Life-Long Community Activist Jane Garcia Expresses The Importance of Hispanic Heritage Month

Southfield (CW50) - Activist Jane Garcia has been a presence in the Detroit community for over 45 years. As the chairman of the Board for Latin Americans for Social and Economic Development, the oldest Hispanic advocacy agency in Southeastern Michigan, she's made a powerful impact on the Hispanic and Latino community in the area.

Garcia is a native Detroiter and licensed social worker. She has held positions with the Detroit Public Schools and the U.S. Federal Government, where she retired after more than 25 years of service. She's also spent her years with United Way Community Services, Board of Water Commissioners, and was Vice Chair of the Michigan Republican Party.

With the state of Hispanic Heritage Month, Garcia was the perfect resource to go to when building an episode around the amazing work that organizations and people are doing within the Hispanic and Latino community, as well as the history behind the migration and growing population of Hispanics in the Detroit area.

Garcia joins Lisa Germani on Community Connect to talk about the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, and the work that she's done in her career to advocate for the community.

She brought up the early migrant patterns of Hispanics following the agriculture in Michigan, settling in Detroit mostly due to the churches, and prospering through the growth of the car and manufacturing industries.

She also discussed the growing population of Hispanics in the United States, stating that the numbers of the census showed the population has grown to over 62 million in the U.S.

Watch Community Connect, Saturday at 7am on CW50