The San Joaquin Valley, smack in the middle of a state that boasts the world’s fourth largest economy, is the breadbasket of the nation. It’s also home to some of the most polluted air and water in the country. A 2022 report by the California State Auditor found that most of the nearly one million Californians coping with failing water systems live in the San Joaquin Valley.
Category: Equity
Posted inEducation
Disparities in ‘unexcused’ absences deepen California education inequities, harming Latinos and others
Although students don’t face punitive consequences for excused absences, unexcused absences can lead to students being denied credit for missed work, excluded from extracurricular activities, and eventually taken to court and fined. Socioeconomically disadvantaged students are much more likely to have their absences labeled unexcused. This is also true for Black, Native American, Latino and Pacific Islander students relative to white, Asian American and Filipino students. Black students experience the largest disparity.
Posted inEducation
Fighting the odds, increasing the Latinx pipeline to graduate school
Raised by migrant farmworkers in Washington State, Dr. Janette Mariscal was brought up on the principles of the value of hard work and perseverance while picking apples and cherries. Today she is dedicated to ensuring that students of color like her have the same three letters by their name: PhD. The McNair TRiO program seeks to help first generation, low-income undergraduate students who wish to ultimately pursue their doctorate degree. It is the mission of the program that McNair strives to center racial and ethnic identity in research and graduate school preparation.
Posted inUncategorized
GOOD JUJU COFFEE, a Latina and LGBTQIA+- owned coffee brand, supports gender equality and liveable wages
Good Juju Coffee is available and served at their coffee bar within Pocha LA, a modern, vegan-friendly Mexicana restaurant, merging both Mexican and American cultures, located in Highland Park.
Posted inEquity
SHARET GARCIA, mentoring and training Latino ‘undocuprofessionals’
In 2020, Sharet Garcia launched Undocuprofessionals, a free online mentorship program that connects undocumented mentees with undocumented mentors that have professional careers. Alongside the mentorship program, Garcia uses Instagram to provide information about undocumented opportunities and news nationwide. “I wanted to give back to my community, I knew if I started a platform like this, it would push me to work harder as well,” said Garcia. Garcia, 37, is an undocumented advocate, who became a single mother and head of the household in 2020.
Posted inRepresentation
Brookings Institution report on Black and Latino-majority cities in the U.S.
In a Brookings Institution report released on in January, titled “Recognizing Black and Latino-majority cities is the first step to finding a real world Wakanda,” authors Andre M. Perry and Manann Donoghoe of Brookings Metro made a connection between the film and ways Black and Brown people socialize and build community. Perry and Donoghoe wanted the report to reveal how there are cities where the majority of the population are Black and Latinos, it can signify cooperation between the marginalized groups. However, the report stated how it has not always been easy for racial coalitions to occur, and refers to the Los Angeles City Council scandal.
Posted inEducation
Are young boys of color set up to fail in early education?
Toddlers are famous for throwing tantrums, stomping their feet and screaming as tears roll down their chubby cheeks. It’s par for the course of life as a preschool teacher, child care worker or parent that you will have to cope with your fair share of developmentally-appropriate misbehavior, including hitting and biting. And yet not all small children get the benefit of the doubt when they act up in class or on the playground. Some of them get kicked out of school, perhaps derailing their education.
Posted inOpinion
COLUMN: End gender pay gap for Latinas
At the current rate Latinas won’t earn equal pay until 2197. That’s 174 years if you do the math. That means maybe your Latina granddaughter might achieve equal pay before she retires. The pay gap amounts to a loss of nearly $1.2 million over a 40-year career, according to The National Women’s Law Center.
Posted inEquity
CALÓ Q&A: Dr. Fernando Guerra, founder of Center for the Study of LA
Growing up in Highland Park, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, Dr. Fernando Guerra was no stranger to understanding politics and issues that arise in the city. After high school, Dr. Guerra attended the University of Southern California, where he received his bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Political Science. He furthered his education by earning his master’s degree and doctorate of philosophy in Political Science at the University of Michigan. Dr. Guerra is the founding director of LMU’s Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles (StudyLA), which opened in 1996 in reaction to 1992 LA/Rodney King uprisings. Riots. The undergraduate center focuses on public opinion research on LA. StudyLA has been researching groups in LA, such as Latinos, to further understand the issues they face in the city and to help effect social change.
Posted inEquity
Latino Media Collaborative wins leadership award from CNPA
On February 2nd, the Latino Media Collaborative, which publishes CALÓ NEWS, was presented with a leadership award by the California News Publishers Association for work supporting the mission of the California News Publishers Association (CNPA) to protect and serve the common interests of news media in California through advocacy in Sacramento. “This award is a testament to the power of the collaborative and of the equity in journalism and communications that we can achieve when we work together to advance a greater good,” said Arturo Carmona, President of the Latino Media Collaborative.
Posted inJustice
EYVIN HERNANDEZ, LA lawyer wrongfully detained, family holds vigil
Eyvin Hernandez was wrongfully detained in Venezuela last March. He is currently being held in a maximum-security military prison in Caracas, Venezuela. his family and colleagues are asking for President Bidens’ help to bring him back home.
Posted inEnvironment
MICHAEL MARTINEZ, LA Compost, improve LA environment for Latinos
LA Compost currently has 43 community compost locations where community members drop off food scraps for processing into compost as well as 10 locations in LA farmer’s markets. The work done by the organization has led to hundreds of thousands of pounds of organics being diverted from landfills each year. Having parents who utilized the earth and refurbished the forgotten, Michael Martinez aimed to share those teachings and ultimately founded LA Compost.