Dec 23, 2019
So much is at stake in America in the year ahead. The 2020 presidential election and decennial census will be markers in history, a time for communities to stand up and be counted or a perilous step backward. For low-income, immigrant and communities of color, in particular, the stakes are tremendously high and civic engagement is an imperative. Latinos have suffered because of the President’s hateful rhetoric and policies, and the violence, including the massacre in El Paso, his leadership has inspired. It will require nonprofit organizations with deep ties to these communities, to mobilize. This is the work that UnidosUS, the nation’s largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization, and UnidosUS Action Fund, its sister nonprofit, which focuses on political action, are leading. Orson Aguilar, the new executive director of the Action Fund, is energized for the challenge. Contrary to the media’s perception that Latinos are moved to action exclusively on immigration, survey results tell a different story. It turns out that the top 4 issues of interest to Latinos are: jobs and the economy; health, immigration and climate change. Much great work is ahead.