The Association of Latino Men for Action ( ALMA ) —a Chicago-based advocacy organization for gay, bisexual, and questioning Latino men—is a recipient of a grant designed to foster coalitions among Latino organizations.
According to ALMA President Julio Rodriguez, the $60,000 grant—funded by the Chicago Community Trust—grew out of his organization's recognition of a disconnect between the agendas of LGBT and non-LGBT Latino organizations. Rodriguez said he had become troubled that when mainstream Latino groups talked about issues such as family unity and immigration, "the constructs they were using were all centered on the institution of marriage. … The Latino LGBT community is invisible."
But, said ALMA board member Ruben Feliciano, "We're not invisible. This is part of the Latino community, it should be part of the Latino agenda … As a collective, we want to be visible. We want the community to know that we're present."
With the help of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, ALMA members wrote a grant, for which the award was announced in May 2009. The grant term began in September 2009 and ends in August 2010, with the possibility of an extension if the project proves successful. In addition to ALMA, the principal partners in the coalition—called Strength in Unity—are Latinos Progresando, Corazon Community Services and Salud Latina.
Among other things, the grant allows for the hiring of a staff member. The coalition hired Edwin Corbin-Gutierrez, an experienced social-justice organizer.
Rodriguez said that the partners coalesced around three objectives: first, the need to "build a real coalition" that is effectively able to address issues of common concern, including health care, HIV/AIDS and immigration. ALMA is currently involved, for instance, in efforts to support the passage of the Uniting American Families Act—currently pending in the U.S. Congress—which would allow LGBT people to more easily sponsor foreign-born same-sex partners for citizenship.
A second goal, Rodriguez said, is to educate all organizations involved on LGBT issues—"How do you create an inclusive environment and agenda?"—and to reach out to LGBT organizations regarding issues important to the Latino community. Very few LGBT groups, he said, are doing work on immigration, though it is an issue that affects the lives of many queer people.
Out of those two points come the coalition's raison d'etre: "What is a joint agenda?" asked Rodriguez. "What are three or four key policy agenda items to put forward?"
By way of example, Rodriguez referenced a recent public-health survey that found disproportionately high rates of HIV/AIDS infection among Puerto Rican people—a demographic, he said, that tends to be "invisible to the larger issue of AIDS advocacy."
Rodriguez pointed out that the intersection of Latino politics and LGBT politics has been highlighted by several events recently, for instance, the community response to the possibility of the appointment of an anti-gay minister to fill a seat on the Chicago City Council. That minister, Wilfredo De Jesus, was ultimately passed over—but not before LGBT and Latino community groups exerted pressure on the Mayor to do so.
He also mentioned LGBT pressure on Alderman Daniel Solis, a representative of the Pilsen and Little Village neighborhoods who co-sponsored a resolution supporting the Uniting American Families Act. Rodriguez said that in a later stage in the coalition process, the group plans to work with the pertinent public agencies in order to further its agenda—but, he said, the coalition needs to work to develop its strategy.
"If you don't have a cohesive message," said Rodriguez, "they don't know what you want."
More information on ALMA can be found at www.almachicago.org . The Chicago Community Trust's Web site is www.cct.org .
