KRISTIN: WELCOME TO "BASIC BLACK ."

SOME OF YOU ARE JOINING US ON OUR BROADCAST AND OTHERS OF YOU ARE JOINING US ON OUR DIGITAL PLATFORMS.

ON -- I'’M KRISTEN POPE, YOUR HOST.

TONIGHT, HISPANIC AND LATIN CULTURE.

THERE ARE MORE THAN 800,000 LATINOS WHO CALL MASSACHUSETTS THEIR HOME.

SOME REPORTS ESTIMATE THE NUMBER IS MUCH HIGHER, BUT AS WE RECOGNIZE THE HISTORY AND CONTRIBUTIONS IN ART, MUSIC, FOOD, AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP, WE CANNOT OVERLOOK ISSUES FROM ONGOING CHALLENGES AROUND K-12 EDUCATION, HOUSING TO HEALTH DISPARITIES, AND ECONOMIC INSTABILITY THAT IMPACT OUR LATINO BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN THE COMMONWEALTH.

WE HAVE A GREAT PANEL THIS EVENING.

JOINING US TONIGHT IS DR. CELINA MIRANDA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE HYDE SQUARE TASK FORCE, DR. LONA RIVERA -- DR. LORNA RIVERA, DIRECTOR OF THE MAURICIO GASTON INSTITUTE FOR LATINO COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND PUBLIC POLICY AT UMASS BOSTON, BEYAZMIN JIMENEZ, DIRECTOR OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION AND CULTURE AT NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY, AND BETTY FRANCISCO, CEO THE BOSTON IMPACT INITIATIVE AND COFOUNDER OF AMPLIFY LATINX.

WELCOME TO YOU ALL.

CAN YOU START US OFF, CAN YOU KICK US OFF WITH A BIT OF HISTORY ABOUT LATINOS HERE IN THE COMMONWEALTH?

>> LATINOS ARE NOT JUST RECENT IMMIGRANTS IN OUR COMMONWEALTH.

WE HAVE HAD PUERTO RICANS, SECOND, THIRD, FOURTH GENERATION NOW, THAT CAME TO MASSACHUSETTS, AMERICA, TO THE CONNECTICUT RIVER VALLEY, AND REALLY WORKING IN PLACES LIKE SOUTHRIDGE AND HOLYOKE AND SPRINGFIELD AS AGRICULTURAL WORKERS.

PUERTO RICANS HAVE BEEN IN THE AREA AND CONTINUE TO BE THE LARGEST GROUP, BUT WE ALSO HAVE A CONSIDERABLE NUMBER OF DOMINICANS, AND DOMINICANS CAME HERE -- YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THEM AFTER THE TRUJILLO ADMINISTRATION THERE AND SETTLED IN JAMAICA PLAIN AND ALSO IN PARTS LIKE LAWRENCE AND OTHER AREAS THAT ALSO WORK THESE GATEWAY CITIES WHERE THERE HAD BEEN A LOT OF DEINDUSTRIALIZATION, SO PEOPLE WERE ALSO MOVING FROM NEW YORK.

DOMINICANS, PUERTO RICANS ALSO COMING FROM NEW YORK TO MASSACHUSETTS, BUT IN THE 1980'’S WITH THE DIFFERENT MILITARY INTERVENTIONS AND IN CENTRAL AMERICA, WE SAW A LARGE NUMBER OF HONDURANS, GUATEMALANS.

THOSE ARE SOME OF THE LARGEST GROUPS THAT WE HAVE IN OUR STATE .

IN SOME PLACES, YOU HAVE A LARGE NUMBER OF GUATEMALANS.

YOU WILL SEE CONSTANT CHANGES AS WELL IN SOUTH AMERICANS.

A LARGE NUMBER OF COLOMBIANS ALSO SETTLED IN THE MERRIMACK THE AND HAVE A REAL PRESENCE IN PLACES LIKE EAST BOSTON.

