Los Angeles Conference Highlights Lack of a Unifying Latino Leader

 

A former Chicago Tribune reporter and writer, Melita Garza instructs on subjects such as media history and journalism as an assistant professor at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. Melita Garza is a longstanding member and a former vice president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ).

NAHJ was recently in the news for helping organize a National Town Hall discussion in tandem with a variety of media organization leaders. Held in downtown Los Angeles, the two-day HISPANICIZE LA event focused on identifying new cultural and political leaders among the 55 million Latinos who make the United States their home.

Workshops featured a number of journalists, film producers, and social media mavens, with one well-attended event focusing on the question "Where Is the Latino Jesse Jackson When You Need Him?” The lack of such a unifying figure was reflected in a 2010 Pew Hispanic Research Center survey in which 74 percent of participants were unable to name a single Latino leader.

The conference revealed that, while some are for such a leader, others view the concept of a “Jesse Jackson model” as outdated and not reflective of the multi-faceted nature of the Latino community and the various experiences that inform it.