Though Latinos are the largest non-white demographic in the U.S., our federal government is disproportionally white. In early 2020, less than 10% of the U.S. House of Representatives were Latino, despite Latinos making up 18.5% of the population. Only 4 of 50 U.S. senators were Latino. But that’s starting to change. In the November 2020 election, voters elected more Latinos to Congress, both Republicans and Democrats. Although Latino representation in Congress still needs improvement, the election of these representatives signifies progress.
Which Latinos Were Elected?
Voters elected Latinos to both chambers of Congress. New Mexicans elected Democrat Ben Ray Luján to the Senate, making him the 5th Latino senator. He will join senators Bob Menendez (D-New ...
The prospect of homeownership remains out of reach for many Latinos as incomes fail to keep up with rising property values. The community land trust model is a shared ownership model designed to protect people, neighborhoods, and businesses at risk of gentrification and displacement due to development and the upward pressure of urban land markets. This model can be used for housing, small businesses, agriculture, and community resources. There are roughly 277 community land trusts across the US, many addressing housing instability. Community land trusts could play an important role in supporting economic recovery during and after COVID-19.
Unfair Urban Land Markets Leave Many Families Behind
Property rights in America were not created equal. They have excluded Latinos, ...
As Latinos became the largest racial/ethnic minority in the U.S., researchers expected them to have a larger turnout in the 2020 Election compared to previous years. They were right — 20.6 million Latinos voted this year, a 63% increase from the last presidential election. While Latino voter turnout usually ends up being less than half of eligible voters, 64% of eligible Latinos turned out to vote. The majority of Latinos voted for Joe Biden, but a growing number of Latinos voted for Donald Trump, surprising many Democrats and media outlets. As we reflect on the 2020 Election, we find several takeaways about the Latino voting bloc: Latino voters vary in gender and age, the number of Latino voters increases each election, and the diversity within the Latino community ...
Since the start of coronavirus’ spread throughout the country, Latinos have lacked the resources to battle against widespread rates of infection, death. Soon, that community will have a voice on President-Elect Joe Biden’s recently announced COVID-19 Taskforce, which includes two Latinos — Dr. Luciana Borio, former assistant FDA commissioner, and Dr. Robert Rodriguez, a professor of emergency medicine at UCSF School of Medicine. This kind of representation is critical to combat the horrific experiences Latinos and other people of color have experienced during this epidemic, especially as winter arrives, said Dr. Leana Wen, the former Baltimore health commissioner. “[Biden’s] work needs to begin right now. He needs to begin communicating the urgency of actions with the ...
To his students, he’s Mr. Rodríguez. To his fans, he’s the creator and author of the comic book and graphic novel series El Peso Hero. When he noticed a need for more Latino representation in comic books and literature, Héctor Rodríguez launched his long-time project as a web series in 2011. El Peso Hero is a Latino superhero who fights corruption, drug trafficking, immigration, and other real-life social and racial justice issues happening on the Texas/Mexico border. Now almost 10 years later, Rodríguez has printed several comic books, produced a radio novella and short film, and is working on developing El Peso Hero into a Hollywood production. Rodríguez first found inspiration for El Peso Hero during his childhood on the Texas/Mexico border.
Inspiration on the ...
With the election of Joe Biden, we expect to see a lot of national policy and system changes under the new presidential administration next year. But, right now, lots of changes are already happening locally. That’s because, during the election on Nov. 3, 2020, voters in cities and states passed local propositions. These have wide-ranging implications for education, economic recovery, criminal justice reform, and more, especially for Latinos and other communities of color.
Education and the 2020 Election
Childhood education took a high priority in many cities. San Antonio, a predominately Latino city, was one of them. Voters approved a one-eighth-cent sales tax to continue funding Pre-K 4 SA, the city’s full-day public preschool program. “Pre-K 4 SA serves 2,000 ...
Food insecurity and health disparities disproportionately affect lower income communities and communities of color. These disparities are only exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Access to healthy food should be a universal right. It’s clear that we must reevaluate how food retail currently works in our country. We must rebuild a more equitable and just system. We can work together to promote food equity in our communities and across the country. This tweetchat coincides with the new release of a National Research Agenda on healthy food retail, published as a Special Journal Issue. Join #SaludTues at 1 p.m. ET on Nov. 17, 2020, to tweet about the importance of healthy food retail environments for advancing health equity. WHAT: #SaludTuesTweetchat: How a Healthy Food ...
You probably haven’t heard of Jennifer Morris. She’s an English Language Learner teacher at Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary School in Philadelphia. But to her students from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Honduras, and Colombia, she is a hero. When Morris noticed that some of her immigrant students weren’t as engaged, she felt a need to add more Latino culture to her classroom. That’s why she helped bring Hispanic Heritage Month to her school.
Becoming an ELL Teacher
Morris has always wanted to make a difference in her classroom. Her aspirations to become a teacher began early. “From as long as I can remember, I was always playing school at home. I would beg my mom to go out to buy my sister prizes so I could teach her how to do certain math lessons,” Morris ...
As we reach the seventh month of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers are pointing to a new cause in an uptick of cases: pandemic fatigue. “Pandemic fatigue refers to feeling overwhelmed with still having to maintain a state of constant vigilance, in this case six months after the pandemic started, and a weariness to abide by restrictions,” according to Gavi Vaccine Alliance. Understandably, people are tired of the daily inconveniences caused by avoiding the COVID-19 virus and want their lives to return to normal. However, if we fall complacent and begin disregarding guidance from public health officials, we take part in moral disengagement and it becomes more difficult for our communities to put an end to COVID-19. When we disengage morally from safety and virus prevention, ...
