National Institute for Latino Policy
The National Institute for Latino Policy (NiLP) was established in 1982 as the Institute for Puerto Rican Policy (IPR) in New York City, United States as a non-profit and nonpartisan policy center focusing on critical Latino policy issues.
Between 1999 and 2005, the Institute entered into a strategic alliance with the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (PRLDEF) (currently called Latino-Justice PRLDEF) during which it functioned as the Fund’s policy research arm. In November 2005, the Institute returned to its independent status and changed its name to the National Institute for Latino Policy. The name change more accurately reflected the national scope and pan-Latino nature of its work.
The National Institute for Latino Policy focuses on developing local as well as national strategies to advocate for Latino community needs, and in this way complements the work of existing national Latino organizations. NiLP's strategies include the creative use of the Internet to disseminate critical information and to mobilize constituencies. It hosts The NiLP Network on Latino Issues, one of the most influential online communities of Latino leaders in the United States. It also coordinates the Latino Census Network and the Latino Voting Rights Network, both online informational networks of Latino community advocates.
Contents
Background
The Institute is a pioneer and innovator in the Latino community in conducting aggressive community-based policy.
The Institute is actively involved in a number of coalitions and collaborations in the Latino community nationally. The War. It is a member of the Latino Policy Coalition, a collaboration of the leading progressive Latino thinks tanks and scholars in the country. The Institute also works closely with the National Hispanic Media Coalition and the National Latino Media Council on a wide range of media policy issues affecting Latinos. It is a founding member of the Defend the Honor Campaign, which in early 2007 put pressure on the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) and filmmaker Ken Burns to include the Latino experience in their documentary on WWII, In 2006, the Institute's President and Founder, Angelo Falcón, was named one of the top 25 "New York Latino movers and shakers" by the New York Post (November 8, 2006).
The Institute created and operated The NiLP Network on Latino Issues, an online information service (originally the ipr-forum listserv) that is widely recognized as one of the most influential sources on Latino policy and political concerns. It provides its members with the most current and thought-provoking developments on Latino issues. The NiLP Network serves as a news aggregator, provides critical commentaries by Latino community opinion leaders, and hosts the NiLP iReports, NiLP Latino Datanotes, the Latino Census Network and the Latino Voting Rights Network.
NiLP has also been a leader in holding the Census Bureau accountable to the Latino community through its outreach for the decennial Censuses and in the years in between. In 2007 NiLP created the Latino Census Network, the major online clearinghouse of Census issues affecting Latinos in the United States. NiLP has functioned as a Census Information Center (CIC) since 2000, an official federal repository of Census data. NiLP's President, Angelo Falcón, has served as Chair of the Census Advisory Committee on the Hispanic Population, and is currently a member of the Census Bureau's National Advisory Committee on Racial, Ethnic and Other Populations.
The National Institute for Latino Policy is funded primarily by foundations, corporations and individual contributions. In 2006–12 it received grants from The Ford Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Proteus Fund, the Hispanic Federation, the Latino Policy Coalition/Metro Foundation, the NYC Worker-Community Collaborative, and the United Way of New York City. In this period it also received the financial and in-kind support from the AriZona Beverage Company, the CBS Television Network, Citi, the City University of New York (CUNY), Columbia University, Fordham University School of Law, Lehman College (CUNY), Hostos Community College (CUNY), Con Edison, the Ford Motor Company, the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA), the IBM Corporation, jetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, NBC4-Telemundo47, Telemundo, Univision, PBS, Nielsen Media Research,the RAM Capital Group LLC, the Scholastic Corporation, SEIU SEIU 32BJ, 1199SEIU, GlobalHue Latino, d'exposito & partners, Tonio Burgos and Associates LLC, the Toyota Motor Company, ABC-TV, FOX Television Stations, Salsa Catering & Special Events, LatinoSports, the California Community Foundation, the National Refrescos Import Company, and DC 37 AFL-CIO.
Organizational Timeline 1982−2012
1982
Publishes first report, on the issue of the extreme underrepresentation of Latinos in New York State government work force. It found that, although 10 percent of the state’s population, they were less than 3 percent of state government workers, making Latinos the most underrepresented group in the state.
Publishes report on Latino voters in New York City, “Latino Voter Registration in NYC: Statistics for Action,” that finds Latinos as “electoral sleeping giant,“ estimating that there are 400,000 Latino eligible to vote but who are not registered
1983
Publishes report “Simple Justice: Puerto Rican and Latino Government Employment in New York and the Failure of Affirmative Action.”
Institute conducts first National Puerto Rican Opinion Survey of 1,500 stateside Puerto Rican leaders and activists.
1984
In a special report on Hispanics, The Ford Foundation singles out the Institute as a “model” explaining that its reports “have attracted the attention of the press and have served to encourage policy debates . . . as well as to heighten the sensitivity of public officials to these concerns.” (pp. 54–55).
Monitors NYS Mario Cuomo’s political appointments of Latinos to his Administration finding, based on state government records, that Latinos only made 3.2 percent of appointments compared to Cuomo’s claim of 10 percent.
Working with Aspira of New York, monitors NYC Board of Education’s reporting of the Hispanic dropout rate as underreporting the problem under Puerto Rican Schools Chancellor, Nathan Quiñones.
Critiques Raymond Carr book, “Puerto Rico: A Colonial Experiment.” In a letter to the New York Times, Angelo Falcón writes: “Mr. Carr and the Twentieth Century Fund have . . . produced a dangerous book. It attempts, in Mr. Carr’s lucid and engaging prose, to elevate old notions of Puerto Ricans as unable to govern themselves, as welfare parasites, as devoid of any significant national culture, etc., to a level of respectability and of being part of the ‘common sense’ of the current policy discourse on United States-Puerto Rico relations. “
Institute hold first annual Friends of the Institute Benefit Dance featuring Ruben Blades and Los Seis de Solar, along with the Bad Street Boys, at the Marc Ballroom in Union Square in Manhattan.
