By Carmela Castellano, President and CEO of the California Primary Care Association I grew up with a strong sense of social justice and civic duty. As a young Latina, I knew that I would stand up for my rights my entire life. I wasn’t going to sit
By Jessica Salinas, LCF Communications Fellow, Los Angeles When Clara came to Pomona, California with her family from Michoacan, Mexico as a child, she experienced injustice first hand. Throughout her school years, she dealt with racism from classmates, and although she learned everything she knew
My grandmother had a dicho for every situation, and if she were alive today, she would say, ‘Tenemos que votar — mas vale prevenir, que lamentar’. This November 8th, I’m voting because I recognize the power that comes with having a say in the issues
From a young age I was aware, from personal experience, of issues of inequality within communities. My first civic engagement action happened in middle school. At church, our priest spoke about a group of families that had recently arrived from Oaxaca without knowing anyone. They
By Isidra Mencos If Elizabeth Parrott had a magic wand, she would send all Latino youth to live abroad for a little while, because this experience changed the way she saw herself and what she thought she could achieve. Born and raised in California, the daughter
By Christian Arana As a public policy graduate student at UC Berkeley, I spend a great deal of time combing through statistics on subjects ranging from crime and education to health care and housing. But during last month’s Mobilize the Latino Vote event hosted by
by Isidra Mencos I narrowly escaped a police beating once. Franco, the right-wing dictator that had muzzled Spain for the last 36 years, had just died. His successor, King Juan Carlos de Borbón, promised a transition to a pluralistic society, but it was slow. Demonstrations
When Andres Connell immigrated to the United States as a young 13 year-old boy, he experienced first hand the trials and tribulations that many other young Latino boys raised in low-income households face– the continuous struggle to make ends meet, the lack of community resources,
By: Lucia Diaz, CEO, The Mar Vista Family Center I came to Mar Vista Family Center (MVFC) in 1981 as a parent looking for child care. As a young mother with two children, 3 years old and 12 months old, I used to walk to there with
Honoring Hispanic Heritage Month with a Month of Action We come from different countries. Speak different languages. But we are all Latino. Diverse people united by our values, our stories and our struggles. This month, we come together as one. Will you honor Hispanic Heritage