A new chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) in North Clark County held its first meeting last week as organizers work to strengthen advocacy and representation for local Latino residents. LULAC is a Hispanic civil rights organization founded in Texas in 1929.
North County LULAC was officially established in April and held its first meeting on Thursday, May 28 at View Ridge Middle School.
Chapter President Amanda Medina, a pediatric nurse who has lived in Ridgefield for about three years, was drawn to LULAC’s emphasis on Latino empowerment and community action. The new chapter grew out of conversations with local families who wanted more support and representation for Latino residents in the region.
“I just think with the political climate, it’s easy to get caught up in just complaining, but I really found that LULAC’s mission is very positive, it’s very uplifting,” Medina said. “It’s (about) helping each other out and working together in community-based programs.”
She first became involved with LULAC’s Vancouver-area chapter, SW WA LULAC, after attending a screening of the short film “Running to Stand Still,” hosted by Meaningful Movies in Ridgefield last November. Meaningful Movies runs free screenings of films for the community, focusing on social justice and civic action.
“It brings light to the humanitarian crisis at the US-Mexico border,” Medina said of the film. “It features interviews with migrants, and it puts a human face to the issue.”
Andy Lara, president of SW WA LULAC, spoke during the Q&A portion of the screening, inspiring Medina to participate since November of last year. Medina knew early on that she wanted to start a local chapter.
“I connected with (Lara) and started working with (SW WA LULAC), and I told them that night, ‘I’m going to start my own council in Ridgefield, or up in the north area of North Clark County,’” Medina said.
The chapter currently includes about 13 members, Medina said, with nonprofit leaders, business owners and community advocates gathering from Ridgefield, La Center, Salmon Creek and Tacoma. Priorities include helping Latino families navigate school and healthcare systems and connecting them with public resources they might not otherwise access.
Medina said conversations with local school leaders quickly revealed the need for more support.
“I sat down with the principal at Southridge (Elementary School), and they have 17% Latinos that need help accessing resources,” Medina said. “I even met with the multilingual advisory board at (View Ridge) Middle School, and they know… some of these families that show up, they don’t speak English, and they didn’t know about… the resources, or they need interpreters, or they need help navigating the school system, and that’s kind of when the light went off.”
At a recent multilingual advisory board meeting, Medina said one parent was unaware that his children could qualify for free participation in sports in the Ridgefield School District. The experience reinforced the need for a local LULAC chapter.
“He needed an interpreter, but he had very simple questions as a parent that he should have probably already known with his kids already being in middle school and high school,” Medina said. “The light bulb went off, and I was like, ‘This is why I’m here.’”
Medina said the organization hopes to eventually help students form youth LULAC councils and participate in civic engagement opportunities, including trips to Olympia to meet lawmakers.
“We took a huge cohort of students up to Latino Legislation Day, and it was incredible,” Medina said of her experience in SW WA LULAC. “I’ve thought to myself, how cool could this be next year (if) we had students from Battle Ground, or from Ridgefield, going up and talking to these senators, learning about policy, learning about how to get involved. That’s my goal (for) the next couple of years.”
The chapter will start its work in Ridgefield and plans to expand east, to Battle Ground and La Center.
The chapter does not yet have a website or official social media, but Medina said community interest has been strong. The first meetings will be open to anyone interested in attending.
“I wasn’t expecting our (first) meetings to be open to the public, just because we’re so new, but I’ve had so many people ask, ‘Hey, when’s your meeting?’” she said.
Medina said the chapter welcomes both Latino and non-Latino residents interested in supporting its mission.
“You do not have to be Latino, Mexican, Chicano to join the council or to support (us),” She said. “We need all the allies we can get, and we have non-Latinos on the council.”
Readers can contact nclulacpresident@gmail.com for additional information, including upcoming meetings.
