On our last post, we talked about the many ways in which our 2012 Top Blogueras Retreat combined business and leadership training with social good and civic engagement. On this part two of the Recap, we’ll talk about the latter, and share some of the highlights of the Special LATISM White House briefing that took place on May 21, 2012. On that day, History was made: never before had a Latina blogger group of this size and influence reached the walls of our nation’s Executive offices.
As with every LATISM initiative, our objective in bringing our Top Latina Bloggers to the White House was to serve a megaphone for the bloggers’s –and by extension, the community’s – most pressing issues. We set out to developed the framework that would bring the often-fragmented inputs in our blogosphere to the attention of policy makers in the Administration.
THE REASON BEHIND IT?
Design: Chantilly Patiño
Our blogueras work hard to support their families, their communities, the country. Whether they blog about fashion, politics, culture, education, cooking or their children, their words inspire and add meaning to people’s lives on a daily basis. They are the threads that hold the community together, the engines that keep it roaring. Yet, influential voices like theirs cannot always be as effective as they could if they are only heard by one another. To really exert influence that changes the world around them for the better, their powerful voices need to reach the right ears. The moment an individual becomes aware of their identity, their rights, their power – is often the first step on the path of social and political change.
LATISM commends our Top Latina Bloggers for ‘walking towards the top guns,’ putting the right issues on the table, and asking for the decisions and resources that are needed for our community: from education, health, disability issues, and immigration. Thanks for helping LATISM make History!
The powerful effect of this momentous event cannot and will not stop there. One key thing to remember, however platitudinous it may sound, is that this first group visit is a means, not an end. Now is the time for accountability for all involved: for us as an organization, for our top bloggers, officials and the Administration to hold one another – and ourselves – accountable to follow up on information, connections and the commitments made in order to bring to reality the positive outcomes our community EXPECTS and DESERVES. Let’s shout out from the rooftops and make sure the conversation doesn’t end HERE. Esto va para largo… as you can tell from the blog posts that continue pouring in as the Blogueras recount this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
- Voxxi Mujer: Latina #mentorship springs from #LATISM top blogger retreat
- Fox News Carolina: Laura Termini invited to the White House
- Mami’s Time Out: White House Top Blogueras Retreat Recap
- Holding Out For a Hero: Ms. Tellado Goes to Washington – LATISM Invites Me to Historic Event
- La Familia Cool: Estuve en la Casa Blanca con Top Blogueras Latinas – Part 1 – Spanish
- La Familia Cool: I was at the White House with Top Latina Bloggers – Part One – English
- Pink Guayoyo: And then, I went to the White House
- Carolyn in Carolina: Top Blogueras Retreat in Washington, DC
- Mami Habla Español: Top Bloguera Retreat
- Justice Jonesie: I’m a Top Bloguera – Latina Bloggers Head To The White House
- Ahorros Para Mamá: Mamás Blogueras Latinas y LATISM En La Casa Blanca
- Wise Latina Club: Top Latina Bloggers Master Politics and Business
- Latinaish: Latinaish.com At The White House – The Issues
- El Blog De Ana: Eliana Tardío En La Casa Blanca
- Mami Talks: Bloguera Retreat – Let’s Keep Growing
- Change Your Life, Ride A Bike: Cylrab Visits The White House
- Mommy Maestra: Latina Bloggers Policy Briefing: Let’s Move! Initiative
- Blogs By Latinas: Day 2 – Latina Blogger Retreat
- Cuponeando: Top Blogueras Retreat – Mi Experiencia
- BlogHer – Adriana Maestas: LATISM’s Top Blogueras Briefed At The White House
- Very Busy Mama: Top Bloguera Style In Washington, DC
- The Digital Latina: Top Latinas Gathered At The White House And I Was One Of Them
- Muy Bueno Cooking: Influential Latinas At The White House
- Young Urban Moms: LATISM Salutes Carolina Pichardo as one of the top Latina Bloggers from across the country
- VizRed: Latism Salutes Blanca Stella Mejia As One Of Top Latina Bloggers From Across The Country
- Checa La Movie: Teresa Garza – Checa la Movie en Washington
- Web City Girls: Up, Up, Away With Ponderful
- About.com: Uchi Davidson – Visita a la Casa Blanca
- La Familia Cool: Top Blogueras en la Casa Blanca ~ Segunda Parte
- La Familia Cool: Top Blogueras At The White House ~ Part Two
- Young Urban Moms: Young Mom at The White House, The Recap
- Mercedes Sanchez: White House Fashion
- Growing Up Blaxican: Top Blogueras Retreat 2012 Recap
- Mama Latina Tips: My Visit To The White House
- Mama Latina Tips: Mi Visita A La Casa Blanca
- Ahorros Con Cupones: Mi Viaje a Washington, DC Con Las Top Blogueras De LATISM
SPECIAL THANKS
LATISM would like to thank the White House Office of Public Engagement, in particular Julie Chavez Rodríguez, Associate Director of Latino Affairs and Immigration, for going above and beyond in her efforts to make this event possible. Thanks are also in order to White House presenters, panelists and the Hispanic Media Team for lending their ears to our blogueras’s concerns. We look forward to continue providing the platform for engagement between our representatives in the Administration and our powerful community voices!
- Cecilia Muñoz, Assistant to the President and Director of Domestic Policy
- Jon Carson, Director of the Office of Public Engagement
- Macon Phillips, Director of New Media
- Liz Fowler, Special Assistant to the President, National Economic Council
- Alejandra Ceja, Chief of Staff, Office of the Under Secretary, Department of Education
- Lisa Pino, Deputy Administrator, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Department of Agriculture
- Marissa Duswalt, Associate Director for Policy and Events, Let’s Move! Initiative
- Luis Miranda, Director of Hispanic Media
- Alejandra Campoverdi, Deputy Director of Hispanic Media
During and after our White House visit, the Office Public Engagement shared the following resources. We want to make sure everyone in the community has access to this information, and will continue advocating to get our community’s issues heard at every level!
White House Posts about Monday’s briefing:
Administration Accomplishments in the Latino Community:
Jobs and the Economy:
- President Obama’s State of the Union 2012: Blueprint for An America Built to Last (English)
- Plan Específico para una América Construida Para Perdurar (Spanish)
- American Jobs Act and the Latino Community
- Federal Resources for Faith Based and Non Profit Organizations
- SBA: Government Contracting Classroom – New On-line Training Resource
Education:
- Winning the Future: Improving Education for the Latino Community (English/Spanish
- President Obama’s Blueprint for Keeping College Affordable
- Know your Rights, Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education
- Recursos de la Oficina Para Derechos Civiles, Departamento de Educacion de los Estados Unidos, en Español
Health/Health Care:
- Learn more about health care at Healthcare.gov
- Aprenda mas sobre el cuidado de salud en Cuidadodesalud.gov
- My Plate: Healthy Eating/Nutrition Guidelines: www.myplate.gov (English)
- Mi Plato: http://www.choosemyplate.gov/en-espanol.html
Fixing Our Broken Immigration System:
- President’s Blueprint on Immigration Reform: Building a 21st Century Immigration System
- USCIS Citizenship Resource Center
- Notario Fraud: www.uscis.gov/avoidscams
- Backgrounder: Implementing an Effective Immigration Enforcement Strategy
- Case Status Update: https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/Dashboard.do
- ICE Online Detainee Locator: https://locator.ice.gov/odls/homePage.do
- Office of Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman: Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman
- How to File a Civil Rights Complaint with DHS
All photos on the slideshow courtesy © Blanca Stella Mejia (@micaminar) and Elianne Ramos (@ergeekgoddess)
