ROANOKE, Va. – In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we want to highlight influential Latinx figures that impact our community.
After trying to run for city council in 2007, Vivian Sanchez-Jones was honored to finally take the seat 13 years later, making her the first Latina ever to become a councilwoman for the city of Roanoke.
“It’s been a dream come true actually,” she said.
From working with immigrant and refugee students since 2004 to now leading efforts to help Latinx during the pandemic, Sanchez-Jones wants to uplift their voices.
“They have a voice but they just don’t want to use it because they don’t think they will be heard,” she said.
At 14 years old, she moved from the Dominican Republic with her mother to start a new life.
A daunting move she understands many Roanoke immigrant families may face when they first arrive.
“I want to be that advocate that my mother didn’t have,” she said. “I want to be that advocate that our students didn’t have. Because a lot of the students that I work with… We have the same story.”
She brings Caribbean flavor to Roanoke with a love of merengue music while she cooks traditional dishes like pasteles.
“I talk fast because I’m Dominican and the level of energy — it’s off the charts,” she said.
But she also embraces the new term Afro-Latina.
It’s a word created by the younger generation to acknowledge both Latin and African roots.
“Our culture is so rich and people don’t really realize that we not just one thing,” she said. “We are a mix of multiple things, multiple cultures.”
She said the more time people take to learn about themselves, the more people will learn to embrace all cultures.