- today
Dolores Huerta, Sydney Baloue, Dr. Eric Esrailian and Diego Mariscal participate in the "Protect the Block: Safeguarding our Communities" panel moderated by THR's Contributing Editor Stacey Wilson Hunt at THR's Social Impact Summit. The panel explores topics like foster-care work, women's and girls' advocacy, and LGBTQ+ rights.
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00:00I want to start with Dolores, not just because you are, again, the leading legend, but you have a backstory that, if people aren't aware of, I did want to share.
00:13So in 1962, Dolores and Cesar Chavez, yes, established the National Farm Workers Association, which became the United Farm Workers Union, the UFW.
00:24She organized a 1965 grape strike of over 5,000 workers that won workers' basic human rights, like decent drinking water, bathroom breaks, and the right to union representation.
00:36Yes, amazing.
00:39And after seven years of activism, Dolores, you are still working to protect the most vulnerable workers among us, which, by the way, today feels like all workers, frankly.
00:48Thank you for everything you've done.
00:51Truly, it is absolutely an honor to have you here.
00:54So, Dolores, suffice to say, it's a very painful time for a lot of people, especially Latino immigrants, Latino workers, Latino Americans, specifically in California and beyond.
01:08What has been the most shocking thing to you about the last few months?
01:14And you have seen it all at this point, or so you thought, right?
01:17What has been the most shocking thing, and what is a story about this that we aren't seeing in the media?
01:22What are you hearing within your organization, in your community, about what's happening on the ground that we maybe aren't witnessing?
01:30Well, I believe the most shocking thing is when you have people in political office, people that are senators and congressmen, that have become complete cowards.
01:44Complete cowards.
01:46When we see the way that our immigrants are being treated, and when you talked about the farm workers, when we were organizing farm workers, you mentioned that farm workers got bathroom breaks.
01:58No, they didn't even, they didn't even have bathrooms.
02:02I mean, one of the big wins was to get bathrooms in the field.
02:07Getting rid of the short-handled hoe, so that people could use a long-handled hoe and accomplish the same thing,
02:13and they wouldn't have to be subjugated to be close to the ground and have this kind of suffering and the disabilities that came from that.
02:21So, this racism that exists in our society, and Martin Luther King Jr. said that racism is an illness that we have in the United States of America.
02:36It's a sickness, and we have not been able to get rid of that sickness, and now we see it manifested in what's happening right now,
02:44and especially with people of color, because these are the ones that are being targeted by ICE and the Trump administration,
02:51and trying to, I'm going to use the word, make America white.
02:55It's never been white, okay?
02:58It's never been white.
03:01I mean, when my great-grandparents, or great-great-grandparents, two of them on my mother's side,
03:09they were the immigrants that came, one from Spain, the other one from England.
03:15On my dad's side, the native people, they were already here to greet them, okay, before they got here.
03:23So, that is a true history of the United States of America.
03:28And so, to criminalize hard-working people like the farm workers that feed the president and feed this congressman,
03:37they're the ones that have been subjected to all of this brutality.
03:41And in the past, yeah, people come here because they want to have a better life for their families, you know?
03:48We've always been, as we say, a nation of immigrants, even though most of those came from Europe, okay?
03:54But the idea that you punish people because they want to have a better life for their families is very cruel.
04:01And back in the 50s, when they had the same type of deportations and, you know, repatriating, that's what they did.
04:09They repatriated people.
04:11They took people to the border and sent them home.
04:15They did not put them in prisons, okay?
04:18They did not put them in prisons.
04:20That has been, you might say, more recent legislation, mostly under the Bush administration, when that started happening.
04:27So, we don't have to treat people that way.
04:30And think of this, $45 billion, $45 billion that is going to be used for ICE and to detain people and to build these prisons.
04:42That $45 billion, we need that money for education.
04:46We need that money for housing.
04:47We need that money for health care.
04:50So, we can see that, you know, the needs are turned upside down.
04:55And we, as citizens, have to really speak up and demand that this, you know, that this not happen again.
