NCLA Helping Acclaimed Chicano Poet Fight San Antonio’s Dismissal of Him in Free Speech Dispute
02 Agosto 2024 - 4:04PM
Today, the New Civil Liberties Alliance filed a Complaint against
the City of San Antonio and city employee Krystal Jones for
unlawfully firing accomplished Chicano writer, artist, and activist
Nephtalí De León as the City’s poet laureate in violation of his
protected free speech. The City unjustly terminated Mr. De León
from the paid position of city poet laureate and then defamed him
for his supposed use of a “racial slur” in an elegy he had written
in honor of a renowned Chicano writer-activist who had dedicated
his life to fighting racial injustice. The City’s unlawful and
unwarranted actions have harmed Mr. De León’s professional
reputation and denigrated his life’s work. NCLA urges the U.S.
District Court for the Western District of Texas to correct this
affront to the First Amendment and thereby help Mr. De León restore
his good name.
For well over half a century, Mr. De León has
passionately dedicated his career as a writer and artist to the
advancement and celebration of Chicano culture, history, and
language, striving to shine a light on the resilience, creativity,
and complex struggles of his community. Mr. De León has long
incorporated Chicano Caló—a dynamic code-switching dialect that
switches fluidly between English, Spanish, Aztec Nahuatl, and
Spanish Romani—into his writing and poetry in an effort to revive
what he perceives as a rich yet misunderstood language.
In 2023, San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg named
Mr. De León poet laureate for a three-year term, recognizing him as
an artist known to “challenge standard views and narratives.”
Months later, however, without notice, the City fired him as poet
laureate based on his use of a word in Chicano Caló for Black
people in the elegy he had written in honor of Chicano
writer-activist Dr. Roberto ‘Cintli’ Rodriguez, posted on Mr. De
León’s personal Facebook page. As translated to English, Mr. De
León’s poem states that his friend “touched so many Chicanos,
Whites and Blacks, he touched everyone between two cultures and two
nations.” Mr. De León did not use the Chicano Caló term at issue,
“mayate,” as a slur, which is plainly apparent in the context of an
elegy dedicated to a man who spent his life fighting racial
injustice.
By firing Mr. De León without notice or any
opportunity to explain himself or the meaning of his poem, the City
violated its contract with him and engaged in quintessential
viewpoint discrimination and First Amendment retaliation against
Mr. De León. Within 24 hours of his termination, the City issued
defamatory statements to numerous news and media outlets concerning
Mr. De León and his purported use of a “racial slur.” These actions
have unjustly harmed Mr. De León’s ability to make a living through
public speaking, writing and other forms of community engagement on
which he relies as a source of income. They also hinder his mission
to revive Chicano Caló and counteract the stigmatization Chicanos
have faced through his work and the unifying platform he has built
over the years. NCLA asks the Court to order that the City retract
and disavow its press statement defaming Mr. De León, and pay him
the remainder owed under his contract, along with damages for the
harm to his reputation and professional opportunities he has
lost.
NCLA released the following statements:
“Nephtalí De León is an incredibly vibrant
individual who has dedicated 79 years of his life to uplifting his
community and sharing his joy and passion for Chicano culture—and
in his own authentic language. The City of San Antonio has allowed
cancel culture to cloud its vision, destroying the reputation and
life’s work of a man who has only sought to unify and raise up
those who have been stigmatized. The Court should send a message
that cancel culture cannot cancel free speech—whether in English,
Spanish, or Chicano Caló.”— Casey Norman, Litigation
Counsel, NCLA
“That the City of San Antonio fired Mr. De León
for using a Chicano term that the government administrators
misunderstood—in a poetic elegy to his friend, no less—exemplifies
the absurdity of cancel culture in this day and age. Those
administrators then chose to smear Mr. De León in the media,
destroying his reputation and depriving him of work
opportunities. We look forward to vindicating Mr. De León’s
rights and obtaining compensation for his ordeal in
court.”— Jenin Younes, Litigation Counsel,
NCLA
“San Antonio jumped the gun in firing Mr. De
León. It should have abided by its contract with him and given him
an opportunity to explain his word choice. By instead acting
precipitously and then defaming Mr. De León in the media, the city
has sullied his reputation in a manner that cries out for
relief.”— Mark Chenoweth, President, NCLA
For more information visit the case
page here.
ABOUT NCLA
NCLA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights
group founded by prominent legal scholar Philip Hamburger to
protect constitutional freedoms from violations by the
Administrative State. NCLA’s public-interest litigation and other
pro bono advocacy strive to tame the unlawful power of state and
federal agencies and to foster a new civil liberties movement that
will help restore Americans’ fundamental rights.
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Judy Pino
New Civil Liberties Alliance
202-869-5218
judy.pino@ncla.legal