At the Heartland Workers Center’s Imagining Change 2nd biennial political convention this Sunday, politicians from the local, state and national level will have a chance to hear the concerns of nearly a dozen community organizers from across the state.
Lucia Pedroza, senior organizer for the HWC, says in their work with Latino and other minority communities they are trying to help people reclaim the word “politics.”
“People associate the word politics with something they don’t trust, something that’s corrupt, or something that is not working for them. So, when we talk about reclaiming the word politics, we’re talking about everybody being involved in it. Not just demanding, you know, better representation, but also being out there and participating in the public sphere.”
Pedroza says they believe the elected officials who attend this Imagining Change conference will be impressed with the community leaders who speak.
“These groups of leaders are committed, and they want to work with people; no matter what party, they want to work with them to make change happen and to work together on something. You know, they’re willing to compromise and understanding that realistically, things are not going to happen in one year, or maybe not even two years -- but, you know, building those relationships is what matters.”
Imagining Change takes place Sunday, November 12, from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Stockyards Exchange Building.
For more information and to register, the website is heartlandworkerscenter.org.