A Puerto Rican filmmaker on ‘West Side Story’: ‘It’s hard to think that this is still what we’re talking about’
What does “West Side Story” have to offer in 2021, when marginalized groups are increasingly pushing to tell their own stories and using social media to seek more authentic representation in media? About US spoke with award-winning Puerto Rican filmmaker and Columbia University professor Frances Negrón-Muntaner about the latest adaptation, and Latinos in cinema.
washingtonpost.comDems: Discovery, AT&T merger will hurt diversity, workers
House Democrats are raising concerns that the proposed merger of Discovery and AT&T’s WarnerMedia, a $43 billion effort to conquer the world of streaming, could affect diversity efforts in Hollywood and particularly hurt Latinos, who are already deeply underrepresented.
UTRGV earns prestigious Seal of Excelencia certification
Excelencia in Education, the nation’s premier authority on efforts accelerating Latino student success in higher education, Friday announced that The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley has been certified with the Seal of Excelencia for 2021.
myrgv.comBooming Latino populations are helping GOP states like Texas gain new seats in Congress
The 23rd is the district that Republicans in 2011 had tried to eliminate entirely but a federal court put back in the map, though critics said it was altered to the disadvantage of Latinos, by disproportionately creating a district of higher-turnout Whites and Latinos who do not have a consistent voting history or who cannot cast ballots, such as noncitizens and children. Republicans were able to hold it for most of the decade. The other two Latino-majority seats that were drawn by the court in the last redistricting process are not currently represented by a Latino, but rather a Black Democrat in one and a White Democrat in the other.
washingtonpost.comGarden to open for El Paso Walmart shooting 2nd anniversary
EL PASO, Texas (AP) — Officials in the border city of El Paso will unveil a garden Tuesday that is meant to bring healing two years after a gunman targeting Latinos opened fire at a Walmart, killing 23 people in an attack that stunned the U.S. and Mexico.
myrgv.comBiden tries to stem the alarming flow of minority voters away from Democrats ahead of midterm elections
The novel coronavirus delta variant is surging across the country, and his infrastructure proposals could catch on different political snags — but President Joe Biden is making overtures to minority voters this week.
news.yahoo.comBarbers, artists help defy vaccine myths for people of color
A new wave of public health advocacy that is multilingual, culturally sensitive, entertaining and personal is rapidly replacing mundane public service announcements in the battle to stamp out the disinformation around COVID-19 vaccines in communities of color.
Finding identity in Latinx communities
Paola Ramos is the author of “Finding LatinX: In Search of the Voices Redefining Latino Identity.” With the growing population of Latinos in the United States, she explores the groups defining their own identity and creating the ideas behind “Nation of Immigrants” and “American Dream.”
Many Latinos are hesitant to receive COVID-19 vaccine, poll shows
Many Latinos are hesitant to receive COVID-19 vaccine, poll shows The Biden administration faces several hurdles to inoculating the U.S. against COVID-19 as quickly as possible, including hesitancy among Latino communities. A recent poll shows nearly half of Latinos in the U.S. will wait and see how the vaccine affects those who receive the shot. Professor Iris Lopez, the director of the Latin American and Latino Studies Program at City College of New York, spoke to CBSN's Tanya Rivero about the history of mistrust among Latinos with the medical community.
cbsnews.comLatino-owned businesses are achieving record growth, but big banks still won't fund them
Despite being the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. small business ecosystem, Latinos continue to struggle to secure capital from national banks. That's according to the State of Latino Entrepreneurship 2020 research study from the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative. "Over the last five years we've really been able to dig deep into the challenges facing the Latino segment," said Marlene Orozco, lead research analyst of the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative. Stanford's report found that only 20% of Latino-owned businesses that applied for national bank loans over $100,000 obtained funding, compared to 50% of White-owned businesses. The 2020 report expanded the data pool to include 3,500 White-owned businesses as a benchmark group to compare and quantify performance.
