Public Administration, Civic Engagement, and Spanish-Speaking Communities

José Luis Irizarry

• Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited
• Year: 2025
• Print ISBN: 9781805925200, 9781805925187
• eBook ISBN: 9781805925170
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Cultural Policy
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Public Administration, Civic Engagement, and Spanish-Speaking Communities builds on the first bilingual (Spanish–English) special session at the National Academy of Public Administration's 2022 Social Equity Leadership Conference. Expanding on the themes of that groundbreaking conversation, this interdisciplinary volume addresses the urgent need to center multilingual voices in the pursuit of social equity in public administration. It examines the lived experiences and systemic challenges faced by Spanish-speaking communities in the United States—from language and cultural barriers to generational divides and unequal access to technology—while also highlighting innovative approaches to inclusive service delivery and democratic participation.

With 31 contributors representing diverse identities and disciplines, this volume models walking the social equity talk. Most chapters are coauthored by teams of scholars, students, and practitioners at different career levels, bringing forward the voices of Spanish-speaking communities alongside allies and social equity champions.

Designed for faculty, students, researchers, and practitioners alike, the book offers both breadth and depth: each chapter can be read on its own, yet together they create a comprehensive portrait of civic engagement, governance, and social equity in Spanish-speaking contexts.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Public Administration, Civic Engagement, and Spanish-Speaking Communities
• Praise for Public Administration, Civic Engagement, and Spanish-Speaking Communities
• Public Administration and Social Equity
• Public Administration, Civic Engagement, and Spanish-Speaking Communities
• Copyright
• Dedication
• CONTENTS
• ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS
• PREFACE
• BOOK ABSTRACT
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• Introduction
• 1 - The Social Construction of [American] Identity and Language in the Public Sphere
• 2 - Nonprofits and Civil Society: Fostering Social Equity & Civic Engagement
• 3 - News, Social Equity, and Spanish-Speaking Communities: The Importance of Traditional News Formats in an Era of Nontraditional News Providers
• 4 - Social Media, Social Equity, and Spanish-Speaking Communities
• 5 - Local Government Engagement With Latinx and Spanish-Speaking Communities
• 6 - Health and Human Service Delivery, Social Equity, and Spanish-Speaking Communities
• 7 - Homelessness, Social Equity, and Spanish-Speaking Communities
• 8 - Latinxs Interactions With the Police Agencies in the United States: A Systematic Quantitative Literature Review
• 9 - Immigration Law, Social (In)Equity, and the Immigration-Crime-Nexus
• 10 - Civic Engagement and Social Equity: Democracies, Voting, Political Systems and Spanish-Speaking Communities
• 11 - A Study of Equitable Access to Crisis Information for Latino Populations
• Conclusion: Putting It Together and Looking Forward
• Appendix A: Implicit Bias and Implications for Social Equity: A Reflexive Written Activity
• Appendix B: Academic Engagement Through the Rios Laboratory: An Equity Model for Inclusion in Research
• Appendix C: A Reflexive, Mindfulness-Based, Social Equity Learning Activity: Multimedia Expression and Communication Connecting Historical, Political, and Societal Topics With Art, Music, and Public Service
• Appendix D: #SELC2022 Conference Program Selected Excerpts