Last Saturday I joined @ 300 Hispanic community members, politicians, organizers, members of the media, and representatives from various organizations in the Houston Area Latino Summit. The purpose of the meet was to discuss issues relevant to the community. It was coordinated/led by Houston City Council Member James Rodriguez.
I promised to post my tweets from that day, so here I am (just a few days late):
sandrasays: I don’t know if there’s a hashtag for this, so will use #latinosummit for this. will be here until 1pm.sandrasays: i have run into a couple dozen people I know including current and former members of the media, city PR staff, #latinosummit
sandrasays: also board members for community organizations, at least one independent filmmaker, and other friends #latinosummit
sandrasays: the room is hot! have been fed, am having starbucks coffee and sitting comfortabky (other than the heat) #latinosummit
sandrasays: remarks by state representative rick noriega #latinosummit
sandrasays: Dr. Stephen Klineberg is discussing the importance of the census #latinosummit
sandrasays: “Houston has a more even distribution of the four great communities than any other city in America” says Klineberg #latinosummit
sandrasays: Dr. Klineberg always does a great presentation about demographic trends in Houston. even if u think u know, it’s remarkable #latinosummit
sandrasays: education, workforce preparation is very important to the future of Houston says Klineberg #latinosummit
sandrasays: “everyone is entitled to their opinions, but everyone isn’t entitled to their own facts” #latinosummit
sandrasays: “houston’s diversity is a tremendous potential asset for this major port in the global economy” Klineberg #latinosummit
sandrasays: current topic “demographic change and districting” #latinosummit
sandrasays: hispanic population is disproportionately *) below 18 yrs old, *) younger adults, *) non-citizen, *) loewr income #latinosummit
sandrasays: “no evidence that hispanic participation is lower than anglos with the same socioeconomic characteristics” #latinosummit
sandrasays: discussion of neighborhoods historically high-hispanic with “new high cost housing” changing the dynamics of the community #latinosummit
sandrasays: “hispanic population growth has begun to concentrate in new, hard to dsitrict areas” #latinosummitsandrasays: almost as many hispanic students in conrose high school as in jeff davis high school (WOW!) #latinosummit
sandrasays: areas being discussed are West Harris County, Alief ISD, Hiram Clarke #latinosummit
sandrasays: Houston city council districts with high spanish surname registered voters: I, H, F, A #latinosummit
sandrasays: District I 43%, District H 36.5%, District F 18.5%, District A 17.4% #latinosummit
sandrasays: Spanish surname oters in new areas: West Harris County 18.9%, Hiram Clarke 18.3%, Alief 14.1% #latinosummitsandrasays: Discussion of need for workforce preparation is interesting, especially for me #latinosummit
sandrasays: @houstonlibrary is still in launch mode for Digital Inclusion Initiative, which focuses on digital literacy (computer skills) #latinosummit
sandrasays: Q&A session with Dr. Klineberg and Jerry Wood. Interesting questions. #latinosummit
sandrasays: nearly every meeting I’ve been to in the last two weeks has had census as major discussion. this includes personal lunches. #latinosummit
sandrasays: today is no different, accurate census is important, census is important, census is important #latinosummit
sandrasays: Jerry Wood is trying to answer “political philosophical question” of why we need at large council positions #latinosummit
sandrasays: next is Diana Davila, HISD trustee #latinosummit
sandrasays: @choicestoday is here as well. yeah! have beeninvited to post-summit lunch. #latinosummit
sandrasays: HISD is huge! Interesting to hear what they offer, especially in special programs/educational venues #latinosummit
sandrasays: HISD has early colleges where students graduate with a high school diploma and an associate’s degree #latinosummit
sandrasays: @choicestoday who’s with you at the #latinosummit?
