Happy Holidays from
William C. Velasquez Institute Dear Friends, Happy Holidays from all of us at the William C. Velasquez Institute. Thank you for you support. We ask that you consider WCVI in your end of year giving with a tax-deductible grant or contribution. Your past support has been put to good use in the community. We are especially proud to have hosted EarthDay Latino, where we celebrated the 18 high school students of the first WCVI Eco-Intern Program! I invite you to take a look at the following 2011 highlights. The year ahead promises to be very exciting as well! In the works: 5 year Anniversary of Los Angeles River Revitalization Plan approved in 2007; a National Exit Poll for the General Election, the 6th Annual NLC in Chicago, IL.; 2012 LA Eco Intern Program; launch of a similar program in Texas, numerous polling studies, a study on the health of south Texans, a Texas Water, Oil and Drought Conference and much much more. Are you excited yet? We are! WCVI will greatly benefit from your support in 2012. Please consider us in your budget plans. Another bright note to this year: our Senior VP, Patricia Gonzales was just named as one of the “40 Under 40� to watch by the San Antonio Business Journal. Congrats to Patricia on her well deserved recognition! Thank you again for your support and friendship. We ask you to give to WCVI during this holiday season and in 2012! Have a safe and happy holiday season! !
Antonio Gonzalez WCVI President
Snapshot of WCVI in 2011 This yearʼs NLC served as Call to Action that focused on strategies to defeat anti-immigrant legislation, proposals to create jobs, efforts to create majority minority districts through redistricting, and plans for Latino electoral mobilization. The 2011 delegates and observers took part in 20 workshops, 3 plenary sessions, the special “Take Back Texas” strategy session to stop anti-immigrant legislation, Hispanic Federation sponsored, Womenʼs Reproductive Rights Luncheon and LCLAA sponsored Labor Breakfast. Other activities included a screening of the movie, Will the Real Terrorists Please Stand Up and a Floricanto Tejano multicultural reading with 14 poets and artists.
National Latino Congreso Deliberating over three days delegates from 15 states and more than one hundred organizations approved over 30 resolutions on a variety of topics. Importantly, many “non-Latino” or mainstream issues were addressed including the proposed ATT-T-Mobile merger, and President Obama’s military intervention in Libya.
WCVI
is a founding Convener and Organizer of the NLC! NALACC takes over as host for 2012 Antonio Gonzalez at the 6th Annual NLC, Austin, Texas
California Latino Congreso “The California plan is a winwin initiative.California’s undocumented immigrants will pay more than 2.7 billion in state and local taxes and at the same time it would integrate undocumented immigrants in a positive way into the social fabric of the state improving the quality of life of all Californians,” Martha Arevalo President, CARECEN Board of Directors
Delegates representing scores of Latino organizations across California agreed to set up Congreso Campaign Committees to massively mobilize the Latino vote and support several initiatives that would provide California status to immigrants, reform local government, label genetically modified foods, and reform the three strikes law.Delegates from across the state were especially interested in the “California Plan” which would grant temporary status for certain immigrant taxpayers, and follows a recent string of pro-immigrant and other progressive legislative victories in Sacramento.
EarthDay Latino & Eco Interns
WCVI led many efforts in 2011 from Earthday Latino to the California Latino Congreso
Nancy Sutley,
Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality plants a tree at the EarthDay Latino 2011
WCVI has worked as the Alianza de los Pueblos del Rio de Los Angeles (Los Angeles River Peoples始 Alliance) since 2004 helping to develop five parks with active and passive recreation along the Los Angeles River (Marsh St in Frog Town, Albion St. in Cover, G2 in Glassell Park, Piggy Back Yards in Lincoln Heights, El Hoyito in El Hoyo).
This led to the next logical step, the formation of the Eco-Interns Program. The Eco-Intern Program is designed for students who demonstrate a strong interest in environmental conservation, public health and city history. The program concluded with an EarthDay Latino event that included a Walk-A-Thon and camp out and Eco-Intern Completion Ceremony. The students concluded their program by unveiling their collective creative youth project in the form of a billboard.
