Episode 49: Garifuna VOICE, Voting and Organizing to Increase Civic Engagement

In this episode of The Garifuna Experience Podcast, host José Francisco Ávila unveils a bold blueprint for the Garifuna community to move from the margins of New York City politics to the center of the table. As we approach the historic 2032 centennial of Garifuna arrival in NYC, we are transitioning from a "hidden demographic" to a decisive Political Power Bloc.

José introduces Garifuna VOICE (Voting and Organizing to Increase Civic Engagement), a non-partisan initiative designed to transform "occasional voters" into a disciplined, habitual force.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The "Kingmaker" Strategy: How a unified bloc of 100,000 Garinagu in the South Bronx can decide the margin of victory in key City Council and State Assembly districts.
• Overcoming Apathy: Addressing the historical and cultural reasons behind political hesitancy and how to reclaim our power in the diaspora.
• The 2030 Mandate: Why the upcoming Census and Redistricting are the most important battles for our "Afro-Indigenous" soul and federal resources.
• Engaging Gen Z & Millennials: Why Garifuna heritage isn't just a relic of the past, but the engine for our political future.

It’s time to move from Advocacy to Accountability. We aren’t just asking for a seat at the table—we are building the room.

Listen now and join the movement. Stay United, Stay Proud. Sungubei Lidan Aban.

Resources:

• Subscribe on your favorite podcast app
• Spotify
• iHeartRadio
• YouTube
• Amazon Music
• Subscribe to our newsletter 
• The Happy Land Memorial Walking Tour
• The Garifuna Experience in NYC 
• Garifuna Heritage Walking Tour (Bronx
• Garifuna Coalition

Books by José Francisco Ávila

Pan-Garifuna Afro-Latino Power of Pride:: My Quest for Racial, Ancestral, Ethnic and Cultural Identity

Transcript

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Speaker 1 0:11

Mabriga, welcome back to the Garifuna Experience Podcast. I'm your host, Jose Francisco Avila. In our last episode, we spoke about moving from being a hidden demographic to becoming a political power block. For nearly a century, the Garifuna community has been a vibrant cultural pillar of New York City. As we approach our 2032 centennial, we are at a crossroads. We are moving from being hidden in plain sight to becoming a recognized, unified demographic. Today I am proud to introduce Garifuna Voice, Voting and Organizing to Increase Civic Engagement. This is our roadmap to the table of power. We often hear that we are a community of 100,000 plus in the Bronx, but let's look at the inside of math that City Hall doesn't want you to know. The reality? In many New York City Council primaries, the margin of victory is often fewer than 3,000 votes. The opportunity? If we mobilize just 10% of our community, we bring 10,000 organized votes to the table. That doesn't just make us a participant, it makes us the kingmaker. We hold the keys to a few districts. We are moving from the era of advocacy where we ask for what we need to the era of accountability where we demand what we have earned. Introducing Garifuna Voice Garifuna Voice Voting and Organiz to increase civic engagement is a nonpartisan campaign for civic empowerment. Many of our brothers and sisters from Central America carry a heavy history of political apathy born from repression in our home countries. We are here to break that cycle. The Project Pillars Number one, year round registration. We are not just showing up for presidential elections. We are registering Arifna people every day of the year to ensure we are ready for the 2026 midterms and the 2029 citywide elections. two the Digital Hub We are launching an aggressive social media and email campaign. We are meeting the youths, Gen C and millennials where they live online and in their digital worlds. three, the 2030 mandate. In the American political system, visibility starts with the census. Without accurate data, the community is invisible during research allocation and redistricting. The census is a cornerstone of our democracy. The Constitution mandates it for political representation, apportioning House of Representatives seats, and drawing electoral districts. To ensure a complete count for the 2030 census, we need to educate New Yorkers about the census now. Why vote? Because the person who wins the election decides how to deal with the ongoing affordability crisis, the rising cost of groceries, health care, childcare, and utility bills. Think about the devastating fiscal impacts of the one beautiful bill in New York. Key impacts include massive Medicaid essential plan coverage losses for over one million people, stricter immigrant eligibility, increased supplemental nutrition assistance program, SNAP cost, and mandated work requirements starting largely in 2026. Thousands of New Yorkers have already received letters announcing that they are losing their healthcare coverage. Garifuna Voice, Voting and Organizing to Increase Civic Engagement, will work directly with community members to lead voter education seminars. We are turning occasional voters into habitual voters. We want our community to know the date of a local primary as clearly as they know Independence Day. We are targeting the South Bronx Corridor. We are using electoral data to find those who haven't voted in years and bringing them back into the fold. While we also register first-time voters, i.e. youth and new citizens. Our mission is simple voting and organizing to increase civic engagement. To the youth, the millennials and Gen C who carry the Garyfuna heritage in their DNA and their digital worlds. This is your moment. Your heritage is not a relic of the past. It is the engine of your political future. Your Garifna DNA is a superpower in a city that relies on the energy of immigrants and their descendants. We are bridging the wisdom of the villages, Pueblos in Honduras, Belize, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Sendens and the Grenadines with the civic muscle of the New York diaspora. Let's raise our Garifuna voice by voting, organizing, and increased civic engagement. That wraps up another episode of the Garifna Experience Podcast. Thank you for joining the movement. Join the Garifuna Voice campaign today. The future of our people is in our hands. It is written on the ballot. Until next time, stay united, stay proud, Sungubei Lidaaba. Ayo. Find new episodes of the Garifna Experience Podcast every Tuesday on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartPodcast, YouTube, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your shows. Please rate and review the Garifan Experience Podcast. It helps our history reach the world.