Criticizes and defeats Census Bureau proposal to combine Puerto Rican and other Latino national-origin groups into one Hispanic category in the 1990 Census.
1985
Publishes “Black and Latino Politics in NYC: Race and Ethnicity in a Changing Urban Context,” which documents for the first time that New York City has become a “majority minority” city.
Monitors NYS Governor Mario Cuomo’s responsiveness to Latino concerns; promotes establishment of Governor’s Advisory Committee on Hispanic Affairs
Institute analysis presented in Albany, NY conference projects that Latino underrepresentation will worsen over time if left to current trends, projecting that by 1990, while Latinos will make up 11 percent of the NYS population, they will only make up 4 percent of state government employees. In 2006, while making up 15 percent of the state’s population, the Latino share of state government workers is only 4 percent.
1986
Criticizes Governor Cuomo for his remarks that “when Puerto Ricans came her 10 or 15 years ago, some didn’t have a pair of shoes until they got to the airport.”
Published pioneering study of Latino political contributors to NYC Mayor Koch and NYS Governor Mario Cuomo. It found that Latinos contributed $185,000 to both campaigns, making up 1.8 percent of contributions to Cuomo and 1.2 percent to Koch.
Institute holds 2nd Annual National Planning Meeting.
1987
Publishes analysis critical of report of the recommendations of Mayor Koch’s Commission on Hispanic Concerns.
Institute leads campaign to appoint a Latino to the NYC Board of Education that had no Latino representation under the Koch Administration.
1988
Institute hold major citywide conference at Fordham University on Puerto Rican and Latino issues in New York City in preparation for next year’s mayoral election.
On the Presidential election and the Latino vote, Angelo Falcón tells the New York Times: “Dukakis as the advantage of speaking fluent and flawless Spanish. But he’s boring in any language.”
Releases analysis of Democratic Presidential primary that found that Jesse Jackson received 53 percent of the Latino vote in New York. Based on this analysis, Angelo Falcón told Focus: The Monthly Magazine of the Joint Center for Political Studies that, “if Latinos vote against Koch next year at the same rate that they rejected Gore (Koch’s candidate), a black-Latino coalition might very well combine behind a challenge to defeat Koch in 1989.”
Released analysis of Latino primary vote in NYC, “The Puerto Rican/Latino Vote in New York City Democratic Primaries of September 15, 1988,” that revealed Latino voter turnout rates comparable to whites, thus challenging stereotype of low Latino participation.
New York Times covers Institute annual benefit dance in Club Broadway.
1989
Holds major citywide conference on “The Dinkins Administration and the Puerto Rican Community: Lessons from the Experience of Puerto Ricans with African-American Mayors in Chicago and Philadelphia” at the New School for Social Research
Publishes “Toward a Puerto Rican/Latino Agenda for New York City” aimed at mayoral candidates
Publishes report on “Puerto Ricans and the 1989 Mayoral Election in New York City.”
Publishes reports on NYC Charter Revision Commission: “Charter Revision and Racial Exclusion” and “The 1989 Mayoral Election and the Charter Revision Vote in New York City”
1990
Monitoring of NYC Dinkins Administration begins. Angelo Falcón tells the New York Times that: “I don’t think anybody anticipated the Dinkins Administration would develop such a poor relationship with the Latino community. Their learning curve is a lot flatter than I think anybody anticipated.”
Comments on Black-Latino relations in New York City and the lack of responsiveness by the Dinkins Administration in New York City
Publishes reports monitoring the Dinkins Administration: “The Dinkins Administration and the Puerto Rican Community” and “The Dinkins Administration and the Puerto Rican /Latino Community: The First 100 Days.”
1991
Institute-sponsored Latino Voting Rights Network becomes a player in redistricting process in New York and other Northeast states
Leslie Gelb, New York Times columnist, writes that “Angelo Falcon, a leader in the Puerto Rican community, deserves a high position also” in the Dinkins Administration.
Writes comments in New York Times on NYC budget situation: “There is a connection between poverty and racial tensions and an unfair distribution of services and city resources that fall along racial lines.”
1992
Releases findings as part of research team of seminal Latino National Political Survey (LNPS), largest household survey ever conducted of Latino political attitudes and behavior in the United States; co-writes book on findings, “Latino Voices: Mexican, Puerto Rican & Cuban Perspectives on American Politics.”
Publishes “Puerto Ricans and the 1988 Election in New York City”
Releases result of NYC Puerto Rican leadership survey that found Fernando Ferrer to be most influential leader in this community.
Comments on assassination in New York City of former El Diario-La Prensa editor, Manuel de Dios Unanue, by Colombia drug ring.
Publishes report on “Carrillo, the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation and the Latino Community.”
Publishes pamphlet, “Puerto Ricans and other Latinos in New York City Today: A Statistical Profile.”
Leads Latino community-labor coalition against the North American Free Trade Agreement, publishing “NAFTA Resource Book: Northeast Puerto Rican/Latino Roundtable on the North American Free Trade Agreement.”
Publishes report on “Latinos and the Redistricting Process in New York City.”
1993
Publishes (through 1997) the monthly publication, “Crítica: A Journal of Puerto Rican Politics & Policy.”
Publishes a series of “Proceedings of the 1993 New York City Mayoral Election and the Puerto Rican Community: Issues and Prospects” on each Mayoral candidate.
Publishes analysis of Census data on “The Status of Puerto Ricans in the U.S.”
1994
Reprints 1978 study on Puerto Rican leadership, “The Puerto Rican Activist Stratum in New York City 1978.”
Compiles and publishes the “Directory of Puerto Rican/Latino Associations in New York City 1994.”
1995
Publishes 800-page “NYC Latino Neighborhoods Data Book” that maps and profiles, for the first time, the city’s 21 Latino neighborhoods and sub-neighborhoods.
Holds citywide forum featuring Pablo ‘Yoruba’ Guzman on “The Young Lords Legacy: A Personal Account.”