WHAT ESTABLISHES US FROM OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY IS THAT WE ARE NOT JUST MEXICANS, RIGHT?

WE ARE VERY DIVERSE AND DIVERSE IN TERMS OF OUR HISTORIES, OUR CULTURES, WHAT BROUGHT US HERE AND THE KINDS OF CONTRIBUTIONS THAT WE ARE MAKING.

>> I SO APPRECIATE YOU BREAKING THAT DOWN, THAT LATINOS LIKE OTHER ETHNIC GROUPS ARE NOT A MONOLITH.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE GROUPS, TO PIGGYBACK OFF OF WHAT YOU SAID, LORNA, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE GROUPS THAT ARE HERE THAT MIGHT BE A MISCONCEPTION TO PEOPLE HERE, LOOKING AT THE LATINO COMMUNITY, WHAT ARE THE GROUPS LATINS THAT ARE HERE?

>> IN THE UNITED STATES, THE PREDOMINANT LATINO GROUP IS MEXICANS, BUT IN MASSACHUSETTS, EXCUSE FIRST TWO PUERTO RICAN.

I'’M ALSO MIXED.

I'’M CHINESE AND PUERTO RICAN, SO WE HAVE THIS DIVERSITY WITHIN THE LATINO COMMUNITY WHERE IT IS MULTIETHNIC AS WELL, THEN FOLLOWED BY DOMINICANS.

I THINK THE DIFFERENCE IS A LOT OF THEM TEND TO SKEW MORE HIGHLY EDUCATED AS WELL.

THERE'’S A SIGNIFICANT PROFESSIONAL LATINO COMMUNITY HERE THAT IS FORMED.

ONE OF THE THINGS WE FOCUS ON, TOO, IS INCREASING POLITICAL REPRESENTATION, SO THAT IS GROWING IN MASSACHUSETTS.

LATINOS STILL DO SKEW ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND ALSO HERE, SOME ARE OVERREPRESENTED IN SOME OF THE SERVICE PROFESSIONS, SO THAT IS WHAT CONTRIBUTES TO SEEING MORE OF THEM START BUSINESSES IN SPACES LIKE HOSPITALITY, RESTAURANTS, TOURISM, AND NOW THERE'’S ALSO A FOCUS ON GETTING MORE LATINOS INTO TECHNOLOGY, INTO PROFESSIONS WHERE THEY CAN INCREASE THEIR ECONOMIC MOBILITY AND EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT SO WE INCREASED LATINO PROSPERITY IN THIS SPACE.

>> --KRISTEN: I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THRIVING.

HOW IS THE LATINO COMMUNITY THRIVING IN THIS SPACE?

BEFORE WE DO THAT, I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE MICROCOSM OF LATINOS.

YOU SPOKE ABOUT THE BIRACIAL.

IF EACH OF YOU COULD SHARE WITH OUR AUDIENCE, WHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND?

>> I'’LL START.

I GREW UP IN NEW YORK CITY, BUT MY MOM IS PUERTO RICAN, MY FATHER IS CHINESE, BUT I GREW UP MOSTLY WITH MY MOTHER AND I WENT BACK AND FORTH TO PUERTO RICO.

I DID FIRST THROUGH FOURTH GRADE IN PR.

THAT'’S WHERE I LEARNED SPANISH, AND MY MOTHER ALWAYS MADE SURE I SPOKE SPANISH, SO HAVING THE CULTURE IN YOUR HOME AND MAKING SURE YOU SPEAK THE LANGUAGE IS A BIG PART OF HOW I GREW UP AND EDUCATION PLAYED A CRITICAL ROLE AS WELL.

A LOT OF LATINOS FOCUS ON MAKING SURE THEIR CHILDREN ARE GOING TO HIGH SCHOOL AND TO COLLEGE BUT OFTEN WITHOUT A LOT OF RESOURCES.

WE KIND OF FIGURED IT OUT, BUT THAT WAS THE PATHWAY, RIGHT?

