Published by the Hispanic Institute of Social Issues in Phoenix, Arizona
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Alessandra Soler-Meetze: The Shaping of a Latina Journalist
Phoenix, Arizona - From family values of hard work and social
consciousness, early roots in journalism, and a passion for freedom
of expression and freedom of the press, Alessandra Soler-Meetze
emerges as the leader of a state affiliate of one of the most powerful
civil liberties organizations in the United States.
Soler-Meetze (pronounced Metz,) is the Director of the Arizona Civil
Liberties Union of Arizona, a branch of the American Civil Liberties
Union (ACLU), whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the
individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this
country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.”
Before stepping into this position in what today is perhaps one of
the most strategic legal arenas in the country in the struggle for the
defense of civil liberties, the life and career of Soler-Meetze’s was
shaped by those personal values. Principles that motivate her work
and influence her perspective about another set of values: the
values of a nation of immigrants, to where some decades ago her
parents arrived aiming at a chance for better economic opportunities.
Both of Soler-Meetze’s parents immigrated to the United States at a
time when applying for and obtaining a permanent resident card, or
“green card,” required meeting a much easier eligibility criteria. Her
parents’ desire to improve the economic conditions prevalent back in
their home countries, as well as their experience as immigrants,
would determine her career path and come to influence and inspire
Soler-Meetze’s life.
“My mother had been working from the time she was 9-years old in
Brazil and continued to work when (she and her family) came to the
United States, so she worked hard,” said Soler-Meetze. “Both (my
mom and dad) grew up very poor in Latin American countries; they
came to the United States for a better life, seeking economic
prosperity. I think these influences helped me appreciate the hard
work and the important contribution of, not only immigrants, but the
importance of standing up for the working class and the working
poor.”
Her father shared not only stories of financial hardships but also
about repressive political systems in South America. “My dad always
had a tremendous influence on me,” explains Soler-Meetze. “He was
born and raised in Argentina. He kind of talked a lot when we were
growing up about the wars, the military dictatorships, “Los
Desaparecidos” (disappeared persons during the 1976-1983
dictatorship in Argentina,) so I always kind of knew all the dangers
that came along with government secrecy, and the regimes that
violated the human rights of the people.”
According to Soler-Meetze, she developed an interest in journalism –
a profession she always admired– early in her life, when she was a
teenager. Eventually she would earn a bachelor degree in journalism
from the University of Florida.
“I started reporting in my Junior High school paper. I became a
journalist after I graduated from college, and I started working full
time for The Miami Herald. I think that the media plays a
tremendously important role in keeping government officials
accountable; I think that was what was attractive me to the
journalism profession,” said Soler-Meetze.
Nevertheless, if her parents’ example of hard work and her interest
in constitutional rights and journalistic tenets helped to shape her
life and career choices, the challenging legal battles to uphold them
that lay ahead for her would come to shape her work.
From Reporting the News to Becoming the News
After working for The Miami Herald for two years, Soler-Meetze
moved to New Orleans where she began working for the ACLU in
February 1999. That was her first position with the ACLU, where she
worked “in a tiny little, two-person office,” along then Executive
Director Joe Cook.
When asked about the transition from being a journalist to becoming
involved with the ACLU of Louisiana, and the differences in the
nature of her new job, Soler-Meetze affirms both jobs actually have a
very close connection.
“I don’t think that it was very different. For me the ACLU, we’re really
known as an organization that defends the First Amendment,” points
out Soler-Meetze. “When you think about the ACLU, you think of free
speech, freedom of the press, the First Amendment; that is one of
our core issues. So freedom of the press, freedom of expression,
these are fundamentally very important issues to the organization,
so I think that that was not a big leap. I think that what was a big
leap is that I went from covering the stories to then try to pitch the
stories and being the story.”
For the former Miami Herald’s reporter, working for the ACLU in New
Orleans, far from being a detour from her career in journalism, it
became a broader avenue to further express her career ideals.
