Our COmmunity Efforts
Oregon Latinx Leadership Network
It is time for Oregon to dismantle inequitable systems and reconstruct them with an equity lens to ensure they respond to, serve, and represent the racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic diversity of Oregon. This work must be done in partnership with the diverse communities of Latinx/a/o, Black, Indigenous, and other people of color leaders and community-based organizations.
Although the future is uncertain, equity must remain a driving value in Oregon’s decision making. As we respond to immediate and long-term impacts of the pandemic, climate change-driven fires, as well as racism—its own centuries-long pandemic—we urge our state leaders to make bold, racial equity-focused budget and policy decisions that prioritize Oregonians most severely impacted.
We are ready to partner and work together to respond to this moment, while looking toward a much broader horizon and long-term vision. We must be building generational strategies that ensure all Oregonians not just survive, but thrive.
pillars for generational strategies
State Racial / Ethnic Equity Plans
OLLN, and representatives of many partners in our network, along with people from a range of communities of color across the state, are working with the Governor’s Racial Justice Council and Racial Justice Committees, and the Multidisciplinary Advisory Council to develop equity plans.
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Indigenous Mesoamerican Rights
Indigenous Mesoamerican peoples are culturally and linguistically diverse with histories of presence in the American continent dating back thousands of years. The Oregon Latinx Leadership Network (OLLN) advocates for the recognition of the indigenous Mesoamerican peoples within the Hispanic-Latinx community living in and serving the state of Oregon.
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Equitable Resource Allocations
Strategic resource allocations by the state must ensure equitable outcomes for the Latinx community, and other historically under-resourced communities. We must go beyond first come, first served to ensure true access. As the state works to address future revenue shortfalls, we urge state leaders to:
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Statewide Communications
The state must provide guidance and make the necessary budgetary commitment for multilingual communications. It is critical for Latinx communities to receive timely, accessible, and culturally and linguistically appropriate (Spanish and Indigenous languages and dialects) information that is distributed in multiple forms. This work must be paired with access to navigation support through trusted community partners. Failure to invest in equity-centered statewide communication systems and practices, has had major health implications for our communities and cost lives during this pandemic. We urge the state to:
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Representation & Shared Power
To achieve equitable representation and to appropriately serve our community, Latinx/a/o people must be represented in management and leadership, and be included in strategic conversations prior to the deployment of policy and services. The state must provide clear guidance and make the necessary budget commitment across agencies for hiring and contracting Latinx/a/o and Mesoamerican Indigenous bilingual and bicultural people and culturally-specific organizations. To this end, Oregon must:
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