Get your motor running. The Chicano/a license plate just cleared the Colorado State Senate on a bipartisan vote of 26-9, with three Republicans crossing the aisle. Next stop, Gov. Jared Polis’ desk.
Supporters of the legislation hope the governor will come to Pueblo to sign the bill. “We heard Tuesday afternoon and right away thought about having the signing at the park on Cinco de Mayo,” said Denise Torrez, president of El Movimiento Sigue, a Pueblo nonprofit that worked with the sponsors for the past months. “But we figured that would be too soon.”
If the proposed bill becomes law, it would give Colorado drivers a chance to celebrate the Chicano heritage, while also benefiting nonprofits that support youth in communities throughout the state.
The bill sponsors, State Rep. Tim Hernandez and Sen. Julie Gonzales, say their bill is appropriate for Colorado where Latinos are 22 percent of the state’s population.
“It is important because our community has been waiting too long for it. We’ve been part of the history since the founding of Colorado and we’ve been part of the social, political and cultural scenes of Colorado,” said Hernandez.
Drivers can obtain the plates by paying two one-time $25 fees. One of the fees is credited to the highway users tax fund and the other to the licensing services cash fund. According to Hernandez, the cash fund generated by this bill is designated for youth programs statewide. The administration of the fund would be determined through a bidding process.
As proposed, the license plate features art from a group of Colorado artists. The design has many predictable symbols such as serape, fists clinched in a Chicano handshake, roses and the sun setting behind the Rockies, but it’s the “Chicana/o Power!” — that critics have zeroed in on.
One critic said the “Chicano Power!” — would be the first time the special license plates would be “racial — one race over others.” Hernandez countered that Chicano is not a race, “Chicanos can be multiracial — Black, Caucasian, Native American and Asian. Chicano is an ethnicity, a culture and a blend of all races.”
Chicano power is not power over others, its the collective power of Chicanos over discrimination, exclusion and racism he went on to say. “Anybody who identifies in both building power and in our history and future that is a Chicano, and I am really excited to be carrying this bill,” said Gonzales.
There already is an “Italian American” license plate in Colorado. The license plate would essentially create a pathway to fund and expand youth leadership programs, youth violence prevention programs, and ethnic studies programs, facilitate access to higher education and increase the cultural and economic well-being of the Chicano/ Chicana community in Colorado.
El Movimiento Sigue coordinated the online petition drive that collected the required 3,000 petition signatures in only 48 hours. “I Believe it’s dually beneficial as the vehicle owner not only can display a source of cultural pride, but will also be supporting culturally relevant opportunities for our youth,” said Torrez.
Jose Ortega, EMS executive director, said, “If El Movimiento is awarded the bid to house this effort, our plan is to support statewide programs such as Move Mountains in San Luis, Aquetza in Boulder, Rita J Martinez Youth Leadership Conference in Pueblo, La Raza Youth Leadership Conference in Denver, and other statewide programs.”
