Language justice is both the belief and the practice that organizations must be intentional in creating, building, and maintaining multilingual spaces. For immigrant- and refugee-serving organizations, this is a considerable need given Houston’s growing diversity. According to the U.S. Census, a third of Houston’s residents are from Mexico, with another quarter hailing from Asia. Most recently, 4,700 Afghan refugees have been resettled and now call the city home. Supporting these communities will require organizations to incorporate culturally competent, multilingual strategies into their programming and decision making processes. TECOLOTL and the Alliance of Multicultural Services are two organizations working to close the language access gap and advance language justice in Houston. Join this site visit at the Alliance of Multicultural Services to learn about their efforts.
Hosts:
- Gislaine Williams, Community Relations Director, The Alliance of Multicultural Services
- Jose Eduardo Sanchez, Language Justice & Popular Education Coordinator, TELECOTL Collective