“The ACLU addresses very controversial issues; a lot of our cases
(are) high-impact cases, high-profile cases that end up in the
newspapers,” said Soler-Meetze. “That was for me a little bit of an
adjustment, because I went from actually covering the stories to
being part of the stories. I have always respected the role that the
media plays, so I think that has helped me adjust and sort of deal
with that changing role. That is one of the most important aspects of
our work: relaying our issues through the media, trying to dispel
myths, trying to give people information about their rights. I think the
media has helped us tremendously in getting our message across.”
Later, Soler-Meetze would return to Florida to continue working for
the ACLU and dealing with the media. “I went from New Orleans to
Miami which is a huge media town, I think almost as busy as it is
here (in Arizona,) and in Miami there’s all kinds of issues, high profile
issues, there’s culturally-diverse issues; you have different immigrant
communities.”
Work in Florida and Moving to Arizona
After her initial tenure with the ACLU in Louisiana, Alessandra Soler-
Meetze began working in Florida as the Communications Director for
the state’s affiliate. Her role consisted in developing public education
campaigns as well as conducting outreach within the various
immigrant communities. This job had an educational framework and
entailed training volunteers and teaching individuals about their
constitutional rights and freedoms. She remained in that position
through the end of 2005 before deciding to move to Arizona to head
the local ACLU’s affiliate.
“I came here in January of 2006,” said Soler-Meetze. “I started
working for the ACLU of Arizona. The irony is that when I was in
Florida, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in 2002 had
signed one of the first, if not the first, MOU’s, Memorandum of
Understanding, with the Federal government to enforce federal
immigration laws. That was when they were really starting to
aggressively push these 287 (g) agreements. We have huge, very
large migrant communities and farming communities in the West
Coast of Florida, and I think that was when we really started
mobilizing against these types of agreements.”
Soler-Meetze recalls that about that same time, the nation was
dealing with the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September
2001. She witnessed a big backslash and intolerance against the
Muslim community in the United States.
“After 9/11 we had the FBI interviewing people. We had a very
aggressive outreach program where we were coordinating attorneys
to sit in on interviews with members of the Muslim community. We
were addressing immigration issues in Florida as well; we had the
(case of the) indefinite detention of Haitian refugees. I think when I
moved here (Arizona) all of these issues really grew exponentially,
and the concerns and the abuses were much more dramatic and so
much here than what we have seen in Florida. To me it was really
shocking.”
Among the reasons she moved from Florida to Arizona, Soler-Meetze
cites the strong presence of a Latino community, the weather, and
the culture. However, she would also come across an unfriendly
social climate in Arizona, as well as a looming socio-political storm.
“When I came here and I realized just how hostile and anti-
immigrant it was, I think that it was to me, I think (it) is still, difficult,”
reveals Soler-Meetze. “(On a Halloween night) I went trick-or-
treating with my son and someone in my neighborhood said, since I
was trick-or-treating with my son, “Hurry up! The Mexicans are
coming…” This is in front of my son; I think my son was like 4-years
old and he said, “Mom, why did they say that?” That was just terrific
to hear that from my neighbor. At the time my husband is like, “You
don’t want to start problems with your neighbors…” but for me it was
just… I couldn’t believe that this person was saying that in front of
my son! So, that type of xenophobia when –my goodness! – thirty
percent of the population here is Latino.”
Soler-Meetze, who thanks to her Argentinean father and her
Brazilian mother is fluent in both Spanish and Portuguese, is married
to Richard, a computer programmer. The Meetzes have three young
children.
“It was shocking to me (coming to Arizona)”, she admits. “I raise my
kids to speak Portuguese and Spanish. Dual language programs
here are not funded in the state; they are not readily accessible. This
is important to me; it is important for me to raise my kids to speak
three languages; that’s how I was raised.”
The director of the ACLU of Arizona acknowledges that certainly
racism exists in Florida, but she also thinks Latinos have more
political power there.
“I think here we’ll definitely get there,” she projects. “We have a lot
of work to do to sort of change the powers that be, the power
structure, and certainly in the Arizona legislature.”
To be continued.
consciousness, early roots in journalism, and a passion for freedom
of expression and freedom of the press, Alessandra Soler-Meetze
emerges as the leader of a state affiliate of one of the most powerful
civil liberties organizations in the United States.
