El Pueblo Inc

TO BUILD COLLECTIVE POWER THROUGH LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT, ORGANIZING, AND DIRECT ACTION SO THAT THE LATIN AMERICAN COMMUNITY AND OTHER MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES CONTROL OUR OWN STORIES AND DESTINIES.

DEVELOPING LEADERS TO TAKE ACTION:SINCE MID-MARCH 2020, EL PUEBLO STAFF HAS BEEN WORKING REMOTELY AND HAS SHIFTED TO A VIRTUAL PLATFORM, RELYING MOSTLY ON ZOOM AND FACEBOOK LIVE FOR OUTREACH AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES. EVEN THOUGH NOT EVERYONE HAD ACCESS OR WAS FAMILIAR WITH THE TECHNOLOGY, WE HAVE ALL BEEN LEARNING AND GOING VIRTUAL HAS ALSO MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH TRANSPORTATION CHALLENGES TO ACCESS OUR PROGRAMMING. EVEN THOUGH EL PUEBLOS PROGRAMMING PLATFORM SHIFTED, THE CONTENT OF OUR LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT WORK CONTINUES TO BE GUIDED BY THOSE MOST CLOSELY IMPACTED BY IMMIGRATION POLICIES. BESIDES FACILITATING SESSIONS ON COVID-19, ITS IMPACT AND SAFETY PRECAUTIONS, WE OFFERED SESSIONS ON MENTAL HEALTH, INCLUDING YOGA, MEDITATION, HEALING ACTIVITIES AND DEVELOPING COPING MECHANISMS; PEER-TO-PEER LEARNING AND TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES ON CIVIC ENGAGEMENT, CENSUS, VIRTUAL PHONE BANKING AND CANVASSING; ON HOW GOVERNMENT WORKS AND ANALYZING POWER DYNAMICS AT THE FEDERAL, STATE, COUNTY AND CITY LEVEL; ON STRATEGIZING WITH AND PREPARING LEADERS TO IMPACT PUBLIC POLICY AROUND THE PANDEMIC AND TO ADVOCATE AROUND THE NEED FOR ECONOMIC SUPPORT FOR THOSE MOST DEEPLY IMPACTED BY IT; AND ON CRAFTING MESSAGING AND SPEAKING WITH ENGLISH AND SPANISH-LANGUAGE MEDIA. A TOTAL OF 15 LATINX YOUTH HAVE BEEN PART OF YOUTH COUNCIL (YC) IN 2020; 36 HAVE BEEN PART OF THE PUEBLO POWER PROGRAM, WHICH CONTINUES TO BE FACILITATED BY YC; THE COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP COUNCIL (CLC) ENGAGED A TOTAL OF 14 MEMBERS; 27 ADULTS HAVE BEEN PART OF THE REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE WORK; AND LA FUERZA, MADE UP OF 18-30 YEAR OLD, HAD 13 YOUNG ADULTS ENGAGED, FOCUSING MOSTLY ON PANDEMIC-RELATED SAFETY, CENSUS AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT WORK. IN NORTH CAROLINA, WE KNOW THAT CORONAVIRUS ISNT JUST A MEDICAL PHENOMENON, IT IS A SOCIAL ONE WITH POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES. THE EARLY INDICATORS OF ECONOMIC IMPACT HAVE ALL THE INGREDIENTS FOR CONSOLIDATION OF POWER AND RESOURCES THAT WILL IMPACT BLACK AND BROWN PEOPLE, IMMIGRANTS, AND LGBTQ COMMUNITIES DISPROPORTIONATELY. RIGHT NOW, MILLIONS OF IMMIGRANT FAMILIES INELIGIBLE FOR GOVERNMENT RELIEF PROGRAMS ARE STRUGGLING. AFTER MASS LAYOFFS IN HOSPITALITY, RETAIL, AND RESTAURANT INDUSTRIES, IMMIGRANT FAMILIES WITHOUT SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS ARE URGENTLY TRYING TO MEET THEIR BASIC NEEDS, AND SCRAMBLING TO FIND MONEY FOR RENT, UTILITIES, AND MEDICAL BILLS. MILLIONS MORE UNDOCUMENTED WORKERS ARE CONTINUING TO SUSTAIN ESSENTIAL INDUSTRIES, THREATENED WITH LAYOFFS IF THEY STAY HOME FROM WORK, FORCING THEM TO CHOOSE BETWEEN AN INCOME AND THEIR FAMILYS SAFETY.DESPITE THIS STRUGGLE, THE $2 TRILLION STIMULUS PACKAGE EXCLUDES FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR MILLIONS OF TAXPAYING UNDOCUMENTED WORKERS AND