The deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others have underscored the urgent need to address racial equality, especially within the Latinx community, one of the most racially and ethnically diverse populations in America. This community is vast, with many members of African descent. While some Latinx individuals are Black, for those who are not, there is still a critical need for accountability. The 2020 surge of the Black Lives Matter movement, combined with the approach of National Hispanic Heritage Month, made it a crucial moment to confront racism and colorism within the Latinx community. The “mestizaje” attitude, which imagines Latinx as a mixed-race population free from anti-Black racism, ignores the deep history of racial and ethnic tensions. The lack of education surrounding this history has led to a complicated, and often negative, relationship with color.
Dany Garcia’s #LatinxtheMosaic sought to bring this sensitive and complex conversation to the forefront. By inviting influential voices to use their platforms for education and awareness, it aimed to address racism and colorism within Latinx culture.
Hosted by Dany Garcia, #LatinxtheMosaic kicked off Hispanic Heritage Month with a virtual conversation that confronted these issues while celebrating the Black influence within the Latinx community. Garcia, along with a panel of multi-hyphenate activists—Professor and author Tanya Hernández, award-winning filmmaker Nadia Hallgren, Orange Is the New Black actress Dascha Yolaine Polanco, fitness guru Robin Arzón, and journalist Lilliana Vazquez—engaged in an open discussion that challenged cultural behaviors and explored solutions for amplifying Black voices.
Furthermore, partnered with Afro Latina author, educator, and visual artist, Reyna Noriega to bring joy and clarity to a profound message of change.
Branding
Social
-Educational Static Posts to provide educational material and historical background to the conversation to inform people of the subject, ahead of the event. Continue to emphasize the importance of the intersection of Black people in the Latinx narrative.
-Official event announcement flyer for talent and reshare
-Instagram story filter for speakers announcements
-Instagram story filter for audience inclusion and community building
Philanthropic Angle
To normalize equality within the Latinx community, through Hello Alice we ran an incentive during Hispanic Heritage Month that provided Latinx small and new business entrepreneurs with short-term financial aid to those who have sustained an economic loss due to COVID-19. With small businesses under threat, and ambitions waning in the face of pandemic and mounting downturn, our project provided for those building and trying to stay afloat in adversity. A financial award of $100,000 was split equally between 10 companies. As part of the program, we featured behind the scenes stories and insights from the award-winning founders during the holidays.