Soler-Meetze (pronounced Metz,) is the Director of the Arizona Civil
Liberties Union of Arizona, a branch of the American Civil Liberties
Union (ACLU), whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the
individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this
country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.”
Before stepping into this position in what today is perhaps one of
the most strategic legal arenas in the country in the struggle for the
defense of civil liberties, the life and career of Soler-Meetze’s was
shaped by those personal values. Principles that motivate her work
and influence her perspective about another set of values: the
values of a nation of immigrants, to where some decades ago her
parents arrived aiming at a chance for better economic opportunities.
Both of Soler-Meetze’s parents immigrated to the United States at a
time when applying for and obtaining a permanent resident card, or
“green card,” required meeting a much easier eligibility criteria. Her
parents’ desire to improve the economic conditions prevalent back in
their home countries, as well as their experience as immigrants,
would determine her career path and come to influence and inspire
Soler-Meetze’s life.
“My mother had been working from the time she was 9-years old in
Brazil and continued to work when (she and her family) came to the
United States, so she worked hard,” said Soler-Meetze. “Both (my
mom and dad) grew up very poor in Latin American countries; they
came to the United States for a better life, seeking economic
prosperity. I think these influences helped me appreciate the hard
work and the important contribution of, not only immigrants, but the
importance of standing up for the working class and the working
poor.”
Her father shared not only stories of financial hardships but also
about repressive political systems in South America. “My dad always
had a tremendous influence on me,” explains Soler-Meetze. “He was
born and raised in Argentina. He kind of talked a lot when we were
growing up about the wars, the military dictatorships, “Los
Desaparecidos” (disappeared persons during the 1976-1983
dictatorship in Argentina,) so I always kind of knew all the dangers
that came along with government secrecy, and the regimes that
violated the human rights of the people.”
According to Soler-Meetze, she developed an interest in journalism –
a profession she always admired– early in her life, when she was a
teenager. Eventually she would earn a bachelor degree in journalism
from the University of Florida.
“I started reporting in my Junior High school paper. I became a
journalist after I graduated from college, and I started working full
time for The Miami Herald. I think that the media plays a
tremendously important role in keeping government officials
accountable; I think that was what was attractive me to the
journalism profession,” said Soler-Meetze.
Nevertheless, if her parents’ example of hard work and her interest
in constitutional rights and journalistic tenets helped to shape her
life and career choices, the challenging legal battles to uphold them
that lay ahead for her would come to shape her work.
From Reporting the News to Becoming the News
After working for The Miami Herald for two years, Soler-Meetze
moved to New Orleans where she began working for the ACLU in
February 1999. That was her first position with the ACLU, where she
worked “in a tiny little, two-person office,” along then Executive
Director Joe Cook.
When asked about the transition from being a journalist to becoming
involved with the ACLU of Louisiana, and the differences in the
nature of her new job, Soler-Meetze affirms both jobs actually have a
very close connection.
“I don’t think that it was very different. For me the ACLU, we’re really
known as an organization that defends the First Amendment,” points
out Soler-Meetze. “When you think about the ACLU, you think of free
speech, freedom of the press, the First Amendment; that is one of
our core issues. So freedom of the press, freedom of expression,
these are fundamentally very important issues to the organization,
so I think that that was not a big leap. I think that what was a big
leap is that I went from covering the stories to then try to pitch the
stories and being the story.”
For the former Miami Herald’s reporter, working for the ACLU in New
Orleans, far from being a detour from her career in journalism, it
became a broader avenue to further express her career ideals.
“The ACLU addresses very controversial issues; a lot of our cases
(are) high-impact cases, high-profile cases that end up in the
newspapers,” said Soler-Meetze. “That was for me a little bit of an
adjustment, because I went from actually covering the stories to
being part of the stories. I have always respected the role that the
media plays, so I think that has helped me adjust and sort of deal
with that changing role. That is one of the most important aspects of
our work: relaying our issues through the media, trying to dispel
myths, trying to give people information about their rights. I think the
media has helped us tremendously in getting our message across.”
Later, Soler-Meetze would return to Florida to continue working for
the ACLU and dealing with the media. “I went from New Orleans to
Miami which is a huge media town, I think almost as busy as it is
here (in Arizona,) and in Miami there’s all kinds of issues, high profile
issues, there’s culturally-diverse issues; you have different immigrant
communities.”
