CASA Latina's unlikely ally -- Asian Americans - Robert Jamieson

Tweet "The imminent move of CASA Latina to the Central Area brought out the unwelcome wagon.

"Fear, disgust and racism followed an announcement that the organization, which helps Latino day laborers, would be coming. But against such ugliness something beautiful is now emerging, something that has garnered scant notice -- a call to be, well, neighborly.

"It comes from a group of Asian American community leaders and neighbors in Seattle who decided they couldn't in good conscience keep silent. They say CASA Latina's critics -- including some Japanese Americans in the Central Area -- leaped too fast and too loudly.

"'We are deeply concerned about the rhetoric used to block CASA Latina's move," said an open letter signed by 41 people. It appears in a May edition of the International Examiner, an Asian community newspaper.

"'We are mindful of our own painful history and the racial discrimination that Japanese immigrants have faced. Now, one and two generations later, we must not allow this kind of prejudice to enter our hearts."

"David Yamaguchi, writing in another Asian community paper, adds a century ago, "our (Japanese) grandfathers were 'the Mexicans.' " Some of them "arrived illegally, by as many routes as they could think of" to do dirty, dangerous jobs.

"These voices are a welcome turn.

"When CASA Latina officials tried in 2005 to move from their longtime Belltown location to the old Chubby & Tubby garden store site in Rainier Valley, they ran into hellfire opposition.
Affluent white families in the South End fretted over the possibility of plummeting property values. They joined forces with established blacks who believed poor Latinos would take over. Both groups voiced fears about safety. But beneath their concerns was a palpable anti-Latino, anti-immigrant undertone.

"This same animus was present after CASA Latina in March closed on its new Central Area digs, at 17th Avenue South and South Jackson Street. The organization plans to formally move in, perhaps within a year or two, after meetings to build more trust with neighbors.