According to a report from the National Research Center on Hispanic Children & Families, there were 18.6 million Latino children (ages 18 and under) in the United States in 2019, representing 26 percent of the total child population. Although Latino children are concentrated in the Southwest, they make up a significant portion of the child population in all 50 states, with at least 25 percent in 12 states. The report shows that the proportion of Latino children in each state varies widely, ranging from 2 percent in Vermont to 61 percent in New Mexico. In three states in the Southwest – New Mexico, California, and Texas – Latino children make up about half of the total child population. Additionally, in Nevada and Arizona, two other Southwestern states, Latino children account for over 40 percent of the child population. In states outside of the Southwest, the percentage of Latino children in the [...]

Their mother thanked Sanchez-Bodden for helping her child adjust to the U.S., as they had recently migrated to the U.S. at the time while the child’s grandparents stayed in their home country.

As the country commemorates the life of Martin Luther King Jr.; his work in advancing the causes of African Americans – we tend to forget how he also inspired Latinos in their fight for equality. Among the hundreds of thousands who were present for Dr. King’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963 were Latinos. Gilberto Gerena Valentín, the then president of the Puerto Rican Day Parade, was recruited by Martin Luther King Jr. to get the Latinx population to turn out for the March on Washington. King had asked Gilberto Gerena Valentín, the then president of the Puerto Rican Day Parade, to get the Latino population to come out. “Martin Luther King Jr. invited me to Atlanta, Georgia to discuss the march that was being organized, and I went there with a strong team,” Gerena told El Diario NY. [...]