The Coca-Cola Co. provided $1,200 to bring poet Martin Espada to Kansas University on Thursday. Chances are, they’ll be seeing the effects of that money in the near future.

Espada, a Latino poet who has published seven collections, plans to donate the money to a union for workers at Colombian Coca-Cola plants — a union that Espada believes has been decimated by unfair and sometimes brutal labor practices.

“Until the disturbing questions about Coke’s labor record in Colombia have been answered, I cannot in good conscience accept monies from Coca-Cola or have my name associated with the company,” Espada told the crowd of nearly 200 who gather for his reading at the Kansas Union. “Giving up $1,200 is not easy for a poet, but the union needs the money more than I do.”

Coca-Cola’s $1,200, part of the total budget of $3,725 to bring Espada to KU, was not donated specifically for the event. Rather, it is part of a contribution the company made to the KU Endowment Association to bring speakers to campus.

Still, the connection proved too close for Espada’s comfort. He approached Robert Vodicka, an American Studies doctoral student at KU who organized the poetry reading, about his ethical concerns nearly a week ago, and then devised the plan to donate the money to the Colombian union.

“It’s his money,” Vodicka said of the arrangement. “He is free to do with it what he pleases.”

As for the KU Endowment Association’s reaction to Espada’s move, Vodicka said he couldn’t predict whether they would feel slighted.

“If they will, I don’t know,” he said.

For his part, Espada made it clear that his actions should not be interpreted as a comment on the KU Endowment Association.

Espada

“I wrestled with the issue ethically,” Espada said. “This is a personal decision, and does not reflect on the Endowment.”

Espada currently serves as an English professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. A former lawyer, his poetry frequently deals with poverty, labor and racial issues.