La Coalición

The La Coalicion project was created to document the first thirty years of the Latin American Coalition in Charlotte, North Carolina. The project was conceived in relation to the thirtieth anniversary of the Coalition as a way to preserve oral recollections of the organization, its growth and the impact it has had on the Charlotte community as a whole.

Elver Barrios oral history interview 2019 November 1
Elver Barrios, a former staff member at La Coalicion, the Latin American Coalition (LAC) in Charlotte, North Carolina, worked for the non-profit for three years, from 2010-2013. In this interview, Mr. Barrios describes his role as a grassroots community organizer, which was to involve and organize youth in the Charlotte area, and to involve and organize community members in the Triad area. He explains that his activism is focused on immigrant rights, specifically providing undocumented students access to higher education. Mr. Barrios also shares that he was part of that group of students who dreamed of obtaining a college degree. Other topics discussed include marches and protests that took place in Charlotte; College Access para todos (College Access Plan or CAP), a program in which undocumented students could enroll and obtain a higher education; and the role of Johnson C. Smith University, the only institution in Charlotte that would accept undocumented students at the time. Mr. Barrios ends the interview by sharing the satisfaction of being part of a movement that has impacted many undocumented students.
Jess George oral history interview, 2019 July 29
Jess George, a former staff member at La Coalicion, or the Latin American Coalition (LAC), in Charlotte North Carolina, worked for the non-profit for eleven years, from 2003-2014. In this interview, Ms. George discusses her work with grass-roots organizations and local communities to help disenfranchised groups gain access to different resources such as technology, education, and jobs. She shares her passion for immigrant rights and her experience during her eleven year tenure at LAC. Ms. George explains the different services developed for the immigrant community at LAC including a first-time home buyers program, labor rights program, after-school programs, and citizenship test preparation clinics. Ms. George describes her responsibilities as a director at LAC, which included fundraising and cultural event planning. She shares the evolution and growth of LAC, the partnerships that were formed to better support the immigrant community in the Charlotte area, and how her experience working with the Charlotte community has impacted her life in a profound manner.