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Latino Media Activism
Posted on December 14, 2004
The United States has experienced rapidly changing demographics in the past decade. With an explosion in the Latino population, America is becoming an increasingly diverse and bilingual country and Latino Americans are becoming more and more involved in activism, advocacy and community development.
Last year's Media That Matters Film Is My Neighbor Latino?by Jorge Aguirre is a creative look at the stereotypes facing Latino Americans and a call for breaking down barriers.
This year's The Sixth Section by Alex Rivera is an inspiring story of self-determination in which a community of Mexican immigrants living in upstate New York reinvigorate their hometown by raising funds and sending them to Mexico for various public works projects.
Liz Miller's Novela, Novela introduces American audiences to the media activism movement south of the border. In Nicaragua feminists have coopted the telenovela (soap opera) format to broadcast important narratives about how young women can protect themselves from domestic violence.
A recent article on Alternet, "The Fire This Time", highlights the work of Richard Moore, a Puerto Rican American and award-winning environmental justice activist. Moore and others are calling attention to the fact that Latinos bear the brunt of environmental health threats in the U.S. and are glavanizing activists around this pressing crisis.
Now is your chance to add to the dialogue — submit your short addressing Latino rights and identity to the fifth annual Media That Matters Film Festival today!