UCLA LPPI Faculty Experts Shape the Narrative on Latino Communities with Prominent Coverage in Media

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ABC7’s Anabel Muñoz (left) speaks with UCLA Latino Policy and Politics expert, Melissa Chinchilla (right) about the rise of Latino homelessness in Los Angeles

By Alise Brillault

The UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute (UCLA LPPI) maintains a talented bench of over 40 faculty experts whose diverse areas of research and expertise are helping shape public narratives in American politics and driving the media’s focus on the unique experiences of the nation’s growing Latino communities.

Media and the press play a powerful role as the arbiters in deciding who gets to be a part of the American story –  and despite the numerosity of Latino communities throughout the U.S., Latinos still remain largely invisible in the media and in policy debates. As UCLA LPPI research has demonstrated, this lack of representation means that Latinos, their lives, their concerns, and their triumphs are left out of the national narrative and the public’s perception of the American identity.

UCLA LPPI faculty experts are leading the charge in overturning these exclusionary narratives by spotlighting the rich and nuanced experiences of Latino communities, influencing policy debates and the raising visibility of the Latino community. The coverage that these experts have been receiving in prominent news outlets add a unique Latino lens to every emerging policy debate and national political development.

Dr. Melissa Chinchilla, assistant project scientist at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine and health services specialist at the VA of Greater Los Angeles, is a leading expert on Latino homelessness affiliated with UCLA LPPI. Her work has been featured in recent media stories about the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s latest homeless count. Outlets including ABC7 and LAist have sought out Chinchilla’s expertise in understanding why the population of unhoused Latinos in Los Angeles has grown by 26% in the last two years – the highest rate of any racial or ethnic group.

“These news features are helping address the invisibility of the Latino community within the homelessness crisis,” Chinchilla said. “Many Latinos who live in overcrowded or substandard housing have historically been overlooked in narratives about homelessness. However, with the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of Latinos entering the formal homeless system, it is more critical than ever to center the needs of our most vulnerable community members in the media and beyond.”

An assistant professor of environmental policy and urban planning at UC Irvine, Dr. Michael Méndez is another UCLA LPPI expert whose research has been heavily featured in news coverage around climate change and recent environmental disasters. From NPR, to the Los Angeles Times, to ABC7, Méndez has been a go-to source for national news outlets in understanding the ramifications of extreme weather events and natural disasters on Latino and immigrant communities.

“Latinos have a long history of leading the way on climate action, given that they are disproportionately affected by climate-related extreme weather and natural disasters,” explained Méndez. “The media plays a key role in bringing these stories to light so that environmental policy discussions and decisions led by our policymakers meaningfully prioritize the unique needs and perspectives of Latino communities.”

UCLA LPPI expert Dr. David Hayes-Bautista’s latest research centering the economic contributions of Latinos has been highlighted in leading news outlets including NBC and Al Día. Hayes-Bautista, director of the UCLA Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture, co-authored the Latino Donor Collaborative’s 2022 U.S. Latino GDP report demonstrating that U.S. Latinos would represent the 5th largest economy in the world if they were an independent country. U.S. Latinos’ economic output would put them ahead of nations including the United Kingdom, India, and France.

“The results of this study directly contradict the prevalent stereotypes of Latinos as ‘lazy’ or ‘criminal’ often perpetuated by the media. Sharing these data with prominent news outlets allows us to illuminate how hardworking Latinos truly are and how valuable they are to the health and growth of the U.S. economy, now and into the future.” said Hayes-Bautista.

Increased media attention on UCLA LPPI experts’ innovative research expands visibility on the issues that Latinos care about most. It helps build public awareness and urgency around the need to expand resources and opportunities for the country’s youthful Latino communities. And above all, it showcases the contributions of Latinos as leaders in bringing forth a more prosperous, environmentally resilient, and socially equitable nation.