05:03And we have to start working for the future, working for the future.
05:08What do we want things to look like when this nightmare is over?
05:13What are the things that we do not have in the United States of America, the richest country in the world?
05:19We do not have free college education.
05:22We do not have universal health care.
05:26We do not have daycare for our families so our children can become educated and cared for while people work.
05:34The richest country in the world.
05:36So, we've got to start making plans.
05:39What do we want when this crazy period is over?
05:42And start demanding and start working to make those things happen.
05:45And like, I like to quote the poet Pablo Neruda, who said, they can cut all the flowers, but they cannot hold back the spring.
05:58They can cut all the flowers, but they cannot hold that back the spring.
06:01And we have to be the gardeners.
06:04We have to be the people that are out there sowing the seeds of justice and erasing the ignorance and conquering this illness of racism that exists here in our society.
06:15I think all of us have to do that.
06:18And we shouldn't wait for people to ask us.
06:20We have to initiate that.
06:22And the racism and the sexism and the sexism and, again, the attacks on our LGBTQ community, you know?
06:33We have to stand up for that, for women's right to abortion, okay?
06:37We have to do that.
06:38We, all of us, have to become organizers and messengers to get that message out to everybody that we know, even if it is uncomfortable.
06:47That's okay.
06:49That's okay if it's uncomfortable.
06:51We have to make people feel uncomfortable.
06:53Because when we can think of how people are being tortured in these prisons, how their families are being affected, making somebody uncomfortable to try to get into their brains and their hearts, you know?
07:05I think it's a very small thing to ask.
07:08I think we're beyond uncomfortable at this point.
07:11I think uncomfortable is behind us.
07:13Like, we're in deep, deep pain mode, I think.
07:17And we're all hurting, even if we're not being directly affected.
07:20It hurts to know this is happening.
07:22So, you have a lot of homework from Dolores, from leaving here today.
07:26We'll get back to next steps in a moment after we hear from the panelists.
07:29Thank you, Dolores.
07:31You're amazing.
07:34And I'd like to talk to Eric.
07:36He said I could call him Eric, even though I want to say Dr. Israelian, because I was raised to use the titles.
07:41So, outside of your esteemed work as a gastroenterologist at UCLA, you are also a leading voice in helping to rethink and reform the way we think about foster children in this country.
07:52Alongside of your friend and partner, Christian Bale, we've heard of him.
07:56Amazing guy.
07:57You created an organization called Together California Foster Care.
08:00So, like many systems in our country right now, it's broken, undervalued, and underfunded, our current foster care approach.
08:09What are the key tenets of what you and Christian are trying to infuse into this?
08:14I don't want to call it a process.
08:16It's more of an existence, a temporary existence, hopefully, for kids.
08:19And what is unique about the way that we have approached this previously?
08:22Well, thank you so much.
08:25First of all, it's an honor for me to be here.
08:27And thank you for allowing me to talk a little bit about Together California.
08:31And for those of you who are hoping to see Christian Bale, I'm sorry.
08:35But he is really good at changing his look for movies.
08:38That's true.
08:39So, how do we know it's not Christian Bale?
08:41Yes.
08:41Very well.
08:42Very well said.
08:44So, but it's an honor for me to have a chance to talk about Together California.
08:48And, you know, in Los Angeles County, we have the largest population of foster youth in the United States.
08:56And that's something I didn't know until I really started to talk to Christian about something that we could work on together.
09:04And he's an incredible partner and very passionate about this issue.
09:08And he wanted to do something.
09:09You know, we've been very fortunate in our lives.
09:11So, we wanted to do something together to give back to our community.
09:14And so, I started really learning about the situation for foster youth.
09:21And besides the fact that L.A. County has such a large population, many of these foster youth or children who go through the foster system, unfortunately, end up being homeless.
09:32And roughly 75% of the kids who end up in foster system, also brothers and sisters, end up being separated.
09:39And they might not actually be reunited until they're adults.
