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Ron Wynn, Economic Justice
Coalition member
It is with deep sorrow and, yes, pain that I write this, so
please forgive any confusion. It's extremely hard for me to do
this with aU. of the tears and emotions that I just can't seem
to suppress.
In 1995 I made a decision to completely surrender my life
to my higher power and wanted to find a way to give. I found
, THE ECONOMIC JUSTICE COALITION: little dtd 1 know that god
had sent me an ANGEL. I met this soft spoken, waaay too kind
gentleman that saw something in me that I didn't know was
there but was searching to find. He literally pulled me out of
the hole which I had created with my life, took me under his
wing and showed me how to become a servant, step by step.
He would bring me into his home, edit my material and share
his peace with me in order to calm my fire.
The last major project that Ray created with my assistance
is the Interfaith Worker Justice/OSHA safety training. In fact
I visited him in the hospital when he had first lost his speak
ing ability. When I walked in, he shined brightly and with
the help of his wonderful wife and an iPad, he didn't ask me
how I was doing. He asked me how was the
OSHA project going? When I gave him the
status he pounded his fist on the bed to say
"hooray!!!!"
I must apologize for I have not been
able to force myself to go back and see him
again, but I had to pray and thank God for
placing this beautiful man in my life for
SEVEN years.
Little did I know that on May 21, one
day before he went back home to be with
the creator, that I would be doing our first
major training and accomplishing our proj
ect goals. So, this I do in dedication and
continuance of the legacy of the late...
GREAT DR. RAY McNAIR. I love you, Ray. I
thank you for your leadership and may your
greatness continue through the hundreds
if not thousands of lives that you have
touched.
nor Spanglish: "much grass," which sounds tike "muchas gra-
rias" in Spanish and means thank you so much; Ray was an
expert in speaking the language of justice, that eternal lan
guage that is flooding the streets with protests and marches,
and which makes many politicians uneasy. These politicians
create new laws to defend themselves from justice and protect
their injustices. This language that makes the hair stand on
end when it mobilizes thousands to the streets or rises from
the voices of hunger, language that is censured and banned for
the oppressed. Language that Ray shared with the oppressed
and enriched with his sense of humor, and which stays with us,
as his great legacy in our community.
George Patrick
RAY and I have shared Saturday mornings with the largely
Hispanic day laborers at their shelter next to Home Depot since
2007.1 brought an urn of hot coffee, cups, sugar and creamer,
and we learned their names and various work skills. During
that time, RAY recruited English as a Second Language teachers
from UGA, as well as law students to interview and write case
studies on wage theft, for which we (mostly RAY) tracked down
those who had cheated our workers. We posted free health
them, he just stuck it in your hands with this great look of sat
isfaction on his face, like he had found a puppy a good home.
Ray was a person who loved to empower people to discover
their own strengths and abilities. He id this with students
through internships and volunteer positions, but he also took
this approach with folks whp didn't necessarily have academic
backgrounds or training. Ray saw strengths and leadership
skills in people that they didn't even know they had.
Ray usually helped to plan some kind of Christmas celebra
tion with the day laborers, since some of them were men alone
and far from their families. He'd call up and say, "The MacNairs
are going to bring such and such a dish; would the Salgueros
like to bring something?" Of course, how could I say no? Folks
would bring guitars in various states of disrepair and we would
spend hours singing Mexican, Guatemalan or El Salvadoran
Christmas carols and other traditional Latino songs. Ray loved
to see people come together and have fun. He loved to bring
together folks of different ethnic, economic and social back
grounds and let them find their commonality as human beings.
JoBeth Allen
’Hey hey!'
Jim Gaudin
Ray and Nancy MacNair
My tribute for Ray would be: He was a
man, a tireless advocate for the poor, the
marginalized, the oppressed throughout his
life. He never lost the active spirit of protest
from the 1960s and 70s. His periodic let
ters to the editor of the Banner-Herald were always thoughtful
expressions of what is just and the common good of the soci
ety. He was a man who really lived the command of Jesus to
love our neighbors, especially those who have been victims of
bias and discrimination—immigrants, those with alternate life
styles, the poor, minorities. He was a shining model for us all.
