Tag: Latino

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Elections, Voter Suppression, Megyn Kelly, Intel, CFO Magazine, Diversity in PR plus more

We are less than a week away from the midterm elections and I hope the turnout reflects the energy I have seen online. Having said that, watch this interview with Chiqui Cartagena, on how both parties and many candidates do not understand Latino voters. Or this from NPR  about how candidates like Beto O’Rourke, who is running for the Senate in Texas, need to mobilize Latino voters to win. There is also this from Meet The Press in which Cristina Tzintzun Ramirez says, “you don’t win in #Texas unless you’re talking to brown and black voters.”

I like to keep an informal inventory of who is advertising on Univision while I watch its programming. For example, this week during the 10 pm telenovela, I was surprised to see mostly negative ads against the Democrats, note I live in Miami. In other words – there were was only one ad for a Democratic candidate. It will be interesting to see if any party or candidate understands the opportunities, and challenges, of engaging with this important segment which is very diverse. Another important story to follow next week will be voter suppression efforts which predominantly impact racial minorities, here is a good Washington Post piece on this specific issue. I’m proud to say that I’ve already voted – it was easy and seamless. 

Last week NBC canceled Megyn Kelly Today because of Kelly’s comments regarding “blackface,” so here is this from Nicholas Pearce, another recommended read, titled “Megyn Kelly’s ‘blackface’ comment shows workplace diversity isn’t enough.”

Here are additional stories that I am following this week including this from Forbes titled “Seven Ways To Close The Diversity And Inclusion Gap That Are Easier Than You Think,” “How To Improve Gender Diversity In Entertainment Through Social Networking,” “Making progress on tech’s diversity problem: A female founder’s take on the current situation” and “Intel Hits an Internal Goal for Workforce Diversity.” Bernard Coleman III wrote this on four diversity and inclusion disruptors in the workplace (one of my favorite topics) and here is this from CFO Magazine titled “The Economic Case for Diversity.”

I want to end this post with this video shared by a friend, Jeff Weintraub, “in memory of the victims and in honor of the wounded of Tree of Life Synagogue, Pittsburgh PA.”

Photo by Parker Johnson on Unsplash

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Let’s crowdsource a list of Latinos for Sunday news shows and media in general

Earlier this week I posted a blog with 50 Latinos that TV bookers and media in general could tap to talk about the Hispanic experience. Thank you for the comments and feedback, which tells me this was a much needed starting point – and this is a starting point. Enrique Acevedo said “We can all benefit from more diversity, not only of gender and race, but age and points of view as well.” Of course I agree but as I told him that doesn’t mean having the conversation of the lack of Latinos on Sunday and news shows is not important. The elections this year proves – and in particular this week in New York –  that age and gender diversity are key too.

Mariela Azcuy recommended making this a public list that others could add to – and others agreed. So here is a link to a document that you can help add names to and I’ll post an update next week. Have others to add? Go! http://bit.ly/LatinoSources

Photo by William White on Unsplash

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Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 50 Years Later plus updates on the Tech Industry, Black Panther, Zara, Spotify, Pew Spanish Use Insights & more

This month is the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s final speech and his assassination.  There has been extensive coverage on broadcast, print and digital media  – just do a quick Google search.  Per USA Today, “Thousands of people are expected to rally in the nation’s capital Wednesday to mark 50 years since Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, all with the hope of finishing his work to end racism in the U.S.” Here is a list of five speeches written by Dr. King and that, as this article states, we should all read. Here is this interview from this weekend with Ambassador Andrew Young in which he reminds us that  “Martin Luther King Jr. ‘never lost faith in the American dream’.”

On the tech front, Jesse Jackson sent a letter to tech companies asking that they redouble their diversity efforts. Fast Company profiled Arlan Hamilton’s VC which is focused on funding inclusive companies.  D Magazine had a good recap of a conversation on diversity during Dallas Startup Week. Freddy Vaca from the Pinnacle Group had some good advice: “Be unique. Every company has its own story. Create yours.”

At this point I feel like I should just do a weekly update on which milestone Black Panther has achieved – this week it topped Jurassic Park as fourth-highest grossing movie of all time in the U.S.

Spotify is looking for women of color podcasters, learn more here; Pew Hispanic released new research on Hispanic parents use of Spanish read more here and according to news reports, Zara is using a diversity algorithm to scan clothing.

