Latinos Matter and LatinosMatter.com were founded on Dec. 30, 2009. Based in Texas, its 3 founders were born in El Paso and are lifelong Texans.
Do Latinos Matter? Why do Latinos Matter?
These are questions that we’re asked often. Doesn’t everyone matter?
They do, of course. But Black Lives Matter explained it best when they clarified that BLM really means “Black Lives Matter, too.”
Latinos Matter was actually founded years before the Black Lives Movement was created in July of 2013. During the 2009 holiday season, we (Emily, Hector and Bryan) hunched over a computer trying to find a name for our little project: getting Latinos to care about politics and public policy.
We’re now the largest minority group, and we need to step up to the plate: take our seat at the policy table, so to speak.
As Latino political geeks, we wondered whether there were other like-minded Latinos who would be interested in the news stories that were important for America. Twitter was really taking off, so we figured this would be a great way to share the news — and to keep a running history of what was taking place in our nation.
The first step was to buy a domain name, and after a few attempts at site names that included the word “Latinos,” a lightbulb went off when we combined the words Latinos and Matter: LatinosMatter.com and @LatinosMatter on Twitter were born.
The name was perfect!
Coincidentally, just a few months earlier I had read that Latinos were projected to become the majority in Texas sometime in the next decade (around 2020-2021, which is now almost upon us). I had moved to Dallas from El Paso and remember reading the article to my assistant enthusiastically.
“It won’t matter,” she responded with a smirk, mockingly. “Ya’ll don’t vote.”
As much as I wanted to be angry with her, she was right! Latinos don’t vote in numbers that are proportionate to our population, hence the need for Latinos Matter.
Now more than ever, we all need to pay attention and to make our voices heard.
Recently, we joined the latest news-sharing trend: PODCASTS! Our Latinos Matter podcast, ¡Oye! (which means Listen! or Hey!), is our latest attempt to show that Latinos are part of the discussion; that we are engaged; and that we are very much working to influence public policy.
It’s about time. ¡Adelante, todos!
Emily, Hector and Bryan
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Emily Jauregui, MBA | Public Policy, Marketing, Print Journalism & Communications background
Hector Montes, Master’s in Education | Radio Broadcasting, Public Relations, Politics & Education background
Bryan Alcantar, majoring in Digital Media | Digital & Video Editor and aspiring screenwriter and director