Work in Florida and Moving to Arizona
After her initial tenure with the ACLU in Louisiana, Alessandra Soler-
Meetze began working in Florida as the Communications Director for
the state’s affiliate. Her role consisted in developing public education
campaigns as well as conducting outreach within the various
immigrant communities. This job had an educational framework and
entailed training volunteers and teaching individuals about their
constitutional rights and freedoms. She remained in that position
through the end of 2005 before deciding to move to Arizona to head
the local ACLU’s affiliate.
“I came here in January of 2006,” said Soler-Meetze. “I started
working for the ACLU of Arizona. The irony is that when I was in
Florida, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in 2002 had
signed one of the first, if not the first, MOU’s, Memorandum of
Understanding, with the Federal government to enforce federal
immigration laws. That was when they were really starting to
aggressively push these 287 (g) agreements. We have huge, very
large migrant communities and farming communities in the West
Coast of Florida, and I think that was when we really started
mobilizing against these types of agreements.”
Soler-Meetze recalls that about that same time, the nation was
dealing with the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September
2001. She witnessed a big backslash and intolerance against the
Muslim community in the United States.
“After 9/11 we had the FBI interviewing people. We had a very
aggressive outreach program where we were coordinating attorneys
to sit in on interviews with members of the Muslim community. We
were addressing immigration issues in Florida as well; we had the
(case of the) indefinite detention of Haitian refugees. I think when I
moved here (Arizona) all of these issues really grew exponentially,
and the concerns and the abuses were much more dramatic and so
much here than what we have seen in Florida. To me it was really
shocking.”
Among the reasons she moved from Florida to Arizona, Soler-Meetze
cites the strong presence of a Latino community, the weather, and
the culture. However, she would also come across an unfriendly
social climate in Arizona, as well as a looming socio-political storm.
“When I came here and I realized just how hostile and anti-
immigrant it was, I think that it was to me, I think (it) is still, difficult,”
reveals Soler-Meetze. “(On a Halloween night) I went trick-or-
treating with my son and someone in my neighborhood said, since I
was trick-or-treating with my son, “Hurry up! The Mexicans are
coming…” This is in front of my son; I think my son was like 4-years
old and he said, “Mom, why did they say that?” That was just terrific
to hear that from my neighbor. At the time my husband is like, “You
don’t want to start problems with your neighbors…” but for me it was
just… I couldn’t believe that this person was saying that in front of
my son! So, that type of xenophobia when –my goodness! – thirty
percent of the population here is Latino.”
Soler-Meetze, who thanks to her Argentinean father and her
Brazilian mother is fluent in both Spanish and Portuguese, is married
to Richard, a computer programmer. The Meetzes have three young
children.
“It was shocking to me (coming to Arizona)”, she admits. “I raise my
kids to speak Portuguese and Spanish. Dual language programs
here are not funded in the state; they are not readily accessible. This
is important to me; it is important for me to raise my kids to speak
three languages; that’s how I was raised.”
The director of the ACLU of Arizona acknowledges that certainly
racism exists in Florida, but she also thinks Latinos have more
political power there.
“I think here we’ll definitely get there,” she projects. “We have a lot
of work to do to sort of change the powers that be, the power
structure, and certainly in the Arizona legislature.”
To be continued.
By Eduardo Barraza October 24, 2010 | First Part | Second Part | Third Part
The legal battle against Arizona's
Law SB 1070 has brought
Alessandra Soler-Meetze, ACLU of
Arizona Director, to the forefront of
a political whirlwind.
Photo by Eduardo Barraza | Barriozona
Law SB 1070 has brought
Alessandra Soler-Meetze, ACLU of
Arizona Director, to the forefront of
a political whirlwind.
Photo by Eduardo Barraza | Barriozona
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Eduardo Barraza is a journalist and writer,
Barriozona Magazine's editor, and director of
the Hispanic Insitute of Social Issues.
E-mail: editor@barriozona.com
Barriozona Magazine's editor, and director of
the Hispanic Insitute of Social Issues.
E-mail: editor@barriozona.com
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