Dozens of Latino organizations have recently drafted and signed an open letter calling on the entertainment industry and members of the viewing public to support work done by Latino creatives—especially in the midst of Hollywood strike that puts the work of Latino creatives disproportionately at risk.

New rules announced by President Joe Biden and a new bill introduced by Sens. Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) look to eliminate the high costs and enduring stigma that keep many Latinos from seeking mental health care.

Latinos made up about one in 10 of the votes cast during the 2022 midterm elections, according to a study conducted by the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. Roughly 35 million Latinos were eligible to vote, representing 14 percent of the electorate.

Puerto Ricans are pushing for sustained interconnectivity between stakeholders doing the rebuilding in the islands and the diaspora and its allies advocating for long-term investment from the mainland — and these coordination efforts are largely driven by women’s networks.

Five years after Hurricane María slammed into Puerto Rico and exposed the funding problems the Caribbean island has long faced, philanthropists warn that many of those issues remain unaddressed, just like the repairs still needed for the American territory’s physical infrastructure.

“The Insular Cases, as you know, are a line of Supreme Court cases that held that the ‘alien races’ and ‘savage tribes’ in Guam, Puerto Rico, and other U.S. territories acquired as a result of the Spanish-American War were not entitled to the same constitutional rights and protections afforded to residents of the states, nor were they on a path to full political participation,” reads the letter from the American Civil Liberties Union, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Brennan Center for Justice, Dēmos, Hispanic Federation, Human Rights Campaign, and others.

On Tuesday, November 9, the Supreme Court began hearing oral arguments in the case of United States v. José Luis Vaello Madero. At issue is whether a U.S. citizen has equal access to social safety-net programs when living in a U.S. territory.

The Hispanic Federation and the Southern Coalition for Social Justice launched the Redistricting Academy, a first-of-its-kind bilingual resource center which aims to empower Latinos “to advocate for district maps that reflect the diversity of their population,” according to a press release.

The killing of Toledo and the assault on Nazario are just the latest examples of the extent of state-sponsored violence against Latinos.

Instead of focusing on changing their policy priorities to align with those of Georgia voters, one party decided to change the rules of the game to make it less fair and block participation.

“Like the population overall, Latinos are turning out to vote early in record numbers,” said NALEO Educational Fund CEO Arturo Vargas.

Several focused on how anti-Blackness is still prevalent among Latinos

Some of what was discussed included specifics about the government census and how this data is used to provide resources for local communities

“Puerto Rico must no longer be treated as a colony.”

Con los muertos no se juega.

“We were alone in the world,” said César Montijo, chief executive officer of SANOS, a health center in Caguas, when describing how his clinic stepped in to provide medical services and even food to communities in need 72 hours after the hurricane hit.

“Access to voting shouldn’t stop because of a language barrier,” said Monica Russo, President of SEIU Florida.

We strongly urge you to publicly support the following policy priorities.

A year after María, the U.S. government must rebuild Puerto Rico, as befits its stature as a U.S. territory and its residents as American citizens.

Latino Rebels Radio: October 10, 2018

These initiatives all demonstrate the combined power of local and global stakeholders who chose to make a difference in the wake of devastation.