Due to me being a Carnalismo Brown Beret for the last five years I feel I’m an expert in living the life of a Carnalismo Brown Beret. What I want to convince the Chicano population of is that joining the Carnalismo Brown Berets is one of the best moves they can make if they are searching for an easy way to help improve many aspects of their lives. As a member of the Carnalismo Brown Berets you are given the opportunity to experience things beyond your “world” by interacting with other cultures and learning about their ancestral history and your own. You also have the opportunity to travel around the country to attend huge rallies and conventions where you can meet a lot of important political people and famous activists. I myself have attended these events and have the opportunity to meet the chairwoman of LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens), a senator from the state of Texas, and many influential and important activists and city officials from right here in Denver; such experiences can have the power to change the way you think and will motivate you to improve the way you live. You may be asking yourself right now, “who are the Carnalismo Brown Berets and what do they do?” The Carnalismo Brown Berets are a free, non-profit, non-violent Chicano (Native American and Spanish descent) civil rights organization that was founded in 1965 in San Antonio, Texas. Our organization was created during the Vietnam era by active soldiers serving in the military with the effort to unite the Chicano soldiers; it was meant to be a support system for our people serving in the armed forces and was originally called “the Brotherhood.” Those Chicanos who supported the ideas of “the brotherhood” adopted the Brown Beret over the military issued beret. Being originated in the military it only makes sense for us to structure ourselves in a militant manner to influence self-discipline, self-respect, and physical fitness for our members. The Brown Beret with the Carnalismo patch sown on front was brought back from across seas and made into a civil rights group (the Carnalismo Brown Berets) to help protect the Chicano race in Texas during the civil rights era in America. The Brown Berets are public servants and leaders; we are a voice for those who are oppressed and mistreated by the illegal ways of local government officials, school officials and police. Now being established in Colorado in 2007, the mission of the Carnalismo Brown Berets is to empower the Chicano population to advance in their education, help preserve the culture of our ancestors, and to unify our people. We will act as a voice to speak out against police brutality, inequality, and neglect by the education system. The Brown Berets are public servants and providers to our communities. Many people outside the Chicano Movement, even some Chicanos, see the Brown Berets as just a bunch of egotistic ex-gang members who do nothing to help people. These assumptions are only based on our past lifestyles and our physical appearances. Just because most of us come from the street that doesn’t mean that is what we are still about. We are reformed Chicanos who try our best to keep others from falling into that kind of negative circle like we did. Plus, a lot of our members are outstanding citizens who have never seen the street life or anything related to it; they are also business owners, high school and college students and even college professors. No matter individual backgrounds we all encourage positive a life styles and most importantly, higher education. Those who motivate themselves to helping others and those who dedicate themselves to the Carnalismo Brown Beret cause are rewarded with so much encouragement to further their education, self-confidence, and with the mentality that no dream “as long as positive and productive” is out of reach. Having a mind and belief that you can achieve any goal you set for yourself is what the Carnalismo Brown Berets are trained and taught to have, and that is what helps members of the Carnalismo Brown Berets become everything they want to be. A few months into being a dedicated member you will be far too familiar with having the feeling of self-satisfaction through knowing that you are a true role model for the youth and that you can do anything you put your mind to, and that’s a beautiful thing. Being a member of the Carnalismo Brown Berets I have witnessed all this first hand. The way I think and the way I live has improved a lot just by following the Brown Berets in what they do. Through community events I’ve learned to humble myself and let go of any type of racism I felt. Before joining the group I was never satisfied, I found myself always wanting more even though I had everything I needed. This type of greed made me feel stressed out and kept me from spending time with my family. I use to run with a gang, believing that race and life styles depended on who I should be cool with and who should be attacked. Dealing with different cultures has given me a new respect for diversity. Now that I sit here thinking of my past I realize even more that I needed a group like the Carnalismo Brown berets to help me find a brighter path. Thanks to the Carnalismo Brown Berets I am a completely different person today. I can honestly say that I am satisfied with who I am because I do know that I am out in the community trying to help others overcome their own adversities. I am now a positive role model for my kids. Getting the help and the encouragement from the Carnalismo Brown Berets I got enrolled into college and am now one year into it with a 3.0 GPA. College always sounded good to me but I never had the motivation and self-confidence to get started. With me being able to further my education I will not have to be working labor jobs my whole life like the generations before me. I can give my family everything they deserve and my children can have the chance to grow up in a nice neighborhood and attend better schools than I did. Joining the Carnalismo Brown Berets and believing in their cause was honestly one of the best decisions I have ever made, and it’s a decision that can also make you a better and self-satisfied person than you already are.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Jul 2013 19:57:13 +0000
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