Here at Latinas Wine Club we practice what we preach—as the first global collective for Latinas in wine we are empowering our community through education. But before the terms “diversity, equity and inclusion” entered our vernacular, the military was already leading the way. In fact, the armed forces have historically been one of the most diverse institutions in the U.S. A report from the Pew Research Center found that 43% of active-duty military personnel represented racial and ethnic minorities in 2017, with Latinos comprising almost 17% of the total. Forward US estimates that approximately 700,000 foreign-born veterans, many of whom are now U.S. citizens, live in the U.S. today and there are about 45,000 immigrants actively serving.
Latinas Make our Military Mas Fuerte
Just as Latinos represent the fastest growing demographic in the U.S. according to Census data, the same holds true for the military. Over the last century, military service has provided a pathway to American citizenship for more than 760,000 immigrant servicemembers. More than 130,000 immigrants have served and earned citizenship through the military in the last 20 years. Not surprising, according to a report on U.S. Latinas by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and Comcast NBCUniversal, Latinas graduating with a higher education degree have grown 70% in the last 15 years, meaning more opportunities for them to serve in officer ranks. Once again, our core value—education—proves to be critical tool for our Latinas to lead both in civilian and military life! And we already know Latinas taking more active roles in the military make our nation stronger and diverse.
Let’s “Salud” with a Salute to the Military
As we celebrate Veterans Day on November 11th, let’s remember that immigrants have served in the United States Armed Forces since the founding of our country, fighting in every major conflict in American history. Hundreds of thousands of immigrants pledged to defend the United States with their lives in the Civil War, both World Wars, and conflicts like those in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq. Let’s raise a glass to Latino and all veterans who have made sacrifices to defend our country. And for our wine-loving community we can’t imagine a better way to say “thank you for your service” than to seek out veteran-owned wineries and brands—Wine Enthusiast has showcased a few here https://bit.ly/VeteranOwnedWineGuide
Salud!