First publishes the “Soy Boricua” Calendar.
1996
Publishes “Latino Immigrants and Electoral Participation: Puerto Ricans, Dominicans and South Americans in the New York City Political System.”
New York Times asks Angelo Falcón to comment on state of New York City: “In terms of the cachet of New York, of New York being seen as social and cultural capital of the world, it’s back. But all that is geared to the well-to-do.”
Publishes “Puerto Ricans in Post-liberal New York: The 1992 Presidential Election” “New York City Latino Voter Handbook.”
“Puerto Rican Politics in New York: Beyond ‘Secondhand’ Theory” Reprint of Jose Ramon Sanchez article.
1997
Publishes, in collaboration with the Hispanic Research Center of Fordham University and with funding from The Ford Foundation, “Nuestra America en New York: The New Immigrant Hispanic Populations in New York City, 1980-90.”
Publishes analysis of Latino underrepresentation in New York City municipal government jobs: while 24 percent of the city population, Latinos held on 13 percent of city jobs.
Published article, “The End of Voting Rights?” in Hispanic Magazine about the lack of enforcement of the Federal Voting Rights Act in the Latino community.
Writes a commentary in the New York Times on NYC Mayor Rudolph Giuliani on his third year in office, finding that “He has personalized New York City politics in a way that needlessly polarizes attitudes.”
Ends publication of “Críitica: A Journal of Puerto Rican Policy & Politics.”
1998
Institute generates a major national discussion of the introduction of a “Puerto Rican Barbie Doll” from Mattel and its implications for Puerto Rican identity and politics.
1999
Institute and Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund agree to a strategic alliance in which the Institute becomes the Fund’s Policy Division.
Publishes “Beyond La Macarena: New York City Puerto Rican, Dominican, and South American Voters in the 1996 Election.”
2000
Publishes the report “Beyond Bilingual Education: Meeting the Needs of English Language Learners in the New York City Public Schools,” which helped to transform the discourse on bilingual education from a defensive to a more pro-active position in New York City and broadening the scope of issues facing the education of Latino youth.
2001
Identifies the problem of the underreporting of certain Latino subgroups in 2000 Census (Dominicans, Colombians and others) and joins campaign to get the Census Bureau to correct the problem.
Publishes “Still on the Outside Looking In: Latino Employment in New York Broadcast Television” in collaboration with the National Hispanic Media Coalition and put pressure on the city’s local television stations to address the problem of the underrepresentation of Latinos on their staffs. IPR also wrote a proposal for the National Hispanic Media Coalition that resulted in The Ford Foundation supporting the work of the Coalition’s Media Policy Project in 2004-5.
Publishes “De’tras Pa’lante: The Future of Puerto Rican History in New York City – An Essay.”
Publishes editorial comment, “Liberating Vieques,” in The Nation.
Releases analysis of voting rights discrimination against Latinos in New York City redistricting plan for the City Council.
Angelo Falcón profiled in “Public Lives: A 20 Year Battler for Puerto Rican Pull,” by John Kifner, New York Times (June 20).
2002
Publishes, in collaboration with the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, “Opening the Courthouse Doors: The Need for More Hispanic Judges.” This is the first study of Latinos in the judiciary in the state and federal courts.
2003
Challenges, in collaboration with the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, the nomination of Miguel Estrada for federal district judge by the Bush Administration.
Angelo Falcón profiled on Hispanic Outlook on Higher Education.
2004
Publishes “The Atlas of Stateside Puerto Ricans,” commissioned by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. This report found that the stateside Puerto Rican population was for the first larger than that of Puerto Rico, generating a new dsicussion on the relationship between Stateside and Island Puerto Ricans, and stimulated some new thinking about policy initiatives by the Government of Puerto Rico in working with Stateside Puerto Ricans.
Co-edits the book, “Boricuas in Gotham: Puerto Ricans in the Making of Modern New York City.”
Publishes “’Pues, At Least We Had Hillary’: Latino New York City, the 2000 Election, and the Limits of Party Loyalty.”
2005
Institute and Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund announce agreement to separate.
Releases report, in collaboration with the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, entitled “Condition Critical: The Absence of Latinos Among Policymakers in New York City’s Voluntary Hospitals.” This is one of the first reports ever done critically examining the problem of the lack of diversity in health policy and practice governance.
Testifies before NYS Assembly committee that Latino underrepresentation in NYS government jobs remains a serious problem.
2006
Institute for Puerto Rican Policy officially changes name to National Institute for Latino Policy (NiLP).
Conducts the first web-based national poll of over 500 Puerto Rican and other Latino community activists on issues affecting Puerto Ricans and Puerto Rico.
In collaboration with the National Hispanic Media Coalition, conducts “Public Hearing on Diversity & the Broadcasting Industry” with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) commissioners at Hunter College.
Works with the City University of New York (CUNY) t create the Puerto Rican Faculty Recruitment Project to develop approaches to reverse the decline of Puerto Rican faculty at this institution.
Institute comments widely in the media on the fiscal crisis in Puerto Rico.
Institute presents 2006 Orgullo Latino Awards to Congresspersons Nydia Velazquez and Jose Serrano, civil rights attorney Juan Cartagena, media advocate Marta Garcia, and NiLP volunteer Joseph Luppens.
2007
Publishes critical review of Herman Badillo’s controversial book, One Nation, One Standard: An Ex-Liberal on How Hispanics Can Succeed Just Like Other Immigrant Groups, entitled, “One Nation, Polarized? Herman Badillo and the Limits of Liberalism: Review of Herman Badillo’s One Nation, One Standard.” The Institute also sponsored a major national online discussion on the Badillo book.
Co-founded the Defend the Honor Campaign to include the Latino WW II experience in the Ken Burns PBS documentary, “The War.”
Calls for investigation of National Puerto Rican Parade arrests in NYC of Latin Kings.
