Respect My Gangsta: Carlos Santana

From Philly.com:

ATLANTA - The public-address system at Turner Field wasn't too clear and most of the early arrivals probably weren't paying a lot of attention when various dignitaries from baseball's Civil Rights Weekend ceremonies were being introduced on the field before the Phillies-Braves game.

But when noted musician Carlos Santana, winner of the Beacon of Change Award, stepped to the podium, his parting shot rang out loud and clear.

"The people of Atlanta should be ashamed of themselves," he said before going back to his seat.

Later, Santana came to the press box and filled in the blanks. The Grammy winner said he had been speaking out against the controversial immigration laws in Arizona and Georgia. "And if people in Atlanta, Georgia, don't do anything about it, shame on you, too," he said.

Santana went on to say that, in his opinion, there are few left to speak up for the oppressed now that Martin Luther King, Cesar Chavez, John Lennon and Mother Teresa are all gone.

"I'm here to give voice to the invisible people," he said. "You're either part of the solution or part of the problem. There's no in between. Let's have passion with compassion. I'm a weapon of mass compassion."

Bravo, sir. The thinly-veiled Tea Party racism that is pushing immigration reform should be dismissed as xenophobic rhetoric, and quickly laughed off by those in power in this day and age. But, unfortunately, there's still enough ignorance in the US to let this bigoted agenda carry forward. It's refreshing to see that Santana isn't one to let it slide.