Hispanics Organized for Political Education

TX HOPE OFFICERS TX HOPE CHAIR Joe Cardenas III TX HOPE CO-CHAIR Hector Flores TREASURER Mary Ramos PARLIAMENTARIAN Ray Mancera SECRETARY Herlinda Garcia EDUCATION CHAIR Velma Ybarra

April 17, 2013

Honorable Representatives, It is with considerable pride that the board of directors of Texas HOPE fully endorses and supports HB 3209, which would designate May 9th as Willie Velasquez day in Texas. The primary mission of Texas HOPE is to educate the Latino community not only on what the issues are, but the need to participate in the voting process; it is our intent to create a culture of voting among Latinos whose voice and participation are vital to the future wellbeing of Texas given that the state is 38% Hispanic of which 50% is under the age of 18. Truly the future of Texas will be dependent on the hopes and aspirations of young Latinos/as today. Texas HOPE with various other groups during the last session was very vocal as a participant in the review of what content would be included in the Texas Social Studies curriculum which was up for review by the SBOE. It is shocking, to put it mildly, the absence of Latinos of repute who have contributed to the making of our great state; who have laid the foundations of what Texas is today; who have stood for the principles and ideas that are at the core of Americanism. And yet at a time when 51% of students in public education are Latino, there is still a lack of sufficient Latino role-models in our Social Studies curriculum. As a teacher of 19 years who is certified in Social Studies, I see on a daily basis the importance of teaching the contributions of Latinos to the making of Texas. It is with great enthusiasm that Texas HOPE recognizes the legacy of Willie Velasquez not just within the Latino community, but for his transformative impact which he has had on the Texas of Today. Willie Velasquez took that very fundamental tool of democracy, the vote, and turned it into his lifes mission. And by doing so, he helped to empower the Latino community which was disenfranchised as a whole by a Texas political system that had yet to recognize the true history of Texas and the contributions made by the earliest Tejanos who contribute still today.

TX HOPE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD

Austin
- Linda Chavez -Cynthia ValadezMata Jr.

Dallas
- Hector Flores - Bea Martinez -Rene Martinez -Domingo Garcia

El Paso
- Ray Mancera - Virginia Tena

Fort Worth
- Hector

Carrillo

Garland -Koni Kaiwi Houston

- Mary Almendarez - Rick Dovalina - Herlinda Garcia - Al Maldonado - Mary Ramos

Odessa
- Carol Uranga

San Antonio
- Angie Garcia - Velma Ybarra

Respectfully Submitted,

San Angelo
- Elma Jacques

Seguin
- Paul Castillo - Gloria Sasser

Joe Crdenas III Texas HOPE Chairman

Victoria
-Mary Lou Canales

P.O. Box 29 Louise Texas 77455 (979) 332-0324 E-mail: joey_cardenas@hotmail.com