Class breaks language barriers in Evanston

Local immigrants learn the basics about city’s government, history

By Allan Madrid

Contributing writer

For Nelly Leon, understanding the culture and politics of Evanston has been quite a challenge. The Evanston resident splits her time between working a full-time job as an office assistant and raising her children — all in a town where the language is foreign to her.

Leon, who recently immigrated from Mexico, hardly speaks any English.

“I’ve been in the U.S. for a year and a half now and I still don’t know anything about how the American government works,” Leon said in her native Spanish language.

But Leon isn’t alone. The need to work and the language barrier discourage many of Evanston’s Spanish-speaking citizens from engaging in and fully comprehending their civic duties.

In an attempt to alleviate the troubles Leon and others like her are facing, the city of Evanston now is offering a civil leadership class in Spanish at no cost and with available childcare services.

Covering everything from civic responsibility to the history of the city, the class facilitates a dialogue among Spanish-speaking residents and city officials while encouraging more residents to play an active role in local government.

“Because of the language barrier, a lot of Latino families don’t understand how the local government works,” said Aracely Canchola, Latino services outreach specialist for Evanston.

“Hopefully, with this class, at least one or two individuals will become involved with the (city government) or with school committees,” she said.

The class meets every Wednesday in the Parasol Room of the Evanston Civic Center at 6:30 p.m. With a total of 13 students, the first session kicked off May 5 with a lesson on the history of Evanston.

“What I enjoy above all about this class is seeing people’s enthusiasm for something that will benefit them in the near future,” said Erica Bernal, a program volunteer.

Canchola spoke about the history of Hispanics in Evanston since 1950, while guest speaker Dino Robinson, the editor of Shorefront magazine, gave a presentation about the progress of blacks in Evanston.

Many of the students expressed enthusiasm for what they are learning.

“It’s only been the first class, and it already seems great,” Evanston resident Jezabel Gonzalez said. “Hopefully I’ll graduate knowing more about the school districts for my kids and stuff like how to get a permit to make repairs on my house.”

Canchola and Bernal teach most of the classes, but each session also will feature a guest appearance by a government official from a different department who will speak and answer students’ questions.

Canchola and Bernal help students communicate with speakers by translating from English to Spanish and vice-versa.

“It is important for Hispanics to see who are the people making the important decisions for them,” Canchola said.

The next nine weeks of the class will feature lectures about the local government of Evanston, civic responsibility, city budgets and information about the school districts. The 10th week promises a graduation ceremony complete with food and music.

The class stems from a grassroots program organized by the U.S. Hispanic Leadership Institute, where similar civic leadership classes were offered in cities across the country.

Canchola, who worked for the institute, brought the classes to Evanston three years ago, and more than 40 people have graduated since then.

“A lot of people used to call my office asking me questions about the local government,” Canchola said. “When I started to work here, I thought of how I could help them, and this program seemed to be it.”