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Even if cities and counties and the state can’t always take action to ensure equity in who gets the work and who gets the contracts, groups like the Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Latino Economic Council of Sacramento can prevail against the benign neglect that pervades this issue.
Jim Gonzalez, “Latino businesses deserve a fair share of economic benefits,” Sacramento Bee
The Latino Economic Council of Sacramento comprises civic, business and educational leaders who have come together to promote economic opportunity and upward mobility for Sacramento’s rapidly growing Latino population. The Latino Economic Council advocates for and secures greater public and private investment to better serve the regional Latinx business and non-profit communities, and to hold elected and public officials and private leaders accountable for improved economic prosperity and quality of life in the community.
Latinos account for approximately 30% of Sacramento’s population. Millennials of color are the majority in the Sacramento four-county MSA, and within that majority, Latinx millennials are already the plurality. Further, data collected in 2018 by the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative paint a robust profile of Latino entrepreneurship in Sacramento, with strong representation of businesses owned by Latinx females and immigrants, as well as a significant number of businesses scaled at $1 million or more.
Despite this demographic growth, Latinos in Sacramento remain underrepresented in leadership positions and continue to face challenges to upward mobility. Education and economic opportunity and small business growth among Latinos and other communities of color are essential if the City of Sacramento, this region, and political leadership are to achieve the goal of inclusive economic development.
The Latino Economic Council is committed to work with the City and County, elected officials and the private sector to ensure the region meets the mandate to “grown from within” and to do so with the people who live and work in the Sacramento region.
