THE 38.5%:
Life is full of memorable moments, but I doubt I will ever forget the response I received when I opened my high school graduation speech by speaking in Spanish. Having spent days deliberating what my speech would look like, the decision to start by speaking Spanish was one rooted in something that had always been quite personal for me; Connecting with a population that has traditionally been underrepresented.
I still remember quite vividly how the week before graduation, faculty and administrators gathered our graduating class in the auditorium for an assembly to congratulate us on finally reaching the end of the marathon that is public school. Following the assembly, the staff handed us manila folders with all our records and paperwork. As I looked inside my folder, one particular report grabbed my attention; A notice from over a decade ago, confirming that I had completed all my English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, and that I was finally ‘proficient’ in the English language.
Having grown up speaking Portuguese as my first language, it took me a while to get acclimated to English when I was starting public school. As a result, I spent my year of kindergarten taking these ESL classes to get fully up-to-date on my English-speaking abilities. Although I never remembered being in these classes, being a part of ESL was not something unheard of back home. As a matter of fact, 21.3% of the Fall River Public Schools district belongs to the English Language Learner population. In the bigger picture, this figure maintains the reputation that Fall River has of being a diverse community, with 38.5% of households in the city speaking a language other than English at home, nearly twice the statewide average of 24.4%.
“Although I never remembered being in these classes, being a part of ESL was not something unheard of back home. As a matter of fact, 21.3% of the Fall River Public Schools district belongs to the English Language Learner population. In the bigger picture, this figure maintains the reputation that Fall River has of being a diverse community, with 38.5% of households in the city speaking a language other than English at home, nearly twice the statewide average of 24.4%.”
Yet, despite coming from that 38.5% and seeing so many others in Fall River and Durfee High School speaking languages other than English, I always struggled to understand why these groups of people were never well-represented. As somebody who has been involved in local government and politics across the city, I really began to notice the prevalence of this language gap. Why was it that amongst the mayor, city council, school committee, and state representatives, none of my elected officials knew how to speak Portuguese or Spanish? How can a city that prides itself on its diversity claim to be inclusive when none of its elected officials can communicate with more than a third of its constituency? Having spent the course of my senior year coming to these realizations and mounting these feelings, I knew that my graduation speech had to feature Spanish. Once I stepped down from the podium, all the smiles, cheers, and thank you’s I was met with reminded me just how meaningful a slimmer of effort can be.
“Why was it that amongst the mayor, city council, school committee, and state representatives, none of my elected officials knew how to speak Portuguese or Spanish? How can a city that prides itself on its diversity claim to be inclusive when none of its elected officials can communicate with more than a third of its constituency?”
CONNECTING GOVERNMENT & THE 38.5%:
To this day, I have yet to witness a Portuguese or Spanish speaker hold a seat in local government. Yet, despite this glaring underrepresentation, elected officials and leaders alike across Fall River continue to ask what it will take to get these populations involved and engaged in the community.
To address this underrepresentation, I am not asking for the entire city council to be comprised of Portuguese immigrants or for the Mayor of Fall River to be fluent in Spanish; That would be foolish of me, and completely unrealistic to expect. What I do want to see, however, is a city-wide initiative to build bridges between our government and the 38.5% of the city who may have difficulties in being fully integrated into local politics. Drawing from my own experiences in an immigrant household to my time working in local government, I would like to lay out plans I would entertain if I were the Mayor of Fall River hoping to represent the underrepresented.
CAMPAIGN IN IMMIGRANT NEIGHBORHOODS:
Since immigrating to the United States and becoming nationalized citizens, my parents have never missed an election, whether it be for a local board seat or for the President of the United States. In Fall River, Portuguese-Americans constitute a significant portion of the voting base. As new waves of Caribbean immigrants continue to arrive in the city, we will soon see a much larger percentage of Spanish-Speaking voters.
“By shifting these trajectories and drawing more attention to immigrant populations, whether it be by campaigning in predominantly immigrant neighborhoods or by visiting cultural centers on the campaign trail, these bits of effort can go a long way for people who feel disconnected from candidates.”