TO GO TO COLLEGE, LAW SCHOOL, AND THEN BUSINESS SCHOOL FOR ME.

KRISTEN: THAT'’S FANTASTIC.

>> I AM DOMINICAN/PATIENT -- DOMINICAN/HAITIAN.

I LEARNED BY HAPPENSTANCE THAT MY GRANDFATHER WAS HAITIAN, SO I MAKE SURE I BRING THAT BOND TOGETHER BECAUSE IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO ME.

I'’M FIRST GENERATION.

THE FIRST ONE IN MY FAMILY TO GO TO COLLEGE.

WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO THRIVE HERE IN MASSACHUSETTS.

I'’M REALLY GRATEFUL FOR THE COMMUNITY I HAVE FOUND IN MY HOMETOWN OF LAWRENCE.

>> FANTASTIC.

>> I AM ORIGINALLY FROM EL SALVADOR.

I WAS BORN IN EL SALVADOR AND CAME TO THIS COUNTRY WHEN I WAS 10.

IT IS I THINK WORTH NOTING THAT I WAS UNDOCUMENTED WHEN I CAME.

IN TERMS OF MY FUTURE AND WHAT THAT PATH WOULD BE WAS CONCERNING UP UNTIL THE AMNESTY OF 1986, WHICH IS WHEN MY PARENTS WERE ABLE TO GET THEIR DOCUMENTS, AND THEREFORE I WAS ABLE TO GET MINE, SO THAT CHANGED MY TRAJECTORY, BUT I GREW UP IN CALIFORNIA, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, AND THEN WENT TO SMITH COLLEGE, WHICH IS WHAT BROUGHT ME TO MASSACHUSETTS.

I HAVE BEEN IN THE BOSTON AREA SINCE 1997 AFTER GRADUATING FROM COLLEGE.

>> MY FAMILY CAME FROM PUERTO RICO TO CHICAGO AND NEW YORK THROUGH A PROGRAM IN THE 1950'’S WHICH WAS A ONE-WAY TICKET TO COME AND WORK IN INDUSTRIES HERE IN THE MAINLAND OF THE CONTINENTAL U.S.

SO THAT HISTORY ALSO OF MILITARY SERVICE.

MY FATHER WAS IN THE ARMY, SO HE CAME TO CHICAGO WHEN HE WAS 21 AND HE MET MY MOM ON THE SOUTH SIDE, SO I'’M REALLY PROUD TO HAVE GONE TO CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS, BECAME A TEACHER, AND THEN I CAME HERE TO BOSTON TO GO TO GRADUATE SCHOOL, BUT I AM THE FIRST GENERATION.

I'’M REALLY PROUD OF THAT.

ALSO I WENT BACK AND FORTH.

THERE WERE NO AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMS FOR US.

WHENEVER THERE WAS SCHOOL VACATION, YOU COULD FLY FOR FREE IF YOU WERE UNDER 12 BACK THEN.

I WAS ABLE TO REALLY MAINTAIN THAT BILINGUAL CONNECTION TO MY FAMILY THAT STILL LIVES MOSTLY IN PUERTO RICO.

>> THANK YOU FOR SHARING THAT, ALL OF YOU, BECAUSE THAT IS A MICROCOSM OF BOSTON, OF THE COMMONWEALTH.

CAN YOU SHARE WITH US THE MIGRANT POPULATION HERE AND KIND OF THE PICTURE OF THE MIGRANT EXPERIENCE THAT IS HAPPENING THAT SOME PEOPLE MAY NOT UNDERSTAND?

>> IT IS SO COMPLEX, RIGHT?

WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THAT EXPERIENCE MIGRATING TO THE COUNTRY, THERE IS THE WHOLE LANGUAGE ACQUISITION PIECE, RIGHT?

YOU ARE COMING TO A PLACE WHERE YOU DON'’T SPEAK THE LANGUAGE.