cnbc.comEarly data shows racial disparity in coronavirus vaccine recipients
Early data shows racial disparity in coronavirus vaccine recipients Black and Latinos are more likely to die from the coronavirus, but people of color are significantly behind White Americans in receiving the vaccine -- despite having a higher death rate. Adriana Diaz reports.
cbsnews.comA look back: How McCollum HS students helped KSAT cover the 2009 inauguration of President Barack Obama
U.S. President Barack Obama is inaugurated for a second term as President on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol January 21, 2013 in Washington, DC. An invite for the 2009 inauguration of President Barack Obama. They, along with classmate Juany Torres, have traveled to Washington, D.C., to witness the inauguration of Barack Obama. SAPD Officer Marcus Trujillo’s Washington, DC JournalSAPD officer and former KSAT traffic anchor Marcus Trujillo in Washington, D.C., for the 2009 inauguration of President Barack Obama. (KSAT)Juany Torres is one of the students from McCollum High School who traveled to Washington, DC for the Inauguration of President-Elect Barack Obama.
Julián Castro expects "good, healthy" turnout of Latino voters in Georgia
Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro is confident in Democrats' ability to turn out Latino voters in Georgia's special election on Tuesday. Both the Republican and Democratic parties have sent high-profile surrogates to the state, including President Trump, President-elect Biden and former President Obama. The Associated Press' Votecast survey found that 3% of Georgia's 5 million general election voters were Latino and 60% of them voted for Mr. Biden in November. "What I expect is that we're going to see a good, healthy turnout, not only in the Latino community but across diverse communities for these Democratic candidates," he said. "I'm confident … the Latino community is going to come out in a big way for these two Democratic candidates."
cbsnews.comUS population growth smallest in at least 120 years
(AP Photo/Donald King, file)The U.S. population grew by the smallest rate in at least 120 years from 2019 to 2020, according to figures released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau — a trend that demographers say provides a glimpse of the coronavirus pandemic’s toll. Population growth in the U.S. already was stagnant over the past several years due to immigration restrictions and a dip in fertility, but coronavirus-related deaths exacerbated that lethargic-growth trend, said William Frey, a senior fellow at The Brooking Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program. “I think it’s a first glimpse of where we may be heading as far as low population growth," Frey said. Among the states, Idaho had the largest single-year population increase, growing 2.1% to 1.8 million residents. Sixteen states lost population, including California, the nation’s most populous state, which declined 0.18% to 39.3 million residents.
Utah senator blocks national museums for Latinos, women
WASHINGTON – A lone senator from Utah has singlehandedly blocked the bipartisan approval of two new national museums to honor American Latinos and women, arguing that “last thing we need is to further divide an already divided nation.”Republican Sen. Mike Lee objected Thursday to the creation of the two proposed Smithsonian museums, stalling two projects that have been in the making for decades and enjoy broad bipartisan support. Senate approval would have sent the legislation approving the Latino museum to President Donald Trump for his signature. The Senate was attempting to pass the measures by voice vote, which requires every senator's consent. Lee said he sees an exception for museums dedicated to American Indians and African Americans that already sit on the National Mall. “We have been systematically excluded, not because this senator said so but because the Smithsonian itself said so,” Menendez said.
To court Latinos, Democrats have to expand strategy in 2022
Latinos also now account for 24% of eligible voters in Arizona, compared with 19% in 2012, according to Pew Research Center. And how or whether Democrats can keep that enthusiasm in the 2022 midterm elections will require a lot of work. But it’s also incumbent on campaigns to prioritize Latino voters by spending time and money in their communities consistently, not just right before an election. “And that’s something this administration hasn’t done.”To sway Latino voters, she said Democrats need to take the tactics used in Arizona to other states. In Arizona, Democrats presented Trump as the boogeyman, getting voters to show up, while in south Florida, Republicans used socialism to drive voters to Trump, Shope said.
