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Issue Brief

Latino Civic Engagement - Overview

Goal Statement   one sentence that further defines the topic

•  To increase Latino civic, community, and political engagement through community-based organizations. 

Local/State/National Information    additional information on this topic at the local, state, national, global level

• Latino Civic Engagement - USA

• Latino Civic Engagement - Washington State

• Latino Civic Engagement - Pasco, WA

• Latino Civic Engagement - Quincy, WA

• Latino Civic Engagement - Walla Walla, WA 

Policy Options / Model Programs   link to profiles of specific policies or program models, grouped by type 

1. Collaborative neighborhood improvement projects that serve as a spark to greater civic engagement
2. Extra-curricular enrichment programs engage both students and parents in civic and political information and activities.
3. School-sponsored service learning connects students to their local communities encourages civic participation. 
4. The creation of common community spaces (like a community center) provides a place for discussion and trust building.
5. Legislative education and action as an organizational strategy engages communities in public life even when they do not have a history of political involvement and even in an unwelcoming political environment.

Other approaches:

• Educational Programs — Nation-wide educational enrichment programs such as GEAR UP, 21st Century and the TRIO programs provide a possible pathway to increasing education, ability and familiarity in civic and political processes for students and their parents (Blake, 1998). 
• Religious Centers — Churches, as community centers and places of trust and respect provide another key pathway to utilizing pre-existing social networks to share information and increase participation in civic and political processes (McMiller, 2005). 
• Local Healthcare Facilities — Healthcare facilities, specifically those which are small enough to serve a local community rather than large-scale hospitals serving urban areas, have high community exposure to share information and frequently are already giving programs and workshops for health-related issues (Marschall, 2001). 
• Advocacy Groups — Advocacy groups have used both institutional and non-institutional channels to mobilize the Latino community for policy changes at the national level. To contest the enactment of English-only Laws, Latino organizations held protests at Arizona’s state capital, boycotted businesses in support of English-only legislation in California, and testified in the Texas legislature (Santoro, 2005). 
• National Umbrella Organizations — National coordinating organizations such as National Council of La Raza (NCLA), the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the offices of each Secretary of State and other governmental departments with civic and political participation responsibilities are able to mirror, collaborate with and/or empower these local programs (Camp, 2003). 
• Neighborhood-based mobilization — Neighborhoods are a prime, inescapable area of social interaction. Huckfeldt (1979) combined survey data of Illinois with census data to show that the neighborhood social context has an important effect on the extent of political participation. Huckfeldt focused on neighborhoods because they are a prime, inescapable area of social interaction. 
• Additional Ideas
• As a source of “constant political and social stimuli” it is important that individuals feel comfortable in their neighborhood. After analyzing data from a two-wave national sample survey conducted by the Center for Political Studies in 1979, Weatherford (1982) wrote that “The individual will be more likely to socialize actively with his neighborhood the more positively he feels about the neighborhood and the more integrated he is into the neighborhood as a spatial focus for important activities” (125). If the individual feels positively about his neighbors and trusts them, he is more likely to get involved in his community. 
• Camp (2003) said that “Trust in fellow citizens is complemented by trust in institutions, which measures the basic, underlying confidence citizens have in their social and political organizations and, consequently, in their political and social models.” (10) Neighborhood organizations have the potential to increase this trust by building relationships between individual and then showing them what institutions, as demonstrated through an increased police presence or other positive societal actions, can do to help them. 
• McMillar (2005) recommends that inclusion in instrumental groups, such as neighborhood organizations or political clubs, is needed to help Latinos and blacks sustain a high degree of political involvement and achieve their political aims (461).

Glossary of Terms   key words or phrases that the layperson needs to know to understand this issue  

• Civic engagement - active citizenship where the individual has a voice in determining desired services and social needs of the community and implementing those changes
• Civic and Political Processes – Anything which affects the functioning of the community or town, ranging from voting in elections to attending town meetings to contacting government officials and resources at all levels.
• Cycle of Non-Participation – When communities (especially minority communities) are excluded from the civic and political process because the community lacks the critical mass of participatory knowledge which enables members to both know where to seek resources and also have the information to empower each other. In communities with cycles of non-participation, traditional means of engagement, such as being empowered to participate by a friend/family member or gaining information from a media source are not effective.
• Group consciousness - an identity that develops when a group recognizes their status as being part of a deprived group. See Stokes (2003).
• Mobilization - the act of prompting an individual to become an active citizen
• Neighborhood-based organization (NBO)- an organization that develops relationships with individual neighborhoods or a group that is formed by individual neighbors joining together
• Political participation - active engagement by individuals and groups with governmental processes that affect their lives
• Political socialization – Gaining the information and skills necessary to actively participate in civic and political processes
• Social context - cultural and geographic variables that are crucial for understanding the context within which social policy is developed
• Socioeconomic status (SES) - an individual's or family’s economic and social position relative to others, based on income, education, and occupation. When analyzing a family’s SES, the household income earners' education and occupation are examined, as well as combined income, versus with an individual, when their own attributes are assessed

Bibliography

• Bedolla, L. (2004). Resources and Civic Engagement: The Importance of Social Capital for Latino Political Incorporation. 41-54
• Blake, J. H., (1998). The full circle: TRIO programs, higher education, and the American future – toward a new vision of democracy. The Journal of Negro Education. 67 (4). 329-332.
• Camp, R. A., (2003). Learning democracy in Mexico and the United States. Mexican Studies /Estudios Mexicanos. 19 (1). 3-27.
• Diaz, W. A., (1996). Latino participation in America; associational and political roles. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 18 (2), 154-174.
• Geron, Kim (2005). Latino Political Power. Colorado: Lynn Rienner Publishers.
• Huckfeldt, R. (1979). Political Participation and the Neighborhood Social Context. American Journal of Political Science, 23, 579-592
• Hritzuk, N., Park, D. K., (2000). The question of Latino participation: from SES to a social structure explanation. Social Science Quarterly. 81 (1). 151-166.
• Interview with Louis Gonzales from Commitment to Community, February 9th, tape recorded 20 minutes, Democratic Caucus
• Interview with Federico Diaz from Commitment to Community on February 25th digitally recorded  55 minutes, Reid Campus Center 
• Jackson, R. A., (2003). Differential influences on Latino electoral participation. Political Behavior. 25 (4). 339-366.
• Kittleson, Miki Caul, and Tate, Katherine (2005). Political Parties, Minorities, and Elected Office. In C. Wolbrecht and R. Hero (Ed.), The Politics of Democratic Inclusion. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
• Leighley, Jan E (2005).  Race, Ethnicity, and Electoral Mobilization: Where’s the Party? In C.
•  Santoro, Wayne A. (1999). Conventional Politics Takes Center Stage: The Latino Struggle Against English-Only Laws. Social Forces 77, 887-909.
• Wolbrecht and R. Hero (Ed.), The Politics of Democratic Inclusion. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. 

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