Latinx conference addresses economics, race and politics of change – non profit news



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Photo by Black Sete from Pexels.

As attendees of the Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP) annual conference gathered, both in Los Angeles and online, the state of the Latinx community and how to build coalitions for social justice were at the heart of the agenda. Presenting a panel on the politics of change, moderator Efrain Escobedo, vice president of education and immigration for the California Community Foundation, opened by noting that election campaigns themselves “are not intended to strengthen to be able to ; this is the time when you can exercise it… you have to build and invest in infrastructure long beforehand. He asked the question, “What does it look like to build or maintain a movement that actually strengthens the Latinx community?” “

The conference took place September 13-15, 2021, as part of a recall effort against California Governor Gavin Newsom (R). California Election Day fell on Tuesday the 14the, in the middle of the conference. While the recall effort ultimately failed dramatically, it wasn’t certain. What was certain was that in last year’s presidential elections, Donald Trump made significant inroads among Latinx voters. In 2016, Hillary Clinton won the Latinx vote by a margin of 66% to 28%; in 2020; Joe Biden won the Latinx vote by a much smaller 59% to 38% margin, a very big change in the Republican leadership.

Tory Gavito, chairman of Way to Win, a group of progressive donors and organizers seeking to elect liberal candidates, said his own father was a longtime Democrat, but told him he was “done. with the Democrats “. They are no longer fighting for working families at the border for economic change. Gavito added, “I think what’s going on with my dad in South Texas is a trend that’s happening with a lot of Latinxes.”

Gavito explained, “What is our role in dealing with anti-black racism in the Latinx community? I think that’s all. Gavito said she had hoped the rise of Black Lives Matter (BLM) would spark a “great awakening of solidarity.” Certainly, she added, there are “a lot of Latinxes who embrace this framework. There are also many Latinxes who choose to separate their own experiences from those of our black siblings. Jonathan Jayes-Green, vice president of programs at the Marguerite Casey Foundation, confirmed, “As an Afro-Latinx, I’m not surprised… It’s not always popular when Latinx leaders take a stand to support BLM.

On a separate panel focused on narrative change, Hector Mujica, head of economic opportunities for the Americas for Google.org, made a similar note, observing that members of the Latinx community “are both responsible for the systems of oppression and represented among the oppressed. . Julio Marcial, vice president of the Liberty Hill Foundation in Los Angeles, added that the Latinx community needs to address both “How do we elevate systems of oppression?†And “How do we elevate narratives of the oppressed?

Earlier in this panel, Mujica used her personal story to illustrate the range of communities that fit the concept of Latinity [Latinness]. As Mujica said, “What does it mean to be ‘Latino’, ‘Hispanic’, ‘Latinx’? What does it mean?”

“I am from Venezuela. I grew up in the city of Weston (Florida), a predominantly Venezuelan-Colombian community. I grew up in a predominantly Latino community that was in power. It wasn’t until I moved to California ten years ago that I realized how Latinity is. My lived experience was not the same experience. We may share a common brand or identity, but our lived experiences and our stories are so different… all of it is closely related to this concept of identity.

Building a Latinx movement politically, Mujica added, requires breaking down silos “to create a coalition and come together to form a stronger whole.”

Political, economic and narrative strategies for change

At the conference, many speakers addressed the challenge that Mujica and others have raised. Jayes-Green outlined steps philanthropy could take. Jayes-Green noted that some of the steps are quite basic, such as general multi-year operational support. They noted that under the leadership of Carmen Rojas, Marguerite Casey began awarding grants over five years (previously “multi-year†meant two to three years for the foundation) and increased the maximum grant amount to $ 500,000. “If we think it’s our job to give leaders the freedom to lead, we need to do whatever we can… give them more money, a longer period, eliminating tedious reporting. If we understand that we are in a time of crisis and that our leaders on the ground are taking risks, putting their bodies on the line to transform democracy and the economy, that is our job.

Specific leadership strengthening tools were also highlighted. Nellie Gorbea, a Latina who currently serves as Secretary of State for Rhode Island, stressed that forming councils and commissions is an important tool for educating citizens, which some say is an entry point. important in the public sphere before running for elected office. Robert Ross, president of the California Endowment, stressed that philanthropy should invest in empowerment and leadership of young people.

For his part, Gavito has taken up the work of Ian Haney López, professor of public law at the University of California at Berkeley and co-creator of the race-class narrative project, which seeks to combine economic and racial analysis and to develop a political organizing strategy centered on openly discussing the intersection between racial and economic justice. Gavito stressed: “When we think of our community, our burden with our resources, we have to fight and fight against racism in our communities.” She added that “there are tools to do it” that center strategies for organizing in-depth person-to-person outreach between elections.

A separate panel on building an inclusive green economy echoed threads from the other panels while linking the conversation more explicitly to the economy. Jorge Madrid, Program Director of the Cities program at the Energy Foundation, began the session by stressing that “the pandemic has exposed the existing disparities that were already there.” Madrid noted that 25 cities participate in the foundation’s program. “I went to all of them. Blacks and Browns cannot live in the city proper.

Minerva Villa, program designer and trainer at JOLT Action, a 501c4 based in Texas, pointed out the group’s Levántate (Get Up) Leadership Institute, which focuses on youth leadership. She also stressed the importance of talking about the “green economy†in positive terms. “Messaging is the key. People want change. But these communities have built their livelihoods on oil and gas. Especially in Texas. It got them out of poverty. If you say you’re going to take this job, they think, “What about my family, my livelihood? “

The way to fix this, says Villa, is to focus on what’s gained in terms of health, clean water, and clean air. Manuel Pastor, director of the Equity Research Institute at the University of Southern California, made a similar point. “It is extremely important to make this concrete in terms of employment… solar farms, solar installations: a lot of jobs there. Energy renovation of buildings: there are a lot of jobs there.

As for strategy, Pastor called for a multi-faceted approach. When asked what “one thing†philanthropy might do, the pastor replied, “The only thing you can do is not think there is one thing. The organization, measures, policy, job development and the ecosystem. We are always looking for the quick fix rather than the seeds we plant to create a garden of change. “

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