A Stronger America

Tomorrow’s Latino leaders can learn a lot from our past and from the everyday people in our community that have defied expectations. For myself, my mother has always served as an example. As a fifth-generation Coloradan, my family has been farming and ranching in the San Luis Valley since before Colorado was a state. My mother, Emma Salazar, gave me and my seven sisters and brothers our faith, our family and our drive to succeed. As a young woman, she attended Capitol Commercial City College in New Mexico in a time when very few women pursued higher education. During World War II, her education took her across the country to the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. She has cared for us when we fell ill, has buried a child, has farmed the land, and has nurtured her family with its fruits. She remembers a time when her home did not have electricity or a telephone, and I have never left home without her blessing. She still lights a candle every night for the safety of her children. She is our rock. She is our inspiration.

At 82, my mother, like many of our mothers, inspired and continues to inspire her family to succeed. We all have family like my mother. We must find their strength to face tomorrow’s challenges. We live in a time where, now more than ever, we must take responsibility for our nation’s obligations. We are obligated to act on behalf of the public interest. Throughout my life, I have dedicated myself to fighting for Colorado’s land, water and people, and in the U.S. Senate I will continue to fight for an America that makes protecting our homeland a greater priority, where every person has the opportunity for a good job, a good education and affordable health care, and where we act as responsible stewards of our land and water.

I will work to defend the rights and privileges afforded to us under the Constitution, but I need your help. We must nurture, inspire and challenge tomorrow’s leaders. We must not only encourage our youth to pursue higher education, but also we must work to create opportunity for qualified leaders. I am proud to tell you that I employ five Latinas, who serve on my senior staff, and who dedicate their expertise to advise and guide my legislative agenda through Congress and into Colorado. We must build off of the efforts of the generations who came before us and have lived on this land for hundreds of years. We must build off of the work done by countless leaders before us to include all Americans in our political process. Finally, we must build on our position to motivate all Americans to become involved and to actively participate in every opportunity before them.

Elected to the United States Senate after serving six years as Colorado Attorney General, I am committed to wake up every morning ready to fight on behalf of all Americans.

Together we can make a stronger America.

[This article has been edited for www.latinastyle.com. For the full version, check out the January/February issue of LATINA Style.]

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