YOU HAVE TO LEARN THAT.

FOR CHILDREN, THERE IS A WHOLE IMPACT BECAUSE FOR MANY OF US, BECAUSE OF WHERE WE ARE DEVELOPMENTALLY, WE CATCH ON THE LANGUAGE QUICKER, AND WE BECOME THE TRANSLATORS FOR OUR FAMILIES, SO THERE'’S A LOT OF STRESS THAT GETS PUT ON CHILDREN AND WE DON'’T THINK ABOUT THAT.

THERE'’S ALSO THE UNDOCUMENTED STATUS, THE DOCUMENTATION OF MI ABLE TO WORK, AM I ABLE TO PROVIDE?

EVEN THE JOURNEY THAT FOR SOME OF OUR YOUNG PEOPLE, AS THEY ARE NAVIGATING WHAT THAT MEANS FOR THEM AND THEIR FUTURE, I THINK ABOUT THE PARALLEL EXPERIENCE THAT I HAVE HAD WHERE UP UNTIL THE AGE OF 16, I HAD NO IDEA IF I WAS GOING TO BE ABLE TO GO TO COLLEGE.

I WAS DOING GREAT.

I WAS A WONDERFUL STUDENT, BUT IF I WAS GOING TO GO TO COLLEGE WAS A QUESTION BECAUSE THIS WAS BEFORE THE DREAMERS CAME ABOUT AND BEFORE IT WAS OK TO SPEAK ABOUT THAT UNDOCUMENTED STATUS, SO I THINK THE MIGRATION PART IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT PART OF OUR STORIES, AND THAT IS WHERE I THINK IF YOU ARE PUERTO RICAN OR NOT BECAUSE THEY GO ON BACK AND FORTH -- FOR ME, I WAS NOT ABLE TO GO TO EL SALVADOR FOR MANY YEARS AND IN FACT I HAD LOVED ONES WHO PASSED AWAY THAT I COULD NOT PARTICIPATE IN THE RITUAL OF SAYING GOODBYE BECAUSE I COULD NOT TRAVEL.

THE WAY YOU SEE YOUR PARENTS FIGHTING FOR SURVIVAL, THAT IS THE OTHER PART WE DON'’T THINK ABOUT, AND WHAT THAT DOES FOR CHILDREN IN MANY WAYS -- I REMEMBER MY PARENTS WORKING, MY MOTHER CLEANING THREE HOUSES A DAY, MY DAD WORKING IN FACTORIES AND IT WAS NOT UNTIL HE BECAME AN ENTREPRENEUR HIMSELF THAT OUR LIFE CHANGED, BUT THAT WAS OVER TIME, AND IT TOOK MANY YEARS TO GET TO THAT POINT, SO I THINK THERE IS A WHOLE COMPLEXITY OF OUR STORY IS THAT STILL HAVE TO BE TOLD.

>> ABSOLUTELY.

THERE IS A POINT WHERE YOUR FAMILY OR AT LEAST YOU WENT FROM SURVIVING TO SOME LEVEL OF THRIVING.

YOU TALKED ABOUT THAT.

TALK TO US ABOUT WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE FOR AN IMMIGRANT AND IN A LATINO COMMUNITY TO BE THRIVING.

>> ABSOLUTELY.

I WOULD SAY EDUCATION PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE IN THAT.

I THINK ME BEING ABLE TO ENTER COLLEGE WAS EYE-OPENING FOR MY FAMILY, AND THAT MADE IT MUCH EASIER FOR MY YOUNGER BROTHER.

BY THE TIME HE BECAME OF AGE TO ENTER COLLEGE, AT THAT POINT, WE UNDERSTOOD HOW TO APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIPS AND HE WAS ABLE TO REALLY THRIVE IN THAT AND KNOWING HOW TO ACCESS RESOURCES THAT WERE AVAILABLE TO HIM, SO YOU SAW A MAJOR DIFFERENCE.