I treasured his friendship as a faculty colleague, a neighbor, a
friend. He was the first to welcome my family and me when we
moved to Athens in 1979.1 will miss him greatly.
foerssawsy.
.:
r
1
"Hey hey!" welcomes Ray
eyes shining with pleasure
that you've joined
the conversation,
pulled your folding chair
up to the ever-expanding table,
made your stand
for economic justice.
"Let's do it," Ray agrees,
after listening respectfully
to other opinions
around the table,
every viewpoint sought,
every voice valued,
every worthy project—
and they are all worthy-
approved.
"Come listen!" Ray invites
each time Incatepec
. entertains,
with Noe and Humberto
playing, singing, giving
their talents and time,
delighting the crowd,
Ray their greatest fan.
Lalo, day laborer
care opportunities, got free or reduced winter clothing from
thrift centers (taking as many as 28 to those sites), bought
work gloves and warm jackets with funds from our respective
churches, which also raised $$$$ for renovating the external
shell of the worker shelter, and provided a Christmas Eve feast
the last two years, ^s he started to feel the vicissitudes of
AL5, he began to pass the wage theft cases over to me, then
recruited a social work graduate intern to assist me. I trea
sure the almost 230 Saturday mornings with RAY, as did those
day laborers who recognized him as someone who cares and
respects them. I, too, am grateful for his friendship. Thanks,
RAY.
Ray was always a great collaborator with the immigrants' m c |
cause. He always invited us to meetings, and I remember, once, TCITy I £1161*0
we went to see Jesse Jackson. He always smiled, and when he
left to go home, he would take his leave, shaking the hand of
each of us with great respect.
Humberto Mendoza
Ray was my mentor, but more than that he was like a
father; he was a close friend whom I could trust We shared
long trips to conferences and social forums. The last and lon
gest was to Chicago in June 2011, during which Ray drove for
two days. On these trips we got to know each other. I learned
to love him and understand that there were people like him
who genuinely believe in the people immigrating to the U.S.
and who respect the fundamental principles of every human
being as well as our differences.
Among the great contributions of Ray, and perhaps the most
ingenious, was his contribution to the language. By combining
Spanish, his experience with the day laborers, plus his great
sense of humor, he invented a phrase that is neither English
As I write this, I can hardly believe that Ray won't be with
us anymore at the rallies, at the meetings, at the marches,
sending pertinent info by email and all of the other many ways
that he made a difference in people's lives.
A few years back, I had started the Hispanic Concerns
Committee. Ray attended those meetings. We organized a
meeting concerning driver's licenses. I managed to get then
State Senator Frank Zamarripa, State Representative Pedro
Marin and Jerry Gonzalez to come, along with about 200
Latinos who also showed up. Ray just loved that meeting,
because the Latino community was truly invested in it. After
that meeting, the speakers started the Georgia Association of
Latino Elected Officials (GALEO) over a late dinner at the I-HOP
across the street
One of Ray's memorable traits was his habit of coming up
and putting a book or magazine or newspaper article in your
hands and saying, "Here, you should read this!" I think I still
have two or three books of his in my bookshelf somewhere. He
never asked for the books back, or even if you'd like to borrow
"To the Editor," Ray writes,'
never letting an issue
slide, never missing a chance
to educate and agitate.
Eternal advocate'
for "temp" workers,
day laborers,
living wages,
worker rights,
voter registration,
immigrant rights,
Freedom University,
worker friendly employers,
and unity in the community;
dogged foe
pf overpaid administrators,
workplace violators,
and war mongers.
He stands with
His Woman in Black.
"People!" Ray encourages
as we mingle,
signing petitions,
hand-lettering protests—
"Occupy!" "Resist!"—
practicing chants:
"The people, united,
will never be defeated!"
"Education, not deportation!"
*Qu6 queremos?
;Justicia!
iCuSndo?
iAhora!
Ray leads the march.
JUNE 13,2012 • FLAGP0LE.COM
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