THEIR FAMILIES. BECAUSE OF OUR COMMITMENT TO EQUITY AND COMMUNITY, WE REFUSE TO LEAVE IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES OUT OF OUR EFFORT TO PROVIDE RELIEF FOR STRUGGLING FAMILIES. PARTNERS ACROSS NORTH CAROLINA (CHARLOTTE, RALEIGH, DURHAM, ASHEVILLE, THE TRIAD) HAVE COME TOGETHER TO BUILD THE IMMIGRANT SOLIDARITY FUND COVID RAPID RESPONSE PROTOCOL WHICH WILL PROVIDE DIRECT CASH ASSISTANCE TO PEOPLE INELIGIBLE FOR GOVERNMENT RELIEF PROGRAMS AND BUILDS ON THE LONG-STANDING RELATIONSHIPS OF FRONTLINE ORGANIZATIONS WITH THE RELATIONSHIPS TO ENSURE RESOURCES GET WHERE THEY ARE MOST NEEDED. WITH AN EYE TOWARD LONG-TERM POWER-BUILDING, PARTNERS WILL WORK WITH THEIR MEMBERS DIRECTLY TO SUPPORT THEIR REQUESTS TO THE FUND, MAKE REFERRALS TO OTHER RESOURCES, CONNECT THEM TO POLICY CAMPAIGNS OF RELEVANCE, AND DEEPEN THEIR RELATIONSHIPS. OUR PARTNERS INCLUDE EL PUEBLO, BLUEPRINT, SIEMBRA NC, COMPAERO INMIGRANTES DE LAS MONTAAS EN ACCIN, AND COMUNIDAD COLECTIVA AND IS HOUSED AT CHURCH WORLD SERVICE WHO HAS DECADES OF EXPERIENCE IN ADMINISTERING FUNDS OF THIS NATURE. TOGETHER, WE WERE COMMITTED TO RAISING $325,000 BY MAY 6 2020.THIS SET-UP WILL ALLOW US TO MEET NEEDS DURING THE CURRENT CRISIS AND ESTABLISH RELATIONSHIPS AND PROTOCOLS SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO ORGANIZE AND PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO IMMIGRANT FAMILIES WHO WILL CONTINUE TO FACE UNIQUE CHALLENGES EVEN WHEN THE VIRUS IS A MEMORY.

POLICY CHANGE: THIS YEAR, OUR EFFORTS INCLUDED ADVOCATING FOR FINANCIAL RELIEF FOR UNDOCUMENTED COMMUNITIES AND FOR THOSE WHO DID NOT QUALIFY FOR THE FEDERAL STIMULUS CHECKS BECAUSE OF THEIR OR THEIR PARTNERS IMMIGRATION STATUS, OPPOSING VOTER INTIMIDATION, AND OPPOSING THE FORCED STERILIZATION OF DETAINEES AT THE IRWIN COUNTY DETENTION CENTER IN GEORGIA.ON 2020, EL PUEBLO BEGAN OUR CIVIC ENGAGEMENT EFFORTS FOR THE PRIMARY ELECTIONS, PARTNERING WITH NALEO TO HAVE 1,337 CONVERSATIONS WITH VOTERS TO ENCOURAGE THEM TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PRIMARIES. VOTERS WHO WERE CONTACTED BY EL PUEBLO VOTED IN THE PRIMARIES AT A RATE OF 24%, 7 PERCENTAGE POINTS HIGHER THAN THE OVERALL 17% TURNOUT OF LATINX VOTERS IN THE STATE. BETWEEN THE PRIMARIES AND THE GENERAL ELECTIONS, WE WORKED WITH PARTNERS THROUGHOUT THE STATE TO DEVELOP AND PROMOTE THE VOTEMOSNC WEBSITE AND TO GENERATE VOTER EDUCATION MATERIALS IN ENGLISH, SPANISH AND BILINGUAL FORMATS. THE WEBSITE FEATURED INFORMATION ABOUT ABSENTEE, EARLY VOTING, AND ELECTION DAY VOTING OPTIONS; THE ABILITY TO RESEARCH ALL OF THE CANDIDATES ON YOUR PERSONALIZED BALLOT WITH NONPARTISAN INFORMATION ABOUT THEIR POSITIONS; AND GENERAL INFORMATION REGARDING HOW TO MAKE A PLAN TO VOTE. USERS COULD SIGN UP FOR EMAIL AND TEXT NOTIFICATIONS SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT MISS IMPORTANT DEADLINES. IN COLLABORATION WITH VOTING RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS AND OTHER LATINX GROUPS, WE PROMOTED THE WEBSITE THROUGH EARNED MEDIA COVERAGE AS WELL AS PRINT, RADIO, AND DIGITAL ADVERTISING. WE ALSO PARTNERED WITH DEMOCRACY NC TO CREATE A SPANISH-LANGUAGE PRINT VOTER GUIDE THAT WAS MAILED TO MORE THAN 100,000 REGISTERED LATINX VOTERS THROUGHOUT THE STATE AND DISTRIBUTED BY LATINX ACROSS THE STATE AT IN-PERSON EVENTS.