BY THE TIME MY BROTHER WENT TO COLLEGE, MY FAMILY WAS MUCH MORE ESTABLISHED AND UNDERSTOOD MORE WHAT WAS AVAILABLE TO US, SO EDUCATION DID BECOME A PATHWAY FOR MY FAMILY.

SIMILARLY, IN MY NETWORK, AS MORE OF US BECAME OF COLLEGE AGE, WE WERE SHARING EXPERIENCES.

I WAS ABLE TO STUDY ABROAD, SO BEING ABLE TO THEN BRING THAT BACK TO MY FAMILY AND EVEN SHARE OUR STORY OF HOW WE WERE GROWING IN THE U.S. WITH FAMILY BACK HOME WAS A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION FOR ALL OF US.

>> THANK YOU.

EDUCATION, SO IMPORTANT.

ECONOMIC VIABILITY, SO IMPORTANT.

YOU PLAY A ROLE IN THAT.

HOW DOES THIS TIE INTO THE ABILITY TO THRIVE HERE IN THE COMMONWEALTH?

>> THE LATINO COMMUNITY HERE IN BOSTON AND IN MASSACHUSETTS, IN THE COUNTRY, IT IS THE FASTEST GROWING DEMOGRAPHIC AND ALSO FROM AN ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE -- IN THE U.S., WE LOVE YOU TALK ABOUT GDP.

-- WE LOVE TO TALK ABOUT GDP.

WE PROVIDE $3.2 TRILLION OF GDP, LATINOS CONTRIBUTE THAT.

THE LATINO DONOR COLLABORATIVE HAS A STUDY THAT SHOWS IF WE WERE A COUNTRY, WE WOULD BE THE FIFTH LARGEST IN THE WORLD.

THE ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTIONS FROM A CONSUMER PERSPECTIVE, RIGHT?

IT IS SIGNIFICANT.

LATINOS ALSO ARE THE FASTEST DEMOGRAPHIC STARTING BUSINESSES.

WE ARE EXTREMELY ENTREPRENEURIAL.

OUT OF THE WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES THAT GET STARTED IN THE COUNTRY EVERY YEAR, SIX OR SEVEN ARE STARTED BY LATINOS EVERY YEAR.

IT IS A HUGE CONTRIBUTION FROM AN ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE.

ECONOMIC GROWTH IS STRONG, BUT YET, THERE IS STILL BARRIERS, RIGHT?

THAT LATINOS FACE.

WE TALK ABOUT THE GENDER PAY GAP .

OCTOBER 5 WAS THE INVOCATION LATINA EQUAL PAY DAY.

IT IS THE DAY WE PICKED TO SHOW HOW LONG LATINOS HAVE TO WORK TO EARN THE SAME AMOUNT AS THE AVERAGE WHITE MAN.

IT TOTALS TWO YEARS.

EVEN THOUGH WE ARE THE MOST ENTREPRENEURIAL, WE CONTRIBUTE TO MANY OF THE ECONOMIC DECISIONS, THE BUYING DECISIONS IN OUR HOMES, AND WE AREN'’T RAISING CHILDREN, CONTRIBUTING TO OUR SOCIETIES, LEADING IN TERMS OF ECONOMIC AND EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AS WELL, YET LATINOS GET PAID $.52 ON THE DOLLAR.

THE LOSS OF THAT INCOME OVER A 40-YEAR CAREER IS $1 MILLION.

WHAT COULD YOU DO WITH THAT $1 MILLION?

BUY A HOME, SEND YOUR KIDS TO COLLEGE, ACHIEVE YOURSELF COLLEGE ATTAINMENT.

THAT IS PART OF THE WORK THAT WE ARE DOING, HELPING ENTREPRENEURS OF COLOR IN ORDER TO START BUSINESSES AND GET ACCESS TO CAPITAL RESOURCES THEY NEED TO GET THAT SORT OF FRIENDS AND FAMILY MONEY THAT OFTEN THEY DON'’T HAVE BECAUSE OF A LOWER START IN TERMS OF THE ASSET BASE.

