Ismael grew up in Puerto Rico in a communist family. His father, Juan, was a very committed and intellectually sophisticated Marxist. Juan was a founding member of the Movimiento Pro Independencia (Movement for Independence) that later became the Puerto Rican Socialist Party. His passion was to fight against “American imperialism” and create in Puerto Rico an independent Marxist society aligned with the Cuban Revolution.
This was in the 1960’s, and Puerto Rico was a very poor country. For most families then, jobs were scarce and survival was difficult. Juan’s political ideas certainly did not make things easier. Fired from his job after being accused of attempting a terrorist act against the American company employing him, Juan found himself jobless. For two years he went to job interviews only to have the FBI and intelligence investigators of the local police intervene to deny him opportunities. All the while, Juan continued to be active in the party and indoctrinate his children in the socialist ideal.
“I will never forget the night,” says Ismael, “when my mom was inconsolably crying and ran outside to plead with FBI agents stationed in front of the house. They were there every night. She could not take it any longer and asked them to please leave. I never saw them again. I hated America for my mother’s tears.”
Ismael’s mother, Socorro, was a humble and loving woman. Early on, she followed her husband’s wishes as was common in Puerto Rican culture. At times she participated in gatherings and helped organize public meetings in front of their home. Her true interest, however, was the well-being of her four children. She worried about how she would feed her children with scarce resources. She was a nominal Catholic who prayed often but never attended Mass. In fact, she was involved in “espiritism,” a kind of religion mixing Catholicism with African beliefs. Nonetheless, she made sure that her children attended Mass with neighbors.
A rift between his parents began to build as Ismael’s mother withdrew more from her husband’s politics and suffered the deprivations of poverty. (spacing) “I do remember the good days of seeing my father embrace her, but that became very occasional. I also remember my father’s rage and strong positions, which were all-important to him. I will never forget the day when he cavalierly told my mother, “If I had to sacrifice all our children and have them die for the independence of my country and for socialism, I would do it without hesitation!” The image of my mother’s sobbing is embedded in my memory. And yet, there was something intoxicating and alluring about my father’s conviction.
Ismael continues, “My mother was very loving but also very strict. She was the mother hen as well as the enforcer. You crossed her only at your peril. My father was someone you listened to but never looked directly in the eye. He worked the night shift for years so I saw him only occasionally. I cannot remember him ever playing with me. But he always helped with my studies and I listened attentively to his rhetoric. He was like a foreign god. To do well in school became very important to me because I did not want to disappoint him.”
Eventually, Ismael became active in a Catholic youth group. Still, he followed and idolized his father’s politics more than anything else in life. His father voiced his politics openly and rabidly, and all of it made sense to Ismael. “In those days,” he tells us, “I was very much in tune with my dad’s politics and his hatred of America. I hated America for my parent’s marital problems, built in great degree on my father’s politics, and for all the evil I thought they were doing in the world. My father often told me that America was the enemy of humanity and it was my duty to destroy her. I wholeheartedly believed it.”
Ismael’s life at that time became somewhat confusing to him. His mother insisted he go to church while his father was a committed communist. In his heart, he had many conflicting thoughts and questions about God. “I became very interested in Catholicism. The then-growing anti-Catholicism of Pentecostals made me very interested in knowing more about the Catholic faith. Ironically, my first Bible was given to me by a very committed Pentecostal, a wonderful man, my social studies teacher, Mr. Muñoz. And still, my commitment to socialism remained the priority in my life.”
Ismael went to the University of Puerto Rico to study political sciences and joined socialist movements there. He joined the Socialist Party and worked for the party during the 1980 and 1984 elections. Later, he became active in the fight against the American involvement in the first Gulf War. “My view then was simple: We needed to destroy America and capitalism. We would not leave anything standing. Even those precious things we built with our own hands had to fall if necessary. And on the ashes of the capitalist past we would build the perfect socialist utopia.”
Ismael’s spiritual quest and antagonistic politics seemed to dovetail nicely once he made the decision to join the Jesuit order to become a priest. He thought it was then possible to “have my cake and eat it too.” This was during the early 1980’s, when liberation theology and the Nicaraguan Sandinista Revolution were very influential within the Central American Jesuit province. “I mean, it was almost a requirement to be a socialist to be admitted into Jesuit seminary. I felt that I had found my home.” A great disappointment for him was not being sent to Nicaragua to study philosophy. “This was during the time when seven Jesuits were murdered in Nicaragua. I remember how deeply we all mourned them and how angry we were at America. Our superiors decided not to send us there due to security concerns.”
