Against Hispanics: In 2003, residents of northern New Mexico near Santa Fe accused actor Van Kilmer of racism because of his unsavory comments about the local Hispanics where he had hoped to build a ranch; in October, 2012, the Anglo mayor of Raton resigned because he felt that most of the residents of his New Mexico city were racist against Latino residents; Ruben Navarrette, a columnist for the Albuquerque Journal, often writes about difficulties that some Hispanics face in New Mexico. In a recent article entitled Top 10 whoppers Americans believe about immigration, he wrote “The only reason the United States has so much illegal immigration is because U.S. employers don’t pay high-enough wages to attract U.S. workers to do those jobs. In many cases, it’s not the wages but the fact that Americans have, over the generations, moved away from the hard and dirty jobs now done by immigrants.” Finally, in 2009, New Mexico joined 23 other states in banning profiling practices by law enforcement officers and agencies, which had been -- and some feel still is -- a problem there.

Against Blacks: Last February, the President of the University of New Mexico received at least four letters accusing Lobos Football Coach Bob Davie of racism by discriminating against African-American team members in disciplinary matters, which the coach has denied; in 2010, NPR reported that a Black UNM football player arrested at the Albuquerque airport for “wearing sagging pants.”

Against Whites: Anglos have been feeling heat on both sides of the racism in New Mexico. On one hand, the management at Sandia National Labs near Albuquerque received many complaints from employees in 2008 after they received an invitation to a "diversity workshop" that suggested that white people are racist. The invitation said that Whites "are likely to persist in racist behaviors unless persuaded to abolish the privileges they receive as members of the white race."

On the other hand, one former Albuquerque resident vented this on an online forum about racism in Albuquerque on 2011: “I've lived in ABQ for 3 years now, and it is the most racist place I have ever been. Every single white person whom I've spoken to who went to Albuquerque Public Schools told me that they were bullied by the hispanic students, and the school administrators never did anything about it. I have heard so many stories about guys getting jumped by cholos, and girls being called "wera" and the spanish slang for the world's oldest profession which is not allowed in this forum, and I am routinely disrespected by numerous hispanics that I encounter at work. I never thought I could understand racism, but I guess a person can only deal with so much unprovoked abuse from members of a certain ethnic group before they start to hate them all. It is much easier to start hating than it is to stop, so the problem appears to be endless.”

Against Natives: Just last week, The Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission approved a report entitled "Assessing Race Relations between Navajos and Non-Navajos" stating that Navajo people have endured racism and discrimination in towns and cities that border the Navajo Nation in the Southwest. An executive summary of its findings concluded, "It is confirmed that racism and discrimination is present in the border towns," according to the Navaho Times. "We realize that there will always be a minority segment of the population that will harbor ill will and even hatred on the basis of the color of skin. We accept that the majority of those communities will not tolerate that," said the chairman.

Regarding baseball itself in the Land of Enchantment, the Albuquerque Isotopes, the Triple A minor league team for the Dodgers (Jackie Robinson’s team), paid tribute to Negro League baseball last Sunday at home by wearing vintage Negro League era uniforms for their game against Oklahoma City. Going back six years, three members of the Isotopes, manager Dean Treanor, who is White, shortstop Robert Andino, who is Latino, and outfielder Reggie Abercrombie, who is Black, donned Robinson’s number 42 during a game to celebrate the 60th anniversary of his debut in the major league."Means a lot to me," said Abercrombie. "Just what he did for us to get here and play baseball, period. It's a wonderful thing."

Hispanics, according to statisticians, have ever-growing numbers of Major League players. According to published statistics, there are about 200 Hispanic players out of 856 total on the teams; of those, The Dominican Republic has 89, Venezuela 63, Cuba 15, Mexico 14, Puerto Rico 13, Columbia 4, and Panama 4. Players like Sergio Romo of the San Francisco Giants and Adrian Gonzalez of the Los Angeles Dodgers that are of Mexican descent but born in the States are not included on the official major league foreign born list. Who is the Hispanic Jackie Robinson? Roberto Clemente, who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and who was Dominican, is considered throughout Latin America not only as the Hispanic Jackie Robinson, but also as “the king of baseball because he was also the first Hispanic Most Valuable Player, the first Hispanic Hall of Famer, and a great humanitarian who died in a plane crash in 1972 while bringing needed supplies to survivors of an earthquake in Nicaragua.

Natives, just like Blacks and Hispanics, are playing the national sport more and more these days, including Jacoby Ellsbury, a Navaho on the Boston Red Sox roster, Kyle Lohse (Nomlaki tribe, Cardinals), Joba Chamberlain (Winnebago, Yankees), according to a Native county sports web site. Who was the Native Jackie Robinson? According to the Baseball Almanac, which lists all 50+ pure-blooded Natives who made it to the Big Leagues, that would be Louis Sockalexis who joined the National League Cleveland Spiders on April 22, 1897. The Almanac points out that most of these Native players had the nickname “Chief” among their teammates and that almost all tribes have a very long tradition of playing baseball. When Kyle Lohse pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 3 of the 2011 World Series, it was the first time that a Native American pitcher started a World Series game.

The Charles Thomas Story A former Albuquerque black dentist (from 1020 to 1960) is that city’s strongest link to the story of Jackie Robinson. Charles Thomas became a star athlete in high school and caught the attention of the 22-year-old Ohio Wesleyan baseball coach Branch Rickey, who later became the hero of the movie 42 by being the person, played exceptionally well by Harrison Ford, who made the Black ballplayer’s historic and inspirational journey breaking the color barrier happen. Rickey’s observations of how his protégé Thomas was mistreated at hotels, restaurants and by his teammates and fans became the foundation of what he wanted to do for creating racial equality on America. That something — in 1947 — was bringing Jackie Robinson to the major leagues and laying the foundation for the fine film that resonates among New Mexicans of all colors, 42.