Latinos voters are the future, according to San Antonio activist
SAN ANTONIO – The Latino vote proved to be powerful during this year’s presidential election, and a San Antonio activist believes more people should be paying attention to Latinos moving forward. “If there’s ever a moment for the Latino community to lead itself, we have to start today because we are the future of the country,” said Henry Munoz during a KSAT Q&A on Friday. Munoz is the founder of Momento Latino, a coalition of activists, nonprofits and leaders in communities around the nation who are pushing for change and working to elevate issues important to the Latino community. Munoz said that the country needs “a good dose of cultural understanding” to know that Latinos are not monolithic. RELATED: Projections indicate record Latino voter turnout nationally
Confounding Democrats, Trump makes inroads with Latinos
And even in Nevada, where Democrats' strength among Latinos had powered the party to dominance, there were some signs of new Trump support among Latinos frustrated at the economic toll of coronavirus-related shutdowns. Democrats had hoped this would be the year when their strength among Latino voters would translate into victories in Florida and Texas, a game-changer that would reshape presidential politics. But Trump's margins dashed those hopes and prompted debate on whether the party was taking Latino voters' support for granted. Forty-one percent said they approved of the way Trump has handled the public health crisis, compared with 34% of Latinos nationally. The most dramatic shift in Latino voters came in Florida.
Projections indicate record Latino voter turnout nationally
WCVI is the research arm of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, named after its founder and voting rights pioneer, the late Willie Velasquez. “I believe the numbers that I projected are accurate,” said Lydia Camarillo, WCVI and SWVREP president. WCVI projected a record number of Latinos would be registered to vote, 17.9 million. She said WCVI has analyzed a 46-year pattern of substantially increasing Latino voting and registration, especially when deciding the next U.S. president. Latino voter registration grew 20% and voting was up by 24% since 2016, Camarillo said.
What is Latinx?
Latinx is a term that seems to be popping up more often in the last couple of years, but research reveals that still very few Latinos identify with it. A recent Pew Research survey revealed that only 3% of the U.S. Hispanic population use the term Latinx and only 1 in 4 have even heard of it. Even if few Hispanic people know what it means, Latinx is now a part of the culture, so here’s everything you need to know about the term. In 2018 Latinx was added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary and is defined as a gender-neutral alternative to Latino or Latina. Any Latino can identify with the term but according to Pew Research, the LGBTQ community and younger generations identify as Latinx more than others.
Residente signs with Sony Music to create TV, films and more
Residente, the most decorated winner in the history of Latin Grammys, has signed a multi-year deal with Sony Music Entertainment to launch 1868 Studios. Residente, the most decorated winner in the history of Latin Grammys, has signed a multiyear deal with Sony Music Entertainment to launch 1868 Studios. Under this new venture, which the company announced Thursday as “groundbreaking,” the Puerto Rican rapper and Sony Music Latin/Iberia will create, produce and globally distribute original content across multiple formats and in Spanish and Engish. 1868 Studios takes its name from the Grito de Lares (Cry of Lares,) the first major revolt against Spanish rule in Puerto Rico on September 23, 1868. “It is the only day that Puerto Rico has been independent, for eight hours,” Residente noted.
Californians to vote on racial, gender preference programs
Jesse Jackson asks a crowd for donations to the advertising fund to stop Proposition 209 during a rally in the Westwood section of Los Angeles. The U.S. Supreme Court has long outlawed racial quotas, but it has ruled that universities may use tailored programs to promote diversity. Opponents include Ward Connerly, an African American businessman and former University of California regent who pushed for the 1996 ban. They say government should never discriminate by race or gender, and the only way to stop discrimination is to end it. The numbers of Latino and Asian American residents — and voters — have grown, although likely voters are still disproportionately white.