09:42And by that point, their entire lives can be disrupted.
09:46And many children end up in foster care because of neglect or child abuse or other issues in the family.
09:54So, I think it became really important for us.
09:57And, you know, we both are kind of, I think, you know, just enough to be dangerous.
10:01So, we didn't know anything about this.
10:02But we partnered with an incredible person named Tim McCormick, who's our executive director.
10:08And Tim has done this very successfully in Illinois in a model that keeps siblings together with a professional parent.
10:16So, the role of the parent in this model is that they basically are full-time parents.
10:22They have a home.
10:23And we're building a village in L.A. County, actually, in the city of Palmdale.
10:27So, we partnered with the city of Palmdale and the county of Los Angeles, who actually gave us quite a bit of support.
10:34We were able to purchase land.
10:35And we're building 12 homes, which each home will have a foster parent.
10:41And six children can live in that home.
10:43We're also building two, basically, studio apartments for transitional housing and for birth parents to possibly come and stay as well, because they might be able to be reunited with their children.
10:56And then a community center.
10:58So, the concept is to basically build a community.
11:00So, we're calling it Together California, because the goal is to keep families together.
11:04And I'm really happy to say this has been embraced by L.A. County, the city of Palmdale, and also the leadership of our community, the government officials, really across the board.
11:17Catherine Barger in the county of Los Angeles has been incredible, as well as Mayor Bass and the mayor of Palmdale.
11:24And, you know, it's just, you know, a friend of mine said to me, you know, this is only 70 kids, you know, but it's 70 kids forever.
11:35And I think over time, you know, if we can even change the lives and trajectories of just one or two of these children, you never know what they're going to do to give back to society, give back to their communities.
11:47So, it's heartwarming, and I appreciate the opportunity just to talk about it, because we've kind of kept it under wraps until we were really ready.
11:54We've broken ground.
11:55Hopefully, we'll have a ribbon cutting on the first homes in March.
12:00And I know word is starting to get around, because yesterday I was telling somebody about this, and they said, you should talk to Christian Bale, because it sounds like he's doing something like this, too.
12:09So, it made me feel good that, like, okay, there's a reason for me to stand in front of a microphone.
12:13That's so incredible.
12:17And I know it's too soon.
12:19You haven't actually put this all into practice yet, but is this a model that others can draw from for helping the unhoused?
12:26I mean, this concept, no offense, doesn't seem super like it took a team of scientists to come up together.
12:33I mean, it's sort of, it's just sitting there, but you're putting it into practice.
12:36But can we use this for other communities who are struggling?
12:39I think it's, the goal is to create, first of all, not just one village, but villages all throughout California.
12:45So, that's why we call it Together California.
12:47And, yes, there are other organizations that are doing something like this in different states.
12:52It's just ironic that California didn't have this and L.A. County didn't have this.
12:56So, especially with the challenges facing people who are suffering from homelessness, you know, and the fact that a lot of these life stories are interlinked.
13:07So, if we can kind of solve, you know, a problem such as improving the foster care system, it will also help with homelessness.
13:17And I have to say also the Department of Child and Family, DCFS, Child and Family Services has been incredibly helpful to us.
13:26And they've embraced it.
13:27So, I think this will be a partnership with actual existing structures and give, you know, more people an opportunity to have a path forward.
13:37Thank you so much for everything you've done.
13:39And that's just one of, like, a thousand projects that this man does in his free time.
13:43It's really inspiring.
13:45Thank you so much.
13:47Yes.
13:49And, Sydney, it's so nice to see you again.
13:52Pleasure.
13:52Sydney was a star panelist who I met last year and was incredible.
13:56And I expect nothing less tonight, my friend.
13:58So, Sydney, it's not an understatement to say you're a trailblazing voice for trans storytellers, but also just artists in general.
14:06And actually, you made history when you became the first black trans man to become a member of the WGA.
14:11That's very cool.
14:13Congratulations.
14:15I think it's suffice to say the attacks in the LGBTQ plus community are at unprecedented levels.
