Letters to the Editor: Latinx communities fighting racism don’t need Martinez, Cedillo and De León, the governor’s “cure” Read all about it from our Latinx bloggers, writers, and members of the public.
Latinx communities fighting racism don’t need Martinez, Cedillo and De León, the governor’s “cure” Read all about it from our Latinx bloggers, writers, and members of the public.
CEDILLO AND DELEON IN PLACE OF ALCALÁ
It’s been three weeks since our governor, Ron DeSantis, put forth a proposal to “correct” the state’s Latinx community in spite of the fact that it is blatantly racism. I have seen this particular proposal for the first time in the form of a formal press release from the Department of Economic Opportunity website, which has since been updated and revised in full.
In the proposed press release, the Department of Economic Opportunity is calling for the elimination of the Latin American Immigrant Heritage and Cultural Center (ALCIDCA), the last Latinx-owned and Latino-owned business in Tallahassee. The ALCIDCA had been a model for business efficiency and innovation in Tallahassee for more than two decades. And, to top it all off, the first two tenants of the ALCIDCA were the families that started ALTRAIN and the first Latino business incubators of a major national chain.
The EO website calls for the elimination of the ALCIDCA because the ALCIDCA was not a “model” because it was one of the first five businesses to open in the area of the former Fort DeSoto Park. In fact, according to the EO website, ALCIDCA had “a record of success and was the first to locate in a new part of Tallahassee,” and “the first two tenants were the families that founded ALTRAIN – the first Latino business incubator of a major national chain.”
The EO website also claims that the ALCIDCA’s “success” was due to its “flexibility in space and location” and because, despite being one of the first five businesses to open in its particular area, the company “was able to grow and adapt into a new market.