We would be tone-deaf to not notice what is happening to our fellow Latinx community in Texas and to be honest, we’re miffed about it. We really mean, Latin angry type of carbonados.
Here is why…
Here at Barrio News, we aim to bring you insights that have different optics and so here’s how we see it – A perspective that is focused on the real facts affecting our community, not the Cruz Cancun Scandal.
Texas – Un Resumen:
The State is in recuperacíon mode after last week’s storms left more than 40 people dead. Thousands are still left without power and an estimated 10M people don’t have access to drinkable water.
Texas – Veneno Concerns:
Texas is known for its high density of oil refineries. When those oil refineries shut down, they allegedly released more than 337,000 pounds of toxic gases into the air. This is sounding the environmental alarms but most importantly to us, it’s sounding an even greater alarm as it’s already a known issue that Oil refinery toxins were a concern in Latino neighborhoods – where elevated cases of Asthma and Cancer due to the well documented unhealthy ozone levels in Latino dense Texan counties.
Texas – An Energy Crisis:
We’ve all heard of Texans getting high energy bills. One man got a $16k energy bill and we were shocked. We started digging. Now…(long pause)…Do you remember the name we asked you to remember?
Jeffrey Skilling came up in our search because it looks since this gentleman got out of the pinta, his new business idea was to get into the Digital Energy marketplace. He saw an opportunity in the energy deregulation that’s been happening in Texas, the last couple of years.
Good News – A Leader Taking Action:
On Saturday President Biden approved a disaster declaration for Texas counties which opens up federal dollars that can be used towards property losses, temporary housing, and home repairs. This is HUGE.
La curiosidad nos llevo – What’s the Hispanic/ Latino population in Texas?
A quick google search tells that almost 50% (47.3% to be exact) of the Texan population is Hispanic/Latino. (Side Note: It looks like Mexico may be taking Texas back….right?). Latinos will be the majority population in Texas in 2022. This totally explains and makes it’s obvious why some of our fellow silicon valley tech pioneers are moving to Texas – the people and community!
Don’t Forget – Texans and the Niños:
We all remember the hurt and helplessness we felt when we saw pictures of the caged immigrant children at the border. We kept talking about how it could be us in there.
Although the Biden Administration is still making proactive plans to unite families with their children, he took some heat as he reopened a Texas tent facility earlier this week due to overflow from COVID restrictions and an expectation of incoming refugees that started arriving on Thursday from the Matamoros Camp.
Want to do something about it but don’t know how? we got you!
TODEC, an organization in Perris, CA, is creating and sending letters of love to the Children, to keep their spirits up. You and your family members can create letters of love too, here’s how to do it.
Side Note: Texas was a majority group that Democrats and Republicans saw as key in our recent election. They were literally fighting for their attention, as both parties increased spending to very high levels, during the elections. We have POWER!
Some Empowering News Currently coming out of Texas – A Story of Luchadores:
Chicano Squad a VOX podcast that showcases the historical challenge and badass successes of the “Chicano Squad” as part of a Houston Police department effort to repair its broken relationship with the Latino Community. We love it!
Texan Latinos: We hope the above shows you the amount of power you have to take control and pave your path to success. That may be hard to see right now but you got this! Contact us, please, if you need to chat or anything we can do to help. You are not alone!