On the public sector side, Cisneros said, every municipality and state should require anyone with a public contract to have minority members on the board, including service providers such as lawyers and financial advisors, as well as contractors and builders.
Cisneros, who is a former mayor of San Antonio, Texas, said he now tries to build bridges between the minority community and public agencies and public projects. “We want the minority community to support the bond issues” that are needed to improve the community.
“We have a great distance to go in creating the next middle class – in creating the next backbone of the country,” Cisneros said. “If we all advocate for others, America will be a better place.”