by Nick Baez A few weeks ago, Nancy Sepulveda courageously wrote about her struggle with depression and anxiety, and her deeper battle to finally take the steps necessary to seek out psychotherapy. She correctly noted that many Latinos have ambivalence towards seeking out such services, and there is a plethora of research that has identified Read More

by Nick Baez A large number of us are familiar with the discussion that can occur during a family dinner, when the conversation shifts to a topic that makes many Latino families uncomfortable: inquiring about a gay or lesbian relative. “Mi’jo,” you might hear your mother say, “we love your uncle, but we don’t talk Read More

by Nick Baez “Ignorance breeds monsters to fill up the vacancies of the soul that are left unoccupied by the verities of knowledge.” – Horace Mann When Rosie G. wrote her article last week, she posed the question, “How do we come to fear so much?” While I will not bore you with a detailed Read More

by Nick Baez As spring takes firm root across the country, many familiar scenes arise. Baseball season kicks off to the excitement of many, the predictable NBA playoffs begin, and folks can once again drive with their windows down. For many of our community’s high school seniors, the arrival of spring is also accompanied by Read More

by Nick Baez For someone who works within a school district, there usually is not a week that goes by without a discussion about “closing the educational achievement gap.” Of course, an examination of the discourse in this country over the past decade reveals multiple attempts at placing blame at the feet of our teachers. Read More

by Nick Baez I recall a conversation I had with Ernesto Nieto, my great friend and founder of the National Hispanic Institute, approximately four years ago. It was during a time in my life when I was struggling to fit into the world of graduate school at the doctoral level, and I felt as if Read More

by Nick Baez We are hard-pressed to find anyone who has not been affected by cancer. I vividly remember that day in January 1996 when we received the phone call that my aunt had passed away from ovarian cancer. The feelings of hopelessness, anger, grief, and loss are almost too much to bear, and we Read More

by Nick Baez I recently had a conversation with a friend of mine on the topic of immigration and anti-Latino sentiment. One of her comments caught me off guard: she suggested that more people would be open to the idea of more Latinos immigrating into the United States “if there were not so many Latinos Read More