Don't Get Me Started

Sophia Cleland (far left) and José Contreras listening to speakers last week in D.C. at a social networking night of the New Latino Movement.

New may imply that there is an old Latino movement. But veteran Latino activists shouldn’t take that as an insult. The drift here is that political networks have different origins and platforms in the age of social media. And yes, that another generation is stepping up to the plate.

Young Latinos were among the countless people glued to the U.S. Senate hearings on Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Many are inspired by her story. Some are taking that inspiration a step further.

At a gathering last week in Washington D.C., Hugo Nájera called the nomination of Sotomayor a pivotal moment for Latinos. “I think it parallels similarly with the way African Americans see Obama,” said Nájera, of Salvadoran descent. “To see someone physically there [on the Supreme Court] means it’s actually attainable.”

Nájera, 31, also called the expected appointment of Sotomayor to the Supreme Court “a powerful testament to the work of our people.”

Nájera, a policy expert in higher education, is part of a budding progressive social network called the New Latino Movement (NLM). The group describes itself online as a new generation of activists that emerged during the 2008 presidential election. This generation, according to the NLM, is committed to civic engagement and ensuring that the priorities of Latinos are at the forefront of the national agenda.

The NLM includes Latinos who work on Capitol Hill and with policy organizations or in other areas.

Melody Star Gonzales, who along with others has developed the NLM project, said the group organized a Latino political training day in January. NLM’s online community of Facebook supporters has grown to include more than 800 people from 32 states, Gonzales said.

NLM is hoping the excitement around Sotomayor’s nomination will help build on the activism around the last presidential elections. Last Tuesday, the NLM hosted a “Sotomayor supporter networking night” in D.C., where Rep. Charles Gonzalez. (D-TX) and Cesar Perales of Latino Justice PRLDEF were the special guests.

Sophia Cleland, a Mexicana and Native American in her 30’s, told me she attended the gathering because she wanted to celebrate Sotomayor’s nomination. “The criticism of the firefighters’ case – I thought she handled that really well,” said Cleland, a graduate student and immunologist at the National Institutes of Health.

At the reception, Lariss Jude, 22, pointed to the importance of the judiciary to Latinos seeking redress for inequities. Jude, who is of Mexican and European descent, said the day she started working with the national Latina organization MANA was the day Sotomayor’s nomination was announced. “It was a beautiful thing,” said Jude, who is entering law school this fall.

In D.C., there are 34,000 Latinos over the age of 18 out of a Hispanic population of 49,000. In the nation, Latinos are the fastest-growing population, one that skews younger. Each month, thousands of Hispanics turn 18, making them eligible to register to vote.

Besides leaning young, Latinos are incredibly diverse. But Jose Contreras, an NLM member, says the ties that bind are strong. While Sotomayor is Puerto Rican, Latinos of other ethnicities remain enthusiastic about her nomination, said Contreras, 30, and a technology consultant living in Maryland.

“No matter what country you come from, we all have a common thread,” said Contreras, who is Colombian and Salvadoran. “For us, it’s a proud moment.”