This Latino/a and Hispanic Heritage Month, SEIU Local 1000’s Latin@ Committee is celebrating the history, culture and contributions of our communities by honoring the power of people coming together.
Honoring the Chicano Moratorium
In August, the Latin@ Committee joined the 56th Annual Chicano Moratorium at East Los Angeles College. The event commemorated the August 29, 1970, march, when thousands gathered in East Los Angeles to protest the Vietnam War and bring attention to the disproportionate number of Mexican Americans being drafted and killed.
The movement also called attention to the need for better educational opportunities and greater equality. As Latin@ Committee Chair David Jimenez shared, “Since then, educational opportunities have improved and the discrimination is not so overt, but we continue in the same struggle for social justice today.”
The Chicano Moratorium reminds us of what is possible when communities unite around the issues that affect them. “It’s important to bring awareness to the collective power we have when people unite,” David Jimenez said. “It’s important to show pride in our culture, our differences, and hopefully being able to love each other despite those superficial differences because in the end we are all part of the same human race.”
Building Solidarity
The Latin@ Committee also joined the Inland Empire Labor Day Parade and Unity Picnic, bringing together workers, unions and community members to celebrate solidarity and the strength of our communities.
These events reflect the Latin@ Committee’s ongoing commitment to honoring our history, celebrating our culture and continuing the work of building stronger communities together.