Congratulations to the inductees of its first-ever DiversityInc Top 50 Hall of Fame, to the 26 Women of Color Diversifying Entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley, Media & Beyond – proud to see Cheryl Contee on the list; and to the 2018 PRWeek Hall of Femme inductees.

Photo by James Motter on Unsplash

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UnidosUS 50th Anniversary, Black Panther coverage, Dallas Mavericks’ interim CEO, equal pay, Jane Walker & much more

Last week I wrote about the challenges at USHCC and LULAC but I should have also written about UnidosUS (formerly NCLR), which commemorated an important milestone – its 50th anniversary. Per its website, the organization was launched in 1968 “What began as a small collection of young activists in Phoenix has become the country’s largest Hispanic-serving nonprofit, helping millions of Latinos define the American Dream on their own terms, then helping them achieve it.” UnidosUS has a different model than the other organizations.  It is headquartered in DC with a focus on expert research, advocacy, programs at a national level and with an affiliate network of close to 300 community-based organizations across the United States and Puerto Rico. I’ve had the honor of working with the team led by Janet Murguía. Learn more here about this important milestone. Congratulations!

This past week we saw a number of articles regarding what the movie Black Panther means to diversity in the film industry. From Brookings Institute to Bloomberg, there has been extensive coverage and analysis about what the success of the film means. However, there have also been important reminders that there is still work that needs to be done to address diversity and equal pay in entertainment and media.

A story that caught my attention last week from VOX was related to the Florida shooting and the student activism we have seen titled “Parkland is sparking a difficult conversation about race, trauma, and public support.”  There is also a Miami Herald profile on student Emma Gonzalez.

Additional stories I am following, this from Nation’s Restaurants News regarding struggles as it relates to diversity in restaurant leadership; the Dallas Maverick’s introduce interim CEO Cynthia Marshall; also found this interactive map detailing pay equity laws in all 50 states; PR Week published a response to “What it’s like to be black in PR video;” Beatriz Acevedo from mitú wrote about Latinos being “the blind spot of America,” Johnny Walker introduces Jane Walker and this profile on Univision News anchor Ilia Calderon.

ICYMI, Gov. Bruce Rauner drank a glass of chocolate milk to demonstrate his belief in diversity.  According to the Chicago Tribune this is “the brainchild of Hyatt Hotels diversity and inclusion executive Tyronne Stoudemire.” Not sure what to say…

Finally, here is this great read titled “NASA’s Real Life ‘Hidden Figure’ On How To Advance Women In STEM.”

Photo by Tatiana Niño on Unsplash

 

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LULAC and USHCC turmoil, cities leading with diversity, Google, Black Panther, Premio Lo Nuestro, Latinistas & more

I’ve had the honor of working with many Hispanic-focused organizations throughout my career and have been following the turmoil at two of these leading Hispanic-serving organizations closely. USHCC CEO stepped down following claims of “sexual and financial improprieties” and Fernand Fernandez has been named interim CEO as the organization conducts a search. The League of United Latin American Citizens faced its own turmoil. The embattled, elected president of the organization decided not to resign following controversy resulting from a letter he sent to President Trump which led to the CEO, who has been at the helm of the organization for 30 years, to resign. Here is a good piece from Suzanne Gamboa on how things transpired. LULAC was one of the first clients I worked with at Fleishman-Hillard as they were holding the conference in Dallas, Texas in the 1990s. We will have to wait and see what happens but it has been very moving to see the many comments on social media about the important impact Brent Wilkes had during his tenure at the organization. LULAC and USHCC have done great work for our community and it is disappointing to see this turn of events.  

The current turmoil at these two organizations is concerning to say the least as the community faces so many challenges. Raul Reyes has this great piece in The Hill touching on this.  Having said that, there is great work being done by these and other Hispanic-serving organizations including NALEO, UnidosUS (formerly called NCLR), MALDEF, Latino Donor Collaborative and professional groups including Prospanica (formerly called NSHMBA), HNBA, SHPE, and ALPFA to name a few. It is unfortunate that the issues facing two groups are taking away from the important work being done.

This story from PBS stating that cities are “pitching their diversity in order to lure businesses” caught my attention. It’ll be interesting if diversity plays a key role in Amazon’s decision for its second headquarters.