Eventually, Ismael, still a rabid Communist decided to leave the order. He then took a great and decisive step by coming to America. Of all places, Ismael decided to come to Mississippi to study at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. “I used to joke with my friends that if they turned the TV on and saw a black guy who looked totally lost, running, while being chased by hooded men, that would be me. I was going, after all, as we Puerto Rican socialists used to say, to “las entrañas del monstruo” (the guts of the monster).
Ismael’s experience there began slowly to shatter the preconceived notions about America that were the basis of his worldview. Initially, the culture shock was overwhelming. “I was apprehensive, isolated, and distrustful of all Americans, especially white people. However, things slowly began to change. Even as a foreigner barely able to speak English and with antagonism in my heart, America embraced me and gave me opportunities I never dreamt of.” Thanks to his excellent grades and strong classroom performance, he was offered a full assistantship and a full scholarship, including room and board. “I found it ironic: here I was in America and these people—whom I had seen as the enemy—looked at me and decided to help me without even asking anything from me. I performed and they recognized and rewarded it. I began to read what I never would have read before and re-read what I had never truly understood: The Founding Fathers, the Federalist Papers, the writings of all those ‘evil white men.’ I also discovered the penetrating scholarship of Dr. Thomas Sowell, who shattered my views on race.
“I could not tell you how or when I ceased to be a communist, but America made me see—grudgingly—that I had been wrong. One day I came to realize that when I stepped into this land, I indeed breathed the fresh air of true freedom. At first I denied it internally, but I soon began to question my long-held beliefs and enjoy my life in America. Eventually, I renounced the fake promises and the great lie of socialism, to my father’s great displeasure.” Ismael’s return to Puerto Rico for a visit was an emotional and important event in his life. “I tried to communicate to my father that I was having second thoughts. I was still in transition, but he would have none of it. It became increasingly difficult for us to talk about politics, and I simply let it rest.”
Ismael also discovered the ideas of Catholic priest Father Robert Sirico, and his Acton Institute for the Study of Religion & Freedom. “Father Sirico spoke in a language I had never heard before: a language of human freedom, limited government, and entrepreneurship. In my mind, I could not justify being both conservative and a Catholic, even though previously I had had no problemwith being a Marxist while studying to become a Catholic priest. I had abandoned communism and rediscovered my Catholic faith but could not reconcile my new politics with Catholic social justice. Father Sirico opened my eyes to the truth. I learned that the leftist politics that many in social justice held were actually counterfeit compassion.”
Ismael finished his master’s degree in political science and moved to Fort Myers, Florida with his wife, Crystal. Soon he became the executive director of the African Caribbean American Catholic Center (AFCAAM) in the Catholic Diocese of Venice. There, Ismael began to implement his vision of true compassion based on self-reliance, individual freedom, and a rejection of dependency and entitlement.
“When I began with AFCAAM, I was already a conservative. I became very dissatisfied with the way we delivered social services. We were handing out stuff, paying people’s bills, and helping in various other ways. But we were not trying to radically challenge people. I felt we were actually part of the problem.”
Soon AFCAAM began to change into a ministry geared toward educational programs— “teaching people how to fish.” Its mission became to empower people by helping them to become self-reliant and to avoid immobilizing victim mentality. Ismael raised eyebrows as he began to implement changes and write newspaper articles questioning aspects of the black liberal consensus on race. Ismael challenged ideas such as reparations, affirmative action, multiculturalism and collectivism. “This was at times very difficult and painful as some black Catholics began to oppose me and send letters to the bishop. I even had the Florida director of Black Catholic Ministry offices send letters around the country stating that I hated black people. The Florida office ostracized me and recommended I be ignored.”
At the same time, AFCAAM began to grow. Most Catholics in the pews supported the fresh perspective on black issues Ismael proposed in his presentations at churches, and the ministry became a very successful and well-regarded outreach. Ismael became a lecturer with Father Sirico’s Acton Institute and became very involved in the affairs of the community. This activity eventually led to the creation of the Freedom & Virtue Institute for the purpose of mobilizing people to learn and defend the values he has come to embrace.