Latino Community Foundation Host Virtual Latino Youth Rally in California with Former Presidential Candidate Julián Castro

Youth leaders, musicians, and artists mobilize the Latino Vote and Endorse Proposition 15 and Proposition 16

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Former presidential candidate and former HUD Secretary Julián Castro joined the Latino Community Foundation on Tuesday night for a virtual Get Out The Vote rally to mobilize Latino voters across the state.

With 7.9 million eligible Latino voters in California, the largest Latino voting bloc in the nation, the Latino vote will be key in determining key candidate and ballot races in the 2020 General Election.

Secretary Castro stated that the “destiny of this country is intertwined with the destiny of the Latino community like never before.” He also emphasized the importance of key statewide measures like Proposition 15 and Proposition 16. “The communities, the states and the nations that invest in the education of their people are going to be the ones that truly thrive in the 21^st century,” he said.

A September 2020 poll from the Latino Community Foundation and Latino Decision found that 73 percent of Latinos in California are certain they are voting in November. Equally important, 76 percent stated they would support Proposition 15. For Proposition 16, 76 percent also favored it when they understand the enrollment inequities that Latinos face in the UC system.

Speakers during the event emphasized that Prop 16 would be a gamechanger for Latino entrepreneurs and small business. Claudia Arroyo, Executive Director of Prospera in Oakland, CA, said, “In California, Latinas earn 42 cents every man in California makes…This year we can close this gap by voting for Proposition 16.”

Nataly Tamayo, a youth organizer from the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights and an aspiring healthcare worker said, “Passing Proposition 16 means that Latino and Black students will get a fair chance at earning a college degree.”

“Latinos make up the second largest voting bloc in the nation. In a moment in history where social justice is on the ballot, we not only have the power to determine the outcome of this election but shift the course of our state and nation for generations ahead,” said Jacqueline Martinez Garcel, CEO of Latino Community Foundation.”

About Latino Community Foundation:

Latino Community Foundation is an independent statewide foundation on a mission to unleash the civic and economic power of Latinos in California. LCF has the largest network of Latino philanthropists in the country and has invested $10 million to build Latino civic and political power and leadership in the state. It is the only statewide foundation solely focused on investing in Latino youth and families in California. For further information, please visit: www.latinocf.org.