In a city where something as simple as having a Portuguese last name can earn you votes in an election, appealing to this vast base of immigrant voters can be critical in not just winning the election, but also establishing a relationship with Portuguese or Spanish speakers. Most of the time, political knowledge tells candidates to direct their campaign efforts to ‘super voters’ and whiter, more civically-engaged residents. By shifting these trajectories and drawing more attention to immigrant populations, whether it be by campaigning in predominantly immigrant neighborhoods or by visiting cultural centers on the campaign trail, these bits of effort can go a long way for people who feel disconnected from candidates. After all, I still remember the smile on my father’s face when a former mayor shook his hand and asked him how his day was.
HIRE TRANSLATORS:
In Fall River, our Portuguese community is so strong that there are local AM and FM radio stations and a hyperlocal newspaper in Portuguese. Every time I sit in my father’s truck, his radio is tuned to 97.3 WJFD or is playing the “Radio Voz do Emigrante” program. From time to time, our current mayor will do a quick interview on the station in English, with the hosts translating it for listeners, which is a great start. Picture how much better communication between the government and listeners could be if the administration hired a translator to live stream press conferences or read off speeches in live time to people following along. Furthermore, getting individuals to translate government notices or updates to other languages like Spanish and Khmer can help these populations feel more connected, updated, and aware of what is happening around them.
FORMATION OF A CULTURAL COUNCIL:
In a city that is built upon its immigrant population and is recognized as the most Portuguese-American city in the United States, diversity is a big selling point for Fall River. From cuisine to dance to religious customs, there are plenty of reasons to embrace the various cultures of Fall River, whether for local residents or outsiders. To protect all the non-English speaking business owners, entrepreneurs, artists, chefs, and more, establishing a committee with all these individuals to meet with them and see what their wants, needs, questions, and concerns are can go a long way in helping them feel that the local government is supportive of them. Whether it is black-owned, Hispanic-owned, or Portuguese-owned, demonstrating a commitment to providing assistance to these populations and helping them feel represented at the government level will make them feel wanted and like they belong to a bigger project and shared vision.
“Whether it is black-owned, Hispanic-owned, or Portuguese-owned, demonstrating a commitment to providing assistance to these populations and helping them feel represented at the government level will make them feel wanted and like they belong to a bigger project and shared vision.”
DESTIGMATIZE CIVIC ENGAGEMENT:
My father is not one to go hold picket signs or speak up at a city council meeting. He has, however, participated in a protest nearly two decades ago, when local cable companies threatened to charge residents monthly fees for the local Portuguese channel, RTP International. According to him, hundreds, if not thousands, of Portuguese-Americans from Fall River, New Bedford, and other surrounding communities mobilized to protest this proposed fee and came up successful, keeping the channel free to everybody who had cable television.
With that in mind, I think of other examples of civic engagement in which I was personally involved. Whether it was a campaign for the construction of a new Durfee High School or student-led protests against climate change and school shootings here at UMass, it is hard to picture my father advocating for anything. I think back to my time speaking in front of the City Council or School Committee, and I cannot fathom my father doing the same anymore. As a matter of fact, I find it hard to picture any immigrants stepping up to the podium for citizens’ input because of the stigma surrounding speaking with a heavy accent or being hard to understand. Back to the other topic of hiring translators, this problem could be combatted if trusted local translators could be readily available at these government meetings to help non-English speaking residents engage.
“Shifting the culture in a city takes a lot of work, and starting by giving graduation speeches in Spanish, campaigning in neighborhood meetings, going on Portuguese talk shows, hiring translators, and destigmatizing and better facilitating civic engagement are small steps that Fall River can take to address its disconnected and underrepresented its ESL residents.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE:
In the grand scheme of things, small strategies like the ones I mentioned above are great starting points for connecting the government with non-English speakers, but these initiatives are nowhere near as easy as we expect. Shifting the culture in a city takes a lot of work, and starting by giving graduation speeches in Spanish, campaigning in neighborhood meetings, going on Portuguese talk shows, hiring translators, and destigmatizing and better facilitating civic engagement are small steps that Fall River can take to address its disconnected and underrepresented its ESL residents.
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