By Maricarmen Amado

LEONIA, New Jersey – Businessman activist Cid Wilson has proudly set to work on the task given him by President Barack Obama, which is to plan together with other prominent leaders the creation of the National Museum of the American Latino.

“I’m the only Dominican in the group named by the president, and for me it’s a source of pride to be able to represent all Latinos in the creation of an institution that will exhibit the history of our people,” Wilson, who was born in New Jersey to Dominican parents, told Efe.

Together with Wilson, Obama named as members of the Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Museum of the American Latino, musical producer and businessman Emilio Estefan Jr., Puerto Rican attorney Andres W. Lopez, Denver activist and businesswoman Cindy Peña, and businesswoman and legal consultant of Peruvian origin Abigail M. Pollak.

Wilson, ex-president of the Dominican Round Table, a national group with its central office in Washington, said that the latest members of the commission were chosen by the president and lawmakers.

“In my case I was appointed by President Obama himself, which is a tremendous honor for me, my family and my community,” Wilson said.

The commission, which was created in May 2008 under the law covering the creation of the future national museum, was expanded this year by Obama who decided to promote the project by appointing outstanding Latino leaders and professionals to it on the occasion of Hispanic Heritage Month.

Wilson, a successful Wall Street financial analyst, is a member of the boards of the LatinoJustice PRLDEF and the National Council of La Raza, and a “gold life member” of the NAACP.

The commission is tasked with studying during the year how to establish a museum honoring the contributions of the country’s Latinos.

Wilson said that to begin to get an idea he has visited two important institutions, the American Indian Museum and the Holocaust Museum, to observe models that can provide a general picture on how to bring together all the riches of Latino history.

“We have great human resources dedicated to the research, study and preparation of a grand project capable of covering the history of a community as diverse as ours with such a long history in this country,” he said.

The Dominican professional and philanthropist was honored in 2006 by Forbes magazine as the No. 1 Wall Street analyst and is the founder of the Dominicans on Wall Street organization, created in 1997.

Wilson said he’s happy to have been able to give back to the community through the long list of positions in educational and community institutions that he has held at the local and national level, including the state board of the New Jersey Council of County Colleges and the Association of Community College Trustees’ Diversity Committee.

“Cid Wilson is embarking on an exciting project that will have a powerful impact on future generations of Latinos,” Jeremiah G. Ryan, president of Bergen Community College where Wilson is a trustee, said. EFE