On May 1, 2006, nearly two million people marched in towns and cities across the United States to oppose pending federal immigration legislation. These mobilizations are considered to be the largest demonstrations for immigrant rights and the largest Latino mobilizations in U.S. history. Mainstream media recognized the power of Spanish-language radio in mobilizing Latino families[1], but offered limited information about the participants of those marches.

This research focused on immigrant Latino radio listeners who actively made use of the radio airwaves to act as civil, “barefoot” reporters during the May 1, 2006 pro-immigrant marches. How do these individuals think, feel, behave, and know with respect to those mobilizations and how did they use radio as a tool to make their ideas known? By examining the case of Radio Bilingüe, a Spanish-language public radio network based in California, this investigation aimed to shed light on the protagonists of the marches and explore the relationship between that community and the media.

En esa fuerza que se demostró, en esa voz que se levantó, quien nos ayudó mucho a que se oyera, a que se manifestara fue Radio Bilingüe. Porque a través de ese medio de comunicación estuvimos nosotros sabiendo, y nos estaba alimentando cada minuto, cada minuto ese valor que necesitábamos.

(In that force that developed, in that voice that rose, what helped us to be heard, what helped us to demonstrate was Radio Bilingüe. It was through that medium of communication that we were finding out, and minute by minute we were being nourished with the courage that we needed.)

-- Female focus group participant

This study utilized a mixed methods approach that included an analysis of 20 hours of programming followed by in-depth focus groups. Data collection for the first part of the research consisted of approximately 20 hours of public radio programming that took place on and around May 1, 2006. A little over 100 unique calls were made to Radio Bilingüe's national talk show, “Línea Abierta” (Open Line), and various musical programs on April 30 and May 1, 2006. The data analysis followed an inductive process beginning with examining the raw data, noting specific emerging themes, constructing overarching themes, and counting the frequency of those overarching themes.

Table 1: Themes from the Archival Programming

The first theme, ¡Latinos Unidos!, appeared as a call for solidarity, a love for family and others, the feeling of “we’re all in this together even though I already have papers.” The second strongest theme, ¡A organizarse! (Let’s get organized!), had to do with people educating and organizing each other about what to do at the marches. The third theme, ¡Ya basta!, (Enough!) came across through comments about discrimination, oppression, exploitation, and victimization. The fourth theme, What’s happening, were calls made to report on how empty the freeways were, how no one was out working in the fields, which stores had closed for the day in support of the marches, how many people were at the rallies, etc. The fifth and last theme, We contribute to this country, reflected callers’ self-esteem, pride, and future impact: “I am somebody and I deserve to be here” and “I’m proud to be making history.”

In the second phase of the study, three focus groups with individuals who had called in to Radio Bilingüe during the marches took place. Fifteen individuals were interviewed in Spanish in Fresno, CA where Radio Bilingüe’s main station is located. Questions included: “What happened on May 1^st?” and “Why did you call in to Radio Bilingüe to report on the marches?”

Radio Bilingüe lo orienta a uno, lo conduce a donde uno debe de hablar, cómo debe hablar, con quienes debemos de ir, y por eso deberíamos decirle a toda la gente que escuche a Radio Bilingüe. (Radio Bilingüe orients us, points us in a direction of where we can speak up, how to speak up, who we need to go to, and that’s why we should tell everyone to listen to Radio Bilingüe.)

-- Female focus group participant

Focus group findings echoed the previously-mentioned five themes. Most importantly, the focus groups shed light on the role of Radio Bilingüe in three important areas: (1) Provides relevant information; (2) Models a method of inquiry by showing listeners how to communicate and how to ask questions; (3) Demonstrates through its work that it stands with its listeners. The quote to the right illustrates these points.

To conclude, the findings illustrate how listeners rallied around Radio Bilingüe to make their voices heard. Radio Bilingüe became an important organizational tool by bringing listeners together in a virtual space where they felt united, empowered to express their values and opinions, and informed by the minute-by-minute information that they themselves were producing. From a broader perspective, this study lends support to the continuing relevance of broadcast radio as one of the most effective community-based organizing tools.

For more information on this study, please contact Graciela Orozco at orozco-at-sfsu.edu.

The research was funded by a small grant from the Social Science Research Council's Necessary Knowledge for a Democratic Public Sphere program.

Image by Benjamin Pender, used under Attribution-no Derivatives Creative Commons License.