Pedro Segarra is a symbol of the emergence of Latino demographic and political power in Connecticut. He came to New Haven to challenge Latinos to do more with those numbers.
In celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month, Segarra — Hartford’s mayor, and Connecticut’s only Latino mayor — spoke to patients, doctors, civic leaders, administrators, and community members. The standing room-only event took place mid-day Friday at Connecticut Mental Health Center (CMHC) located on Park Street.
He spoke of how his sister“has had mental illness, which has only made me grow as a person from the experiences and as part of being in her life.”
He remarked that the U.S. has over 50 million Hispanics. They’re a fast-growing group in states like Connecticut.
“That sizable growth in population requires us” to think harder about how to tackle challenge like health care and education, Segarra said.
“We must figure out how we are going to work together for our children and for their future,” he said.
Segarra stressed the importance of voting: “Voting will voice your opinion. It can help you and your community.”
In his talk Segarra translated from English, to Spanish, back to English, and at times in Spanglish in order to ensure that everyone in the room understood all the nuances of his words.
Click the play arrow on the video above to watch highlights of the talk.
“You can make it through and succeed, but we have a lot of work to do for our future and we have got to work together as Latinos,” Segarra said.