New Conversations: Latinx Populations and COVID

by Daniela Leon, IEDC Intern

As communities across the U.S. face challenges brought on by the COVID-19 crisis, economic equity leaders affirm that Black and Latinx workers and families are disproportionately impacted. Comprising an overwhelming majority of essential workers, Latinx individuals are more likely to contract the virus, and are faced with higher mortality rates when compared to White populations. Not only is the health and well-being of this population being inordinately affected by the pandemic, but they are also experiencing increased economic precarity.  

Earlier this month, the think tank New America hosted part one of an ongoing series of webinars around Latinx Economic Resilience in the Time of COVID. Moderators for the event were Lili Gangas, Chief Technology Community Officer of the Kapor Center, and Cecilia Muñoz, Vice President of Local Initiatives for New America. On the discussion panel were Jacqueline Martinez Garcel, Chief Executive Officer of the Latino Community Foundation; Irma Olguin Jr.,  CEO & Co-founder of Bitwise Industries; and José A. Quiñonez, CEO of the Mission Asset Fund. Together, the experts suggest that innovations in the tech industry, targeted local government policy, and harnessing the civic power of Latinx communities can unleash inclusive economic resilience in a new democracy. 

Firstly, community leaders and local governments should recognize the role of harmful policies already in place. Jacqueline Martinez Garcel reminds stakeholders that the impacts of a global health crisis will follow patterns in line with systems and policies that have previously been created. A way to ensure more inclusive policy is to overrepresent Latinx and Black communities in local government leadership, and to center perspectives with lived experience in the creation of those policies. Non-profit organizations that target business and employment are also responsible for widening the look of entrepreneurship and opportunities for Latinx populations to grow their businesses.  For the tech industry, Bitwise Industries has focused on introducing education and employment pathways for underdog cities in technology. Expanding the pathways for capital to enter Latinx communities is essential to moving families and individuals beyond a survival economy.  

Investing in the potential of young Latinx populations is also a necessary step for the outlook of economic resilience in this community. A large percentage of students in public schools are Latinx and therefore require more targeted programs and policies. Pandemic EBT, a cash assistance program for families on school nutrition programs, is one example of federal intervention that can mitigate disproportionate impacts. Still, public assistance that addresses this segment of the population is limited, leaving local governments and organizations to identify and funnel funds towards different supports. This year alone, the Latinx population will be the largest racial minority registered to vote in a presidential election. Moving forward economic developers should leverage the capacity of this community by not trying to get back to where we were, but instead, building a different kind of economy that works for all.