Summary

King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci on Tuesday awarded Carlos Jimenez and Angie Hinojos Yusuf with Martin Luther King Medals of Distinguished Service, an award that recognizes individuals whose work has answered the question asked by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “What are you doing for others?”

Story

King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci on Tuesday awarded Carlos Jimenez and Angie Hinojos Yusuf with Martin Luther King Medals of Distinguished Service, an award that recognizes individuals whose work has answered the question asked by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “What are you doing for others?” 

In 2018, Jimenez and Hinojos Yusuf responded to the cultural needs of the Latino community on the Eastside by founding Centro Cultural Mexicano with a vision to building culture and community through arts. Later in 2020, with the Latino community hit particularly hard by the pandemic, they worked to quickly expand the organization’s services to distribute PPE, provide rental assistance, support small businesses, set up vaccine clinics, and more, all while continuing to provide spaces and events to celebrate Latino culture and heritage.

“Angie and Carlos are the epitome of servant-leaders, dedicated to building the infrastructure that will enable the Latino community on the Eastside to support and sustain each other, to thrive and flourish, to help create for themselves and for the region as a whole the truly inclusive and just community that Dr. King would be proud of,” said Balducci. “I am so grateful to them for everything they do and this award is one small way to honor their contributions to the community.”

Jimenez now serves as the director of Policy and Community Engagement for Centro Cultural Mexicano. He is committed to community empowerment, education, and economic justice. Meanwhile Hinojos Yusuf serves as the Executive Director for the organization. She is a passionate advocate for equity in our institutions. As a public artist and past architect, she utilizes art and culture to engage and build communities and challenge systemic racism.

This marks the seventh year that councilmembers have each selected someone from their district whose work embodies the spirit of King’s question.  

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