14:22Very scary time.
14:24But for you, you see education as a way to ameliorate some of this pain, not to fix it overnight, but it is what you would say is like a weapon against these attacks.
14:35Tell me how you see yourself as an educator because you just came back from London.
14:39And you actually are sort of an ambassador and you put yourself out there into communities that are both queer and trans, but also communities that are cis and otherwise.
14:48What have you learned about how education can combat this kind of terror?
14:52Yeah.
14:53I mean, there's so much to say.
14:56I mean, first, I have to admit, as a trans man, I didn't realize I'd have to cross my legs on stage with a kilt.
15:03So, please excuse me.
15:05Kilts can be tricky.
15:06I know.
15:07I know.
15:07I was like, they will remember a man in a kilt, but I forgot I had to go back to wearing dresses.
15:13Now, there's so much to say.
15:16I mean, you know, I look at the state of this country.
15:19Right now, there's 120 anti-trans bills have been passed in this country in 2025 alone.
15:25There's 598, according to the ACLU, that are on deck, anti-trans bills that are waiting to be passed.
15:34It is an extremely dire time.
15:36I mean, even in the UK, their Supreme Court just had a very landmark ruling that more or less dehumanized trans women in that country.
15:43So, yeah, education is very important.
15:47I mean, for my work, I was a co-executive producer on a show on HBO Max called Legendary that is about a community that I come from.
15:56If you know about the ballroom community, if you've seen Pose or Paris is Burning, I've been in that scene for 13 years.
16:03I vogue.
16:03I have thrown balls.
16:05I produce the biggest show about that.
16:07And I do oral histories with the community that made that community possible.
16:12And so, I interview elders in the scene in New York City and around the world.
16:18I do research and education around this.
16:21I teach voguing workshops.
16:22And I was invited by the University College London to basically host a symposium around these topics.
16:29Education is so important because it is ultimately about sharing our stories as trans people.
16:35And I can't emphasize how important that is because ultimately when we tell our stories, we're sharing our humanity with people.
16:45And I say this because as a writer, I mean, I was part of the DEI bubble.
16:49We had all these great LGBTQ plus shows that just evaporated after the strike, you know.
16:56And we were told that we're not, we're too niche for middle America.
17:00And you have to wonder like, hmm, I mean, I'm a human being.
17:03And yet, RuPaul's Drag Race is one of the top rated reality places.
17:07Right, right.
17:07It doesn't really make any sense.
17:09Yeah, I know.
17:09I mean, we can all be fabulous.
17:11God forbid, you know.
17:12I don't know.
17:13You know, there's so much that our community has contributed.
17:16And yet, we're constantly told that we're either too niche or, you know, we're not mainstream enough.
17:22And for me, you know, one of the things I look at, especially with all of this anti-trans legislation that's being passed,
17:29I mean, in the Scrimetti decision, the New York Times was cited seven times by Clarence Thomas.
17:36The New York Times does not have a single trans journalist on staff.
17:41They do not have a single trans editor on staff.
17:45I have written for the New York Times.
17:47I've pitched to them.
17:48I've written two pieces for them.
17:50There's other trans folks who are journalists out there in the world.
17:53There is a trans journalist association, right?
17:55And the reason why this happens is because there is, you know, when you hear that word transphobia, right,
18:02when you break it down, the phobia is the fear that a trans person,
18:08someone who we've been taught in society to think is inferior to us, could actually be our equal,
18:15could be as smart as you are, as pretty as you are, as funny as you are, or better yet, even more, hello.
18:20You know, so, like, really what it comes down to, when we talk about the institutional oppression
18:27that our elders have fought against for decades for us,
18:33it is literally about getting trans people in those roles, in these institutions.
18:38I mean, I was the first black trans guy in the WGA.
18:41That is an institution for me to be recognized with the credits that I have.
18:46And, you know, to climb that ladder, to get to the seat of power, to tell those stories,
18:51this is what it means.
