The Latino community can be a force to be reckoned with when we unite.

That is one reason why Fellowship Southwest is thankful to partner with the Latino Christian National Network (LCNN), and as a Latina myself, it is a personal privilege.

LCNN is an ecumenical network of Latino leaders working to provide Latino and Latina Christian leaders with a respectful space for dialogue, mutual formation, cooperation, amplifying our prophetic voice, and civic engagement for justice.

On Monday, July 1st, Fellowship Southwest joined the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas for its 2024 Annual Gathering and sponsored the Young Latino Track of its program.

No word is more offensive in the U.S. immigration debate than "illegal." It can refer to someone undocumented or without legal authorization. However, this term is often used more broadly, even encompassing asylum seekers and legal permanent residents—those authorized to be in the country. It is frequently used as a slur against anyone crossing the border or any foreign born who is Brown or Black, regardless of their manner of entry.

Last week, Gov. Greg Abbott exercised his power for popularity, and by doing so, made racially motivated political violence not just acceptable under the law, but not even answerable to it. The governor interfered with the justice system by influencing the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to issue a pardon to Daniel Perry, who was tried and convicted by a jury and sentenced to 25 years in prison for the murder of Garrett Foster.

The Healing From Oppression and Racism Conference on Friday, April 27, was an event put together in partnership with several ecumenical organizations, such as FSW, Faith Commons, SMU Perkins, Baylor Scott and White Health, and ACPE, to hear the redemptive story of Father Michael Lapsley (see profile below), who fought against South African apartheid. He was persecuted by the apartheid that mailed him a bomb that changed his life completely. While he lost both hands, sight in one eye, and critically burned, it was through the process of healing that led Father Lapsley to a movement of healing and liberation. Father Lapsley focused on the healing value of acknowledging trauma, but it must first come with the knowledge of what happened. In the healing of trauma, one is holistically liberated.  

“Black women are ignored by healthcare providers when we are in pain. We are told we don’t feel pain like people of other races.” -Kearra Haynes

On Monday, Anyra Cano, Fellowship Southwest’s director of programs and outreach, joined Friendship-West Baptist Church in Austin for their advocacy day and the Maternal Health Rally. Friendship-West centered the voices of Black women and the injustices they face in the current health system.