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LPPI Policy Fellows Gain Direct Experience With Advocacy in Sacramento

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Policy fellows from the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Initiative (LPPI) recently traveled to Sacramento to gain experience in direct advocacy with the California Legislature. During three days from May 2-4, they presented LPPI research, proposed bills to lawmakers, and met with key policy stakeholders and governmental agencies. The trip culminated in a policy briefing luncheon hosted by LPPI experts. Silvia R. González, Yohualli B. Anaya and Misael Galdámez provided lawmakers with an in-depth look at new research and data insights on housing insecurity, inequities in access to telehealth, the impact of COVID-19 on higher education outcomes and other issues affecting California’s varied Latino communities. Fellows also met with legislators in their Capitol offices to advocate for bills on topics ranging from alternatives to incarceration to Cal Grant system reform. Policy fellows and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients Aimee Benitez and Marcos Ruiz Rojas had an especially powerful experience meeting with Sen. Ben Hueso and seeing people like themselves represented in his staff. “Senator Hueso is a Latino Bruin who has hired people from our community, including other DACA recipients,” Benitez said. “He took the time to talk with us about the trajectory of his career path, saying one day when he is out of office, we’ll be the ones to take over.” LPPI representatives on the Sacramento trip also recognized the Latino Legislative Caucus for its efforts to champion LPPI and secure state funding to enable a transition from an initiative to an institute. — Alise Brillault

Diaz on Mobilizing Latino Vote in L.A. Mayor’s Race

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A Los Angeles Times story about a poll showing Karen Bass and Rick Caruso in a dead heat in the L.A. mayor’s race looked to Sonja Diaz, executive director of the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Initiative, for context. If the June 7 primary leads to a contest between U.S. Congresswoman Bass and billionaire developer Caruso, the election would be marked by stark divides of ideology, race and geography. Caruso has already spent millions on television and digital advertising, including on Spanish-language TV and radio stations and on websites such as YouTube. Still, more than half of Latino poll respondents said they didn’t know Bass or Caruso well enough to form an opinion of the candidates. “Latinos are going to be late deciders,” Diaz said. “The fact that they’re undecided, in order to change that, there’s really going to have to be money and tailored messaging.”

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Diaz on New Latino-Majority Districts in California

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Founding Director of the Latino Policy and Politics Initiative Sonja Diaz was featured in a Los Angeles Times column about the role that California Latinos will play in the midterm elections. New congressional maps were drawn based on the results of the 2020 Census, and the number of Latino-majority districts in California increased from 10 to 16. The six new districts with Latino majorities could help Democrats retain control of the House of Representatives in the upcoming elections. However, some experts are concerned that it may take time to mobilize voters in these districts, which are concentrated in the Central Valley and encompass rural and historically disenfranchised communities that may be hard to organize. “Latinos are at the periphery of California politics even though they’re central to the economy and to its future,” Diaz explained. She said that Democrats should seek Latino candidates who can speak to the concerns of Latino communities.

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Santos Takes Leadership Role at Hub for Latinx Scholars

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Associate Professor of Social Welfare Carlos Santos has been named associate director of UCLA’s Chicano Studies Research Center. The center, part of UCLA’s Institute of American Cultures, supports intersectional research, programming and advocacy related to Chicano, Latino and Indigenous communities. “For decades, UCLA’s Chicano Studies Research Center has been a central hub for Latinx scholars and those studying issues affecting Latinx communities,” Santos said. “As part of UCLA’s commitment to become a Hispanic Serving Institution by 2025, we will help administer the hiring of several faculty, post-doc fellows and seed research grants. I am honored to support these and other exciting CSRC efforts intended to uplift Latinx communities.” Santos’ research explores ethnic-racial, gender and sexual minority identity among Latinx youth and young adults using an intersectional approach. He studies the contexts within which identities are formed, develop and change over time as well as the impact of discrimination and oppressive forces associated with these identities. Santos has received several early-career awards for achievement in research. He earned a doctorate in developmental psychology from New York University, a master’s degree in education from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree from New York University. The Chicano Studies Research Center was established in 1969 to have a systemic impact on UCLA’s campus, within higher education and across society through original research on the Chicano and Latino communities in the United States. The center is now home to one of the most robust archives of Latino and Chicano materials in the country.

 

Santos on Making Language More Inclusive

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Associate Professor of Social Welfare Carlos Santos spoke to Univision about the growing use of the term “Latinx” to refer to people of Latin American origin or descent. “Latinos” and “Hispanos” are commonly used to refer to people of Latin or Hispanic origin, and both terms are masculine, leaving many women and nonbinary individuals feeling excluded. Curiosity about the term “Latinx” spiked in 2015, with an increase in Google searches inquiring about its meaning. Santos said the term “is a way to speak about ourselves as a group that includes various individuals, including those who may not identify with the gender binary.” An informal survey of Spanish-speaking students at UCLA found that different students identify with the terms Latino, Hispanic and Latinx. “One of the biggest misunderstandings is that people think that they have to identify themselves as Latinx,” Santos explained, noting that the term is part of an effort to make language more inclusive over time.

