5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Missouri History Museum
5700 Lindell Blvd, St. Louis 63112
Panelists include:
• Daniela Velázquez, Director of Communications, ACLU of Missouri
• Onessimo “Ness” Sandoval, Associate Professor of Sociology, Saint Louis University
• Vanessa Garcia, Program Manager, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro St. Louis
The subject of race relations is central to the story of the St. Louis region, and the demographics and politics of our region dictate that the relationship between the African-American community and the white community is most often at the center of this discussion. However the diversity of our region is much larger than this binary. The third largest demographic category is alternately described as Hispanic, Latino, Latino/a, or Latinx. However, as with most socially constructed categories the idea that the Latino community comprises a distinct race, a unified cultural heritage, or a homogenous political block is at best simply false, and at worst misleadingly prejudicial.
So where do we start in adding this important constituency to the race relations conversation? This forum will bring together an academic perspective, an activist/communications perspective, a business community and millennial perspective.