An opportunity and a challenge: racism, sexism, and ethnic biases are still alive and well. (Diversity of Opinion).

When asked to write a piece for The Masthead on what it's like being a woman of color on the editorial board of The Denver Post, the first thing that came out of my mouth was: "Okay, but if I get fired, you're going to get me another job, right?"

After the laughing subsided and I began thinking about what I could write, I started to analyze the comment I made to Kay Semion, editor of The Masthead.

Why do I say such things--even in jest? With that question lingering, I began considering what I would write, how I would structure the article. Finally, I settled on the belief that being the first Latina on The Denver Post editorial board is an incredible opportunity--a blessing, really--but it can also be very challenging. I have to choose my battles carefully and even at that, my losses on the board outweigh my outright wins when it comes to pushing my ideals as a liberal-to-moderate Mexican-American woman.

So the bottom line is that I'm going to tell it like it is. The fact that I'm on the board and also have the opportunity to write a column in a major newspaper--while long overdue--is a fantastic step forward. I feel that I bring a fresh, new perspective to the editorial pages--a voice of many that has gone undelivered into the mainstream for too long.

My background in the study of oppression and disadvantaged populations also serves as a reminder of the horrors of the past that should not be repeated. Overall, it's a great position to be in. But racism, sexism, and ethnic biases are still alive and well, and in my position I have seen (more than once) what I believe was institutional discrimination. Yet, I have felt like someone who is of value partially because of her background, but also as someone who should strive to keep that background in check.

Several years ago, I knew a very bright Latina woman. She was hired by a city in Colorado to be its cultural director. This city has a large and growing Hispanic population, and the woman was seen as someone who could bridge the gap between the city and its predominately Mexican and Mexican-American groups. She was enormously talented and enthusiastic with ideas galore. Such ideas were explored during meetings with city department heads.

One day, she received an anonymous note in her box. It read, "We wanted a Hispanic, but you're being too Hispanic."

She was never the same again. She became increasingly depressed and resigned her position to accept a job in a Hispanic heritage museum in California, where she said she hoped she wouldn't have to deal with such hypocrisy and hatefulness. Her former employer lost out on a great opportunity to build understanding in the community.

I've often heard some people of color say, "I don't get these minorities who file discrimination lawsuits. No one has ever discriminated against me."

But I believe that such people have been discriminated against, especially if they've pursued positions that have traditionally been held by Anglos. They just may not know enough to recognize it. Similarly, co-workers and employers may not realize that certain comments strike a chord with many people and make them feel that they are being singled out in a negative way because of their skin color or family name.

On our editorial board, blended ideas and ideals that can include radical liberalism and extreme conservatism and everything in between prevail, and we produce editorials that, for the most part, come out fairly middle-of-the-road.

There are those who believe it's a good place to be for the general readership of the editorial page, which according to surveys, is made up of mainly white males over 60.

But I sometimes worry that we could be doing our readership a disservice by not putting more radical ideas out there and trying to appeal to a wider audience. Studies from the National Association of Hispanic Journalists show that a disproportionately low number of Latinos are going into journalism careers and of those who do, more than half leave for jobs outside the industry within their first year.

The Latino population is young and fast-growing. It's also a spending market with about $600 billion put into the nation's economy annually. It's good business not only to hire Latinos, but also to ensure their work environment is a comfortable place where they can express ideas that will be utilized and where they can do it without the feeling that others may think they are behaving too Hispanic.

NCEW member Angela Cortez is an editorial writer with The Denver Post. Her e-mail address is [e-mail]