The 2nd Annual Harvard University

Latino Law and Public Policy

Conference

"Access To Opportunity"

Friday, March 12th - Saturday,

March 13th, 1999
A Synopsis by

Tomás Alberto Avila

 CONTENT

The 2nd Annual Harvard University Latino Law and Public Policy Conference ____ 3
"Access To Opportunity" ____________________________________________________ 3
FRIDAY, MARCH 12, 1999_________________________________________________________ 3
SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1999 _____________________________________________________ 3
Gaining Access to Capital ________________________________________________ 5
David Cortiella ______________________________________________________________ 5
Raul Hinojosa Ojeda ____________________________________________________ 5
Ruth Sandoval _________________________________________________________ 6
Questions & Answers ______________________________________________________________ 7
Luncheon and Afternoon Address _____________________________________________ 7
Antonio Gonzales _________________________________________________________________ 7
VOTING RIGHTS & POLITICAL REPRESENTATION ______________________ 9
Joaquin Avila ______________________________________________________________ 9
Penda Hair_________________________________________________________________ 9
Louis Desipio ______________________________________________________________ 10
Georgina Verdugo _________________________________________________________ 10
The Black Latino Political Dynamic _______________________________________ 11
Fernando Guerra __________________________________________________________ 11
Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald __________________________________ 12
Luis Fraga ________________________________________________________________ 13
The myth of coalitions_____________________________________________________________ 13
Ms. Maria Echaveste _______________________________________________________ 14
White House Deputy Chief of Staff___________________________________________________ 14

Tomás Alberto Avila 2 Access to Opportunity Conference Synopsis

 The 2nd Annual Harvard University Latino Law and
Public Policy Conference

"Access To Opportunity"

Friday, March 12th - Saturday, March 13th, 1999

Banquet Keynote Address by

Maria Echaveste
White House Deputy Chief of Staff

Sponsor by:

The Harvard Journal of Hispanic Policy (Kennedy School of Government)

The Latino Caucus (Kennedy School of Government), and
La Alianza (Harvard Law School)

Agenda as follows:

FRIDAY, MARCH 12, 1999

6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. Welcome Reception at Harvard Law School/Registration

7:00 p.m. Welcome Address: Professor Deborah Ramirez, Northeastern
University School of Law

SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1999

8:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m. Continental Breakfast/Registration

9:30 a.m.-11:00 a.m. Emerging Trends in Education

Panelists: Mr. Steve Fernandez, Boston Latin High School;
Dr. Martin Ahumada, Hispanic Association of
Colleges and Universities (HACU); Ms. Sheila Chung,
Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
(MALDEF); More To Be Confirmed.
Location: Harvard Law School

11:10 a.m. -12:40 p.m. Gaining Access to Capital

Panelists: Mr. Raul Hinojosa, Member of the Board, L.A.

Tomás Alberto Avila 3 Access to Opportunity Conference Synopsis

 Community Development Bank; Mr. Rudy Fuentes, Shaw
Pitt; Mr. David Cortea, Inquilinos
Borricua en Accion; More To Be Confirmed
Location: Harvard Law School

12:45 p.m.-2:00 p.m. Luncheon and Afternoon Address

Mr. ANTONIO GONZALES, President, Southwest Voter
Registration Education Project

2:30 p.m.-4:00 p.m. Voting Rights and Political Representation

Moderator: Mr. Keith Reeves, Professor of Public Policy,
Kennedy School of Government
Panelists: Mr. Joaquin Avila, voting rights expert; Mr.
Louis DeSipio, professor, University of Illinois,
Urbana-Champaign; Ms. Penda Hair, attorney, formerly of
NAACP Legal Defense Fund, now in private practice; Ms.
Georgina Verdugo, Assistant Deputy Attorney General,
U.S. Department of Justice, formerly of the Mexican
American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF).
This panel is dedicated to the memory of Judge A. Leon
Higginbotham, Harvard University Public Service
Professor of Jurisprudence Location: Malkin Penthouse,
John F. Kennedy School of Government

4:10 p.m.-5:40 p.m. The Black-Latino Political Dynamic and Electoral Change
Moderator: Ms. Grace Flores-Hughes, Vice-President,
Inter-Governmental Affairs, USTAR, LLC, and board chair
Of the Harvard Journal of Hispanic Policy
Panelists: Professor Luis Fraga, Stanford University,
Department of Political Science; Mr. Fernando Guerra,
Director, Center for the Study of Los Angeles, Loyola
Marymount University; Congresswoman Juanita
Millendar-McDonald (D-CA); More To Be Confirmed
Location: Malkin Penthouse, John F. Kennedy School of
Government

6:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. Banquet Dinner

Keynote Address: MS. MARIA ECHAVESTE, White
House Deputy Chief of Staff
Location: ARCO Forum of Public Affairs, John F.
Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

10:00 p.m. Salsa Party

Location: Harkness Commons, Harvard Law School

Tomás Alberto Avila 4 Access to Opportunity Conference Synopsis

Emerging Trend in Education
75 % of the Boston School Children are Hispanic

We don't have representation and are making sure that we don't have representation. The
numbers are manipulated by the powers to be.