Eighteen Eco Interns participated as part of the 2011 Inaugural Class. The high school juniors and seniors came from 8 area schools from east/northeast Los Angeles and the Anahuak Youth Sports Association.
trained and The Eco-Interns were ramping up to mentored over Spring 6 site visits to Earth Day 2011 with onmental locales parks, rivers and envir hose careers are with guest speakers w and rooted in conservation The program environmental areas. Day Latino! concluded with Earth
40th Anniversary of the Failed War on Drugs WCVI held a Day of Action on June 17, 2011, the 40th Anniversary of President Nixonʼs declaration of the “war on drugs”. WCVI highlighted the impact of this failed “war on drugs” on the Latino community. To commemorate the 40th anniversary, WCVI hosted a Special Leadership Briefing and Live Remote Broadcast of the KPFK Radio show, Strategy Session with Antonio Gonzalez. The event was a time to reflect on the disastrous effects the failed war on drugs has had on the Latino community with focus on strategies for making marijuana legal, reducing overincarceration, advocating drugs as a health issue and not a criminal justice issue including alternative solutions to the current 40 year-failure that is the drug war. The live remote broadcast featured leading experts, Mauricio Garzon, Coalition for Cannabis Policy; Stephen Gutwillig, Drug Policy Alliance; Dr. Raul Hinojosa, UCLA NAID Center; Miguel Tinker Salas, Pomona College; and geri silva, Families to Amend California's Three Strikes and Fair Chance Project.
White Paper on the Proposed AT&T/T-Mobile Merger Latinos are less likely to have broadband in their homes than any Higher Prices other minority group and are far less likely to have it than whites Will Have a and Asians. Latinos also pay significantly more for mobile phone Disproportionate services than any other demographic group. Moreover, Latinos Effect on Latinos – are among the least represented workers in the wireless Costing Them An communications field, with most of them employed in nontechnical field, which is the most likely area to suffer job loss in the Additional Two Billion merger. For these reasons, the competitive impact of AT&Tʼs Dollars proposed acquisition of T-Mobile is of particular importance to Per Year Latinos.
Calendar of 2012Events
Texas Latino Redistricting Task Force
Latino leaders and organizations in Texas came together during the redistricting process to form the Texas Latino Redistricting Task Force. WCVIʼs sister January - April organization, SVREP “Our state leaders and attorney • Eco-Intern Program, serves as the co-chair for general seem to think that is still LA, CA okay in 2011 to attempt to the Task Force along with disenfranchise Latino voters and April Domingo Garcia. The Texas gerrymander them to have no • 20th: Benefit for Latino Redistricting Task voice. This practice has to stop Eco-Intern Program Force represented by and the Federal courts are only 21st: EarthDay • following the law MALDEF filed a lawsuit to Latino and correcting the stop the Texas from voting rights May implementing congressional violations. It is • 17-19th National time to unite and State House maps that Latino Congreso, Texans not keep violated the Voting Rights Chicago, IL trying to divide Act. July them.” Domingo Garcia, Co-Chair, • 13th SVREP Sabor de In an important Texas Latino Redistricting Las Americas, LA, determination, a Federal Task Force and former Dallas CA court ordered interim maps Mayor Pro-Tem • 20th SVREP Latino be implemented for the Vote 2012 Dinner, For a complete report of the Texas Latino 2012 elections. Redistricting Task Force please visit: SA, TX August • 22nd SVREP Sabor de Las Americas, Houston, TX
At the Congressional Level:
• CD-35 is a new seat created along the San Antonio-Austin I-35 corridor. Texas gained 4 congressional seats during the redistricting process as result of population growth— 65% of Texas population growth was due to growth of the Latino population. • CD-23 was won in the LULAC vs. Perry and was restored to a Latinomajority seat. This district stretches to El Paso, and 23% of its voters reside in Bexar County, and it includes over more than 20 counties across West Texas and many of these counties are located along the border. • CD-27 was restored to a Latino-majority seat. It is located in Nueces and runs south to Cameron County.
WCVI Social Media Networks We invite you to connect with us!
@wcvi @thepgonzales
@latinocongreso @latinoVotrsLeag