The Problem
For far too long, Latinos have been portrayed as a key demographic needed to win elections without the understanding that they are not a monolith. Little effort has been made to truly engage and understand this constituency in a way that is easily digestible and more importantly, in a way that is culturally competent. When it comes to Latino men, specifically, the gap is even bigger. Latino men are understood in terms of the entire group when in fact Latino men have their own concerns and ideologies. Understanding this part of the constituency is key to getting the secret recipe on how to rally their support.
The Goal
This space was created with the intention of giving Latino men a platform to voice their concerns exactly as they understand those concerns. The listening sessions were intended to collect authentic data on what Latino men view as the most pressing issues in their communities. Instead of asking them what we wanted to hear, we let them speak organically about the issues that were important to them and their feelings towards the government and elected officials.
Cultural competence comes in as a key player in our listening sessions. We are trying to break through stereotypes of men (machos) not talking about their problems. Creating safe spaces minimizes the feeling of being perceived as being on the wrong side or being the “bad guy.” Ultimately, we all want the same thing, to make life a little better for our communities, this sometimes means less talking and more listening.
The Method
The series was launched in the city of Tucson, Arizona with a group of local men. Some of them had been local to Tucson their entire lives and some of them moved there at some point. We developed a series of questions that would cover a diverse range of topics, but really we let them guide the conversation. At the end of the day the purpose of these listening sessions was to listen. Our moderator made sure that everyone's answers were engaged while remaining neutral himself. The neutrality of our moderator was a key aspect to making sure that participants felt comfortable talking about the things they care about without the fear of being “wrong”. Intentionally, we asked questions that were about topics not about stances on the topics so that we were able to hear their honest opinions.
Overall Findings of Session 1:
It's the Economy
The economy has always been one of the most important topics in electoral politics, this is not exactly breaking news. People will always have concerns about the affordability of things like housing, food, healthcare, and education. In this case 77% of participants in this first session marked the economy as one of their top three issues. It is a problem that is at the core of everything we do as a society. If people are not able to afford the basic necessities then everything else will follow.
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For example, one of the men that attended the listening session expressed that while he had a decent paying job in higher education, he still found himself needing to find a second job.
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In another instance, a small business owner who owns his own small cattle ranch mentioned that the rise in homelessness has now begun to affect him and his family.
Research
Create and implement a polling and tracking plan that highlights the attitudes of Latino men from now to Election Day.
Education
Provide factual based content on issues, elections, and other pertinent information
GOTV
Turnout Latino men by 2-5% greater than 2020 election in the 5 states.
Interested in our work?
Download the executive summary or request the full report.