From the 1960s to the elections of the 115th Congress, a pro-Latino voice was missing from the Democratic Party’s overseas constituency. Nearly two years ago, the Democrats Abroad Hispanic Caucus was finally born, a group which focuses on advocating for policies in the U.S. Hispanic community’s best interests.
From the beginning of the caucus’ existence, Ana Hernández Blackstad, of DA-Czech Republic, made history by stepping up to lead this new group of volunteers with committed activism into the 2018 mid-term elections by becoming the first Hispanic Caucus chairperson. In early 2019 after several accomplishments under her belt, Ana passed the baton to another member to fill the caucus leadership role while she joined the caucus steering committee.
During her tenure as chair, caucus membership increased by almost 2,000%, from 27 members to nearly 500. In early 2018, Ana assisted in translating English-to-Spanish voter registration materials for Spanish-speaking U.S. voters living abroad. Also under her leadership, the caucus sponsored a resolution amending the Democrats Abroad Platform section on trade, which passed the Democratic voting body unanimously. In the run up to Election Day, she began an online podcast for caucus members that included discussions with guests from Hispanic-American activists and politicians to bring their message, and ours, to a broader audience.
Ana embodies the values of the Hispanic Caucus and is exemplary of what we can achieve through dedication and commitment. We thank Ana for all of her hard work as the former chair and look forward to achieving even more together with her continuing involvement with caucus leadership. ¡Adelante!