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Latinas/os
meet to discuss 2008 political strategies
“It is
imperative that the Latino community be fully prepared to maximize
our participation in all up-coming elections between now and 2012,
and be fully engaged in the census and redistricting in between.”
Thus sayeth
Dr. Juan Andrade, Jr., president of the U.S. Hispanic
Leadership Institute, based in Chicago and which hosted a
Political Strategy Summit, Dec. 15-16, 2006.
This theme was
echoed in
Lorain,
Ohio
last Saturday,
Dec. 16, 2006,
where some thirty Ohio community leaders met at the Multicultural
Center in an historic, political skull session. |
Ricardo Peña
listens to Henry Guzmán discuss an issue at last Saturday’s Latino
Political Seminar coordinated by Rubén Castilla Herrera at the
Multicultural Center in Lorain. |
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Coordinated by
Rubén Castilla Herrera of Columbus and captioned
“Latino/Democrats in Ohio – Stategic Dialogue,” participants
included: Richard Romero, Rubén Torres, José Ramirez, Dave
Flores, José Candelario, and María Santiago of Lorain;
Melissa Cárdenas, Ezra Escudero, Melissa Giraud, Henry Guzmán,
Germán Trejo, Dean Hernández, and Lupe Velásquez of
Columbus; Susana Galindo of Fairview Park; Adrian Labra
and Armando Labra of Canfield; Ricardo Peña, Belinda
Saldana, José Santiago, Jenice Contreras, and Milagros
Santiago-Hodges of Cleveland; Roberto Torres and
Rico Neller of Toledo; and Rosita Uricia of Cincinnati.
Despite its
name, Republicans were also present.
As reported by
John Zogby in the Dec. 6, 2006 issue of La Prensa,
“2008 may be the most significant election of our generation,”
with Latinos making up 10 per cent of the vote. In reviewing the
Nov. 7, 2006 election results, Zogby concluded that “Republicans
took a drubbing among Latinos,” primarily because of Republican
bill initiatives concerning immigrant-bashing and the construction
of almost 700 miles of double-layered wall, separating México from
the United States [HR 4437 and HR 6061].
With the 2008
presidential elections in the offing, Latinos from around the
nation were meeting to discuss political strategies.
In Lorain,
numerous charts/diagrams and break-out groups were initiated, with
core questions such as: “Who are You?,” “Why are You here?,” “What
process for submitting Latina/o candidates will have the greatest
impact and potential?,” “How can we use existing processes to
establish a common goal?,” and “Where do we go from here?”
Issues, goals,
and strategies were developed over a five-hour period by the
participants, grouped into the categories of: employment,
education, immigration, and politics.
Herrera
specializes in such work shops and explained to the group the
“café process,” where participants could go from group to group
and “pollinate between” the two (the Bumblebee approach),
“harvesting” conversation; the creation of other groups (the
Butterfly technique), and separating from the group or groups when
needed (the Law of Two Feet). |
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Herrera informed La Prensa, “I believe that many times,
Latinos and Latinas may not be heard because we first have to
develop a process for us to come together and speak with each
other. But not just speak; we have to listen to each other as
well.
“We have to
get to know each other, develop trust and realize that there is
not one person who has the great wisdom and knows what exactly
needs to be done. Collective knowledge and wisdom is always the
best. We can only do this through creating a space for safe,
strategic conversation. I think we did this in Lorain.”
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Rubén Castilla
Herrera and Mary Santiago |
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Germán Trejo
Caballero
(Consejero Titular, Instituto de los Mexicanos en el Exterior)
concluded that: “I believe that the meeting was a great success,
not only because it gathered a group of the most important
Democratic Hispanic/Latino leaders, but also because all of the
attendees participated in drafting a common strategy to benefit
our community statewide.”
Other
conclusions by participants included:
Armando Labra
(Consejero Titular, Instituto de los Mexicanos en el Exterior):
“Clearly, the meeting set the groundwork for goal-oriented
dialogue of Latino leaders statewide. It was a start, and a good
start for many more in the future. Someone mentioned the word
“historical” at the conclusion of the meeting. No doubt, we need
more qualified Latinos in positions of power in the newly elected
administration. It remains to be seen if the newly elected
Democrats deliver the promises made to our communities.”
Richard Romero
(Commissioner, OCHLA): “I believe the Latino community in
Ohio
is ready to come together to move our community forward. The
dialogue to put forth an agenda for the community was productive
and well thought out. The needs of the Latino community will be
served better with a plan. The gathering and workshops were
inspiring and motivating.”
Jenice
Contreras
(Director of Development, Care Alliance Health Center, and
president of the Young Latino Network): “Participating in the
Democratic Strategic Dialogue gave me hope. I realized that people
across the state are actively engaged politically to ensure the
well being of Latinos. This was priceless.”
Chicahua
Necahual
(poet): “Things ran smoothly and I came away a much richer person
for having been to the meeting…as I learned, shared, and embraced
our beautiful community from many different levels.”
More such
sessions are anticipated.
Conference Summary (PDF)
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