12:00pm | History is not, by definition, relegated permanently to the past. Actions, behaviors, words, events — while their direct course may have been completed, there often remains an impact that lingers and is no less devastating. Part of history involves not just reflection, but admission; apologies, particularly by governments, are steps forward in acknowledging a wrong-doing and shows that even the powerful institution of governing can show a face of humility.
In 2005, Governor Arnold Schawrzenegger signed the Apology Act for the 1930s Mexican Repatriation Program, a formal apology for the repatriation/expatriation of hundreds of thousands of citizens and legal immigrants of Mexican descent. The Mexican Repatriation Program, under the direction of President Herbert Hoover, was enacted in 1929 and ran through 1944, without any form of due process. It is estimated that 1.2 million legal Americans were forcibly removed from our country; 400,000 from California alone. Part of this act’s legislation was the designation of a monument in Los Angeles dedicated to the victims of the repatriation.
That monument, designed to be placed at the LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, was unveiled yesterday. “L.A. was very much part of these official roundups,” said Supervisor Gloria Molina at Tuesday meeting of the Board before Sunday. “There’s a point in time where the only thing you can do is offer an apology.”
The event was a mix of private and public offerings, with the latter mainly consisting of education forums regarding the history of the repatriation. Along with Supervisor Molina, other notable guest speakers included actress Eva Longoria, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, Secretary of Labor, civil rights activist and icon Dolores Huerta, Civil Rights Icon, Senator Joseph Dunn, author of the Apology Act, and repatriation survivor Emilia Castañeda.