Panelists at the Latino Youth Town Hall for Hispanic Heritage Month stopped just shy of saying, “Please vote for Obama,” as they talked to young Latinos about civic engagement and getting involved in the political discussion.
Actress America Ferrera from TV series “Ugly Betty”, singer “Taboo” of the Black Eyed Peas, actress Gina Rodriguez and salsa musician Frankie Negron agreed that this election year was a time for Latinos to shine and pull out their voting power, but part of their remarks included obvious references to Obama’s immigration policies.
Because of the deportation deferrment act signed by President Obama we now have that ability to persue our dreams,” said Negron.
“There’s something ethically wrong with deporting someone to a country they don’t know, particularly when they are compeltely American in their belief, in their way and in their love for the country,” he continued.
Taboo added a personal story about his grandmother, a woman from Mexican descent that was born in Arizona, who was, “racially profiled” even though she was American. He said it was what inspired him to do an activist video called, “One heart One beat” which called for people to march against the Arizona Immigration Law.
The panel was part of a larger 4-day conference hosted by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month.
But for a panel on informing young Latino voters, there was little information given about what policies would mean for young Latinos, how young Latinos can find out about their government representatives and how they can do their own research and come to their own conclusions about particular policies.
It sounded a lot more like an “Obama Get Out The Vote Rally” than a real opportunity for Latinos to tackle the tough questions and decide how they want their vote to count in November.
About Regina Conley