18:52To educate is to get more of us in the door.
18:55And it's also, for me, for all the trans people I know,
18:58they want to just tell people, tell the world that you've always been here.
19:02This isn't like a fad.
19:04Oh, no.
19:04This isn't like something, oh, in the last 10 years, suddenly this community's come out of nowhere.
19:08Literally, you've been here the whole time.
19:10Oh, yeah, trans people have existed for a millennia.
19:13I mean, literally, since Jesus Christ was in the building,
19:16there's been somebody who has cross-dressed, who has transgressed gender.
19:21And, you know, again, when I talk about that thing of transphobia,
19:25sometimes, you know, even me just being a trans man in the room,
19:29especially since I pass, you know, a lot of people don't even know that I'm trans unless I say it, right?
19:35And that's part of the fear for these, like, extremists on the right is that we don't know who to oppress, right?
19:43Because ultimately, it's this pyramid, a hierarchy, right, where there's cis, white, straight, you know,
19:49wealthy men at the top and the rest of us at the bottom.
19:52And if I can't tell who's who, well, then who am I going to oppress?
19:55Yes, well, you know, and not only that, but we are living not only in our truth,
20:00but in the truth, which is that gender is a spectrum.
20:05That this idea, I mean, that's the other thing.
20:07I was talking to a friend about this.
20:08I find this so interesting.
20:10Every other facet of our humanity is on a spectrum.
20:13Our hair color, our skin color, our eye colors, our, you know,
20:17so many aspects of our genetics.
20:18And somehow there's only two genders, really, really.
20:23And, you know, I really want to emphasize that there's a lot of this pseudoscience that's being brought in.
20:29You know, and like the last time I see that, you know, we've seen this was in the 19th century, phrenology.
20:36You know, you see this kind of pseudoscience that says that black people are inferior to white people.
20:41And then we spend decades trying to fight back against that.
20:44You know, that's also, I would like to say, just really emphasizing how important it is for trans people to tell our own stories
20:51because it gives humanity back to us when you know us, you know.
20:57I think about a show like Will and Grace over 20 years ago literally changed the face of what it meant to be a gay person in the world
21:05because people got to know gay people through TV.
21:08The Jeffersons brought black people into people's homes where they got to know them.
21:13We need to do the same thing, especially in this industry of having trans people in our homes so we get to know them.
21:19That's the power of media.
21:21That's the power of letting us actually narrate who we are and not letting other people do that for us.
21:28Yes. Thank you so much.
21:30There's a lot of fear, so much fear that comes with not knowing and understanding.
21:34And to your point, when you hear someone's story, it's hard to feel scared once you realize, oh, we're just the same.
21:42But thank you for everything you're doing.
21:44You're a real role model.
21:46And Diego, not to leave you to the end, that was not intentional, I promise.
21:50So Diego, you are a special kind of hero yourself.
21:53You've been nearly a lifelong advocate for disability awareness since you were a child growing up in Mexico,
21:57and you were a member of your country's Paralympic Junior Swim Team.
22:01Congratulations.
22:02That's very special.
22:07You have talked about something really important, a giant obstacle that you see facing disabled people,
22:12which is, quote, many people with disabilities aren't sure what benefits they're entitled to.
22:17Understanding your rights is very important, which seems so basic.
22:21And I think you're right.
22:22I think there's so much confusion.
22:23How has the battle for equality and visibility for disabled people changed since you were young?
22:29And what are the biggest challenges facing your community now, today in the U.S. and around the world?
22:35Because this is not just an us problem.
22:37This is a global challenge.
22:39And I'd love to know how you see things have changed, but also what are the biggest pressing issues today?
22:46Wow.
22:46Tough, tough act to follow.
22:48Tough question.
22:49Well, first of all, thank you for having me.
22:51Really excited to be here.
22:52You know, I thought it was really interesting what Dolores was saying about the bathrooms and the progress that has been made in that space.
23:02To this day, and this month, the 26th of July, is the 35th anniversary of the ADA.
