Latino communities as leaders on environmental issues

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May 31, 2024

Georgetown University hosted a Latino Leader Gathering Wednesday, May 22, 2024, in Washington. (RNS/Aleja Hertzler-McCain)

"Latinos are poised to be leaders in their communities and nationally on environmental issues," said Mark Hugo Lopez, the director of race and ethnicity research for Pew Research Center, during a panel May 22 at Georgetown University.

The "Latino Leader Gathering" sponsored by Georgetown's Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life featured a panel including Lopez alongside: Elena Gaona, communications director for the Chispa branch of the League of Conservation Voters; Washington Auxiliary Bishop Evelio Menjivar; Bishop Joseph Tyson of Yakima, Washington; and Silvia Foster-Frau, a reporter at The Washington Post.

"Three-quarters of Latinos who are religiously active tell us that they hear about climate activism in their sermons where they go to church," Lopez said during the Georgetown gathering, citing a November 2022 Pew Research Center survey on how religion intersects with Americans’ views on the environment. And, he said, "Three-quarters of Latino adults say that their communities are impacted at least some by environmental issues."

Drawing on examples from her reporting, Foster-Frau said that despite facing barriers to civic engagement, she has found Latinos effectively organizing for better environmental conditions.

"The power of community can really make change in ways that nobody expects," she said.

For more on how U.S. Catholics feel about environmental issues, revisit these EarthBeat stories from the past year:

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