KPFK has created a long-standing legacy of providing educational, informative, accurate, and verifiable information for the betterment of our communities. In the time that I have been listening and volunteering with KPFK, and by extension Pacifica, I have seen first-hand the passion behind the scenes, the eagerness of the staff and volunteers, and the ideals that they hold themselves to. The mission that Pacifica and KPFK strive for and the drive the staff has shown has inspired me to utilize my skills and abilities in a more direct way in order to do my part to help support the station.
As a 1st generation Salvadoran American, I have had a foot in both worlds culturally, having been immersed in my Latin heritage through family while also identifying culturally as American due to the environments in which I was placed and the friends that surrounded me during my formative years. This has allowed me to develop a different perspective as I have not wholly been part of either culture but caught between. Due in large part to this while volunteering with KPFK’s Latin/Hispanic programming I have felt more tied now than ever with my heritage and the impact that it has had on me is something that I wish to help share with others who have had a similar multicultural upbringing. To hear of the crisis that is occurring within Pacifica and KPFK and the threat of losing the Latin/Hispanic segment is disheartening.
As a graduate of CSUN with a Bachelor’s in Anthropology and looking at the impact that KPFK has had, it would be a terrible loss not only for the listeners, but for the organization as well should we lose the spaces of diversity that have been created and nurtured over the years. To remove the programming is to go against not only Pacifica’s mission statement but to undo years of work and legacy by silencing the voices of those who finally found a space where they can reach out to our communities. If elected to be on the board I will do my best to protect these spaces.
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