Produces analysis of judicial selection process and diversity under the Lopez Torres case, published in El Diario-La Prensa and the Puerto Rican Bar Association publication.
Publishes “The Diaspora Factor: Stateside Boricuas and the Future of Puerto Rico” in the NACLA Report on the Americas (November/December issue).
Begins planning for publication in 2008 of new publication, “Crítica: A Journal of Latino Policy & Politics,” to be based at the City College of New York.
Institute celebrates 25th anniversary at gala reception co-hosting by Jimmy Smits and George Herrera, and honoring Kimberly Casiano, President and CEO of Casiano Communication, as the recipient of the 2007 Orgullo Latino Award, in New York City.
2008
Led a major educational campaign to raise awareness of the 2010 Census and its importance to the Latino community. NiLP created and coordinated the Latino Census Network, an informational network with 28 of the leading national and regional Latino organizations in the United States and the leading clearinghouse on Census issues affecting Latinos in the country.. In recognition of this work, NiLP President was appointed by the U.S. Commerce Secretary to the Census Advisory Committee on the Hispanic Population, and he has been elected to the National Steering Committee of the Census Bureau’s Census Information Centers (CIC) Program.
Being a founder in 2007 of the Defend the Honor Campaign that put community pressure on PBS and filmmaker Ken Burn to include the Latino experience in their 7-part documentary series, The War, NiLP is also part of a group of national Latino organization that have been meeting with the leadership of PBS to promote greater Latino representation in their programming, staff and governance.
Provided an independent and nonpartisan voice analyzing the role of the Latino vote in such media as the New York Times, Washington Post, El Diario-La Prensa, Shimbun Yumiori Newspaper (Japan), CNN, CNN en Español, O Estado de S. Paulo (Brazil), Univision, Telemundo, Radio Bilingue, Politico, Hispanic Link, Spanglish Magazine, El Nuevo Dia (Puerto Rico), Hofstra University Radio, National Public Radio (NPR), Hispanic Market Weekly, XM Radio, the New Jersey Network and even Comedy Central’s Colbert Report, among others.
Worked with national Latino coalitions like the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, the National Latino Media Council, the Defend the Honor Campaign, the National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights and others to develop Latino agenda for change.
Developed one of the most effective national informational networks on the Internet on Latino policy issues through our Latino Policy eNewsletter, Email Bulletins and National Latino Opinion Leaders’ Surveys.
Worked to increase the accountability of philanthropy to Latino and other communities of color through being part of the establishment of the NYC Collaborative for Fairness and Equity in Philanthropy, being part of the Diversity in Philanthropy Project at the New York Regional Association of Grantmakers and the Foundation Center, and related activities.
Put pressure on CNN to remove a fundraising appeal by Lou Dobbs from their website for the Town of Hazelton to fight support their anti-immigrant policies. Upon receiving NiLP’s objections, CNN took down the biased ad within a day from the Lou Dobbs Tonight section of their website.
Presented lectures and talks on Latino policy issues throughout the United States. Including at Brandies University, Cornell University, the Dominican-American National Roundtable Conference in Providence, Rhode Island, the New York Chapter of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), the Latino Policy Forum in Chicago, LULAC Annual Conference in Washington, DC, Northern Illinois University, the Puerto Rican Studies Association 8th Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Proskauer Rose LLP, Smith College, UBS, the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute Annual Conference in Chicago,the University of Puerto Rico, and the University of Texas at Austin. Among others.
Initiated national campaign to support nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
2009
Continued work to promote the full participation of the Latino community in the 2010 Census. NiLP published the Latino Census eNewsletter and email bulletins keeping the community abreast of developments in the planning of the 2010 Census. Appearances to discuss the Census were made on ABC-TV New York's Tiempo Show, NPR's WHHY-FM Philadelphia, NPR's Latino USA, CUNY-TV, WBAI-FM and Bronx 12 TV, as well as commentaries in the New York Times, El Diario-La Prensa, CNN and other news outlets, including overseas. NiLP made presentations on the 2010 Census before LULAC, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute, the National Puerto Rican Parade leadership, an Azteca American Congressional Briefing, Kellogg Foundation Hispanic Symposium, the New York Voting Rights Consortium, and other venues.
Continued work to develop a strategy for increasing foundation responsiveness to communities of color in New York through leadership in the NYC Collaborative for Fairness and Equity in Philanthropy (CFEP). In June, CFEP was the recipient of the "Community Advocate of the Year" Award presented by the Association of Hispanic Health Executives. In November, CFEP held its highly successful forum, "Racial-Ethnic Diversity and Foundations in New York City: The Lessons from the California Experience."
Conducted national Latino opinion leaders' survey on the Obama Administration and the Latino community; analysis of Latino voting and registration in the 2008 Presidential election; researching a chapter for a forthcoming book on Latinos and 2008 Election; and other research on Latino policy and political issues.
Continued successful public education campaign about Judge Sotomayor's nomination to the US Supreme Court. This included appearances in such news outlets as Fox 5 New York, WWRL-AM, and Colombia's largest radio station, as well as a major op-ed on CNN.com. NiLP also published a Sonia Sotomayor Support Tool Kit to assist supporters in promoting her nomination.
NiLP was part of the Dump Dobbs campaign, which resulted in anti-immigrant ideolgue Lou Dobbs removal from the CNN roster.
Angelo Falcón, NiLP's President, was elected Chair of the Census Advisory Committee on the Hispanic Population, one of the Census Bureau's Race and Ethnic Advisory Committees (REAC). He was also elected Chair of the Steering Committee of the Census Bureau's Census Information Centers (CIC) Program.
At the organization's 27th anniversary benefit reception, with the theme "The 2010 Census: Making Latinos Count," NiLP presented its Orgullo Latino Award to Anna C. Carbonell, Roberto Lovato and Josephine Nieves. Census Director Robert Groves made a special presentation at this event.
