Contributed by Rocio Orozco
A vison in red and black six inch heels, Maria Hinojosa shared the Jorgensen Auditorium stage on the evening of 10 September 2018 with PR/LACC director Fany Hannon, to share the wisdom of her experience as a journalist and media entrepreneur. Hinojosa is best known for her NPR show, Latino USA, but also runs her own company, Futuro Media, and produces another news opinion and analysis podcast series, In the Thick.
Hinojosa was born in Mexico and grew up on the south side of Chicago. Reflecting on Trump’s policy of separating immigrant families at the border, Hinojosa shared her own story of immigration and border harassment. In 1963, her family received green cards when her dad was offered a job at the University of Chicago. When her family arrived from Mexico, immigration officials told her mother that they had to keep the infant Maria in quarantine because she had a rash, while letting her mom and the rest of her siblings enter without the baby. Her mother refused to leave Maria behind, asserting herself vocally with such determination that the immigration officials relented and let the whole family come into the U.S. together. So traumatic was the prospect of being separated from baby Maria that it took many years before Hinojosa’s mom could share this story with her.
Hinojosa equated the policy of family separation to children being kidnapped, trafficked across state lines and held for ransom. She asked for critical attention to be given to the language being used to justify family separation: “For their own good, for their safety.” She also warned about the long-term psychological effects these traumatic events are causing the children and their families: “Some kids will recuperate and some will never recuperate. It’s painful, it’s deep.” “A foreign government is taking children from their parents.” She asked the audience to reflect on this question, “What if they were white?” Hinojosa fights to combat the myth of the criminal immigrant. She reminded the audience that people are not illegal, migrants commit less crimes than natural born citizens, and that we need to “bring the humanity back to the conversation.” Hinojosa explained the importance of knowing your individual origin story. We Latinos have not been in control of our own narrative and, for Hinojosa, it is vital that we take control of it.
Hinojosa did not at first aspire to become a journalist. When she was young, there were not many journalists who looked like her on TV. Hinojosa wanted to be an actress but a New York casting director dashed her dreams when he told her that she did not stand out enough. Hinojosa had experience doing a radio show while in college, and even though she was intimidated, she applied for an internship at NPR and became the first Latina hired at the company. Hinojosa loved her job at NPR but found that she needed to find her voice and decided to leave the company. She explored other fields and worked many jobs simultaneously. Eventually, she came back to NPR in the 1990’s. She said she understands she comes from place of relative privilege and with that comes responsibilities. “We do not have time for imposter syndrome.” She says that she forced herself through the uncomfortableness to pitch ideas in the newsroom and to focus not on the discrimination but on her responsibility. Just like everyone else, she would at times doubt her ability to follow through on assignments. She said that she built a support group to help her get through the difficult times and encouraged the audience to make sure they have their own support group, too. Latino USA is now celebrating its 25th anniversary over which time the show has won many awards including a Peabody.
Maria Hinojosa was truly inspirational: “The perspective that you have from your experience matters,” she said. “Own your voice, power, authenticity, authority.”