¡Avancemos Ya! Advancing Latino Prosperity in Massachusetts

WBUR Senior Arts & Culture Reporter Cristela Guerra led a panel to discuss the report and engage with audience questions submitted via the online chat. With passion and deep knowledge, Lawrence City Councilor Pavel Payano, McKinsey Partner Lucy Pérez, and UMass Associate Professor and Gastón Institute Director Lorna Rivera kept the interpreters on their toes with a rapid flow of insights, facts and ideas. They covered what surprised them (or didn’t) about the report and explored systemic challenges around race, housing, childcare, the digital economy, lack of philanthropic support for Latinos, and monolingual education policies.

But it was impossible not to keep coming back to the assets of our Latino communities. Among the opportunities facing the state now, the discussion highlighted the federal infrastructure bill as a way to drive positive change in both neighborhood improvements and Latino employment, how to build on successes to date, how to get legislators to act on changes they may so far only passively support, and how to better utilize the strengths of our Latino people and communities.

As Payano put it, “Being an immigrant community, we look at obstacles and we see opportunity and hope. We see struggle as just par for the course—which is both good and bad—and we strive for success.” The drive is there and the time is right, with a mismatch of employer needs and workforce skills, for initiatives to connect the players. Peréz shared that “so many of our clients are increasingly asking how to drive sustainable and inclusive growth. That naturally has to dovetail with the question of how we support Latinos, an economic engine in our country.” And this forum raised many possible ways to do that, from homeownership to education and immigration reform. “Start with universal child care beyond nine to five,” Rivera suggested.

LEF Co-Chair Juan Fernando Lopera closed the event, saying, “It is heartbreaking to see the challenges in this report, but I see it as a call to action.” Recalling his own father’s and others’ immigrant journeys, he said: “Tenacity, courage and initiative are what represent our community.” Indeed, when we repair systems so that our Latino communities may thrive, their resilience, creativity and entrepreneurship will—as Secretary Acosta’s equation attests—drive our state’s future growth.