2010
In February, NiLP published the report, "Data Dissemination in Communities of Color: The Role of the Census Information Centers." This was part of NiLP's efforts to begin planning for post-2010 Census activities and to increase the profile of the Census Information Centers (CIC) Program of the Census Bureau. NiLP made a presentation on the CIC Program to the Funders' Census Initiative.
NiLP continued the promotion of Latino participation in the 2010 Census. This included extensive media work and the continuing online information dissemination of the Latino Census Network. Guest appearances to discuss the 2010 Census were made on BBC America TV, National Public Radio, WBAI-FM, NY1 Noticias' Pura Politica, NY1 News, City Limits Magazine, WABC-TV's Tiempo Show, CUNY TV, Time Magazine, and others.
NiLP also developed a collaborative 2010 Census Outreach Project as part of the New York Voting Rights Consortium, which held a citywide forum in April with the theme, "Assessing the 2010 Censsu in NYC's Communities of Color." Presentations were made on the Census at the annual conference of the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute in Chicago, Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, Columbia University, Baruch College (CUNY), CUNY Law School, the Executive Offices of the New York State Governor, the Somos El Futuro Conference in Albany, NY, the New York City Council, and other venues. On March 17, NiLP was a part of the National Latino 2010 Census Summit in Washington, DC along with all the major national Latino civil rights organizations.
2011
In January 2011, NiLP became a member of La Fuente Community-Labor Fund's Collaborative Project in New York City. This collaborative includes Mothers on the Move, the New York Taxi Workerz Alliance,La Fuente, Domestic Workers United, El Centro del Inmigrante and the Murphy Institute for Worker Education and Labor Studies.
On February 5, 2011, NiLP held a "Northeast Latino Redistricting Meeting" that attracted over 100 Latino voting rights advocates from Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, DC. The purpose of the regional meeting was to promote Latino participation in the redistricting process and provide legal, technical and other information on the process.
On April 21, 2011, NiLP convened a meeting between the Director of the US Census, Robert Groves, and national Latino organizations of the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA) to discuss Latino participation in the planning of the 2020 Cesus and in addressing the persistent problem of Latino underrepresetnation in the Census Bureau's work force (currently making up only 6 percent of the total).
On May 2 –3, 2011, NiLP President, Angelo Falcón, was part of a fact-finding delegation organized by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to investigate charges of widespread excessive police violence in Puerto Rico. The delegation included ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero, LatinoJutice PRLDEF President Juan Cartagena, Oscar-nominated actress Rosie Perez and former Major League Baseball player Carlos Delgado. The ACLU will be issuing a report of its findings ad recommendations in September. On June 8, Romero, Cartagena and Falcón are meeting with the US Department of Justice to discuss their investigation of police misconduct in Puerto Rico.
On May 31, 2011, NiLP joined with the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) in filing a Petition to Deny to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) opposing the proposed merger of AT&T with T-Mobile on the grounds it is would be anti-competitive.
2012
This being a Presidential election year, NiLP made a series of presentation and participated on panel discussions on the Latino vote at the Bar Association of the City of New York, Brooklyn College, City Limits Magazine, Columbia University School of Journalism, Executive Committee of 32BJ SEIU, Hofstra University, Latin American Law Students Association (LALSA) of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, New York University, Northeast Regional Conference of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, NYU Wagner School, Seton Hall University, and the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice. NiLP’s President, Angelo Falcón, has also appeared on a number of television and radio programs such as WABC-TV New York, NY1 News and Noticias, CUNY-TV, Latino USA, NPR and others to discuss the Latino vote and related issues., as well as quoted extensively in major newspapers and magazines such as the New York Times, Time magazine and news sites such as NBC Latino, Huffington Post, Fox New Latino and others.
In terms of voting rights, NiLP focused our work in 2012 on the redistricting process at the Congressional, state and local legislative levels. NiLP published the groundbreaking report, “Latinos and NYC Council Districting, 2012: An Introduction.” As part of its coalition work with the New York Voting Rights Consortium, NiLP participated in the development and promotion of the Unity Plan for communities of color for Congressional, state and NYC Council redistricting, working closely with LatinoJustice PRLDEF. NiLP made presentations on the voter ID/suppression issue, and the redistricting process at the New York Bar Association and La Fuente: A Tri-State Worker and Community Fund.
NiLP continued its monitoring of the Census Bureau responsiveness to the Latino community. Angelo Falcón was appointed to serve on the Census Bureau’s newly created National Advisory Committee on Racial, Ethnic and Other Populations, and continued to serve as a member of the Census Information Centers (CIC) Program. He also organized and co-chairs the Census Subcommittee of the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), which held a major meeting in December with the Acting Census Director and his senior staff on Latino issues. NiLP was instrumental in development the Census section of the recommendations in the NHLA’s 2012 Latino Public Policy Agenda presented to the Presidential candidates.
In the area of media advocacy, NiLP collaborated with the National Hispanic Media Coalition in its Latino Experts Project to promote greater participation of Latino commentators on network television news programs. Related to this, NiLP publish the first ever “2012 New York City Latino Experts Guide,” which it distributed widely to major news outlets in the New York area and nationally. NiLP also participated in a meeting with the President and CEO of the New York Daily News to discuss improving their relationship to the Latino community, and issued a report on the underrepresentation of Latinos on their news staff. NiLP also provided advice to Boricuas for a Positive Image in their campaign to protest stereotyping in WABC-TV’s short-lived sitcom, “Work It.”
Among other issues addressed by NiLP in 2012 was the ongoing investigation in support of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of the Puerto Rico police department and its violations of civil liberties and other irregularities. This included participating in a Washington, DC news briefing on this issue and meetings with the Justice Department that resulted in a settlement between DOJ and the Puerto Rico police in December. In the area of higher education, NiLP organized a major citywide briefing on the problem of the resegregation of the senior colleges in the City University of New York (CUNY).
