Community Empowerment

Although Latin Women in Action is concerned with all Hispanic women throughout the world, we are located in Queens, New York and so we must concentrate our efforts in this county.

What is community empowerment?

For some, community empowerment is the ability for a group to empower others to create a chain reaction that translates to others by multiplying and expanding that knowledge until an entire neighborhood, community or society becomes self-sufficient.

How do we empower Hispanics?

Hispanics have a strong sense of community, strong moral values and respect for others, the search for unity. What evades this society about Hispanics is the fact that although these people arrive in this country with little or nothing to start a new life with, they go on to establish themselves from scratch. While struggling to survive, they dispatch most of the money earned to their families back home. Some settle themselves here but many do accumulate their savings and build back home with the purpose of returning to start their own business or retire to a prosperous lifestyle. Like most immigrants, Hispanics wish for the American "dream" which is; to have a home, car, money, and leisure. Some accomplish this dream while the vast majority sacrifice themselves in order for the family to join them in this country. 

What does Community Empowerment have to do with anything?

When Hispanics come to this land, they come with big fantasies of becoming rich easily because in the United States of their dreams there are no homeless people, no immigration laws that prevents them from working. What a shock to find out that this city has many homeless people and that new arrivals must immediately find a job or starve. What a shock to find out that they cannot work because the $7, 000 or $10,000 they had when they left home, was paid to a coyote to cross them over the border. Now they have nothing in their hands and no work because there is no work unless they have an employment authorization to work on the books. The professional as well as the uneducated sometimes find themselves performing the same tasks. Working off the books to survive. The American dream is no longer a dream but a hard reality. The married man/woman must confront the issue of breaking their family unity and obtain a mutually agreeable divorce (but still remain a couple in the same home) in order to be bequeathed with the jewel of a GREEN CARD.

Where is Community Empowerment in all this?

Back home, Hispanic did not have to cope with self identity. They characterized themselves as Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, Dominicans, Colombians etc, etc. Upon arriving here, they are faced with the dilemma of non-identity. Now, not only do are they encountered with being addressed as Mexicans, Colombians etc, but also Latino/Hispanic, Newyorican, Chicanos, etc. This can dilute any person's identity. As they merge themselves in this society, they must also learn to incorporate their other Hispanic ethnic groups. The Spanish language unites all Hispanics but all Hispanics are distinct. Even the language is spoken differently by each group. Their idiosyncrasies are atypical. Although we all have the same basic needs, there is a contrast in the way we see and deal with each other. Some claim to be latinos others identify themselves as Hispanic and still go by their country of origin. Notwithstanding all these nuances, we all claim to have a need to unify ourselves.

What unity are we talking about?

Hispanics deal with each other in a very unique sort of way. Each group expects to resolve particular issues on their own. If another group gets involved there is conflict. Thus, unity for Hispanics means coming together culturally but remaining independent ethnically. The same unfolds in relation to politics. There seems to be a special aura surrounding white candidates. Hispanics flock to them without much compulsion. In the event a Hispanic candidate runs, there are cosmic demands from each particular latino group. The issue of preference and acceptance by one group or another arises and the candidate confronts a battle to be dispensed with. We can conclude that Hispanics have a long way to concoct methods to unite. That is why the issue of empowerment among Hispanics becomes a very ambitious proposition. It is the type of undertaking which dictates well conceptualized techniques and strategic work plans.

There is a need to bring Hispanics together without annihilating each group's idiosyncracies and expectations. Essentially, we need to reach a consensus, which is that as Hispanics we face the same problems at every level in this society. There are certain barriers which we must cross before we can evolve. We must accept each other for what we are. We must conduct an analysis of our hunger for power. This is not a normal ambition but a sickness which destroys us. Each group wants what the other has. While Hispanics have to navigate in the survival of the fittest in this white society, we face the same agonizing predicament among ourselves. 

There's a need for a consciousness raising consultation. Year after year many organizations throughout the nation hold cultural as well as empowerment conferences, caucuses, consortiums, and forums with the purpose of achieving unity but we are still in its genesis. Forty years and counting and we have not been able to find a solution to the empowerment of the Hispanic community. Many may contradict us but that is exactly the essence of the conundrum, we are in denial. Evidently we have been apprehensive about appearing detached so we cover up real well. Are we petrified this society will see the internal ethnic division? If we are, we will never find the antidote. And so although we strive and plan for empowerment, until we reach consensus, empowerment will continue to be an illusive state with adversity behind it.

The latina woman and empowerment

At times we ask ourselves; why is a latina woman so distrustful of another? We hypothesize that what divides us is not jealousy but fear of each other. Fear of an intangible something that should belong to us. Thus the community becomes our man whom we are jealous of and other women become our adversaries. So how do we empower a distrustful group of women? Our mission: For Latin Women in Action, Inc. empowerment has been the foremost goal to be achieved. Since its inception we have been arduously engaged in empowering latina women. While the world of foundations and non-profits has been actively advocating for program implementation through development of consortiums and coalitions, we have limited our mission at working with a few latinas at a time. 

We get to know each other as latinas, understanding our idiosyncrasies, learning about each other's country, customs and culture; and making certain these women grow through hands-on experience by participating in the different platforms which exist in the community. Participation in community boards, hospital boards, school board elections, the electoral process, promoting educational growth and development as well as integrating themselves into the mainstream of society is the objective. 

The Outcome?

Empowerment to us is the means to become completely self-sufficient with the ability to duplicate the process and advancing it to others at the community level or on an individual basis. To date we have been successful but there is still a long way to go. Empowerment is a fraction of the multitude of impediments facing us but the narrow road is getting considerably expansive as we meet the goals we set for ourselves. Success is within ourselves and we take the challenge.