(A thank you to Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder)
Thank you, Pat Schroeder for your leadership in human rights! Thank you, Pat, for your support of workers’ rights! Thank you for your stand on women’s rights. Thank you for advancing the arts community by hiring the sculptor Carlos Santistevan in 1977. Santistevan was and is my mentor and friend, who used this opportunity Pat helped us form Incorporated Artes Monumentales IAM our newly formed arts group; its first address your congressional offices! We had a Watts Line which allowed us nationwide phone service (very valuable back then). Pat’s participation ensured that the IAM/City Walls was funded by Ken Vallis and the Colorado Paint Co. (Thank you Ken)! IAM/City Walls was a project to paint 7 murals in 7 months. After training, Freddy Sanchez, Stephon P. Lucero, Jerry Jaramillo, Jon Howe, Carlos Sandoval and myself we produced 7 incredible murals across central Denver!! With this momentum and the works of Carlotta EspinoZa, Emanuel Martinez and others backing us up, funding from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) soon followed and the Chicano Humanities and Art Council (CHAC) was created and has been serving the Denver community for 43 years.
Yes, thank you Pat for your work on behalf of the postal workers. My father Al Sanchez, Sr. was an advocate of workers’ rights and always had Pat’s support. Remember when a postal job was a good job, that was why. Thank you, Pat from the CHAC / IAM artists. Our postal family, the women in the family and thank you for your leadership and thank you for your trust and may the Great Spirit always welcome you!
Al Sanchez – Denver
