FOR MOST OF THE GRADUATES of a Latino-focused civic training course, it was their first time visiting the chambers of the Marin County Board of Supervisors. They had gathered with their families Thursday to celebrate their completion in a Leadership Academy, a free course provided by the Canal Alliance, a nonprofit that serves the immigrant community in Marin County.
“It’s so important that you continue to engage in your community with fellow residents and elected officials like me,” said Supervisor Dennis Rodoni, who represents District 4 that includes East San Rafael and the Canal neighborhood, where most of the graduates resided. “Because honestly we can’t make good policy unless we know what our residents want to have in their community, so congratulations and enjoy your home.”
The U.S. Census counts 10,000 residents in the Canal neighborhood, but city officials estimate the number may be 16,000 or more. Census data shows residents are 98% Hispanic, a quarter of them live below the poverty line, and two-thirds of the adults lack a high school diploma.
In recent months, in addition to the increased threat of raids from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, residents have been shaken by a sudden apartment fire in August that left two people dead and is still under investigation.
According to the Marin County website, the Canal neighborhood of San Rafael is the most densely populated Federal Emergency Management Agency flood zone in the county. The infilled peninsula has subsided, with many of its central exit roads at or below sea level, putting the community at high risk of flooding due to sea level rise.
The civic training course helps to dispel fears and build trust between the residents and local authorities. Students learn how government works and how to confidently advocate for what the community needs.
According to the Canal Alliance, over 130 community members have graduated from the Leadership Academy since it launched in 2024, and three graduates now serve on key civic bodies in the city of San Rafael.
“The intention is being able to help the community, to have a space to learn about leadership,” said Cris Parra, senior coordinator of civic engagement for Canal Alliance. “Often, it’s not just learning but also putting into practice the innate leadership that we all have.”
Parra said that between 2024 and 2025, the academy has had 10 cohorts.
“Twenty-four of them participate in community groups,” she said. “Fifteen of them participate in school committees. Three of them participate in city committees, 51 participate in community service, 25 participate in service and leadership in their churches, 40 participate in other community groups and 22 are leaders in their places of work.”
A 2020 study by University of California, Berkeley found San Rafael’s Canal to be the most segregated Latino neighborhood in the Bay Area. The Canal, a crowded neighborhood of multifamily housing mostly built around the 1960s, housed Vietnamese refugees in the 1970s before a surge of Mexican and Guatemalan immigrants moved to the area in recent decades.
“We only come with a backpack full of dreams, and we are in a place where we can achieve it,” said Parra. “We just need a little light. We have done the most difficult thing to do, which is to leave our lives in our countries. We are here. We have the opportunity.”