sandrasays: all HISD high schools offer dual credit enrollment #latinosummit
sandrasays: looking at stats for enrollment vs completion for dual enrollment. standard seems to be @ 50% completion rate, +/- 5% #latinosummit
sandrasays: sory, mistyped, 50% compltion is for AP, nearly 100% for dual credit. why the difference? #latinosummit
sandrasays: HISD drop out tates: hispanics 66% #latinosummit
sandrasays: Ok, of the 22% of the students who drop out, 66% are hispanic. (another example of why I am no good at reading stats) #latinosummit
sandrasays: of the drop outs, only 7% are immigrants. only 18% are liminted english. 66% are hispanic #latinosummit
sandrasays: I am wondering what the overlap is in these stats? how many students are part of all three pools? #latinosummit
sandrasays: educational income comparison: less than high school @ $20-$27K #latinosummit
sandrasays: high school diploma @ $41K; certificate $48K; associate degree $56K; bachelor’s $60K+ #latinosummit
sandrasays: there are national averages. Houston real incomes for these may be less. #latinosummit
sandrasays: info provided by HCC. salaries are based on national average. #latinosummit
sandrasays: Professional note, every presenter so far has done a really good job with their presentations #latinosummit
sandrasays: speaking to a room with 300 active, vocal members of the community is not easy. credit to them for making it look easy. #latinosummit
sandrasays: another note, this is a lot of preachiing to the choir #latinosummit
sandrasays: “el respeto al derecho ajeno da la pa” #latinosummit
sandrasays: “el respeto al derecho ajeno da la paz” means repecting others’ rights (and property) gives way to peace #latinosummit
sandrasays: next topic is immigation reform, presentations due by attorneys from Vinson & Elkings and Foster Quan #latinosummit
sandrasays: 10-year-old reporter for Time Life Kids was just introduced. So cute! #latinosummit
sandrasays: presentation by Foster Quan is the best yet. Great facts, powerpoint, speaking points #latinosummit
sandrasays: “we are not doing enough” for immigration reform, says lawyer presenting now (what’s his name? was distracted) #latinosummit
sandrasays: sensible reforms: secure our borders; create an efficient temporary worker program; create a fast, … #latinosummit
sandrasays: … {{I don’t type fast enough! missed a few good ones}} SENSIBLE ACTIONS: earned media… {{missed more}} #latinosummit
sandrasays: 76% of polled support letting children brought into the country illegally to stay here legelly #latinosummit
sandrasays: 72% of polled think that if you serve in armed forces you should be given chance to become legal/resident #latinosummit
sandrasays: 72%, are the other 28% going to Iraq in theri stead? (asks the lawyer) #latinosummit span>
sandrasays: we need to get involved, it’s our responsiility to make our elected officials accountable #latinosummit
sandrasays: lawyer says check out www.americansforimmigrationreform.com for more info #latinosummit
sandrasays: Anna Nunez is giving info from her seat: nclr.org, americasvoiceonline.org, truthinimmigration.org, mmirr.org #latinosummit
sandrasays: sorry, that was nnirr.org #latinosummit
sandrasays: @choicestoday asked question, lawyer response is “time is now” — didn’t hear the question, sorry @choicestoday #latinosummit
sandrasays: #latinosummit is running @ 40 minutes behind schedule
sandrasays: remarks by state senator Mario Gallegos #latinosummit
sandrasays: we are now running @ one hour behind at #latinosummit
sandrasays: next topic will include Dr. Laura Murillo, Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Leo Vasquez, new tax assessor #latinosummit
sandrasays: Leo Vasquez, Harris County Tax Assessor, is now giving remarks #latinosummit
sandrasays: want to make changes? register to vote, and actually go out and vote, says Leo Vasquez #latinosummit
sandrasays: remarks by Dr. Laura Murillo, CEO of Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce #latinosummit
sandrasays: this latino community is spending $22 billion in the Houston community, says Murillo #latinosummit
sandrasays: “we may not agree, and we may not always like one another, but there are issues where we have to come together,” says Murillo #latinosummit
sandrasays: “sometimes being a leader means you follow,” Murillo #latinosummit
sandrasays: advice to students: “find a mentor” says Murillo #latinosummit
sandrasays: next is Hector de Leon www.hectordeleon.com on “understanding electoral emplowerment” #latinosummit
sandrasays: Understanding electoral empowerment, then closing remarks #latinosummit
sandrasays: the crowd has thinned out a lot, just the die-hards remain (and me). de Leon just started his presentation. #latinosummit
sandrasays: common themes: community needs to organize better, become a voter, keep informed, help get the word out #latinosummit
sandrasays: a lot of discussion on “let’s stop talking about it and actually do it” in various forms #latinosummit
sandrasays: and we are now running @ 70 minutes behind schedule #latinosummit
sandrasays: and we are now running @ one hour 20 minutes behind schedule #latinosummit
sandrasays: questions from the crowd are interesting. pointed on specific actions to push immigration reform bills, sponsor immigrants #latinosummitsandrasays: Time for Kids reporter asked “what can kids do to become more involved” — great question from the 10-yr-old reporter #latinosummitReader Interactions
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I can tell that this is not the first time at all that you mention the topic. Why have you chosen it again?
Vince, I don’t understand the question. I posted about this a few days after the event. That’s why I chose the topic, because I thought the event was noteworthy.
I am promoting my blogs through participatation in different discussion forums and, unfortunately, most comments or responses I am getting on these boards, not directly in my blog posts