Promoting Latino leadership and representation: Reflections on a civic engagement project

In 1990, less than 1% of the population of Charlotte, North Carolina, was Latino/a/x (US Census).1 As of 2017, that number jumped to 14% of the city’s 826,000 residents. These growth rates are among the highest in the nation and have had tremendous consequences for the county. Latinos are working in industries across the city and have started their own businesses. Many events and festivals throughout the year celebrate a variety of Latin American countries and their cultures, food and traditions. However, the growing Latino population is not reflected in the political and civic landscape of the city and county. Latinos are underrepresented, or not represented at all, in political leadership positions, and local leaders are frequently not well informed about issues facing members of the Latino community. This problem is not unique to Charlotte or North Carolina. Latinos across the US are struggling to ensure their voices are heard (Winders 2012, p. 61), and communities are realizing that successful integration of Latinos cannot occur without creating opportunities for political and public participation (Nuñez-Alvarez et al. 2018). Broad public dialogue among all racial and ethnic groups is necessary for adequately addressing and solving the community’s problems, and for ensuring that all groups have a voice in community discussions and decisions. This article offers reflections on developing and implementing the Latino Civic Engagement Project (LCEP), with the overarching goal of addressing the lack of local Latino representation and perspectives by providing grassroots Latino community members with the information, network, and skills to engage more in community development and local public policy decision-making (Fig. 1). Based on our findings, we provide insights into how to encourage civic engagement among Latino community members and promote representation of Latino communities at the neighborhood, community, school, and local government levels, which we hope is of help to other communities, particularly newer Latino destinations.