23:1035 years after the ADA, there are still people that cannot use the bathrooms in airplanes, in hotels, because of inaccessibility.
23:2135 years after the ADA, and so when we talk about disability rights, we are behind many of the communities that we're talking about today.
23:33Because disability has not been recognized as a part of diversity, right?
23:40I was born in the States by accident.
23:44My parents, who are Mexicans, were shopping, and I was born six months and a half into my mom's pregnancy.
23:53She jokes and says that I've always been really stubborn, even before I was born.
23:57And so, as a result, I have CP, which primarily affects my walking skills.
24:05And so, I grew up in Mexico, you know, facing a lot of barriers, right?
24:11We don't have legislation like the Americans with Disabilities Act, like the Individualized Education Act, many of which are threatened right now.
24:20Many of those legislations, right?
24:22But we didn't have that in Mexico.
24:23So, I grew up thinking, well, you know, there's this lack of infrastructure, and so that leads to isolation, all of that.
24:32That's why I became sort of a lifelong advocate for disability rights.
24:37I come to the States for college thinking, okay, in the States, there are things like the ADA.
24:44There are, you know, ramps, curb cuts.
24:47My life is going to be completely different.
24:49Lo and behold, I come, and the same discrimination that I was facing in Mexico, we were facing here.
24:57And that gets to your question, which is, what is the biggest challenge that disabled people are facing?
25:03The biggest challenge, yes, access is a part of that.
25:07But the underlining issue behind that is that society still doesn't recognize disability as part of human diversity.
25:16We don't see how disability can be synonymous with creativity, tenacity, resiliency.
25:25As a disabled person, I have to figure out, how do I get dressed in the morning?
25:28How do I drive?
25:29How do I communicate, you know, effectively?
25:33And that can be a competitive advantage for business, for innovation.
25:38And so, that's the core of the work that I do now.
25:40I lead the largest accelerator for founders with disabilities, really thinking about how do we foster that creativity, that innovation, so that the next generation of disabled leaders recognize their disability as a competitive advantage for innovation.
25:55Wow.
26:02I'm very, very humble sitting among you.
26:04This is really extraordinary.
26:06So, with the five or so minutes that we have left, I just want every person on this stage, very briefly, as succinctly as possible, to tell us one thing that each of us can do when we get home tonight to help the communities that you represent.
26:20Dolores, what is one thing you want everyone in this room to do when they get home or in the morning?
26:27Well, again, I said it a little while ago, all of us becoming organizers and messengers, you know?
26:34So, we can take that responsibility and be very vocal and start spreading these messages of the support that people need and that we can really save our democracy because we are in a very crucial moment, critical moment, that we are losing our democracy.
26:55And make sure that the people that we know, our families, our neighbors, organizations, that everybody is civically involved.
27:04We need everybody to know that they have a responsibility, again, to organize their neighbors, form a committee in your neighborhood to get people registered to vote and to get people to vote.
27:17I mean, the way that my organization works, the Doloresworth Foundation, we don't really give grants, you know?
27:24We kind of try to receive them, actually.
27:27That's a better arrangement.
27:29I like that.
27:29Because then we hire organizers.
27:32We send them into communities.
27:34They have house meetings with people.
27:37And they talk about the issues.
27:39They talk about the problems that they might have.
27:41And the idea is to make them responsible, to make them understand that they have to get out there and solve the issues in their community, that they know what the problems are, and they know what the solutions are, and not just sit there and wait for somebody to come in and solve the issues for them.
28:01And this is a way that they build their leadership, once they analyze the situation, then they prioritize, and then they go out there.
28:12And so many of the people that we have organized, they have millions of dollars in infrastructures, lawsuits that we have filed because of racial discrimination in schools, lawsuits that we have filed because of the way that many of our voting districts are drawn.
28:28And so, you know, we have to fight for representation at every level, but making people understand that they have to be part of the solution, that they are the ones that can make the difference.
28:41And that's what we really have to do.