>> THE BIGGER PICTURE IS THAT THIS BENEFITS EVERYONE BECAUSE YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTIONS, THE SIZE OF THE LATINO COMMUNITY.

I WANT TO TALK BRIEFLY ABOUT WHAT THE PRESENCE OF THE LATINO COMMUNITY MEANS FOR BOSTON.

YOU HAD TAKEN PART IN MAKING SURE THAT THE PRESENCE OF THE LATINO COMMUNITY IS CEMENTED HERE.

WHAT DOES THAT PRESENCE MEAN?

>> AS PART OF OUR WORK, WE ARE THE MANAGING PARTNER FOR AN AREA OF BOSTON THAT NOW IS RECOGNIZED.

WHILE THERE HAVE BEEN SOME FOLKS WONDERING WHY THAT PARTICULAR AREA, IT IS NOT EAST BOSTON, ETC., THE REALITY IS HISTORICALLY WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE IMPORTANCE THE JACKSON SQUARE AREA HAD IN BOSTON AS A RECEIVING PLACE, AS A PLACE WHERE YOU COULD WALK AND SUDDENLY, THERE IS A TASTE OF HOME -- WHATEVER THAT MEANT FOR YOU.

JAMAICA PLAIN WAS MY FIRST STOP OUT OF COLLEGE WHEN I MOVED TO BOSTON AND IT WAS WHERE I COULD GET LATINO METAVERSE -- LATINO MADUROS.

IT IS AN IMPORTANT PLACE.

IT IS PLACE KEEPING RATHER THAN PLACE MAKING, WHICH I THINK IS AN IMPORTANT DIFFERENTIATION.

>> WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT PLACE MAKING, IT ASSUMES SOMETHING IS NOT THERE.

FROM A DEFICIT ORIENTATION AS OPPOSED TO COMING AT IT FROM A STRENGTH-BASED PERSPECTIVE AND REALLY BUILDING AT WHAT IS THERE , AND IT IS OVER 60 YEARS OF HISTORY IN THE HIGH JACKSON SQUARE AREA WHERE PRIMARILY AT SOME POINT, IT WAS PUERTO RICANS.

IT WAS CUBANS.

NOW IT IS PRIMARILY DOMINICAN, BUT IT IS WHERE YOU CAN GET YOUR DOMINICAN PASTRIES.

YOU CAN GO TO YOUR BARBER SHOP AND THEY WILL KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR HAIR.

THERE'’S ALL THESE THINGS THAT HAPPEN.

IT IS A PLACE THAT HAS MEANING AND FOR US, WE ARE FOCUSED SPECIFICALLY ON LIFTING UP CULTURE BECAUSE IT IS A PART OF OUR HISTORY, PART OF OUR STORY THAT DOES NOT OFTEN GET TOLD AND WE THINK IT IS IMPORTANT PRIMARILY FOR THE YOUNG PEOPLE WHO PARTICIPATE IN OUR PROGRAM, WHICH ARE MOSTLY DOMINICAN, SO FOR THEM TO KNOW, WHERE DID I COME FROM?

THAT IS WHAT HELPS YOU FIGURE OUT WHERE YOU'’RE GOING.

>> AND THIS MATTERS.

IT MATTERS THAT YOU HAVE A PLACE YOU FEEL LIKE IS HOME, THAT YOU CAN TAKE OWNERSHIP AND TO SHARE WITH OTHER PEOPLE TO SHAPE THAT NARRATIVE AND HELP OTHER PEOPLE SEE WHY INVESTMENT IS IMPORTANT.

WE ARE MOVING INTO, YOU KNOW, THE TASTE OF THE LATIN COMMUNITY.

TALK TO US ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ART, ENTERTAINMENT, AND THE CULTURE.

>> ABSOLUTELY.