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UCLA LPPI at CHCI Conference

LPPI Shines at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Conference

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by Alise Brillault

UCLA LPPI experts and policy fellows were well represented at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C. on September 12-15, 2022. CHCI is a leading national organization that convenes members of Congress and other public officials, corporate executives, nonprofit advocates, and thought leaders to discuss issues facing the nation and the Latino community. Taking place at the onset of Hispanic Heritage Month, the conference sought to highlight Latino excellence through an offering of 26 sessions featuring over 200 thought leaders and elected officials – including remarks from President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

UCLA LPPI at CHCI Conference

Pictured left to right: Jessie Hernandez-Reyes, Paul Barragan-Monge, Rodrigo Domínguez-Villegas, Nick González, and Bryanna Ruiz Fernandez

Paul Barragan-Monge, director of mobilization at UCLA LPPI, and Rodrigo Domínguez-Villegas, UCLA LPPI director of research, were featured panelists in two different sessions during the week. Barragan-Monge spoke in a breakout session sponsored by UCLA LPPI centered on criminal justice reform. With Latinos accounting for increasingly higher percentages of people in U.S. prisons, the conversation focused on how policymakers and community leaders can pursue comprehensive justice reforms and support formerly incarcerated Latinos in successfully reintegrating back into their communities.

In a breakout session sponsored by Casey Family Programs, Domínguez-Villegas spoke on how to strengthen communities to reduce Latino family separation. From acute crises such as family separation at the border, to longstanding socioeconomic inequities, Domínguez-Villegas discussed with other panelists about the innovative policies and interventions needed to protect Latino families’ holistic safety and well-being.

UCLA LPPI was able to sponsor the attendance of three alumni policy fellows, Bryanna Ruiz Fernandez, Jessie Hernandez-Reyes and Nick González, as well as current policy fellow Rocio Perez.

Ruiz Fernandez had a powerful experience reconnecting with her former UCLA LPPI colleagues in the nation’s capital. Having recently graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in political science and chicana/o studies, Ruiz Fernández is now working as a financial analyst at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in Washington, D.C.

“Sharing a space filled with Latina/o trailblazers in public policy, as a UCLA LPPI alumni, highlighted the abundance of opportunities I have been granted as a result of mentors like Sonja Diaz and Rodrigo Domínguez-Villegas, who are dedicated to opening doors for young Latinos hoping to enact meaningful change across our communities,” Ruiz Fernández remarked.

González, now a second-year Master of Public Policy student at Georgetown University and intern for U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, was inspired by Latino leaders he met at the conference and the diverse fields they work in.

“Aside from reconnecting with my UCLA LPPI colleagues, my favorite aspect of the conference was networking with so many Latinos in public policy from a broad range of issues and sectors,” said González. “Hearing about the diversity of their work felt like a reminder of LPPI’s mantra that every issue really is a Latino issue.”

Perez, currently a Master of Public Policy student at UCLA, was likewise inspired by the community of Latino leaders with whom she was able to network – and some of the high-profile speakers.

“It was incredible to learn about the journeys of Latinos in different industries and network with empowering individuals, as well as reconnect with friends and mentors,” Perez shared. “One of the highlights was witnessing remarks by both the Vice President and President of the United States – who would have thought I would be there!”

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Janitor-Parent Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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Single-mom and full-time SEIU-USWW Janitor Jenny Meija and her two sons pictured with a computer provided by Building Skills Partnership’s digital equity initiatives.

By Lucy González, Graduate Student Researcher; Sophia L. Ángeles, Graduate Student Researcher; Janna Shadduck-Hernández, Project Director, UCLA Labor Center

There is no doubt the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on families. Low-wage essential workers, such as janitors, have been hit particularly hard. The work demands placed on janitors dramatically increased as new safety standards were instated by 2020 COVID-19 protocols. Front-line janitors were at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19, and their families also faced serious financial challenges due to job loss and reduction of work hours. The difficulty of juggling parent-worker responsibilities impacted their well-being and mental health. However, few studies have explored the unique experiences of janitor parents and their critical role in the pandemic.

