The voices of Latinos from all walks of life – from the Secretary of Labor to an actress to a mom struggling with being unemployed for the first time ever – are part of a Hispanic Heritage blog carnival, organized by MomsRising, the online and on-the-ground grassroots organization of more than a million members standing up for U.S. families.
The carnival features posts from Latinos who have worked with MomsRising over the years on the variety of issues. They include such luminaries as actress Jessica Alba, Rep. Linda T. Sánchez, Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis and John Trasviña, Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity for the U.S. Department of House and Urban Development –addressing crucial issues like housing discrimination, toxic chemicals at home, the importance of healthy moms and paid sick days, and equal pay for equal work.
The carnival is part of MomsRising’s celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from September 15 to October 15.
“From high-profile Latinas to those struggling to keep their families intact and healthy, the MomsRising blog has benefited from an array of voices that reflect the challenges and contributions of Latinos in the United States,” said Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, executive director of MomsRising, “We couldn’t think of a better time than Hispanic Heritage Month to renew our promise to help Latino families attain the American Dream as part of our mission to achieve economic security for all families in our country, to help all children acquire a healthy start in life, and to end civil and human rights abuses in the name of immigration enforcement.”
Posts assembled for the blog carnival fall into five categories: Hispanic Art and Culture; The Personal Is Political – Latinas Speak Out; Building Healthy Communities; DREAMing of a Better Future; and Our Common Humanity. Other contributors include Paola Mendoza, a filmmaker and actress who writes movingly of her mother’s experiences as a Colombian immigrant in the United States; Luz Villafana, a grandmother and first-time blogger who writes of her support for the DREAM Act, the long-sidelined legislation that provides a path to citizenship for certain undocumented youth; Elisa Batista of MotherTalkers.com, who writes about California’s Healthy Families program helping moms of color; and Maria Ramirez, a MomsRising member who writes in Spanish to urge U.S. leaders not to cut Medicaid.
To visit the MomsRising Hispanic Heritage Month blog carnival, go to: www.momsrising.org/blog/momsrising-celebrates-hispanic-heritage-month-%e2%80%93-con-mucho-gusto/