Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz says it has been a struggle to educate Latinos in the United States about their growing strength as voters. “People feel like their vote does not count and their vote does not matter,” she said. Cepeda-Freytiz owns an eatery. She also is the only Latino on the six-member city council in Reading, Pennsylvania. More than 50 years ago, a group of Puerto Ricans moved to Reading to work in agriculture. Since then, the city’s Latino population has grown 65 percent. They now outnumber Reading’s traditional base of white Protestants with German ancestry.

What does eatery mean?
voting booth
agriculture
restaurant
traditional
How big is the city council?
several women
six members
65
growing
People feel their vote does not matter.
is important
will decide
has tradition
does not matter