In the fall of 2021, the UCLA Labor Center conducted 16 interviews with janitor parents who are members of the Building Skills Partnership and SEIU-USWW (Service International Employees Union-United Service Workers West) and have children attending LAUSD schools. The study’s goal was twofold: 1) to understand how changing working conditions affected janitors as parents and workers and 2) to understand how an ever-evolving year of online learning shaped parent workers’ ability to support their children. Preliminary findings point to janitor parents’ resiliency in light of the challenges they encountered.

First, our research team found that the sanitation training janitor parents received in the workplace made them acutely aware and critical of their children’s school sanitary practices. Selene,* a Guatemalan mother of two students, shared her worries after learning that her children were tasked with disinfecting shared spaces. She cited that disinfection practices needed to be performed by professionals on a daily basis. Janitor parents’ access to specialized training equipped them to act as health brokers as they consistently discussed best health practices with their children to keep them safe from COVID-19.

Reflecting nationwide trends, more than half of the janitor parents reported that their children struggled academically. Parents cited the lack of personalized communication and consistent support from teachers and school staff as contributing factors. Iris, a Latina mother of two, shared that she reached out to her daughter’s school counselor for help, but never heard back. She believed this lack of support was due to her Latina ethnicity, as she had received negative responses from school staff when she called speaking Spanish versus the more positive responses she experienced when she spoke English.

Single janitor parents also consistently struggled. Nora, an Honduran single mother of two children with special needs, shared how burnt out she was juggling work and parenting since the start of pandemic:

“As a single mother, how is it going on a daily basis? Very hard. It is very hard because I have to be at 100% … I go to work at 6pm until 2:30am … I sleep for just 3 hours … Then go drop them off … Then I take classes … After, I have to pick up my sons. Then I serve them dinner. Can you imagine? I have no life.”

To support janitor parents, we suggest the following recommendations::

  1. Provide coordinated support and resources for working parents, particularly single parent households (e.g., flexible childcare options, financial assistance).
  2. Ensure that school-parent communication is multilingual and through varied and accessible formats.

An article on this research is forthcoming. Read our previous report on the UCLA Labor Center’s programs with worker parents, Learning Together! An Innovative Tutoring Program for Low-Wage Janitor, Garment and Domestic Worker Children (click HERE to download).

Lucy González is a graduate student researcher with the UCLA Labor Center and is a recent MSW graduate. She plans to be a school social worker to work on creating a safe and culturally inclusive school environment for all children.

Sophia L. Ángeles is a graduate student researcher with the UCLA Labor Center’s Worker and Learner project and a PhD candidate in the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies.. Her research focuses on the intersection of immigration and language to examine newcomer youths’ educational experiences and their K–16 trajectories.

Janna Shadduck-Hernández, Ed.D., is a project director at the UCLA Labor Center and teaches for UCLA Labor Studies and the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies. Her research and teaching focus on developing culturally relevant, participatory educational models with first- and second-generation university students, community members, and youth, with a focus on the organizing efforts of low-wage workers to combat labor and workplace violations.

* All names are pseudonyms to protect our participant’s identity.

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UCLA LPPI Stakeholders Reflect on Transition from ‘Initiative’ to Institute

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“Latino Policy and Politics Institute Founding Executive Director Sonja Diaz, Center, with past and current institute staff and policy fellows. Photo by James Michael Juarez.”

The UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Initiative has officially become the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute (UCLA LPPI), thanks to $3 million in ongoing annual funding from the state of California.

The funding, championed by the Latino Legislative Caucus, was initially secured in 2021 and initiated UCLA LPPI’s transition into a permanent research fixture with a robust fellowship program and a network of nearly 50 affiliated faculty experts across UCLA’s College and professional schools.

Founded in 2017 through a partnership between UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs and division of social sciences, UCLA LPPI was launched to address the most critical domestic policy challenges facing Latinos and other communities of color. Since its inception, the institute has utilized the power of research, advocacy, mobilization and leadership development to propel policy reforms that expand genuine opportunity for all Americans.

