The Rhode Island Legislative Black & Latino Caucus

the results of my research that has inspired me to publish this first edition of The Rhode Island Legislative Black and Latino Caucus book, consisting of the published biographies of the 16 Black and Latino elected State Representatives, and five State Senators, in celebration of such progress and to make it widely available.

Black and Latino Public Servants history and contributions deserve to be highlighted; and celebrated. They are phenomenal servants in state and municipal institutions. The media, overall, overlooks public servants of color. Finding it to tear them down when they experience missteps in their careers and the lack of directory of such Public Servants across the state. This is the beginning of what I envisioned to be a series of historical documentation of Color elected and appointed Public Servants,

• Language: English
• Publisher: Milenio Publishing
• Release date: Mar 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781928810421

Book preview

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Prologue

When I began tracking the number of elected leaders of color in Rhode Island 25 years ago, I counted just one Latina state legislator and a dozen Black legislators, accounting for 9 percent of the General Assembly, which then had 150 seats.

On Tuesday, November 3, 2020, the number of legislators of color jump from 15 to 21, which represents 18 percent of a General Assembly that now has 113 seats. That gave Black and Latino lawmakers more political power than they’ve ever had in Rhode Island, and according to my research what we are witnessing is what  I consider the future of Rhode Island politics, a future that is more diverse. What we are witnessing is the mainstreaming of Black and Latino communities across this country and Rhode Island.

Although it is a significant step forward, a General Assembly with 18 percent people of color still does not completely reflect the diversity of the state, where 29 percent of residents are people of color. According to U.S. census Bureau figures, 16.3 percent of Rhode Island residents identify as Latino or Hispanic, 8.5 percent as Black or African American, 3.7 percent as Asian, and 1.1 percent as American Indian. We have made a lot of progress in electing officials, but we still haven’t reached parity in the demographic groups.

It is the results of my research that has inspired me to publish this first edition of The Rhode Island Legislative Black and Latino Caucus book, consisting of the published biographies of the 16 Black and Latino elected State Representatives, and five State Senators, in celebration of such progress and to make it widely available.

Black and Latino Public Servants history and contributions deserve to be highlighted; and celebrated. They are phenomenal servants in state and municipal institutions. The media, overall, overlooks public servants of color. Finding it to tear them down when they experience missteps in their careers and the lack of directory of such Public Servants across the state. This is the beginning of what I envisioned to be a series of historical documentation of Color elected and appointed Public Servants,

The Rhode Island Legislative Black and Latino Caucus (RILBLC)

The Caucus has been and always will be a voice for Rhode Island’s communities of color. We will support legislation designed to improve the living, housing, educational and economic conditions of African- and