Unwritten agenda to diminish the Latino education rights and need to take legal action.

Policy maker who don't care about our kids

Hold the school accountable and sanction the school by the student.

This conference only proves to me that what we need to do in order to change the system,
is through political empowerment and nothing else.

Gaining Access to Capital

David Cortiella

Individual wealth should be incorporated into community wealth

Community Capital - Symbolic representation of wealth a Sembrar Raices was the theme
y no nos mudaremos was the concept.

Economic justice not just social justice. Control by the community controlling 9 acres of
land in the South End. Promesa community Organization in the South Bronx- delivering
medical resources. Moving into Real Estate business to develop community capital.

Started as social justice but save the opportunity for economic justice

Organizations need to be supportive of NGO'S

Less and less of our talent is looking to community development through

We need to arise to the opportunity to rescue the institutions.

Take idealism and put it to work and challenge our selves to develop economic justice

Raul Hinojosa Ojeda

The community development in the Latino community has reach saturation

Tomás Alberto Avila 5 Access to Opportunity Conference Synopsis

Need to create new institutions that will improve the empowerment of the Latino
community.

Developing a North American Development Bank similar to the World Development

Bank.

That bank is now a reality in San Antonio, Texas loans going to local organizations and
not governments

LA Community Development Bank as opposed to empowerment zone. To create a

capital base that will be use as a tool to develop community economic serving as an
investment banker and leveraging the community economic power.

Develop a Master Plan that doesn't just include the small business, but the creation of
other industries.

Master Plan should include education and retraining and new institutions that will
develop new ideas.

Ruth Sandoval
Looking as to whom is in the position of power there are not enough of us in the banking
industries Banking officials lead from a collateral point of view, which doesn't work for
the Latino community

The roll of government offers a lot of guaranteed lending need to change with the time
and business changes.

The misperception of the minority community as that's how the powers to be look at the
Latino community when they go to ask for loans

1. Financial Services Provider

Move away from the banking

2. Banking Community
There haven't been any reforms
Credit scoring/Character

3. Community Development
Financial Institutions
(Self regulating)

4. Micro Lenders

Banks are looking to make money and not making loans.

Tomás Alberto Avila 6 Access to Opportunity Conference Synopsis

The Africans American communities go into the bank with their attorney, their minister,
community organizer.

Banking reform needs to be address

Leadership needs to be elevated in order to understand the same needs.

Are we as Hispanics writing books about our history?

We need to more people into positions of power in the financial institutions and other
organizations.

Questions & Answers

Hinojosa
$10 billions of money transfer to Mexico from the USA

Western Union has made $2 billions illegally by charging fees to transactions transferred.

Treasury - Permanent Republican Institution" describe by a President Clinton African

American Appointee to Dr. Hinojosa.

The Latino investment in the Latino community will be larger than Latin America GND
countries in 5 nations combined. Dr. Hinojosa.

CRA will depend on the next election if it stays alive "Sandoval" is very difficult to
collect date on race, because it's been made illegal.

Community organization are tied to their funding sources. Developing a "Master Plan"

The hardest money to get is the technical support money, which is the hardest to get Dr.
Hinojosa

Luncheon and Afternoon Address

Antonio Gonzales
President, Southwest Voter Registration Education Project

A new era in Latino politics and policy, higher rates of participation in the political
process

Texas and New Mexico had a Latino participation in the 80's

Tomás Alberto Avila 7 Access to Opportunity Conference Synopsis

A whole new group of candidates that are wining in the electoral votes because of the
Latino of vote 1.16 millions in 98 in California.

We are electing people that we want at all levels

Latinos are able to punish their enemies; politics is not but war without guns. Latinos
smash a political party that attacked the Latino community.

The Republic party change their strategic to include a Latino agenda and interest.

Latino participation has extended beyond politics to other institutions such as the
Catholic Church and AFL-CIO; Miguel Contreras is the first Latino in California to head
the AFL-CIO.

Good impressive news. This evolution has created a new debate about Latinos politics

The older school - were not a minority society and we shouldn't be looking around with
black minority civil right agenda.

We have arrive to the America Agenda and we must change we're middle class

We're powerless and now we're empowered. We're the leaders of our community and
others
Some still see or community as powerless, with news from the 60's 70's

The new level of political participation for the next 10 years. 70 - 76 there was a decline
in Latino participation in the political process.

