID-19 cases were now much more than numbers to me. They were loved ones who I cherish in my life. Thankfully, today they are doing much better.
As grateful as I am for my family’s recovery, I am also angry. Angry for an all too familiar reason that has emerged from the stories shared by my relatives and friends who have been impacted by the virus. When someone at a factory dies, the factory is forced to close. When the factory reopens, only then do workers receive the protective gear that they need. Still, it’s just one free mask. If they want more protective gear, they must purchase it themselves. There are countless companies across the state of Illinois that pay Latinx and Black workers meager wages while demanding that those same workers put in extremely long hours in unsafe and hazardous conditions. These work environments violate all of the core principles that Catholic Social Teaching seeks to stand for when we speak of the dignity of the human person and workers. Workers in many of these factories face rampant racism, sexual harassment and wage theft.
I am not surprised that one of the highest-ranked communities with positive COVID-19 cases is the Chicago Lawn community. We hear, “stay at home,” “be responsible,” “it’s about saving others” but as much as social distancing is an effective way to prevent the spread of the virus, it has also made an important issue transparent; the profound and scandalous inequalities of our economic system. How can we expect a mother of three, who lives paycheck to paycheck, to stay home and still provide for her family? If resources were distributed equitably, then yes, maybe she could. Are we truly “all in this together?” Anger is often viewed as negative, but I believe that anger can become the sacred fuel that propels me to work for justice. I can start by sharing my story and my work with and amongst others at CSPL.
Currently, I am working with women and youth in the Chicago and Maywood area to create a more just and inclusive economic alternative. CSPL supports these community leaders as they develop worker-owned cooperatives. We have formed what we call Circles of Encounter and Dialogue. These Circles are gathering spaces where community members and leaders come together to share stories, learn from one another, and engage in training for community transformation.
My faith and my passion for justice continue to inspire my work with the immigrant women from Maywood, Broadview, and across Chicago who are owners of the cooperatives LSG Cleaning Services and Living La Fiesta Catering. The resilience and dedication of these women inspire me and give me hope. Currently, in order to continue providing for their families, the worker-owners of Living La Fiesta have shifted their priorities temporarily from preparing food to making home-made protective masks. I invite you to visit our website at www.csplaction.org to learn more about our work, and I encourage you to support the cooperatives by purchasing masks for your family or by making a donation for masks that can be distributed to other community groups in need of them.
Sincerely,
Gabriel Lara