Our community organization serves a largely Latino neighborhood, but all our board meetings and official communications happen in English because that's what's 'professional,' and we're losing the voices and wisdom of people who think and lead differently in Spanish. Some board members think translation is too expensive and complicated, but I think we're fundamentally excluding people from power.
More people experience this than they realize.
Democratic participation requires linguistic accessibility, but language choices in organizational settings often reflect and reinforce existing power structures.
“Where Are You with Language and identity — what your first language holds?”
If this sounds familiar, the Library can help you find the bigger picture.