Still Dreaming: My Journey from the Barrio to Capitol Hill
432Still Dreaming: My Journey from the Barrio to Capitol Hill
432Hardcover
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Overview
Beloved by the immigrants and working people whose rights he has championed, twelve-term Congressman Luis Gutierrez is, among Latinos and along with Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the most recognized Hispanic public figure in America.
Here Gutierrez recounts his life between two worlds: too Puerto Rican in America, where he was born and yet was told to "go back to where you came from"; too American in Puerto Rico, where he was ridiculed as a "gringo" who couldn’t speak Spanish. For much of his early life, he seemed like the last person who would rise to national prominence. Yet his tremendous will and resilience shaped his varied experiences—from picking coffee beans to driving a cab—into one of the most surprising careers in American politics. He campaigned for Chicago’s first black mayor, Harold Washington. Someone threw a Molotov cocktail through the window of his house, and he only grew more committed to reform. Tested in the crucible of the notoriously tough Chicago city council, he earned the nickname "El Gallito": the little fighting rooster.
Gutierrez was one of the first Latino public figures to support gay rights; he led the fight to cut Congressional paychecks, hashed out legislation with both Ted Kennedy and John McCain, and fought with Newt Gingrich and George W. Bush. Despite his strong support for Barack Obama in two elections, he was arrested twice while protesting for immigrants in front of the Obama White House. From recollections of his failures as a teenage activist to his crackling observations of the nautical décor in Kennedy’s office and the white-gloved waiters of the Speaker’s dining room, Gutierrez is as endearing to the reader as he is sometimes maddening to his colleagues, inspiring us all to stand up for our rights and for those of others.
Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9780393088977 |
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Publisher: | Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc. |
Publication date: | 10/07/2013 |
Pages: | 432 |
Product dimensions: | 6.20(w) x 9.40(h) x 1.70(d) |
About the Author
Doug Scofield managed Luis Gutierrez’s first congressional campaign and served as his chief of staff for ten years. He runs a political consulting and public relations firm and remains active in the debate on comprehensive immigration reform. He lives in Oak Park, Illinois, with his wife and two sons.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Ring of Fire 3
Chapter 2 When Lincoln Park Was Puerto Rican 19
Chapter 3 Leaving Home, Going Home 38
Chapter 4 The Gringo Is Bothering Me 54
Chapter 5 Paying Sugarcane Cutters Under the Flamboyán Tree 70
Chapter 6 Winning a Medal for Speaking English 88
Chapter 7 A Declaration of Independence 109
Chapter 8 Puerto Rican Lucky Numbers 126
Chapter 9 Cabdriver, Exterminator, Spark-Plug Salesman 151
Chapter 10 Neon-Orange Campaign Signs 170
Chapter 11 Learning to Beat the Chicago Machine 191
Chapter 12 I Would Cut My Throat from Ear to Ear Before I Count Those Ballots 210
Chapter 13 A Soldier in Harold Washington's Army 228
Chapter 14 Cockfighting in the Basement of Your Business Is Strictly Prohibited 247
Chapter 15 Congressional Pay Freeze, Congressional Pariah 273
Chapter 16 Why Don't You and Your People Just Go Back Where You Came From? 297
Chapter 17 Fifty Thousand New Citizens 314
Chapter 18 Senator Obama's Fence 333
Chapter 19 Arrest Me, Not My Friends 356
Chapter 20 Immigrants Can't Wait Any Longer 375
Chapter 21 Too Puerto Rican for America, Too American for Puerto Rico 391
Acknowledgments 403
Index 407