Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB) announced Latinos Are Essential, a new series of short films premiering on Tuesday, Nov. 17. The series showcases the Latinos that have been dedicated to keeping America running during the COVID-19 pandemic. "Essential workers" include teachers, food workers, retail workers and health care workers.
Some of the film titles featured in the series include: All Around Us, Astrid, Chelsea-An Essential City, El Paso Esta Presente, A Pescador in the Town, Todos Unidos y Yo and more. "Many [Latinos] do jobs that can't be done from home...working as nurses, therapists, doctors and researchers, fighting the pandemic and living in the shadow of deportation," LPB said in a release. "These essential workers are at greater risk of contracting the virus; according to the CDC, close to a quarter of the COVID-19 deaths to date have been Latinos, and hospitalization rates for Latinos are a staggering 4.6 times the rate for whites."
Latinos Are Essential will be available for streaming on PBS.org and the PBS Video App as well as iOS, Roku, Android, on the PBS Voices YouTube channel and wherever streaming is available.
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The project is supported by a social media campaign led by LPB and PBS. Partners include LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens); LCLAA (Labor Council for Latin American Advancement); HACU (Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities); HIP (Hispanics in Philanthropy); the IMAGEN Foundation and Latina-rrific as well as public television stations including WPBT/WXEL South Florida PBS, KLRN, Valley PBS, New Mexico PBS, WKAR, KERA, PBS El Paso, Texas Tech Public Media, PBS SoCal/KCET, Arizona PBS, WGCU Public Media, Austin PBS/KLRU and WORLD Channel.