Under the leadership of Sonja Diaz, UCLA LPPI’s founding director, the institute has gained national standing as a leading Latino policy think tank. Further, it has become a critical piece of infrastructure in UCLA’s march toward achieving federal designation as a Hispanic-Serving Institution by 2025.

Some of UCLA LPPI’s key stakeholders shared the following thoughts on the significance of the institute’s work and the transition from an initiative to an institute with long-term sustainability:

“As chair of the Latino Legislative Caucus, I am so grateful for the Latino-centric research from UCLA LPPI that has helped us formulate the policies our communities need most. Latinos play an essential role in California, yet we are disproportionately impacted by issues like the gender pay gap and disparate health outcomes. It is critical that we have a Latino-focused think tank with readily available data on the various topics that Latinos care about most.” –State Sen. María Elena Durazo

“It would stand to reason that the state with the largest number of Latinos in the country would recognize the need for a permanent voice on these matters, especially at UCLA – a vanguard of public higher education. This transition reflects the hard work of UCLA LPPI’s original founders and the growing influence of our ‘gente’ in academia and beyond. I applaud UCLA and the staff of UCLA LPPI, and I look forward to greater things and continued collaboration.” –Juan Cartagena, UCLA LPPI advisory board member and president emeritus of LatinoJustice PRLDEF

“As a member of the California Latino Legislative Caucus, we refer to data from UCLA LPPI to inform our policymaking on the issues that directly impact California’s diverse Latino communities. I’m especially appreciative of the gender lens that UCLA LPPI applies in its research products, which has played a key role in our Unseen Latinas Initiative. UCLA LPPI’s transition to an established research institute will ensure we are pushing for the right legislative solutions for years to come.” –State Sen. Lena Gonzalez

“The Chicano Studies Research Center shares a strong alignment with UCLA LPPI’s scholarly research on the most pressing social and political issues affecting diverse Latinx communities in the U.S. As UCLA LPPI transitions into an institute, we look forward to deepening our partnership and bolstering our shared commitment to raise the profile of Latino scholarship on campus and beyond.” –Veronica Terriquez, director of the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center.

This story and photo were submitted to L.A. Social Science by Alise Brillault (she/her), Communications Manager of the Latino Policy & Politics Institute.

 

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Register for Tomorrow’s “Neoclassic or New Classics? Challenges, Debates, Perspectives” Roundtable by the UCLA Program in Experimental Theory

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Organized and moderated by Professor Giulia Sissa (Classics, Political Science, Comparative Literature – UCLA).

Follow this link to register to attend online with Zoom on May 31 starting at 9am.

“Decolonizing Classics” is a novel challenge for scholars in the Humanities and, even more pointedly, for those who study the societies of ancient Greece and Rome. The stake is not merely relevance, usefulness or epistemic legitimacy, but also political credentials. The “Classics” in education and in academia are being asked to give account of their role in shaping not just cultures, but cultural identities; not just representations, but self-representations. Multiple responses are possible, from indifference to indignation, from defensiveness to solidarity, from haughty erudition to chirpy vulgarization. But this challenge is thought-provoking rather than threatening. These historical circumstances should prompt an experimental, critical, creative meditation on our practices of learning and teaching. What can be done, what should be done and how can we act in our double life, as experts of those early global worlds and as citizens of this present, planetary world?

At the end of a long seminar on the resources of “comparative thinking,” in the UCLA Program in Experimental Critical Theory, this roundtable will start a discussion on the future of Greece and Rome in our own cultural horizon. We will begin to showcase old and new heuristic approaches, which can help us reorient our research and refresh our language in a non-ethnocentric, non-linear, non-idealizing – non neoclassical – perspective.