WHEN I DECIDED TO MOVE TO BOSTON, I LOOKED FOR JAMAICA PLAIN, AND I LIVE THERE NOW, AND IT IS FOR ALL THE REASONS YOU MENTIONED.

THE FOOD AND BEING ABLE TO GET MY HAIR DONE OR BEING ABLE TO EVEN JUST SEE FOLKS THAT LOOK LIKE ME IN A CITY THAT WE KNOW HAS OFTEN MADE US FEEL INVISIBLE, EVEN AS WE KNOW THAT WE MAKE SO MANY CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE CITY OF BOSTON AND BEYOND.

FOR ME, ABSOLUTELY.

I THINK EVEN US BEING HERE TODAY IS VERY IMPORTANT.

BEING ABLE TO SHARE THAT WE COME FROM A VERY MIXED HERITAGE I THINK IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE OFTEN ONLY SEE ONE TYPE OF LATINO IN THE MAINSTREAM, SO BEING ABLE TO SHARE THAT, YES, WE HAVE MULTIPLE ETHNICITIES WITHIN OUR CONSTRUCT, AND MANY OF US ARE VERY PROUD OF BEING BLACK LATINOS AS WELL.

I OFTEN SAY TO FOLKS ON BLACK AND LATINO.

IT IS IMPORTANT FOR ME TO SHOW UP IN A SPACE AND SAY, THAT IS WHAT I'’M BRINGING FORWARD.

THAT'’S WHAT MAKES ME UNIQUE.

>> WHAT DOES THE HISTORY -- CONNECTING THE CULTURE, THE DIASPORA OF THE COMMUNITY, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR US HISTORICALLY?

WHEN YOU KNOW WHERE THE LATINO COMMUNITY HAS BEEN AND WHERE IT IS GOING AND WHAT WE EXPECT TO SEE IN THE COMMONWEALTH.

>> IT IS A VERY YOUNG POPULATION, SO THAT IS THE MAIN THING.

WE JUST DID A REPORT ON SECOND-GENERATION LATINOS.

WE ARE SEEING SOME POSITIVE GAINS IN TERMS OF EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT, BUT THERE'’S IS STILL SOME REAL CHALLENGES THERE IN TERMS OF SOME OF THE POVERTY RATES ARE STILL REALLY HIGH AND, REALLY, THIS QUESTION OF AFRO-LATINIDAD, WE ARE GRAPPLING WITH THAT IN OUR COMMUNITY UP ANTI-BLACKNESS AND REPRESENTATION, AND I THINK THIS YOUNGER GENERATION IS AFFIRMING MORE OF THAT IDENTITY AS BLACK AND LATINO, SO THERE'’S ALSO A NEED FOR OUR CURRICULUM, OUR SCHOOL CURRICULUM TO AFFIRM OUR HISTORIES, AND THAT IS ALSO HAPPENING.

ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THE HIGH SQUARE TASK FORCE WITH THEIR MISSION, WE ALSO NEED THIS IN OUR SCHOOL CURRICULUM, TO LEARN THESE HISTORIES SO THAT WE UNDERSTAND THAT WE ARE NOT THAT MONOLITH, AS YOU MENTIONED, BUT UNDERSTANDING THOSE VERY DISTINCT CULTURAL DIFFERENCES.

I THINK ABOUT THE GUATEMALAN COMMUNITY HERE, HAS MORE OF AN INDIGENOUS IDENTITY.

THEY DON'’T SPEAK SPANISH, MANY OF THE GUATEMALANS.

THERE'’S 32 DIFFERENT DIALECTS, AND YET, WE DON'’T REALLY EVEN LOOK AT NOT JUST THE RACIAL DIVERSITY BUT ALSO THE LINGUISTIC DIVERSITY, AND THAT IS SOMETHING I THINK PEOPLE ARE AFFIRMING MORE.

WE SAW WITH INDIGENOUS PEOPLES'’ DAY IN NEWTON.

THAT WAS AN INCREDIBLE CELEBRATION.

