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Young advocates committed to spreading the power of voting. (2018 UnidosUS archive photo)

In 2018, we launched the Power of 18 campaign to make sure all eligible Latinos registered to vote, realized the power of taking a stand through voting, and showed up on Election Day. By the time the day was over, a record number of Latinos turned out for a midterm election, and we had the most diverse Congress in U.S. history.

Each year, more than 800,000 young Latinos turned 18 and became eligible to vote, and the Power of 18 campaign activated them to get involved. And organizations like UnidosUS Affiliate Guadalupe Centers are vital in making that a success each year by helping young Latinos learn more about how they can turn their voice and their vote into action.

Through a targeted canvassing program in states with large Latino populations, we met the community where they are, and helped them understand the importance of supporting the candidates who share their values and priorities. And through our High School Democracy Project, we engaged Latino youth with short, powerful lessons about civics in America, an education that is becoming rarer in schools, and helps them see their real rights and responsibilities as active participants in shaping the country.

Guadalupe Centers in Kansas City, Missouri, is one of the 63 Affiliates and partners who took part in the campaign and began registering eligible voters on top of the life-changing work they were already doing every day.

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A former building that housed Guadalupe Centers.

The railroad system was starting to get built, and laborers were needed. Mexicans started to arrive in the Kansas City area as far back as the 1830s. Now they are a vibrant multi-ethnic community that celebrates all their cultural heritage, and the Guadalupe Centers is at the heart of it all.

By Beatriz Paniego-Béjar, Content Specialist at UnidosUS

At the turn of the 20th century, everything was in transition. Mexicans were fleeing their country because of the hardships caused by the Mexican Revolution, and the United States was expanding its massive network of railroads. Seeking to build a new life in a new country, many Mexicans settled in Kansas City, where dozens of rail lines crisscrossed the downtown area.

Kansas City, which itself is divided between two states: Kansas to the west and Missouri to the right, also offered work in farming and livestock But despite the fact that there was high demand for labor, these new Americans still had to face hardship in all parts of their lives: discrimination.

“Mexican children were not allowed into certain schools, while their parents were not allowed to shop in many places. The Mexicans were also exploited in the workplace and basic services offered by area hospitals and government agencies were not granted to the Mexicans.” It was 1919, and this discrimination sparked the creation of the Guadalupe Centers, one of the first social service agencies for Latinos, as they state on their history page.

This year marks their 100th anniversary, and just as Kansas City was the heart of the railroads, Guadalupe Centers has become the heart of community—not just for Latinos—in Kansas City, and it has become local pillar of pride.

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The nation's largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization.

Tag Archives: Guadalupe Centers

Vanguards of action

A pillar of pride for 100 years: We celebrate the long history of Guadalupe Centers