Velasquez is founding president and chair of the Latino Legacy Foundation and an emmy award-winning former television journalist, and lives in Mission Hills. Ybarra is founding vice president of the Latino Legacy Foundation and CEO of Mission Neighborhood Centers, and lives in San Francisco. Nieto Senour is a founding board member of Latino Legacy Foundation and president of the San Diego Community College District board of trustees, and lives in City Heights.

It was more than three years ago that several of us embarked on a journey to share the rich and varied history of the local Latino community in the United States through multimedia to build knowledge, foster understanding and bring people together.

Little did we know how the country’s impending crises would underscore the importance of our mission.