Subjectively there's a leadership in the Latino leadership and transitioning into new
organizations and movements term limits, retirements.

New demographics that emerge with the breaking of national barriers, the Mexican
Puerto Rican, Cuban must work with the Central America and other immigrants.

Entrepreneurial movement in the Latino community

Stubborn structural ill of the Latino community which is the large poverty that exist

The Latino agenda has to be broaden and training candidates and elected officials, which
brings the need for schools. In Texas bringing the top 10% Latinos and Afro-Americans
students into University of Texas.

We can't consider ourselves powerless, we're in an increase participation in the political

process and need to bring the others (poor) into the empowerment (class issue) 1.5
millions Latinos entrepreneurs have no employee and are very fragile, untrained, no
access to finance.

Tomás Alberto Avila 8 Access to Opportunity Conference Synopsis

Talk about the broader issues, because the Latinos are in the broader community
therefore they benefit.

The Fortune 1000 has not created a job in 10 years

Home health care worker unions 15 - 20% increases in their revenue. Having more
pensions and playing the stock market and access to health care, we want an HMO not
more HMO services.

Intermestic agenda - the stubborn problems of immigration drugs, democratization in

our countries which need to be addres by the residents in USA from each of our
countries, because let's not forget "poor there, poor here".

VOTING RIGHTS & POLITICAL REPRESENTATION

Joaquin Avila

Vote dilution - racial polarization, when ethnic groups vote differently.

Racially Restrictive Governance - The restriction of ethnic groups from participating in

the voting process.

Voting Rights Litigation - You have to leverage other institution to gain it.

Voting Rights Act - Section 5

Engage in litigation California to implementing section 5

Leverage resources to maximize our efforts

Penda Hair

You better get ready!

Afro-American and Latinos need to figure out how to work together, because otherwise,
the voting rights will disappear 1982 amendment.

The Democratic wanted to keep their incumbent white official in power.

We have to draw better-looking maps in the redistricting

The reason for the redistricting problems and the ugliness of the district maps developed,
after the 2000 census will create a clash with the Democratic party, and their desire to
retain their elected candidates who in their majority are White, will clash with the Latino
community and Afro-Americans.

Tomás Alberto Avila 9 Access to Opportunity Conference Synopsis

We need to make sure that the redistricting process will be creative, inclusive and
realistic.

I'm worry about districts composed of 30% Latino and 30% Afro-American, because
they'll face difficulty electing an unknown from their ethnic groups.

Redistricting should include the transferring of money raising skills, and other necessary
skills to the minorities and not just voting capabilities.

Build coalitions of Latino, Blacks and poor Whites that will become the working class
agenda of political empowerment.

Louis Desipio

I'll disagree with Antonio in his report of increased Latino voting participation, because
according to my research there's been a decrease in the Latino political participation.

California experienced decline in Latino voting in 92-96 while Texas, Chicago increased.
New York experience an increased in the Dominican community, but the Puerto Rican
participation decreased. Florida also experienced an increased.

The sum of the pool of non-voters was greater than 80's.

Are we Latinos taking advantage of the political participation?

Do the new naturalize get out to vote?

The naturalize citizens get out to vote less than their counterpart.

Mobilization of the newly naturalize to take advantage of the increase of Latino political
movement.

Organizing doesn't start with registering to vote and need to be foster by the leaders.

Georgina Verdugo

15 bills tinkering with canceling the census in congress.

The congress doesn't want the census numbers to change the decennial census
improvement act.

The census agenda has become the deal breakers or deal makers in congregational
negotiations.

Census monitoring board is another layer into beuracracy of the census.

Tomás Alberto Avila 10 Access to Opportunity Conference Synopsis

 The Black Latino Political Dynamic

Fernando Guerra

Black and Latino relationship in California has been the best ever in the last 10 years,
despite many obstacles such as government positions and unions.

The experience being live in California proves that if the groups are left alone without
any intervention from government and national organizations, the groups can do fine by
themselves.

Prior to 1990 the scenario was that Afro Americans were 13% of the population in Los
Angeles, and controlled 20% of the City Council. Out of 80 Assemblymen, 4 were
Latinos.

After 1996 a mass mobilization and elite mobilization was put into place and political
networks were put into place to recruit candidates, fund them and get them elected. One
of those recruited was Richard Polanco who was able to pump $1 million into his
campaign.

Another myth that has been dispelled in California, is that Latinos have to come at the
expense of the Afro American community, as the Afro Americans have been able to hold
their positions in government.

The one reality that has to be accepted by both groups, is that the fast growth of the
Latino community will encroached into the African American communities and both
groups will to learn to work together and share power.