Other headlines this week include NLRB siding with Google and this from NBC regarding NASCAR’s two milestones this week as “Darrell “Bubba” Wallace, Jr. and tire changer Brehanna Daniels will make history during the Daytona 500 race weekend.”

Did you think I would ignore the premiere weekend of Black Panther? Of course not! This headline from the New York Times says it all : ‘Black Panther’ Smashes Box Office Records and Hollywood Myths. This from Peter Rubin is an important point and here is this from CNN. Here is also this Letitia Wright profile in Vanity Fair.  One of my favorites moments was this one, when Serena Williams surprised Black Girls Code students.

This week don’t miss Univision’s Premio Lo Nuestro as it celebrates its 30th anniversary. Read more here.

Finally, ICYMI, here is this great Makers interview of Yai Vargas from Latinistas. 

Photo by rawpixel.com on Unsplash

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The Latinx debate, a new Hollywood commission, the impact of diverse voters and more

Hispanic, Latino or Latinx?

This week I want to focus on the Latinx debate because of this opinion piece by Daniel Hernandez from this weekend’s Los Angeles Times and titled “The case against ‘Latinx’”. The piece has led to some interesting debates on twitter.  This  may be a new term for some, and there may be confusion in how, when or if to use it.

I find this debate fascinating for many reasons. You see for years I’ve been asked what term organizations should use – Hispanic or Latino. Let’s look at the history of the term Hispanic which was chosen by the U.S. government as the official term in the 70s, read more on the history here. Some disliked the term Hispanic but others did not connect to the word Latino. In 2002 Pew issued a report that showed how many Latinos identified more with their country of origin than to those terms. Here is this from CNN in 2004.  Two national organizations use Latino or Latin American in their names – National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials and League of United Latin American Citizens. The National Council of La Raza changed its name this year to Unidos US and NSHMBA changed its name to Prospanica. There is also MALDEF, which serves all Latinos in the U.S. but could be seen as only serving Mexican Americans because of its name. Several professional organizations use Hispanic in their name, i.e. NHJA, AHAA, SHPE, HNBA, etc.  Understanding that some individuals relate more to one term than the other is why I have always advised clients to use both intermittently.

Most recently Latinx has entered the debate. Let’s be clear, the terms “Hispanic” or “Latino” will not be replaced by the term “Latinx.” As Daniel does say, it is more relevant to some than to others, especially millennials. The beauty of our community is that we are not monolithic and this diversity is reflected in this debate.

After reading this great piece by NBC I better understand the importance of Latinx. I consider myself Latina, Hispanic, Mexican, MexTex (born in Mexico but raised in Texas). I will add Latinx to this list without eliminating the others and use it when it makes sense. One last point, I do hope that the LA Times gives space to the other side of the debate so that people can better understand why it’s important.

So to the question, should companies use Latinx? It depends when and how the term will be used (i.e. internally, externally, Latin America) but yes you should if 1) it’s relevant to your core audiences and 2) if you are focused on inclusion. Leaders should tap employees and experts who understand our community and their main audiences to help guide them. Carefully adding the term to their lexicon could help them connect to younger employees and consumers in the U.S. 

What is driving the conversation?

This week as expected we continue to see coverage around the #MeToo movement, including the announcement of a new Hollywood commission to address sexual harassment and led by Anita Hill.

Forbes profiled the new coalition created to quantify diversity and inclusion efforts in marketing and media. I think most of us agree this is a much needed initiative.

The Alabama election once again demonstrated the importance diverse communities will have in the future of our country. There has been extensive coverage about how black women helped the Democrats win the senate seat in Alabama. I do say “once again” because as this piece points out, this year we are seeing an increase in diverse candidates and voters.

Here is a good read from Steve Barrett about Barri Rafferty‘s promotion as it relates to diversity in PR – yes there is much work to be done.

Congratulations to the LATINA Style top 10 corporate executives of 2017, here is the list.

Congratulations to Maame Biney, she is the first African-American woman to qualify for the U.S. Olympics team in speed skating!

ICYMI

As we head into Christmas, here is the #ICYMI of the week, this uplifting piece on Anthony Anderson, a young opera singer.  

Wishing everyone a wonderful Holiday. Feliz Navidad.

Featured photo by James Motter on Unsplash