28:42We have to, as I said before, all of us become organizers, become messages.
28:46And I don't know, I sometimes say to people, what if we would have been in Germany when Hitler was coming to power?
28:55What would we have done to make sure that our Jews in the neighborhood would not be sent to camps to get incinerated, you know?
29:07So we're kind of at that stage right now.
29:09So all of us have to say, what can I do?
29:12And I have to do more.
29:14Whatever you're doing now, you've got to do a lot more because we are at this critical moment in our society.
29:21Thank you, Dolores.
29:23And Sydney, what is one thing that we can all do to help trans people see themselves and feel more protected?
29:30We need real allyship.
29:33And that means standing with us.
29:35That means advocating on our behalf when we're not in the room.
29:39That means falling back when we are in the room and passing the mic so we can speak.
29:45I want to give a couple of shout-outs of places where folks can find information from actual trans reporters, people on the ground,
29:54people like Chase Strangio, who's at ACLU, people like Amara Jones at Translash, Thomas Page McBee, Raquel Willis.
30:04These are all phenomenal trans journalists.
30:06Devin Norell.
30:08Also support trans storytelling.
30:10Zachary Drucker has a new film on HBO called Enigma that is about trans history.
30:16Also, River Gallo is a trans and intersex activist and filmmaker who has a film out right now called Ponyboy.
30:23Also follow me and my work.
30:25You know, at Sydney Blue, you can find me on Instagram and you can find my website and support my work because I'm also doing documentation, research, and history to really make it clear we've been here, we will be here, and we need your help and support to make sure we can be here in the future as well.
30:46Thank you, Sydney.
30:46I'm getting the signal from backstage that we need to wrap.
30:51So, Eric, 10-second pitch.
30:53Super brief.
30:54I appreciate it.
30:56I think everybody can contribute to the vision of helping foster youth so you can look up Together California.
31:02And I think it's not just about donations, although we will not turn them down, like Ms. Huerta said.
31:08But I think there are opportunities to provide in-kind support, provide mentorship, and just get involved.
31:15And I think everybody can make a difference because it's not just the foster youth.
31:19These are all of our children.
31:22And, Diego, you want to close this out?
31:25Last word.
31:26The pressure's on.
31:27Yes.
31:27So, the one thing that folks can do is, whatever level you are, organization you are, fund disabled
31:35innovations, fund disabled work.
31:37Because when we think about it, disability is the largest minority in the world.
31:41One in four people have a disability, and you can acquire disability at any point in time.
31:46So, by funding disability work and supporting disabled entrepreneurs or disabled innovations,
31:51you're essentially supporting yourself 10, 20 years, 30 years down the line.
31:56So, thank you.
31:59Thank you so much for coming, everyone.
32:04Can we do a chat?
32:05Oh, sure.
32:07I would like to ask everybody to stand first.
32:10Okay.
32:12And some of you know this routine.
32:15But I'm going to be asking you two questions, and I want you to really shout the answers.
32:19And the first question I'm going to ask you, I'm going to ask you, who's got the power?
32:22And I want you to say, we've got the power.
32:25Then I'm going to say, what kind of power?
32:27And I want you to shout, people power.
32:30But we want to shout that so loud so the haters can hear us.
32:33Okay?
32:35Okay.
32:36Let's do it.
32:37Who's got the power?
32:38We've got the power.
32:40What kind of power?
32:42People power.
32:43Are we going to use our people power to stop the fascism, to save our democracy, to save
32:48the people in our country and in the world?
32:50What do we say?
32:51Se puede?
32:51Si, se puede.
32:54Se puede?
32:55Si, se puede.
32:56Okay.
32:57Let's all close with an organized hand clap that says, si, se puede, which means, yes,
33:01I can.
33:01That means, yes, we can.
33:02Let's go.
33:03Si, se puede.
33:05Si, se puede.
33:07Si, se puede.
33:08Si, se puede.
33:09Si, se puede.
33:10Si, se puede.
33:11Si, se puede.
33:11Si, se puede.