The Black – Latino community will have to accept the reality of a multicultural political
power and learn how to capture power, how to keep power as well as how to loose power
and prepare for the change in power that will benefit all.

Electoral competition is good, but we can’t let it get out of hand.

We need to define the relationship in a win-win situation and frame it as an agenda.

Latinos are still only 20% of the electorate vote in Los Angeles, but tend to begin the
process of defining Latino seats and start working for it, instead of collaborating.

Tomás Alberto Avila 11 Access to Opportunity Conference Synopsis

Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald
(D-CA)
I just want to remind Fernando that “one does not give power, one takes it away”. Ethnic
minorities make up the majority of this nation, and Latinos are becoming the largest
minority.

I just want to remind us that this movement didn’t start now, but instead it started in 1954
with Rosa Park refusing to give her seat . Cesar Chavez join Martin Luther King in 1962
in the struggle for equality, and that’s where the Latino/Black relationship starts.

The minority coalesce with other groups may produce immediate success, but they
won’t last unless the minority groups co coalesce together. The history has been that
once one emerged with power the majority will rise to squash that power.

During the 1990 census, 830,00 Latinos & Afro Americans were undercounted and it
cause the loss of a congregational seat in California and we need to rectify that loss by
regaining the seat.

Minorities must be cautious no to bring the friction that’s being promoted by the
opposition into our communities.

Your time is here and you must garner those who don’t vote in order to gain the political
power which you rightfully deserve.

Let’s challenge the system that’s in front of us, such as the census and the congregational
maneuvering and fight against it.

Ronald Walters

12 states with less than 60% whites by 2025

13 states where the Black – Latino will be more than 20%
6 of the 13 states may influence 32% of the electorate votes.

There has been a general declined in voters participation, which reached 37% in the last
election, which is the lowest in 50 years.

One of the big changes that has taken place in the last 10 years, is the creation of a
national political infrastructure in the minority community never seen before which allow
the mobilization of foot soldiers in local elections, without the need to transfer personnel
from other communities.

We need to combine political infrastructure that will allow us to take the power away
from the majority.

Tomás Alberto Avila 12 Access to Opportunity Conference Synopsis

There’s a new racial paradigm

Class related issues would cause political turbulence that could cause roadblocks to the
minority political empowerment.

Luis Fraga

We need to provide ourselves with analytical focus and create a 12 year political plan that
will cover the next 3 presidential elections for political incorporation in order to gain
power, and expand equality and justice.

The spike in voter participation have been uneven.

We need to reach the youth between the ages 0f 14-17 and exposed them to the political
process, before they reach the age of 18 because waiting until they reach such age is too
late to get them into the process. By reaching them at the early age, they’ll influence
their parents in a trickle up motivation.

Policy gains-signs of advancement. Our greatest challenge is coming to terms with the
disparities of Latinos and Afro Americans against whites.

The myth of coalitions

Preconditions

Recognition of respective self interest.

Redefining the national agenda with direct coalition with the Afro American community.
<recommend reading Chain Reaction, agenda by John Kingdom>

Four Dimensional Stages in Changing a National Agenda

1. Create a new policy image

2. Institutionalization of formal rules and procedures
3. Identification and realization of sacrifices.
4. Strategically maintaining consensus with stakeholders.

Developing an informed public interest.

Conceptualize what's in everyone's interest.
Arguing enhances self interest power.

Recommends reading the following books:

Contingent Color concienseness <read Color conciense>
Black Wealth/White Wealth

Tomás Alberto Avila 13 Access to Opportunity Conference Synopsis

The Ownership Solution
Majoritism

Leadership promoting self determination, consensus building focus and need to have the
following rolls:

1. Litigators
2. Entrepreneurs
3. Advocates
4. Visionaries

Ms. Maria Echaveste

White House Deputy Chief of Staff

An elite in leadership

Opportunity rest in political power and influence.

The power of the disable lobbying have and the Latinos don't have, can be seen in 2
decisions made by Congress.

IDEA ( Individual Disability Act) Which gave schools the responsibility to put together a
committee of experts to determine if a child's learning problems were due to a disability.

Title 1 (Limited English Students) Reauthorize the Kinder Garden and elementary school
appropriations.

The reason the Nicaraguans obtain their amnesty, was because they had strong
Republican political ties. Now the Salvadoran are requesting the same rights through the
same process. These decisions will allow 200-300 thousands to become legalize

During President Clinton's visit to Central America, the presidents made it very clear that
immigration and the Caribbean Basin Initiative are very important issues to them and
would like him to address it strongly.

The reason CBI hasn't been extended to Central America, has been because of the Needle
Work Union opposition to the initiative.

The President is aware that if he doesn't address the immigration issue the illegal
immigration will get worse.

Tomás Alberto Avila 14 Access to Opportunity Conference Synopsis