The following is a statement from Michelle Tremillo, Texas Organizing Project (TOP) Co-Executive Director, on the organization’s observance of National Hispanic Heritage Month this year:
“This month and every month, TOP celebrates the lives, contributions, and sacrifices of those across our diverse Latino communities whose resilience and tenacity has shaped the United States and our society for generations.
“It is the vibrancy of our Latinidad – inclusive of and strengthened by our Afro-Latino and Indigenous brothers and sisters – that strikes fear into the hearts of not just far-right extremists, but corporate bosses who for centuries have wielded racial capitalism to divide us.
“As an organization committed to racial and economic justice, we’re not playing their colonial game entrenched in anti-Blackness and colorism; we’re flipping the script because we know the fates of Black and Latino Americans are inextricably linked.
“Attaining our collective liberation will require an unshakeable solidarity that spans race, gender, age, background, language, and economic status – a solidarity ingrained in TOP’s mission and demonstrated every day in the communities we organize.
“This is how we build our movement – by affirming that we are stronger together. This is how we create the Texas of our dreams where every person can thrive, a Texas for all.”
Julie Vazquez, TOP board member from Dallas County, added:
“GOP “leaders” like Gov. Greg Abbott and Donald Trump try to marginalize us at every turn, because they know the sheer power of our communities and how we are a threat to the status quo.
“Latinos are now more than 63 million strong nationwide, with 12 million of us residing in Texas alone, officially making up the biggest share of our state’s population as of this year.
“It is on us to bring our best selves to this fight for the future Black, Latino, and all Texans deserve; a future where healthcare is more accessible, housing is more affordable, public education is more supported, and our legal system is more just. TOP remains unwavering in showing up to this fight and doing the gritty on-the-ground organizing work needed to win.”
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About Texas Organizing Project:
TOP organizes Black and Latino communities in Dallas, Harris, Bexar, and Fort Bend counties with the goal of transforming Texas into a state where working people of color have the power and representation they deserve. For more information, visit organizetexas.org.