SCHEDULE (Pacific Time)

9:00 AM – Giulia Sissa, UCLA
9:15 AM – Zrinka Stahuljak, UCLA
9:30 AM – Manuele Gragnolati, Sorbonne Université
9:45 AM – Ute Heidmann, Université de Lausanne
10:00 AM – Discussion
10:15 AM – Marco Formisano, Ghent University
10:30 AM – Phiroze Vasunia, University College London
11:00 AM – Cléo Carastro, EHESS, Paris
11:15 AM – Renaud Gagné, University of Cambridge
11:30 AM – Tristan Bradshaw, University of Wollongong and Ben Brown, University of Sydney
11:45 AM – Discussion
12:30 PM – Conclusion

Click here to download a PDF flyer for this event.

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LA Social Science Presents “Conversations with Changemakers” Featuring Dr. Raúl Hinojosa Discussing the Recent Conference Commemorating 25 Years of UCLA NAID Center’s Research & Innovation

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LA Social Science recently interviewed Dr. Raúl Hinojosa, an Associate Professor in the UCLA Department of Chicana/o and Central American Studies and Founding Director of the North American Integration and Development Center (NAID), about his center’s conference on March 4 reflecting on its 25 years of research and innovation.

Interview Chapters:

00:20 – Welcome

01:05 – Dr. Hinojosa, please tell us about your conference “Empowering Diasporas to Address Root Causes: 25 Years of UCLA NAID Center Research & Innovation.” I understand it covered various areas of UCLA NAID Center research and policy innovation, which had three panels of research, policy, and community leaders from the US, Mexico, and Central America, highlighting recent publications and current pilot policy pilot projects.

07:11 – Perhaps you can tell us about the mission of the NAID Center and the highlights of its achievements over the past 25 years. Also, can you tell us about the first panel which I understand highlighted your book written about the North American Development Bank: historical trajectory and lessons learned?

15:57 – Can you tell us about the second panel designed to highlight a new policy monograph “Addressing the Root Causes of Migration,” to be published by the UCLA NAID Center and the DC based Migration Policy Institute? I understand you also unveiled UCLA NAID transnational data mapping website for online detailed geographic visibility in the US, Mexico and Central America. Also, what are the policy recommendations of the NAID-MPI monograph on Promoting the Reinvestment of Remittances and Migrant Savings for Addressing Root Causes of Migration?

26:00 – The third panel is entitled “Transnational Indigenous Empowerment,” which I understand highlighted a financial empowerment pilot project in San Quintin BC organized with Mexican Indigenous “microbanks” and local universities with the support of the NADBank. Can you also talk about how this conference is a part of future trajectory of the NAID Center? I understand the NAID Center, and partners are working on transnational migration and global climate change.

 

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CSW’s 2022 Distinguished Leader in Feminism Award

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Join the UCLA Center for the Study of Women (CSW) for a special virtual event on Wednesday, May 18th to honor the center’s accomplishments, student award recipients, and this year’s Distinguished Leader in Feminism Award honoree.

FEATURING THE KEYNOTE ADDRESS

Trans Latina Resilience: Past, Present, and Future

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Bamby Salcedo

President and CEO of the TransLatin@ Coalition

This year, CSW has selected Bamby Salcedo as the recipient of the Center for the Study of Women’s 2022 Distinguished Leader in Feminism Award. Bamby is the President and CEO of the TransLatin@ Coalition, a national organization that focuses on addressing the issues of transgender Latin@s in the US. Bamby developed the Center for Violence Prevention & Transgender Wellness, a multipurpose, multiservice space for transgender people in Los Angeles.

Her talk will highlight historical and intergenerational institutional violence against Trans, Gender Nonconforming and Intersex (TGI) people. She will also address the current state of TGI people and how she envisions a better world for the TGI community.

 

To find out more about this award ceremony and the outstanding keynote speaker, click HERE.

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Dr. Rodrigo Dominguez-Villegas and Dr. Natalie Masuoka are Making the Power of AAPI, Latino Voters Clear

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By Alise Brillault

April 26, 2022

Some of the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Initiative’s (UCLA LPPI) most sought-after research products are its analyses of Latino voters. As the nation’s second-largest ethnic group, Latinos are consequential in determining the outcome of elections. Thus, understanding the size and voting behavior of Latino communities across the country is critical to mobilizing this growing electorate.