Through The NiLP Network on Latino Issues, NiLP’s online information service, the Institute issued a number of iReports and Latino Datanotes. The iReports included: “The NiLP Political Junkies' Guide to Latinos and the 2012 NYC Primaries” (September 10, 2012); “The Vanishing Puerto Rican Student at the City University of New York (CUNY)” (August 14, 2012); “A Boricua Game of Thrones? A Critical Review of the Rise of Puerto Rican Political Families in New York City” (July 29, 2012); “2012 New York City Latino Experts Media Guide” (June 7, 2012);“Latinos and the Philanthropic Agenda: The Foundation Center/HIP's Hispanic ‘One Percent’ Report” (April 3, 2012); and “Latinos and NYC Council Districting, 2012: An Introduction.”
Among the NiLP Datanotes were: “The 2012 Latino Vote Exit Poll Profile” (November 7, 2012); “The Vote in Puerto Rico --- November 6, 2012” (November 7, 2012); and “The Latino Unemployment Rate: Oct. 2012” (November 2, 2012).
NiLP President Angelo Falcón also began work in 2012 as a co-editor of the 2nd edition of the critically received book, Latinos in New York: Communities in Transition (University of Notre Dame Press). On October 12, NiLP’s President, Angelo Falcón, was honored with an award by the Puerto Rican Heritage House for his policy work on behalf of the Latino community.
Selected publications
Reports
Angelo Falcón, The Vanishing Puerto Rican Student at the City University of New York (CUNY), NiLP Latino Policy iReport (August 14, 2012)
_____________, A Boricua Game of Thrones? A Critical Review of the Rise of Puerto Rican Political Families in New York City, NiLP Latino Policy iReport (July 29, 2012)
_____________, Latinos and NYC Council Districting, 2012: An Introduction (New York: National Institute for Latino Policy, March 2012)
_____________, Data Dissemination in Communities of Color: The Role of the Census Information Centers (New York: National Institute for Latino Policy, February 2010)
_____________, The Boricua Factor in American Politics (New York: National Institute for Latino Policy, January 2009)
José A. García (ed.), East Coast Latino Voting Rights Act Reauthorization Manual (New York: National Institute for Latino Policy, 2006)
Angelo Falcón, Atlas of Stateside Puerto Ricans (Washington, DC: Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration, 2004)
Annette Fuentes, Condition Critical: The Absence of Latinos Among Policymakers in New York City’s Voluntary Hospitals (New York: PRLDEF Institute for Puerto Rican Policy, 2004)
_______________, Cracks in the Unity: The Impact of September 11 on New York Latinos – Redevelopment and Lessons for the Future (New York: PRLDEF Institute for Latino Policy, 2003)
Angelo Falcón, Opening the Courthouse Doors: The Need for More Hispanic Judges (New York: Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, 2002).
Shelley Rappaport, Beyond Bilingual Education: Meeting the Needs of English Language Learners in the New York City Public Schools (New York: PRLDEF Institute for Puerto Rican Policy, 2002)
Angelo Falcón, Still on the Outside Looking In: Latino Employment in New York Broadcast Television (prepared for the National Hispanic Media Coalition) (New York: PRLDEF Institute for Puerto Rican Policy, 2001)
__________ (ed), The State of Puerto Rican Politics Aqui y Allá: Proceedings of a November 21, 2000 Forum (New York: PRLDEF Institute for Puerto Rican Policy, February 2001)
Angelo Falcón, De’tras Pa’lante: The Future of Puerto Rican History in New York City – An Essay (New York: PRLDEF Institute for Puerto Rican Policy, January 2001)
Joseph A. Pereira with Michelle Rhonda, The Latino Nonprofit Sector in the Eastern United States (Prepared for Hispanics in Philanthropy’s Funders' Collaborative for Strong Latino Communities) (New York: PRLDEF Institute for Puerto Rican Policy, 2000).
Angelo Falcón and Christopher Hanson-Sanchez, Latino Immigrants and Electoral Participation: Puerto Ricans, Dominicans and South Americans in the New York City Political System (New York: Institute for Puerto Rican Policy, 1996)
"The Status of Puerto Rican Children in the U.S.", IPR Datanote on the Puerto Rican Community, No. 18 (New York: Institute for Puerto Rican Policy, July 1996)
Angelo Falcón, Orlando Rodriguez, Rosemary Santana Cooney, Greta Gilbertson, Christopher Hanson, Arun Lobo, Joseph Salvo, Vicki Virgin and Kenneth Waltzer, Nuestra America en Nueva York: The New Immigrant Hispanic Populations in New York City, 1980-1990 (New York: Fordham University Hispanic Research Center Report Series, 1995).
Christopher Hanson-Sanchez, New York City Latino Neighborhoods Databook (New York: Institute for Puerto Rican Policy, 1994)
"The Distribution of Puerto Ricans and Other Selected Latinos in the US: 1990", IPR Datanote on the Puerto Rican Community, No. 11 (New York: Institute for Puerto Rican Policy, June 1992)
John Santiago (ed.), Redistricting, Race and Ethnicity in New York City: The Gartner Report and Its Critics (New York: Institute for Puerto Rican Policy, 1991)
"The Health Status of Latinos in the United States: The 1984 Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (HHA-NES)", IPR Datanote on the Puerto Rican Community, No. 7 (New York: Institute for Puerto Rican Policy, February 1990)
Manuel del Valle and José Luis Morin, “Puerto Ricans and the Plebiscite on the Status of Puerto Rico – A Legal Brief (New York: Institute for Puerto Rican Policy, 1989)
Towards a Puerto Rican-Latino Agenda for New York City 1989 (New York: Institute for Puerto Rican Policy, 1989)
Ronald Calitri, Latino Voter Registration in NYC: Statistics for Action (New York: Institute for Puerto Rican Policy, 1982)
Books
Gabriel Haslip Viera, Sherrie Baver and Angelo Falcón (eds.), Latin@s in New York: Communities in Transition, 2nd Edition (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame, forthcoming 20913)
Gabriel Haslip-Viera, Angelo Falcón and Felix Matos Rodríguez (eds.), Boricuas in Gotham: Puerto Ricans in the Making of Modern New York (Princeton, NJ: Markus Wiener Publishers, 2004).
