Four of the 22 cabinet members of the Biden administration are Latino or Latina, an amount that is roughly proportional to the percentage of Latinxs in the US population at large. But if one were to cast a glance at the nonprofit sector—or even more broadly at US cultural or political institutions—a very different picture emerges. Latinx people make up 18 percent of the US population, and yet:
- Onlytwo percent of all local, state, and national elected offices are held by Latinxs nationally. In California, a state that is over 40 percent Latinx, it was not until 2021 that California had its first Latinx US senator, Alex Padilla.
- While 6 percent of Latinxs live in poverty and rely on the support of nonprofits, Latinxs account for onlyten percent of nonprofit executive directors and less than three percent of foundation CEOs or presidents.
- Across the 100 top-grossing movies from 2007–2018,only three percent of films featured leads or co-leads with Latinx actors. Onlyfour percent of films made between 2007 and 2018 had a Latin American or US Latinx director.
How do we change this disparity in representation? There are many paths, but a central lesson is clear: leaders are not just born, but made, and that process starts at the grassroots. When building a movement, finding and developing leaders are critical steps, and when taking them, it is essential to pay attention to the issues impacting our many and diverse communities.
Most often, it is best to begin with the leaders who already exist in our homes and our communities. If you are willing to look, you’ll find the leaders you seek. They are the teachers who organize student groups, the nurses who translate medical jargon to our Spanish-speaking parents and families, or the trans Latinas raising money for safe and stable places to call home. They are the grassroots leaders who have shown their dedication by working tirelessly with the Latinx community by building movements and alliances. Building movement leadership begins with recognizing that many of the leaders we seek are already present. In other words, building leadership starts with the recognition of the existing power, expertise, respect, and influence that many grassroots organizers hold, even if they don’t call themselves by that title.
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