The Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg is hosting its first Latinx Virtual Convening this Saturday, October 24, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. EST with author, organizer and professor Paul Ortiz presenting the keynote. There is no charge to attend and participants must register at https://HealthyStPete.Foundation/MiGente.
¿y dónde está mi gente? LatinX inVISIBLE seeks to engage those who identify as Latinas, Latinos, Hispanics, Spanish speakers and the various network leaders to reach and support the visible and invisible among us. The title of the event raises the question of how visible or invisible is the Latinx, Latino, Latina, Hispanic community in Pinellas County, where this diverse population has a smaller footprint than elsewhere in Florida.
“Race Equity is only achieved when the challenges and lived experiences of those people discriminated against due to culture and/or the color of their skin are heard. We have to listen, identify issues, remove barriers for the invisible, activate solutions and orient our culture toward a reality that includes expansion from the Latinx, Latino, Latina, Hispanic communities,” said Foundation President and CEO Randall H. Russell.
Keynote speaker Paul Ortiz, organizer, professor and author of an African American and Latinx History of the United States, will address movement building from an inter-ethnic perspective and contextualize lessons from history about achieving freedom and civil rights today.
The program will also include community leaders and residents of the Tampa Bay area exploring the state of health equity, education and the path toward citizenship in the Latinx Community – Pinellas County’s fastest-growing demographic.
Event organizer and consultant to the Foundation, Jessica Estévez, founder and principle of Estrategia Group, says, “Among the goals of this unprecedented gathering are to increase visibility and move forward as a more united Latinx community. What brings us all together to celebrate, to mobilize, to serve? The goal of our convening is to learn from our history and begin to ask questions that promote equity, explore citizenship, the state of our health and education, while cultivating ideas for collective impact.”
By 2050, the Latinx population in Pinellas County is anticipated to increase to 22 percent from 9 percent (2016 data). As people of color continue to grow as a share of the workforce and population, their healthy and social and economic well-being will greatly influence the county’s future success and prosperity.
Registration is free and open to all. Simultaneous interpretation in Spanish will also be available. Visit https://HealthyStPete.Foundation/MiGente for details.
About the Foundation
The Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg is a private foundation formed in 2013 following the sale of the nonprofit Bayfront Health St. Petersburg. The Foundation inspires and empowers people, ideas, information exchange, organizations and relationships to end differences in health due to structural racism, advance health equity and improve population health. https://healthystpete.foundation
About Estrategia Group
Estrategia Group is a human capital and resource development company building capacity for equity and leadership through ideas, strategies, and solutions. Formed in Florida 2010, serving a cross-sector audience nationally and internationally, Estrategia Group fuels equity, culture, and leadership. To connect with us visit http://www.estrategiagroup.com/