Angelo Falcón, F. Chris Garcia and Rodolfo O. de la Garza (eds.), “Ethnicity and Politics: Evidence from the Latino National Political Survey,” Special Issue of the Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 18, No. 2 (May 1996)
Angelo Falcón, Rodolfo O. de la Garza, Louis DeSipio, F. Chris Garcia, and John Garcia, Latino Voices: Mexican, Puerto Rican & Cuban Perspectives on American Politics (Boulder: Westview Press, 1992)
Angelo Falcón, F. Chris Garcia, John A. Garcia, Rodolfo O. de la Garza and Cara J. Abeyta, Latinos and Politics: A Select Research Bibliography (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1991)
Book chapters
Angelo Falcón, "The Diaspora Factor" in The Puerto Ricans: A Documentary History, 2nd Edition, edited by Kal and Olga Wagenheim (Princeton: Marcus Weiner Publisher, 2013)
Angelo Falcón, "The Costs of Loyalty: The 2008 Latino Vote in New York" in Rodolfo O. de la Garza, et al., Latinos and the 2008 Elections (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame forthcoming 2013)
Angelo Falcón, “’Pues, At Least We Had Hillary’: Latino New York City, the 2000 Election, and the Limits of Party Loyalty” in Rodolfo O. de la Garza and Louis DeSipio (eds.), Muted Voices: Latinos and the 2000 Elections (New York: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2004)
Angelo Falcón, Marilyn Aguirre-Molina and Carlos W. Molina, “Latino Health Policy: Beyond Demographic Determinism” and “Latino Health Policy: A Look to the Future” in Marilyn Aguirre-Molina, Carlos W. Molina and Ruth Enid Zambrana (eds), Health Issues in the Latino Community (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2001)
Angelo Falcón, “Beyond La Macarena: New York City Puerto Rican, Dominican, and South American Voters in the 1996 Election” in Rodolfo O. de la Garza and Louis DeSipio (eds.), Awash in the Mainstream: Latino Politics in the 1996 Election (Boulder: Westview, 1999), pp. 239–248
Angelo Falcón, Rodolfo O. de la Garza, John Hernandez, F. Chris García, and John A. García, “Mexican, Puerto Rican and Cuban Foreign Policy Perspectives: A Test of Competing Explanations” in F. Chris Garcia (ed.). Pursuing Power: Latinos and the Political System (Notre Dame, IN: Univ. Notre Dame Press, 1997)
Angelo Falcón, “Puerto Ricans in Postliberal New York: The 1992 Presidential Election” in Rodolfo O. de la Garza and Louis DeSipio (eds.), Ethnic Ironies: Latino Politics in the 1992 Elections (Boulder: Westview, 1996), pp. 185–210
__________, “Puerto Ricans and the Politics of Racial Identity” in Herbert W. Harris, Howard C. Blue and E.H. Griffith (eds.), Racial and Ethnic Identity: Psychological Development and Creative Expression (New York: Routledge, 1995), pp. 193–208
Angelo Falcón, Rodolfo O. de la Garza, F. Chris García and John A. García, “Mexican Immigrants, Mexican Americans, and American Political Culture” in Barry Edmondston and Jeffrey Passel (eds), Immigration and Ethnicity: The Integration of America’s Newest Arrivals (Washington, DC: Urban Institute Press, 1994)
Angelo Falcón, “A Divided Nation: The Puerto Rican Diaspora in the United States and the Proposed Referendum,” in Edwin Meléndez and Edgardo Meléndez (eds.), Colonial Dilemma: Critical Perspectives on Contemporary Puerto Rico (Boston: South End, 1993), pp. 173–180.
__________, “Puerto Ricans and the 1988 Election in New York City” in Rodolfo O. de la Garza and Louis DeSipio (eds.), From Rhetoric to Reality: Latino Politics in the 1988 Elections (Boulder: Westview, 1992), pp. 147–170
Journal articles
Angelo Falcón, “Latinos, Diversity and Racial Fatigue in the Age of Obama,” National Civic Review (November 2009)
_____________, "Book Review: One Nation, Polarized? Review of Herman Badillo's One Nation, One Standard," Centro Journal (New York: Centro de Estudios Puertorrqueños, 2007)
_____________, "Book Review: Puerto Ricans in the United States: A Contemporary Portrait", Centro Journal (New York: Centro de Estudios Puertorrqueños, Fall 2006)
_____________, Rodolfo O. de la Garza and F. Chris Garcia, “Will the Real Americans Please Stand Up: Anglo and Mexican American Support of Core American Values,” American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 40, No. 2 (May 1996), pp. 311–334
_____________, F. Chris Garcia, John A. Garcia and Rodolfo O. de la Garza, “Attitudes Towards U.S. Immigration Policies,” Migration World Magazine Vol. 21: Issues 2-3 (1993), p. 13
_____________, Rodolfo O. de la Garza, F. Chris Garcia, John Garcia, “Ethnicity and Attitudes Toward Immigration Policy: The Case of Mexicans, Puerto Ricans and Cubans in the United States” (Austin: Texas Population Research Center Papers, 1992–1993)
_____________, “Time to Rethink the Voting Rights Act,” Social Policy, Vol. 23, No. 2 (Fall-Winter 1992), pp. 17–22
_____________, F. Chris Garcia, John A. Garcia and Rodolfo O. de la Garza, “Studying Latino Politics: The Development of the Latino National Political Survey, “ PS: Political Science and Politics, Vol. 20, No. 4 (December 1989), pp. 848–852.
_____________, “Puerto Ricans and the 1989 Mayoral Election in New York City,” Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 11, No. 2 (August 1989), pp. 245–258.
Opinion pieces
Angelo Falcón, "New York Latinos and the Mosque Controversy,” New America Media (September 22, 2010).
