Eva Longoria’s Interesting Family Tree, From The Homefront, Vol. 24

August 26, 2020

Dear Leading Ladies,

Last week’s Democratic National Convention broke new ground and made for some great television. Without the distraction of extended clapping and cheering, we got to hear more substance and less hoopla. The roll call was particularly heartening and uplifting, as we watched real people from every state and territory cast their delegate votes while displaying their pride in the beauty and strength of their area of the United States.

As a nonprofit group, Leading Ladies must remain nonpartisan. However, we can express our support on positions and issues. We liked what we heard from the Democrats about the need for change in the US on matters of immigration, education, racial equity, health care, reproductive rights, the climate, and more. We also support the call for kindness, empathy, and decency. We urge everyone to watch the Republican National Convention this week to compare what the other party has to say on these same issues. 

There was one moment at the DNC that was almost a “throwaway” line. Many may not have even registered when Monday night host Eva Longoria said that she is a proud eighth generation Texan. That means Longoria, a Latina, can trace her family back to the 1700s in what is now the United States. How many of us reading this can do that? Her family history confronts the stereotype of Latinos being new to this country and reminds us that they have been part of the fabric of this country even before it was a country. Longoria actually was one of the subjects of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s DNA investigations. Longoria’s DNA reveals that she is 70% European, 27% Asian and Indigenous, and 3% African. She traces her lineage back to Spain and a ninth great grandfather who immigrated to New Spain (now modern Mexico) in 1603. In 1767, a seventh great grandfather received a land grant along the RIo Grande of 4,000 acres from the King of Spain which they retained for a century and that became part of the United States after the annexation of Texas (1845) and the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). 

Longoria’s story is not unique, but it stands as a stark reminder that the United States is a country of immigrants. Except for our indigenous people and enslaved Africans, we all come from immigrants - some came recently and some generations and generations ago. What makes new immigrants less worthy in some people’s eyes than those from long ago? Everyone’s relatives were new immigrants when they arrived. And what makes immigrants from one part of the world less worthy than those from another part of the world? These are some of the questions we want to see answered this week at the RNC. 

Please watch and then ask yourself what you will do in the next 70 days to make sure your values are those represented in the White House starting January 21, 2021.

Therese,
Judy
Mary
Kim
Leading Ladies Executive Team