Dr. Rodrigo Domínguez-Villegas, UCLA LPPI’s co-director of research, has spearheaded several reports that analyze the size of the Latino population that is eligible to vote, the number of Latinos who register to vote, and the actual candidates and ballot measures that Latinos support. With these studies, UCLA LPPI is debunking the myth of Latinos as a monolithic voting bloc and asking questions to understand the nuances of this diverse electorate.

UCLA LPPI understands that while the Latino vote is consequential, when voters of color come together they can wield significant influence. That is why UCLA LPPI prioritizes working in multiracial coalition to understand the collective power of voters of color. As such, UCLA LPPI has affiliations with faculty experts like Dr. Natalie Masuoka, UCLA professor of political science and Asian American studies, to study the voting behavior of Asian Americans and Latinos in conjunction.

“Latino voters and Asian voters are the two demographic groups growing fastest in the country,” Dr. Domínguez-Villegas explained. “Their impact on deciding elections has grown in the past decade, and it will only keep growing.”

Dr. Masuoka emphasized that researchers also learn the most when thinking comparatively. “We cannot analyze a population in isolation,” she said. “We therefore can’t understand the impact of race on voting by only looking at one group – we need to look at how it’s constructed vis-a-vis other groups.”

Some of the projects that UCLA LPPI has worked on in collaboration with Dr. Masuoka and the UCLA Asian American Studies Center include an analysis of Latino and Asian voters in the 2020 primary elections and a study of racial differences in the support of California propositions that same year.

The innovative method of conducting this research was originally conceptualized by Dr. Matt Barreto and is unique to UCLA LPPI. Rather than relying on traditional exit polls, wherein surveyors only interview small numbers of voters, UCLA LPPI analyzes actual ballots cast in all precincts and matches that data to demographic information. This allows researchers to more accurately understand the choices of Latinos and other voters of color.

Furthermore, going beyond party choice to focus on ballot propositions allows researchers to gain a more granular understanding of the diversity of political views within communities.

Another distinctive facet of this work is the hands-on engagement of  policy fellows in the research. Graduate students use their quantitative skills to gather and present data to research analysts therbey by helping to draw substantive conclusions. These graduate fellows in turn train undergraduate students such as Bryanna Ruiz Fernández, which facilitates unique mentorship opportunities.

“As a first-generation college student, higher education has been a difficult space to navigate, and research even more difficult,” said Ruiz Fernández. “However, having the opportunity to be guided by individuals like Michael Herndon and Daisy Vazquez Vera who faced similar challenges as myself, I was able to receive individualized support and guidance in order to build the skills that will ensure I am successful in whichever research-focused role I find myself in.”

Policy fellows also bring to the table key insights from their lived experiences growing up and working in Latino communities.

“Many of these students have participated in voter mobilization efforts,” Dr. Domínguez-Villegas explained. “They can understand the needs of the Latino community and voters’ priorities through an organizer’s perspective.”

UCLA LPPI is now gearing up for the 2022 midterm elections, with research that will focus on key states like Arizona, Florida and Georgia where Latino and other voters of color will be consequential to election outcomes

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LA Social Science Rising Scholars Series Featuring Dr. José Loya Discussing the Mortgage Market for Latinxs

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LA Social Science interviews Dr. José Loya, a UCLA Assistant Professor in Urban Planning and a faculty affiliate with the Chicano Studies Research Center. His research examines racial stratification among Latinxs in the mortgage market. He discusses how discrimination in housing creates barriers for upward mobility in the Latinx community.

Interview Chapters:

00:00 – Intro

00:39 – Social stratification and racial discrimination in housing

01:03 – Article in Race and Social Problems Journal

02:12 – Research methods

02:51 – Interesting findings – tri-racial hierarchy

04:27 – Research impact on Latinx community

05:20 – Closing

 

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UCLA LPPI Convenes Latinx Leaders on Advancing Criminal Justice Reform

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Dr. Kelly Lytle Hernandez, Professor & Thomas E. Lifka Chair of History at UCLA, moderates the opening plenary with speakers Nicole Porter of The Sentencing Project; Lex Steppling of Policy, Dignity, and Power Now; and Cristina Jimenez Moreta of United We Dream.

