Founded in 2013, the Greater Boston Latino Network (GBLN) is a collective of Latinx-led community-based organizations addressing the historical underrepresentation of the Latinx community in Boston. Collectively, GBLN partners have more than 200 years of experience building relationships with Latinx families and youth.
As anchor organizations, GBLN partners serve Latinx and immigrant communities through a wide range of free programs and services, reaching over 50,000 people annually, including Spanish-speaking households and youth. Together, GBLN is an intersectional circle of leaders across sectors and neighborhoods who strategically leverage our networks to help create systemic change.
We initially joined forces in response to data identifying the lack of philanthropic funding for Latinx-centered initiatives and communities. After the first convening, our Latinx leaders committed to fostering a robust and resilient community that understands how the lack of representation and resources impacts the lived experience of Latinx people in an inequitable society.
We believe that offering a platform where Latinx leaders can come together to share their experiences and expertise while promoting solidarity and creating a safe haven is a powerful way to envision and elicit change, camaraderie and connection. The partnerships we foster create a powerful common ground that not only brings depth to and understanding of what Latinx communities experience, but which also allows us to continue shaping and reshaping the views of our diverse community. While actively working together to promote greater Latinx community representation, we will continue active coalition building, guided by a principle of collaborative decision making.
Approaching our tenth year, we are excited to continuously grow our collective, prioritizing inclusive, community-minded organizations serving the Latinx community. We invite interested leaders to attend a GBLN meeting to learn more.
Our mission is to promote Latinx leadership in decision-making positions at the local and state level – from city halls, local boards, and commissions to schools and state agencies. We advocate for policies that elevate new voices and welcome leaders from the Latinx community to the table in order to shape our collective future.
Our vision is to see a reflective representation of Latinx people in leadership positions whose influence can be felt in improved outcomes for communities in Greater Boston.
¿Qué queremos decir cuando decimos “representation”?
We elevate the voices of a diverse pool of leaders and thought partners to create fundamental changes that accelerate inclusive cultural representation. To promote Latinx visibility, GBLN is partnering on policy analysis with Amplify Latinx and the Gastón Institute.
¿Qué queremos decir cuando decimos “education equity”?
We work in collaboration with public school systems to:
¿Qué queremos decir cuando decimos “civic engagement''?
We continually empower and engage Latinx community members to feel el poder of coming together for a common purpose to affect public policy issues, including but not limited to economic improvement and sociopolitical empowerment. This work is also holistic and community-driven. Recent examples:
