Meet Melissa Alvarez | Founder and Executive Director of the Tennessee Hispanic Action Network

We had the good fortune of connecting with Melissa Alvarez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Melissa, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I noticed a need that wasn’t being addressed in the city. Gun violence disproportionately affects the Latino community, yet no one was including it in the conversation. Too many gun violence prevention organizations were popping up created by white upper-middle class women who didn’t feel comfortable including or supporting the Latino community. So the advocacy brought on by these people didn’t feel like it was sufficient enough if it wasn’t inclusive, so I sought to change that. I wanted to create something all Latinos can participate in because our voices are important and should be heard, but also a space that other communities that want to be allies to our cause can also participate in and support. If I waited for white women to create space for me and my community, I would be waiting a long time, so I decided to create my own space and invite them in.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
So my work is focused on gun violence prevention. What sets me apart is that I focus on the Latino community, but I seek to include everyone. I don’t believe in gatekeeping, because we’ll never get any progress done. I believe in creating bridges and supporting other communities, just as other communities within my coalition support me. Professionally, I have always cared about social issues. That’s why I got two degrees in social work. I have always been passionate about improving the community through empowering people. It wasn’t easy because there was a lot of bullying and not a lot of support. I got more negative feedback than positive feedback, such as, “we already have enough gun violence prevention orgs, we don’t need another one.” or “If you focus on the Hispanic community, no one is going to care, so why even do it.” Those were blows and nasty, but the worst ones were the quiet ones. The ones that didn’t help me, that didn’t support me, that didn’t share my org’s work or outreach efforts, the ones that supposedly cared about gun violence but when asked to help, chose not to. Even when it was as simple as sharing a flyer on social media. But I noticed something, within our own community, the Hispanic community, I never experienced that. No matter what, people recognized the importance of helping our community and, historically speaking, we always helped each other. There’s a very “all-for-one, one-for-all” type of mentality within the Hispanic community right now that I don’t think existed before. We used to be split with in-fighting amongst countries, but in the bigger picture of it all, among all the hard stuff that we’ve been dealing with, we’ve been united. So I guess what I’d want the world to know about THAN, is that whether it’s gun violence prevention, or other issues that affect the Latino community, we’re all united and intertwined. THAN is a place to support each other and has an open door policy, meaning our door is open to whoever needs the support, Hispanic or not.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We would start breakfast off with some eggs and yuca at Soy Cubano, along with a cafecito. Once we were up and ready to rumble, we would tour the state capitol building, where so many changes that affect us occur. We would take a little trip to the Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies. This center at Vanderbilt University was established to conduct research on Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx issues and engage with the community through cultural events and professional development workshops. For lunch, I would take them down to the Gulch to Maiz De La Vida. If you haven’t had Maiz De La Vida, you haven’t lived. Chef Julio prepares the tortillas from heirloom corn in a Nixtamal fashion. It will change your life and turn you into a taco-snob. Nothing is as good. After lunch, we’d check out The National Museum of African American Music. It’s such an educational and fun experience. After bopping around the museum, we’d check out a soccer game at Geodis Park, and if there isn’t a game, we’d check out some live music as Plaza Mariachi. It is Music City after all.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Definitely. I need to shout out my friend Jesus. We met in Syracuse when we worked for a Hispanic org that focused on community work in Syracuse and the surrounding 7 counties. Jesus has been a guiding light. With his experience and guidance, he’s mentored me through events, strategies, and mission. I would be lying if didn’t include more people. I had a mentor, Alejandro Zapata, who also taught me so much in my early days. I doubt he remembers all of the valuable lessons he gave me, but no piece of advice was anything other than invaluable. These people shaped the person I am today. They created the professional I am. Rita Paniagua ran for office with real community support, teaching me how important the impact of politics are to our community. So shoutout to Jesus and the rest of the crew back in the day at La Liga. I like this question, because so many of Latinos work their butts off and are never recognized for their hard work and dedication.

Website: https://www.tnhispanicactionnetwork.org

Instagram: https://tnhispanicactionnetwork.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-alvarez-zabriskie/

Image Credits
Associated Press George Walker – “Protect My Babies written on arms of Melissa Alvarez” photograph