February 22, 2022

By Alise Brillault

From January 20-21, 2022, UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Initiative (UCLA LPPI) convened a diverse group of Latinx leaders for a virtual summit on criminal justice reform. “Advancing Criminal Justice Reform Through a 21st Century Latinx Lens (Part 2)” aimed to continue conversations that began at the first convening organized by UCLA LPPI in May 2021 and to deepen commitments to enacting policy change.

The event was sponsored by the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators, Latino Justice PRLDEF, the MacArthur Foundation, Everytown for Gun Safety and the Drug Policy Alliance and highlighted criminal justice as a Latinx issue. Additionally, the event was focused on elevating models that drive cross-sectoral and multi-ethnic/multi-racial solidarity for collective liberation.

“As Latinos, we don’t always see ourselves as a part of the criminal justice reform movement,” said Jeannette Zanipatin, California state director of the Drug Policy Alliance. “It’s seen as a Black and white issue, when in reality it is multiracial – especially in places like California. This convening highlighted not only how Latinos are impacted, but also what role we play in the movement.”

Over two days, coinciding with the week of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, more than 260 participants tuned in for conversations with 50 speakers who represented a diverse group of elected officials, academics, activists and media figures. Panel discussion topics included youth justice, drug decriminalization and reimagining systems of enforcement among others.

“In this second convening, our hope was to talk through the issues in a deeper, more intersectional and multiracial way,” said UCLA LPPI Policy Analyst Gabriella Carmona, one of the lead organizers of the event. “One of the discussions I was most excited to host was on Latinas in the carceral system. The panel was not only distinctly Latina but also multigenerational. It was inspiring to hear Dr. Juanita Diaz-Cotto, who wrote one of the first books on Latina/os in the criminal justice system, balance her ideas with women of younger generations carrying the mantle.”

Another panel highlighted the need to tackle anti-Blackness in the Latino community to work towards collective liberation. Janvieve Williams Comrie, executive director of Afroresistance, opened the session by providing historical context for the presence of Black communities throughout Latin America as a result of the transatlantic slave trade. Subsequently, the speakers engaged in a lively discussion about needing to recognize and uplift the experiences of Afro-Latinos in the criminal justice movement and beyond.

“When people think of the Latine community, they have a specific idea that looks the same and is reinforced by the media. Having a panel like this demonstrates the intersection of identity,” said moderator Jennifer Blemur, Director of Policy and Advocacy at The Coalition to Transform Advanced Care. “The compulsion is usually to put our best forward and focus on the positive, which we should do. But there are also some real things we need to address in our community that require action from us. We can’t build up our community while leaving people behind.”

In addition to facilitating these crucial conversations, a key objective of the two-day event was to produce a policy priorities document that centralizes Latinos across five areas in the criminal justice reform movement. This was done through interactive breakout sessions where participants were able to dive more deeply into issue areas and identify possible policy solutions. For example, one breakout session focused on “crimmigration,” or the intersection of immigration policy and the carceral system. The interactive format allowed event attendees to brainstorm pathways to ending the prison-to-deportation pipeline.

“There is a natural inclination for Latinos to gravitate towards immigrants’ rights issues, but the reality is that immigration touches so many different systems. The list of priorities we came up with took these cross-movement issues into account,” said Zanipatin, who moderated the session.

Nicole Porter, Senior Director of Advocacy at The Sentencing Project, was excited to participate as well. “The crimmigration breakout session was very relevant to the work I do and allowed for continued connection after the event was over,” she said.

Ultimately, the policy priorities document will be used as a jumping off point for UCLA LPPI to host quarterly stakeholder meetings along with the sponsors of the convening. “In 2022 and beyond, we’re looking forward to fostering a network of people who are deeply engaged and will proactively advocate for the changes we wish to see,” said Carmona.

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