CULTURAL CELEBRATION & EXPRESSION:LA FIESTA DEL PUEBLO 2020 WAS A SERIES OF DRIVE-THRU AND VIRTUAL EVENTS CELEBRATING LATIN AMERICAN CULTURE.THE PANDEMIC IMPEDED US FROM HOSTING A LARGE OUTDOOR STREET FESTIVAL AS PLANNED. INSTEAD, THE TEAM PLANNED FOR TWO VIRTUAL EVENTS AND TWO SOCIALLY DISTANT, DRIVE-THRU EVENTS TO MEET THE GOALS TO: 1.) RAISE AWARENESS OF AND CELEBRATE THE DIVERSITY OF LATIN AMERICAN CULTURE THROUGH HIGH QUALITY ARTISTIC DISPLAYS, PERFORMANCES, AND FOOD; 2.) SHARE RESOURCES AND INFORMATION THAT ARE RELEVANT TO THE LATINX COMMUNITY; AND 3.) RECRUIT NEW SUPPORTERS AND ACTIVATE AND DEVELOP THE LEADERSHIP OF EXISTING SUPPORTERS OF EL PUEBLO. THE VIRTUAL EVENTS WERE DESIGNED TO HIGHLIGHT LOCAL MUSIC AND DANCE PERFORMANCES, WHEREAS THE DRIVE-THRU EVENTS WERE DESIGNED TO HIGHLIGHT THE CULINARY AND CRAFTS TRADITIONS. BOTH TYPES OF EVENTS SOUGHT TO CONTINUE TO PROVIDE AN ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY FOR LATINX VENDORS AND PERFORMERS WHO WERE ADVERSELY AFFECTED BY THE PANDEMIC AND EL PUEBLO WAIVED ALL REGISTRATION FEES TO FACILITATE PARTICIPATION.OUR 2020 GOAL WAS TO MAINTAIN REPRESENTATION FROM 15 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES ACROSS LATIN AMERICA THAT ARE REFLECTIVE OF THE LATINX COMMUNITY IN NORTH CAROLINA WITH ONE-QUARTER OF ARTISTS AND PERFORMERS EXPLICITLY IDENTIFYING WITH AFRO-LATINX OR INDIGENOUS TRADITIONS. WITH A MUCH SMALLER NUMBER OF GROUPS REPRESENTED, THE NUMBER OF COUNTRIES WAS SMALLER, WITH SIX COUNTRIES REPRESENTED AND AFRO-LATINX AND INDIGENOUS REPRESENTATION BOTH AT 20%. IN ADDITION, WE HAD HOPE TO EXPAND THE EXTENT THAT LGBTQ+ LATINX CULTURAL REPRESENTATION WAS INCORPORATED IN PERFORMANCES. WHILE THE TEAM WAS NOT ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH THIS THROUGH THE PERFORMANCES, TWO LGBTQ+ LEADERS OFFERED TO SERVE AS MC FOR EACH OF THE VIRTUAL EVENTS, WHICH DID MEET THE GOAL OF INCREASING VISIBILITY.