Hispanic Heritage Month Highlight
As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, we should reflect on the values of our community and how we live those values out. YIMBY (Yes In My Backyard) values resonate strongly with those that we celebrate during Hispanic Heritage Month. To celebrate Latino resilience isn’t just to put up flags or host parades. It’s to recognize the systemic barriers our communities have faced, and to commit to tearing them down.
I’ve seen friends and family from East San José, Modesto, and the Bay Area move out of California because the California Dream is disappearing. I’ve also seen how segregated neighborhoods and businesses are more vulnerable to things like displacement and, more recently, immigration enforcement.
We must realize that we need to create change around the status quo of tools like exclusionary zoning, which locks Latino families out of opportunity. It is also critical that we build dense housing so working people can live near their jobs and spend more time with their families.
But to understand why dismantling exclusionary zoning and building abundant housing are so important, first, let’s discuss how we got here.
From Mexico to Modesto: The Search for Stability
Today, I work in technology and am a volunteer leader with YIMBY Action’s East Bay YIMBY and YIMBY Latino chapters, as well as with Bike in East Bay. But I grinded to get to this point.
Going back, my family’s story mirrors that of many early waves of Latinos in California. From Mexico to Uvalde, Texas, to agricultural work in King City and Westley, and later settling in Modesto and Oakland, generations of my family sought stability.
My family had lived in motels, trailers, Section 8 housing, and overcrowded shared single-family homes (2+ families in one house). For many, the Central Valley was a refuge. It was close enough to commute to jobs when necessary, but far enough that owning or renting a home was possible.
That sense of refuge, however, has been disappearing.
Latino Neighborhoods Shaped by Redlining
Across California, Latino neighborhoods were defined by exclusionary policies and redlining. Families were systematically denied loans and barred from living in “desirable” areas. Through suburbanization and car-dependent planning, white flight reshaped cities.
What was left behind were neighborhoods that policymakers and banks ignored. Yet Latino families made them vibrant: East San José, Oakland’s Fruitvale, San Francisco’s Mission District, Los Angeles’ Boyle Heights. These communities became cultural hubs where music, food, faith, and family flourished.
But this history has been disappearing. What feels like gentrification today is not accidental — it’s built on top of the same designs of segregation, lack of meaningful community engagement, and disinvestment from the past.
Latino Communities Built California
Latino families didn’t just live in these neighborhoods; we built them. The economic output from these cultural hubs has played a major role in California’s economy. From farmworkers harvesting food, to construction workers building homes, to service workers keeping cities running, Latino labor is at the foundation of this state’s wealth.
Yet too often, the very people who sustain California cannot afford to live here. That isn’t just unfair… It’s a crisis of justice and dignity.
Meanwhile, decision-making structures often work against us. Council meetings are held at 10 am on weekdays, when working families can’t attend, but wealthier neighbors can. Too often, those who say “Not in My Backyard” drown out the voices of Latino families fighting to stay in theirs.
Why become a YIMBY?
From Uvalde to King City, from Modesto to Oakland, my family’s story has played out across many places. And our story is not unique. Housing justice is Latino & Hispanic justice. If our communities can’t afford to stay where we’ve put down roots, we risk losing not only our cultural heritage, community, and community spaces but also the future stability of millions of families.
That’s why YIMBY values resonate so strongly with the values we celebrate during Hispanic Heritage Month. To celebrate Latino resilience isn’t just to honor the past; it’s to fight for the future.
We must end the exclusionary zoning that our cities are upholding today. California’s housing shortage is driving up prices for homes and locking Latino families out of opportunity. The key to creating change is to build abundant housing. When we build abundant housing, including Missing Middle housing like townhomes and condos, we create opportunities for working families to live near their jobs without brutal commutes and avoid creating overcrowded homes.
We know the kinds of policies that will create abundant housing for all. Upzoning, legalizing multi-family housing in all kinds of neighborhoods, strengthening tenant protections, and funding affordable housing are just a few examples of the changes that YIMBYs are advocating for.
Shared values of community, equity, and abundant opportunity for all can be the norm in our lives if more people say “yes” to homes in their backyard. Diverse voices give our movement more strength. If you want to help us create change, join your local YIMBY Action chapter and join the pro-housing movement to create more opportunities for the Latino community and the rest of our neighbors.