The Latino community in Boston faces many of the same issues around race and inequality as the Black community. For Latinos, one of the biggest challenges has been to find ways to unite and raise a collective voice that reflects the size and breadth of the city’s Latino population. Latinos are more than 20% of the Boston population — and 12% of the population of Massachusetts.

Despite these numbers, an August editorial in the Globe correctly pointed out that our influence across sectors does not match our size.

So how do we change the dynamic?

First, we need to embrace our common interests.

The Latino and Black communities are not monolithic. This proud diversity has challenged efforts to raise a collective voice.

Today, though, a few initiatives are underway to confront these challenges, including one sparked by tragedy. The Massachusetts United for Puerto RicoFund, housed at the Boston Foundation, has brought together a vast spectrum of Latino and non-Latino supporters in a collective effort that has continued even as Puerto Rico falls off the front pages.

That uniting element is critical.

Read the full article on Boston’s Latino community by Aixa Beauchamp at Medium