On March 24, leaders from 12 Latinx-led and serving organizations gathered in SFF offices to celebrate the launch of the Bay Area Latinx Power Building Initiative.
Launch with a $3 million investment from SFF, this powerful group of partners will meet multiple times a year to connect, build community, identify emerging opportunities or needs, and participate in capacity-building opportunities to strengthen Latinx power-building and advocacy across the region.
SFF CEO Fred Blackwell welcomed the leaders, and SFF Trustee Reverend Miguel Bustos offered some opening thoughts centering on Archbishop Oscar Romero’s Prayer, which in part says:
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something and to do it very well.
Together, the group took time to get to know each other. Chris Iglesias from The Unity Council and Ani Rivera of Galeria de la Raza helped facilitate the gathering, including developing some thoughts on short and long-term goals and exercises to look at opportunities for future collaboration. The group discussed some of the unique challenges and opportunities in supporting a Latinx community across with Bay Area with diverse cultural backgrounds and needs. They also weighed some of the possible solutions to address these needs.
With the launch of this initiative, Fred Blackwell remarked, “Building power in Latinx communities is critical. We all are better off when everybody has a powerful voice in the decisions that impact their lives. These organizations represent the diversity of the Bay Area’s Latinx communities. With their diverse strengths and perspectives, I am excited to see what they do. “
Learn more:
- Read about the Launch of the Latinx Power Building Initiative.
