In this episode of Capital for Good we speak with Maria Teresa Kumar, the nationally celebrated social entrepreneur, civic and political operative, journalist, commentator and co-founder and CEO of Voto Latino, the nation's largest Latino voter registration organization.
We begin by discussing some of the formative experiences that shaped Kumar's passion for politics and civic engagement, including her childhood in a bicultural family and community in Northern California, where she learned how to navigate and bridge difference, real and perceived, to find common cause. In these years and environment, shaped in part by Prop 187 and anti-immigrant sentiment and policy, Kumar learned first-hand how young people in Latino and other immigrant households were critical to mobilizing their families and communities — to become citizens and voters — and in the process dramatically shift electoral outcomes to better reflect community needs.
In 2004, with the recognition that Latinos were the second largest demographic group in the country, Kumar and Rosario Dawson founded Voto Latino, centering voter mobilization efforts on young people, and using technology and other pop culture and media tools "to market democracy every single day." In the twenty years since, Voto Latino has registered over two million voters and played a central role in flipping a number of swing states in various elections.
We cover the 2024 election, and the widely held interpretation that Latino voters' shift to the right contributed to the election of Donald Trump. Kumar notes that while some Latino voters did shift right, many more stayed home in 2024 (38 percent) than in 2020 (27 percent). She believes this reflects broader anxiety and frustration; Latinos, who disproportionately bore the economic toll of the pandemic, and have continued to struggle with persistent affordability challenges and unresolved immigration reform, did not see their needs adequately addressed by either party. Today, Kumar suggests that most Latinos, even those who voted for Trump, believe the President has gone too far, a sentiment reflected in recent survey data from Voto Latino and the Latino Community Foundation.
Looking ahead, Kumar argues that it is critical to re-engage voters, and to use "culture at scale" — thoughtful conversations, podcasts, influencers, other creative engagement tools, to address needs and "remind people that when they participate government does work, government can be kind, and it's the will of the people." She also notes that at this moment it is critical for citizens to hold government accountable.
"2024 was really painful," Kumar says. "We're feeling what happens when we don't participate. But 2026 is right around the corner… We have the ability to inspire, aspire, and to imagine getting to that more perfect union. And that takes all of us."
Thanks for Listening!
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