San Antonio organization inspiring Hispanic youth to become leaders
San Antonio – The graduation rate for Hispanic students has climbed steadily and according to a USA Today report, more Hispanic students than ever are going to college. The National Hispanic Institute is one organization that is making sure Latino youth have a voice beyond their high school education. The San Antonio chapter of the organization works in partnership with over 50 schools in the city and its surrounding areas. The National Hispanic Institute of San Antonio works with over 200 students a year and is currently recruiting. Related:‘You have to find humor in dark situations’: San Antonio comedian discusses battle with cancer, Hispanic heritage‘Hispanics have an incredible history that hasn’t been told’: San Antonio businessman creates website about Tejano historyWho invented chili powder used in Tex-Mex Cuisine?
Screening underway for COVID-19 vaccine trial
SAN ANTONIO – Screening for another COVID19 vaccination trial is beginning in San Antonio Monday. Doctors there say that there is no way participants will become infected by taking the vaccine. About two months ago, Christopher Sandles and his wife decided to participate in a COVID-19 vaccine trial at Clinical Trials of Texas. “We know that the cases of COVID-19 in Blacks and Latinos is disproportionately higher than it is in white people…. People of all races without a prior history of COVID19 and no or well managed preexisting conditions are eligible to be screened.
Wanted: Bilingual poll workers who reflect U.S. diversity
The coronavirus has upended how elections officials recruit poll workers, who are typically older and thus more susceptible to becoming seriously ill from COVID-19. The email came in at 7:54 p.m., desperately seeking 100 poll workers because of an expected shortage. During the August primary, nearly 25% of the county’s 1,289 poll workers were bilingual; in the 2016 general, about 20% were. When early voting starts Oct. 13, three bilingual election workers will staff each of the county’s 122 voting locations. As of the first week of September, more than 10,000 people had applied to be election workers throughout the Houston area.
Wanted: Bilingual poll workers who reflect U.S. diversity
The coronavirus has upended how elections officials recruit poll workers, who are typically older and thus more susceptible to becoming seriously ill from COVID-19. The email came in at 7:54 p.m., desperately seeking 100 poll workers because of an expected shortage. During the August primary, nearly 25% of the county's 1,289 poll workers were bilingual; in the 2016 general, about 20% were. When early voting starts Oct. 13, three bilingual election workers will staff each of the county's 122 voting locations. Harvey Soto, the fund's democracy coordinator, said it has already recruited 300 poll workers for Miami-Dade County alone.
GMSA@9 Debrief: New San Antonio initiative looks to increase number of Latina voters
SAN ANTONIO – KSAT12′s Erica Hernandez joins GMSA@9 to discuss a new San Antonio initiative that looks to increase the number of Latina voters. According to Pew Research, Latinos are expected for the first time to be the nation’s largest racial or ethnic minority in a U.S. presidential election, with a record 32 million projected to be eligible to vote. Despite that statistic, the number of Latinos registered to vote is still far below the 60 million Latinos who live in the country. To view the video, click above.
New San Antonio initiative looks to increase number of Latina voters in the U.S.
Despite that statistic, the number of Latinos registered to vote is still far below the 60 million Latinos who live in the country. That is why the Latina Vote initiative was launched last year by Amanda Reyna to help Latinos figure out if they were registered to vote or help them register. “A lot of people might be under the impression that they are registered and may not be, so we want to make sure that they are in time for the election,” Reyna said. Latina Vote is also a way to spread the word about the importance of voting within one’s own network of family and friends. “One of the most important things to know is our voting power goes beyond just our individual vote,” Reyna said.
Virtual grand opening of St. Mary’s esports arena to fundraise scholarships for students of color
SAN ANTONIO – St. Mary’s University has announced that they will open its brand-new esports arena on Friday, Sept. 18 with a 12-hour fundraising livestream to raise money for future Black and Latino students in the Rattler esports program. “We are so excited to unveil this beautiful arena and to host an important event supporting the Black and Latino communities in the world of esports,” St. Mary’s University Director of Athletics Robert Coleman said. “Over the past year, we have been working with campus leadership to develop a space for our esports arena and to provide our students a home for gaming at St. Mary’s. All donations will go toward scholarships for future Black and Latino students. “At St. Mary’s, we hope to support and strengthen the diversity and representation that gaming needs so it can reach its full potential.”