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Diaz Pushes for Fair Redistricting in Orange County

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UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Initiative Director Sonja Diaz spoke to the Los Angeles Times about the potential impacts of redistricting in Orange County. Nearly a third of Orange County residents are Latino, but current district boundaries divide areas with large Latino populations in Santa Ana and Anaheim. Diaz explained that dividing adjacent cities with ethnic majorities, a process known as cracking, has been a major factor in Latino voter turnout and can dilute political power. The county Board of Supervisors is currently undergoing the decennial redistricting process with data from the 2020 Census and is expected to approve a majority Latino district for the first time. “Orange County has for far too long been dictated by the policy preferences of an aging, white electorate that leans conservative,” Diaz said. “And I say this as a jurisdiction that is increasingly multiethnic and multiracial, with large communities of Asian American and Latino electorates.”

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CEO Tells Why Weingart Foundation Supports Latino Data Initiatives

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The UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Initiative (UCLA LPPI) has received $125,000 in general funding over two years from the Weingart Foundation. It’s a commitment that CEO Miguel Santana said is representative of the organization’s effort to advance social and racial justice in Southern California. Not only is the grant recipient helmed by the “best and brightest of the Latino community,” Santana said, but “UCLA LPPI, along with the Luskin School, are leading in the effort to confront inequities in Los Angeles through research and analysis.” The Weingart Foundation advocates for empowering affected communities and basing social justice on robust data, choosing not to be prescriptive with its grants. Rather, Santana stressed, they “support organizations in Southern California based on the idea that they know best how to use their dollars.” Santana is one of the few Latino leaders of a philanthropic foundation. He previously served on the Luskin School’s Board of Advisors and continues to chair the Committee for Greater LA, where he and other civic leaders worked on the landmark report, “No Going Back: Together for an Equitable and Inclusive Los Angeles,” with UCLA Luskin Dean Gary Segura and professor Manuel Pastor of USC’s Equity Research Institute. “I was very fortunate to work closely with Dean Segura during my time as a board member,” Santana said. “He is a thought leader on issues for the future of SoCal, and Angelenos are lucky to have him.” —Alise Brillault

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Unionization Is Essential for Recovery, Diaz Says

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Sonja Diaz, executive director of the Latino Policy and Politics Initiative, co-authored a commentary in Latino Rebels about the need for union organization among Latino workers. Unions help alleviate the racial and ethnic pay gap by helping workers access non-discriminatory, collectively bargained contracts for the essential work that they do, Diaz wrote. “The benefits of unionization make it clear that economic recovery is not complete if workers aren’t given the opportunity to organize and demand better conditions, particularly given how essential many low-income service workers are to the economy,” she argued. A recent report found that Black and Latino workers in union jobs earned better wages and were less likely to lose their jobs and income during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to non-union workers. “Unionized jobs must pave the path forward to ensure that workers have the stability and economic resilience needed to withstand future crises,” she concluded.

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Diaz on Mobilizing Voters Around Padilla

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Sonja Diaz, executive director of the Latino Policy and Politics Initiative, was featured in a Politico article discussing the importance of maximizing voter turnout in the 2022 midterm elections. Democrats are hoping to leverage the popularity of Sen. Alex Padilla, California’s first Latino senator, to increase voter turnout and deliver Democratic wins in districts with high Latino populations. “Sen. Padilla is going to be central in not only ensuring that Latino voters who were mobilized in the ’21 recall election are going to be primed for the ’22 midterms, but getting other voters across the country out, too,” Diaz explained. Nuestro PAC is leading a statewide campaign to elect Padilla and flip five congressional districts by targeting Latino voters. “There’s a need for the Democratic Party to coalesce around Sen. Padilla’s future, ensuring he gets the relevant face-time and exposure to create a national donor base,” Diaz said. “It’s essential to increase enthusiasm in the party.”

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California Latinos’ Use of Emergency Medical Services Rose During Pandemic

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Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Latinos in California were relatively unlikely to use emergency medical services. But during the pandemic, across much of the state, Latinos’ use of such services — specifically seeking treatment for respiratory ailments — increased more than it did for non-Latino whites, according to a new report by the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Initiative. The report’s authors compared figures for the first six months of 2020 to statistics for the same period in 2019. They analyzed data from the California Emergency Medical Services Information System, which includes information from all of the state’s 33 local emergency medical service agencies with the exception of Los Angeles County. “Although the study doesn’t directly account for about 30% of California’s Latinos who live in Los Angeles, other studies on the impact of COVID-19 on Latinos in L.A. would suggest that the same phenomenon would hold true in Los Angeles,” said Esmeralda Melgoza, a doctoral student at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and a co-author of the report. The study’s findings suggest that emergency medical services statewide have an opportunity to improve their language and cultural literacy to better serve the needs of their Latino patients. The study identified factors that kept Latinos from using emergency services prior to the pandemic, including concerns about the costs of emergency care and fears that interaction with public safety officials could endanger their immigration status. After the pandemic began, their use of emergency services for urgent respiratory illness pointed to the toll COVID-19 took on Latino essential workers and families. — Rodrigo Dominguez-Villegas

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