CIVIL RIGHTS
A Look at Dr. King’s Impact on the Latino Community
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had an undeniable impact on Latinos that lives on and is celebrated in the modern era
The experiences of the Black and Latino communities are, in many cases, vastly different. Yet, our shared experiences often overlap, becoming undeniable. From dehumanization leading to oppression and death to attempts to remove us from the political and social mainstream by erasing our cultures and heritages, many Black and Latino Civil Rights leaders have highlighted those experiences throughout the last 65 years or more.
And it’s as prevalent now as it was in 1966 when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stressed those similarities alongside the impact the Civil Rights Movement had on the Latino community. In a telegram to the Chicano Labor Leader and founder of the United Farm Workers, Cesar Chavez, Dr. King spoke of our shared humanity and how we are denied equality in various ways.
“As brothers in the fight for equality, I extend the hand of fellowship and good will and wish continuing success to you and your members,” wrote Dr. King. “The fight for equality must be fought on many fronts — in the urban slums, in the sweat shops of the factories and fields. Our separate struggles…
