The Philadelphia Story
Every action or event produces a response. On November 25, 1979, Eulalio José Negrín was walking towards his car in Jersey City accompanied by his 13-year old son Richard, when their early morning stroll was interrupted by gunshots. The execution of Eulalio, a Cuban activist who advocated for the release of Cuban political prisoners and fought to re-established diplomatic relations with Cuba, was a turning point in the life of his son.
“It was a transforming event,” he recalls. “I learned very early that when things like that happen, you either become better or bitter. That’s the reason why I care so much about public service, because when I go into the neighborhoods I see the little kids exactly like I was, with single moms raising them and many of them have seen violence. ... In the back of my mind I felt that this was the land of opportunity, because my parents left Cuba and fled communism to provide us with a better life. We need to put that hope back into our kids.”
Richard Negrín is now the Deputy Mayor and Managing Director of the City of Philadelphia, the fifth-most-populous city in the U.S. With a population of 187,611, Latinos are the largest growing minority community in Philadelphia, with a steadily growing median household income, high school graduation rate and business ownership. Negrín is just one of many notable Latinos appointed by Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, who has been remarkably supportive to the Latino community. He has been seen in the barrio with a shovel in hand during groundbreaking ceremonies, cleaning the neighborhood and at the most important ]galas acknowledging Hispanic contributions to the city of Philadelphia. During an interview at at City Hall in February 2012, he talked about the significant effort to appoint Latinos in executive positions and how unfortunate it is that considering the population of Hispanics living in this city, the number of Latinos working for the government is still considerably small:
“The number presently is about 5%, which is a little higher that when I came in, but still not where I want it to be. Recent census show significant gains in the Latino population to about 12%. We need to do better outreach, our Human Resources office is looking at creating a position that will be Diversity Director, to develop programs and services that specifically target a variety of populations, clearly because of the increase of the Latino population and multilingual households.”
Councilwoman María Quiñones-Sánchez, a Puertorriqueña and a popular leader in the Hispanic community, currently serving her second four year termrepresenting Pennsylvania’s 7th congressional district, is battling to increase the number of Hispanics in the local government.
“Every national and local study conducted reflects that while we have obtained some highly visible positions, Latinos continue to be under represented at the Board level and key positions particularly in the Fortune 1000 and in the public sector elected and appointed positions. For instance in the City of Philadelphia we have less Latinos in appointed positions than under the previous administration and at the civil service positions we represent less than 5% of the workforce even though we are 12% of the population. We have many qualified Latinos who continue to be overlooked,” she says.
The business area in North Philadelphia known as El Bloque de Oro (The Golden Block) is an amazing representation of the Latino community. Latin American culture vibrates with the rhythms of salsa, reguetón, merengue or bachata, delicious smells of empanadas, mofongo, ajiaco or chicharrón and the exciting Domino Festivals played at Love Park. The richness of these traditions, customs and patrimonies is acknowledged by Negrín:
“We have to find a way to maintain our cultural heritage. I don’t like the melting pot concept. That’s not who we are. What we are is a beautiful mosaic, with different colors and different approaches. This is about looking at the diversity and loving that difference. We must recognize that Latinos are most powerful and effective if we speak with one voice. We need to speak collectively as a people.”
Maintaining Latino culture and traditions has always been a concern for Concilio (Council for Spanish Speaking Organizations of Philadelphia) a non-profit organization that recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. The first Latino agency in Philadelphia serves about 10,000 people each month through a variety of programs and services. Julie Cousler Emig, the Deputy Director of Concilio and a recipient of numerous prestigious awards, talked about the importance of creating activities to preserve Latino traditions such as the Hispanic Fiesta at Penn’s Landing, The annual Puerto Rican Festival Awards Gala, and the Puerto Rican Day Parade.
“Concilio has brought the community together at Penn’s Landing on the waterfront for 31 years to celebrate culture with everyone,” she said. “More than 30,000 people pack the Great Plaza for a weekend in July, to enjoy great music, good food, and a variety of resources from our social and corporate partners. We believe that all of these cultural events are a critical means to continue to build cultural pride and also bring resources to our communities. Our children need to know where they come from in order to know where they are going. A positive self-concept begins with community pride.”
In the heart of Eastern North Philadelphia is Congreso de Latinos Unidos, which has been recognized as one of the top Hispanic nonprofits in the nation. Cynthia Figueroa, the agency’s President and CEO, has a fiscal oversight of more than $22 million dedicated to strengthening Latino communities through social, economic, education and health services. She studied Fine Arts in College, and originally wanted to be a lawyer. Towards the end of her undergraduate work, she became very interested in psychology and started to consider going to graduate school for social work. But a year of volunteer work in a domestic violence shelter in the Latino community in Detroit made her realize that she had a calling to do social services work. “I came to Congreso and my fate, love and passion for this community kept me in Philadelphia,” said the native of Arecibo, Puerto Rico.
Congreso is situated in a neighborhood critically affected by crime, teen pregnancy, school drop-out rates, domestic violence and poverty. Identifying these crucial issues and focusing on the goal of alleviating poverty and promoting economic self-sufficiency are the main objectives of the organization. “Nationally, when we look at the asset or wealth building, Latinos unfortunately over-represent communities of poverty,” continued Cynthia. “In Philadelphia, where Congreso is physically located is the second hungriest congressional district in the entire nation. We have the largest concentration of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families recipients (TANF) in the entire commonwealth and among one of the top in the nation. The workforce has changed dramatically skill-wise and now a lot of the community members don’t meet the requirements of the job market. Another big concern is education and the lower graduation rate that is particularly affecting the Latino males.”
There are a number of services implemented by the City of the Philadelphia that are impacting the community in a positive way, particularly in Hispanic neighborhoods: PhillyRising, Philly311 and Global Philadelphia. PhillyRising stands high amongst these because it targets areas plagued by chronic crime and establishes partnerships with community members to address these issues. Cynthia recognizes the undisputable consequences of the service in Latino neighborhoods:
“What is unique about PhillyRising and the work that Richard Negrín has done at the Managing Director Office is looking at the issues at the ground. Congreso deals with issues of domestic violence, we have a school and we have a health center, but sometimes residents are concerned with other issues such as trash, street lights or abandoned cars. The environmental factor of the community is really critical. We must look at a city like New York, and the reduction that they had in homicides based on the broken window philosophy, believing that if you allow broken windows you also allow vandalism and it will eventually escalate to major crimes.”
Once again, as Negrin’s life and career in Philadelphia demonstrates, it’s what response you take that determines success or failure.
By René Rincón