Today we officially announced the start of the Minnesota Latino Leadership Alliance (MiLLA) by rolling out the 2023 Public Policy Agenda.
With the support of our community and allies, the Minnesota Latino Leadership Alliance will follow and support bills, programs, recommendations, and initiatives that advance the following efforts:
Health and well-being are embedded in our work. MiLLA promises to continue this work in partnership with community and industry experts to distribute information and promote access to affordable healthcare options that are widely needed in our communities.
We are all in support of the work of environmental justice organizations that aim to protect the environment. Ensuring that good-paying jobs that protect the environment are available to Minnesotans, that our park systems continue to be a space that is welcoming to diverse communities, and that federal rebates and incentives are equitably granted.
Economic and workforce development is what LatinoLEAD’s focus is at its core. Our goals as an alliance are to ensure Latinx have all the tools they need to achieve their goals and that employers have the resources to better provide a more inclusive and conscious approach to the workplace.
The organizations that make up this alliance are working to restore access to driver’s licenses for Minnesotans. We aim to expand unemployment benefits to all essential workers and will support legislation that supports unemployment compensation for working Minnesotans.
This alliance supports automatic voter registration for all eligible citizens and a multilingual election infrastructure. Almost 70% of Latinxs in Minnesota are born U.S. citizens. This means we have the numbers – our job now is to mobilize our Latinx voter base and ensure that our voices count.
Arts and cultural development are other topics that our community has stressed as a priority. Our organizations and other Latinx-serving groups organize events throughout the year featuring, highlighting, and celebrating the diverse culture of Latinx communities. We stand in unity with culture activists working towards promoting social change through their work.
Finally, education. The members of MiLLA have been and will continue to be adamant supporters of the legislation, policies, and initiatives that help close the gap in our education system.
Young Latinx are the fastest-growing demographic in Minnesota. We have built relationships with different organizations that work towards an equitable school system in the state. There is still so much left to do to close the educational gap in the state.
It is important to stress that everyone represented in this alliance has already been working alongside one another to push for change that Latinx need in order to truly thrive in Minnesota. Today we’re coming out in front of you all to show the community at large that we’re here. It is our duty as Latinx-led and Latinx-serving organizations, and as community members, to bring these issues to the forefront.
Why is this important?
"Latines represent 6.1% of the Minnesota population; we are 346,000 strong and growing. From the year 2010 to 2020, the Latine population in Minnesota grew by 38.1%. Latines have the highest labor participation rate, own over 12,000 small businesses, and contribute over $600 million in state and local taxes, making this community an important and significant contributor to making the state of Minnesota a beautiful and great place to live.
Among the entire Latine population, 37% are under the age of 18, the youngest community in the state. Between 2000 and 2020, Latine population growth contributed one-quarter of the overall population growth in the state. Notably, 32% of Latines are born outside the U.S., and 68% are US citizens by birth. Median household income is $58,000 per year, the employment rate for Latines is 93%, and we also have the highest employment-to-population ratio, at 73%. Among Latine immigrants, there is diversity in educational attainment when they arrive to the U.S., with many already having graduate or professional degrees, work visas to work for many different types of organizations, and many talents and strengths, all of which generate meaningful social and economic contributions to the state of Minnesota.
Clearly, our Latine community makes many contributions to Minnesota; even so, there are still many disparities caused by systemic issues that must be addressed so that all Latines can live safe and healthy life. For example, 17% of Latines still remain uninsured; 34% are classified as obese; and 8% have been diagnosed with diabetes.
Latine students continue to be systemically underserved by the public education system; 69% are finishing high school within four years, compared to 83% for all Minnesota students. In addition, 22% of Latines have a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 37% for all Minnesotans. Around 15% of the Latino population in MN lives below the poverty level. Finally, I’ll share that Latines live all over the state of Minnesota. Although over 70% of Latinos live in the Twin Cities metro area, counties in Southern Minnesota are home to over 22% of us, with some cities, like Worthington, having Latines as the majority, with over 51% of the entire population of the city having Latine heritage."
Thank you HACER for collecting the information, for more, please visit their website linked here: https://hacer-mn.org/
Learn About the Organizations in MiLLA
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