I THINK THIS NEXT GENERATION, WE ARE MORE PROUD, WE ARE NOT TRYING TO HIDE, AND WE ARE HERE, AND WE ARE NOT GOING ANYWHERE.

>> I KNOW THAT'’S RIGHT.

NOT GOING ANYWHERE.

THE LATINO COMMUNITY IS GROWING AND HAS THIS GATEWAY OF THE ABILITY TO THRIVE.

YOU HAVE ABOUT THREE MINUTES LEFT.

I WANT TO ASK ALL OF YOU ABOUT WHAT DID THE LATINO COMMUNITY NEED TO THRIVE?

YOU SAID THERE ARE SOME ISSUES.

WE TALKED ABOUT EDUCATION.

EACH OF YOU CAN TAKE A MINUTE TO TALK ABOUT WHAT IS THE COMMUNITY NEED TO THRIVE.

>> EARLIER IN THE YEAR, AMPLIFY LATINX DID A POLL TO SEE WHAT WITH THE TOP ISSUES FOR THEM AND WHAT THEY WANT STATE LEADERS TO FOCUS ON.

THE TOP ISSUES WERE HOUSING AFFORDABILITY AND HEALTH CARE ACCESS, AFFORDABILITY, AND JOBS AND ADDRESSING UNEMPLOYMENT.

EDUCATION WAS FOURTH, RIGHT?

IT TELLS YOU THAT HOMEOWNERSHIP AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS KEY TO HAVING STABILITY.

YOU NEED THAT AND WE ARE IN ONE OF THE HIGHEST COST -- RENT IS SO HIGH IN MASSACHUSETTS.

WE ARE THE SECOND-HIGHEST EVENT BURDEN STATE, AND LATINOS, I THINK 50% OF LATINOS IN BOSTON ARE WHAT WE CONSIDER RENT BURDENED.

FOCUSING ON HOUSING AFFORDABILITY AND THEN A PATHWAY TO OWNERSHIP -- >> IT IS INTERESTING BECAUSE THOSE ARE BASIC NEEDS.

>> I THINK POLITICAL POWER IS CRITICAL BECAUSE WITHOUT PUBLIC POLICIES AND BEING AT THAT TABLE TWO, YOU KNOW, SHAPE THESE DECISIONS AROUND WHAT SHOULD BE FUNDED, WHAT ARE OUR PRIORITIES, WE HAVE A LOT MORE TO DO IN THAT AREA.

>> I WOULD ADD THAT CONTINUED INVESTMENT IN EDUCATION, AS YOU HAVE HEARD, IN TERMS OF THE STORIES FOR MANY OF US, THAT HAS BEEN WHAT ALLOWED US TO DRIVE -- TO THRIVE JUST HERE AROUND THIS ROOM.

CONTINUING OPPORTUNITIES AND DISMANTLING THE BARRIERS THAT GET IN THE WAY FOR OUR YOUNG PEOPLE.

>> SHARING OUR STORIES, SHARING OUR CULTURE, NO LONGER ASSIMILATED.

INSTEAD, SHOWING UP EXACTLY UNIQUELY AS WE ARE.

I THINK THAT MATTERS, ESPECIALLY AT THIS MOMENT IN TIME.

>> THANK YOU ALL.

THIS HAS BEEN A PHENOMENAL CONVERSATION.

YOU ALL HAVE GIVEN US SO MUCH CONTEXT, HISTORY, DEPTH, COLOR ABOUT THE LATINO COMMUNITY THAT WE DO NOT OFTEN GET TO HAVE THESE KIND OF CONVERSATIONS, BUT BOSTON IS BETTER FOR IT.

THANK YOU ALL.

THAT IS THE END OF OUR BROADCAST AND THE END OF OUR SHOW.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

NOW STAY WITH US AS WE CONTINUE THIS CONVERSATION ON OUR DIGITAL PLATFORMS, YOUTUBE, AND FACEBOOK.