Jon Hillson

My Friend Jon

By Paula Solomon

Early on the morning of Friday January 30, 2004 I was standing at the window of my hotel room on the Island of Oahu gazing at a subtle pastel sunrise in the middle of a lush landscape when my cell phone rang. The sound surprised me, but the words sent me into a shock greater than any Los Angeles earth tremor.

My friend Andres Gomez was calling from Miami, Florida. I greeted him with great joy as I always do, and he with great concern asked if the news he had heard about Jon Hillson was true. Then I knew that my life would be changing.

Andres didn't know that I was not in Los Angeles, that I had left Jon in good health, moving at top speed, as usual toward one of the many events we held to advance the cause of normal, peaceful (and respectful) US relations with Cuba. In that moment, however I knew that if he had heard about Jon's sudden death, as inconceivable as it was, it must be true.

Shock, sorrow, loss, and a profound sense of irony washed over me, then, panic at the massive void that would be left in the wake of Jon's absence.

In early 1991 the US Coast Guard boarded a Cuban fishing vessel looking for a provocation to launch the invasion that is always at the edge of US foreign policy. Up to that time most Cuba solidarity organizations were very low profile due to threats of incarceration and freezing of bank accounts.

The Cubans asked everyone who wanted normalized relations to broaden the movement to the mainstream on the basis of recognizing how the Cuban Revolution had bettered the lives of the vast majority of the Cuban people.

The best way was to show people that the values of the Revolution are the same as any average decent person in the US is to send them to Cuba. Groups formed all over the US, in LA a coalition was put together by the Venceremos Brigade, people from leftist political parties, independent Cuba activists a few Cubans living in LA, and any one not specifically hostile. We were held together by respect for the gains of the Cuban Revolution despite some disparate political histories. We worked together, and became friends. We showed Cuban films, we held meetings where people from Cuba could tell of their experiences, we had cultural celebrations to develop awareness of Cuban history.

Since the mid-90's when Jon Hillson and Beverly Truman came to LA and began to work with the LA Coalition in Solidarity with Cuba the conjunction of greater "Cuba awareness" and Jon's energy advanced the work to a far wider constituency.

Jon was always concerned with numbers. He counted the people, the varieties of people, the campuses represented, the unions, occupations, the age groups, and he would make reports showing the importance of reaching the most diverse groups as possible. The kind of energy and vision that Jon had did not always sit well with others in the organization, but no one could deny the fact that the work got done and it never let up.

This in fact was the main reason for my initial panic. His style of work and mine melded perfectly, we shared a working respect for each other that transcended any disagreement we had about the work of other solidarity organizations. Who now would make all the calls, keep track of all the details, meet all the deadlines and give me half the credit?

Even before I got back to LA I began to realize that a legacy did exist in the form of so many bright young people we have worked with in the delegations to Cuba. Of course the work will go on as it always has and it will live beyond all of us! Jon's working class values and dedication will never die. In all the work we do he is with us.

Paula Solomon, organizer of the

LA Coalition in Solidarity with Cuba

February 21, 2004

Celebration of the Life of Jon Hillson

12:00 Noon Reception - 1:00 PM Program - Sunday, March 7

At the immigrant rights organization: CARECEN

2845 W. 7th St. – cross street- Hoover, Los Angeles

Jon Hillson 54, a was ramp work with United Airlines, a union and political activist, and a leader of the Los Angeles Coalition in Solidarity with Cuba, died suddenly of a heart attack in Los Angeles, January 29. A member of Local Lodge 1932 of the International Association of Machinists Union Hillson was active in organizing drives by food concession and baggage screeners at LAX, and efforts to extend solidarity to local striking grocery workers and longshoremen, as well as coal miners in Utah.

He is survived by his wife Beverly and his brother Edward.

Those wishing to make a contribution in his memory may write tax-deductible checks made out to MADRE, C/O Beverly Treumann, 6709 La Tijera Blvd., #824, Los Angeles, CA 90045-2017. Beverly will direct the allocations of the fund to causes he supported.

Ed note. Jon wrote a number of articles for Change-Links, always on Cuba, his passion. Some thought Jon was too devoted to Cuba and often supporting the government unwavering, a position that earned him a number of disagreements. Jon saw the great threat the U.S. was towards this tiny island which under great odds had survived in the way it wanted for 45 years. We believe that Cuba could and should be more open and democratic than it is. But we also understand that we aren’t in the parrots seat

By the Way, I never saw Jon relaxed until he paid me a visit after he passed.