This past month from September 15th until October 15th was National Hispanic Heritage Month! California and Sonoma County have a deep history of Hispanic American contributions to culture and achievement that shape our diverse landscape today. Roughly 30% of the county’s population (that’s 140,000 people locally, as well as 60.6 million people nationwide) identify as Hispanic or Latino. According to census data, eighty-four percent of Hispanics in Sonoma County are of Mexican descent, and the remaining 16 percent of the Hispanic population have origins in Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Spain. Ninety percent of Hispanic people in Sonoma County speak English, and 70 percent are fully bilingual in English and Spanish. September 15th signifies the anniversary of independence for the Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16th and September 18th. The Hispanic community plays a vital role in keeping our communities and industries thriving in Sonoma County. Our wineries, orchards, farms, local businesses, and nonprofits in all industries would not be successful without our friends in the wonderful Hispanic and or Latino neighbors we honor locally.
The 9th Annual State of the Latino Community Address organized by Los Cien was not one to be missed. Keynote addresses by Interim-President Ming-Tung, Governor Gavin Newsom, State Senator Mike McGuire. The three panels focused on creating multi-racial unity were impactful, inspiring, and informative to say the least. The theme of discussions focused on addressing our community’s issues together. Close to 600 community members and community leaders gathered at Sonoma State University in order to turn talk into action. Topics ranged from deep local issues and how they impact not just the Latinx community, but our whole Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities. Hearing the inspiring advice from local leaders focused in on their experiences and data shows a thriving Sonoma County with still room to grow. If you missed it: Los Cien State of the Latino Community Address can be viewed online.
The 2022 Latino Scorecard includes ten indicators that show opportunities and disparities within the Latino community in political participation and representation, education, financial stability, neighborhood engagement, and health and environment. It seeks to bring positive change in the lives of Latinos in Sonoma County by educating the community on the challenges facing Latinos, their families, and their neighborhoods. We generally see more positive outcomes in these areas of interest in Sonoma County than in the larger state of California for Latinos. Voter Registration and Health Insurance Coverage rates were 2 variables out of the 10 studied that showed disparate outcomes compared to the State for Latinos. Though we see higher outcomes for Latinos locally, we still have much more work to do in other parts of California. When Latinos were compared to their white counterparts in Sonoma County, we tended to see another aspect of the picture, Latinos fell short on every indicator category presented in the scorecard. We hope the data presented from the scorecard will better educate policy-makers and community members as we work towards change by addressing disparities between communities. We want to thank Los Cien for putting on a great event and bringing us all together!