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Equal
Justice Society e-Newsletter - Issue 8 - Fall 2006
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SUBSCRIBE IN THIS ISSUE Letter from the President: Connecting the Dots Notes on the Right: The Enduring Importance of Strategy EJS December 8 Fundraiser Features Harriet Tubman Jazz Oratorio Vote Yes on 89: 'Clean Money' Initiative First California, Now Michigan: Putting Race up for a Vote Supreme Court to Revisit Brown v. Board in School Cases EJS, CTA Look at Unconscious Bias in Schools U.N. Committee Criticizes Racism in U.S. New Voting Rights Act Under Attack A First Look at the Roberts Court Latina/o Law Student Symposium Foundations Support EJS Efforts to Balance Racial Justice Debate Farewell from our Irmas Fellow
Newsletter
Editors: |
Affirming Latina/o Realities in California: Hastings Symposium Tackles Tough Issues
UC Hastings' La Raza Law Students Association hosted its first annual symposium, "Affirming Latina/o Realties in California" on October 19 at the Hiram Johnson State Building in San Francisco. Symposium Co-Chair Xochtil Marquez said the event was intended to "build communities under the umbrella of empowerment, especially in consideration of the important issues that will be decided in the November election." "The symposium and its panels were presented like a case: there was a discovery, cause of action, and restitution phase, explained Co-chair Daniel Luna. "In the discovery phase we learned about the changing demographics of Latinos and the implications for our education and political clout. In the cause of action phase we focused on issues affecting particular individuals within the Latino/a community: youth, immigrants and LGBTQ. In the restitution phase we focused on the importance of coalition building and the broader social justice movement." Dr. Luis Fraga, an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Stanford University, tackled the complex questions of changing demographics in the Latina/o community, looking at Latina/o voters, the strength of numbers of Latinas/os now and in the future, and what this means for California. Speakers included luminaries in the legal field: the Honorable Cruz Reynoso, former California Supreme Court Justice, Anamaria Loya, executive director of La Raza Centro Legal, Jose Padilla, executive director California Rural Legal Assistance and Dr. Carlos Munoz, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley. All of the speakers emphasized the importance of giving back to the community, and the key strategy of coalition building among our many disenfranchised communities. "The purpose of our 1st annual Latino/a law symposium was to provide a safe space to discuss the latest issues affecting our communities," explained Luna. "We envisioned an educational forum that would provide useful information for voters and community members to make informed decisions at the ballot and in everyday life. We knew this would be difficult because of the misperceptions and misinformation in the mainstream rhetoric. "I
am very inspired by the success of the symposium, and hope that
this becomes an annual tradition. We provided those in attendance
with a useful method of analyzing critical issues that face our
communities," he added.
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The Equal Justice Society (www.equaljusticesociety.org) is a national advocacy organization strategically advancing social and racial justice through law and public policy, communications and the arts, and alliance building. Serving as guiding principles for its programmatic goals, we contend that a) the United States has not achieved racial equity; and b) government and other institutions must actively intervene in order to advance racial justice. Equal Justice Society, 220 Sansome St, 14th Flr, San Francisco, CA 94104, Ph (415) 288-8700 |