__________, “Latinos, Health Reform and Dogs,” New America Media (December 25, 2009).
__________, “Sotomayor is as American as Mango Pie,” CNN.com (July 20, 2009)
__________, “A Closer Look at the White House ‘Takeover’ of the Census,” Hispanic Link News Service (February 2009)
__________, “The Return of Immigration as a Wedge Issue,” New America Media (February 17, 2009)
__________, “Politicas de Desacuerdo,” El Diario-La Prensa (16 de febrero 2009)
__________, “The Boricua Factor: Puerto Ricans and the 2008 Presidential Election,” Comite Noviembre Souvenir Journal (November 2008)
__________, “On the Complexities of Latino Identity,” Hispanic Market Weekly (September 8, 2008)
__________, “Puerto Rico's a complex scene; Poor primary turnout reflected multiple factors but surely sank popular-vote argument Clinton has pressed,” Newsday (New York) (June 3, 2008).
__________, “De la lujuria al caos,” El Diario-La Prensa (12 de marzo 2008)
__________, “Puerto Rico y la elección para presidente,” El Diario-La Prensa (3 de marzo 2008),
__________, “The Incomplete Latino Vote: Puerto Rico and the Presidential Election,” Hispanic Link News Service (March 2, 2008).
__________, “Op-Ed: Colonial Delegates?” CandidatoUSA, Volume 2, Issue 7 (February 18, 2008).
__________, “The Latino War Against ‘The War’: A Post-Mortem,” Media Accuracy on Latin America (November 7, 2007).
__________, "Opiníon: Selección judicial, diversidad y los Latinos," El Diario-La Prensa (4 de abril 2007)
__________, "Opiníon: El falso voto territorial en el Congreso," El Diario-La Prensa (7 de febrero 2007)
__________, "One Nation, Polarized? Review of Herman Badillo's One Nation, One Standard" (New York: National Institute for Latino Policy, January 1, 2007).
__________, "Puerto Ricans: Thirty Years of Progress & Struggle", Puerto Rican Heritage Month 2006 Calendar Journal (New York: Comité Noviembre, 2006).
__________, “US Puerto Ricans Today,” Tempo Magazine (June 2005), a monthly supplement to the New York Post.
__________, “La educación bilingüe en una encrucijada.” El Diario-La Prensa (25 de septiembre de 2004).
__________, “Thirty Years After the Aspira Consent Decree, Bilingual Education Remains at Crossroads,” Hispanic Link Weekly Report (September 13, 2004), p. 1
__________ and José A. García, “Census Bureau Still Hasn’t Restored Its Credibility,” Hispanic Link Weekly Report (September 5, 2004).
Angelo Falcón, “Latino Voters Have Yet to Become a Strong Force,” Newsday (July 28, 2004).
__________, “The End of the Puerto Rican? A Cautionary Tale,” VIVA New York Magazine (June 1, 2003), pp. 34–38
__________, “El Fracaso de la clase politica Latina,” El Diario-La Prensa (December 24, 2002), p. 11
__________, “The Problem with Mayor Bloomberg,” American Latino (March 25, 2002)
__________, “Liberating Vieques,” The Nation (July 19, 2001), p. 6
__________, “Beyond NAFTA: A Forum,” The Nation (May 28, 2001), p. 19
__________, “Vote for me, amigos,” The Nation (February 14, 2000), p. 20
__________, “Vieques and the U.S. Navy,” The Nation (December 13, 1999), p. 5
__________, “Clintons and Colonialism,” The Nation (October 4, 1999), p. 6
__________, “The End of Voting Rights?” Hispanic Magazine, Vol. 10, No. 11 (November 1997), p. 68
Periodicals
Latino Policy eNewsletter (February 2007- ), edited by Angelo Falcón.
Latino Census eNewsletter (2008- ), edited by Angelo Falcón.
Critica: The Journal of Puerto Rican Policy & Politics (1994–1997), edited by Howard Jordan (1994-6) and Annette Fuentes (1996-7) - scheduled for republication in 2010 as Crítica: A Journal of Latino Policy & Politics with historian Gabriel Haslip-Vieraas managing editor.
Board of directors
The National Institute for Latino Policy (NiLP) is guided by a Board of Directors of outstanding Latino community and academic leaders in a variety of fields:
José R. Sánchez, Ph.D. (Chair) is a political scientist who is one of the original founders of NiLP. He is an associate professor at Long Island University where he chairs the Urban Studies Department. He is the author of Boricua Power: A Political History of Puerto Ricans in the United States and co-author of The Iraq Papers.
Edgar deJesus (Secretary) is a longtime labor leader. He is the Executive Director/Organizing Director of Servidores Publicos Unidos de Puerto Rico, Council 95, AFSCME, AFL-CIO. Previous to this position, he was Assistant Director/Organizing Director of UNITE, New York-New Jersey Regional Joint Board, AFL-CIO.
Israel Colon (Treasurer) has a long history of public service and nonprofit leadership. Currently a management consultant, he was previously the Director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs for the City of Philadelphia.
Hector Figueroa, an economist, is President of 32BJ SEIU, the largest property services union in United States.
Tanya K. Hernandez J.D., is a professor at the Fordham University School of Law. She is the author, most recently, of the critically acclaimed book, Racial Subordination in Latin America: The Role of the State, Customary Law and the New Civil Rights Response, which has been translated into Spanish.
Maria P. Salmeron Rivera, Esq. (Chair, Development Committee), an attorney, is a partner with the National Refrescos Import Company, a wine importer that she co-founded. She is also an adjunct professor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and Essex County College.
Angelo Falcón (President) is a political scientist and the founding CEO of the organization. He is co-editor of the following books: Latinos and Politics: A Select Research Bibliography; Latino Voices: Mexican, Puerto Rican & Cuban Perspectives on American Politics; and Boricuas in Gotham: Puerto Ricans in the Making of Modern New York.
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