America Becoming Racial Trends and Their Consequences: Volume I (2001) / Chapter Skim
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4. Hispanics in a Multicultural Society: A New American Dilemma?
4. Hispanics in a Multicultural Society: A New American Dilemma?
Pages 103-134
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From page 103... ...
In the early twenty-first century, will patterns of residential, occupational, educational, and other measures of mobility resemble those of the great waves of immigrants from Europe and their offspring in the early twentieth century? Or will large numbers of Hispanics, midway through the next century, be described as a "new American dilemma," members of the nation's largest ethnic group and economically isolated from mainstream American society?
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From page 104... ...
These events set the stage for the incorporation of Spanish-speaking peoples from Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Cuba into the United States, and, at the same time, established economic, political, and international diplomatic relations that later played a great role in the migration and immigration of millions of Spanish-surnamed people to the United States. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, between the United States and Mexico, resulted in the annexation of nearly half of Mexico's territory and the incorporation of a new regional minority Mexican Americans of the Southwest (Camarillo, 1993; Griswold del Castillo, 1990~.
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From page 105... ...
The United States acquired Puerto Rico from Spain in 1898 and established a colonial relationship with the island. Puerto Ricans were not accorded the status of U.S.
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From page 106... ...
Nearly a quarter TABLE 4-1 Hispanic Population in the United States 1960 to 1996 with Projections for 2000 to 2050 (millions) 1960 1970 1980 1996 2000 2030 2050 Total Hispanic population 6.9 9.1 14.6 25.3 31.4 65.6 95.5 Hispanics as percent of total U.S.
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From page 107... ...
Cubans have accounted for 4 percent to 6 percent of the Hispanic population since 1970, and Central and South Americans, and a category labeled by USBC as "Other Hispanic" (including immigrants from Spain and people of mixed Hispanic heritage from other countries) , constitute sizable proportions of the total Hispanic population (Figure 4-1)
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From page 108... ...
Bureau of the Census (1974: 2, 9:Tables 1-1 and 1-3~; del Final and Singer (1997: 7:Figure 1~; Bean and Tienda (1987: 60~.
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From page 110... ...
Hispanics concentrated in the largest metropolitan areas i.e., Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago had the highest levels of residential segregation from Whites, while only moderate levels of segregation characterized the smaller metropolitan areas in which Hispanics reside. Among the various Hispanic subgroups, Puerto Ricans had much higher levels of residential segregation from Whites an historical pattern that continues to define the group's urban experiences than both Mexicans and Cubans.
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From page 111... ...
Poverty rates and family incomes closely match labor-force participation and placement (Table 4-4~. About 25 percent of Black and Hispanic families are estimated to be living below poverty levels, whereas only 6 percent of White families are in that income group.
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From page 113... ...
113 :^ o no u 5En U V)
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From page 114... ...
Among the many factors that promote success, adequate schooling remains a serious obstacle to Hispanic progress. Hispanics' educational attainment rates are significantly lower than those for both Whites and Blacks, although, again, U.S.-born Hispanics of every national origin have made some gains in the number of years of high school education completed.
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From page 115... ...
Figure 4-4 compares the educational attainment rates among the various Hispanic groups by nativity. In 1996, about 70 percent of all U.S.-born Hispanics had completed high school or some higher education level; Cubans and Central and South Americans achieved the highest levels of educational attainment (86 percent and 84 percent, respectively)
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From page 116... ...
Puerto Ricans born in Puerto Rico or outside the 50 states and the District of Columbia. SOURCE: del Final and Singer (1997:p.33, Figure 11~.
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From page 117... ...
Unemployment rates, for example, generally reported in recent years as close to a "full-employment" standard, omit millions of part-time workers who would like full-time jobs, and millions of additional "discouraged workers" who need jobs but no longer actively pursue opportunities. School drop-out rates similarly reflect a multifaceted dynamic of school readiness among pupils, family conditions, and institutional readiness, especially in public schools confronted with unprecedented levels of ethnic and racial diversity.
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From page 118... ...
In rebuttal, Hispanic advocacy organizations and ethnic political leaders argue that ongoing voter registration and education drives will result in more and more Hispanics who will exercise the franchise, ensuring greater and greater Hispanic political influence at all levels of government, especially at the local levels where they are currently more concentrated (Hero, 1992~. Several factors will help determine the eventual outcome of Hispanics as a powerful political force in the United States.
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From page 119... ...
Finally, Hispanics do not constitute an ethnic voting bloc; they are composed of diverse constituencies with different political attitudes and are unlikely to combine their political power in the near future. Scholars who analyzed data from the Latino National Political Survey of 1990 concluded that the various Hispanic subgroups do not view themselves in common.
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From page 120... ...
Given the diverse makeup of the nation's Hispanic populations in terms of immigrant cohorts, national origins, cultural roots, distinct local and regional concentrations, and socioeconomic status it is clear that any attempt to categorize them as a distinct, homogeneous group is counterproductive. Consequently, the catch-all term "Hispanic," as the preferred label of the federal government, includes the foreign born with the native born of many generations in the United States, political refugees, undocumented and legal immigrants, and people from many national origins.
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From page 121... ...
5~. 121 Beyond the problem of accuracy in population counts, until recently seen as safely anchored in mutually exclusive racial categories and thorough enumeration, lies a dawning awareness of the multiracial character of Hispanic peoples and the potential significance of the growing pace of interethnic and interracial marriages, which adds yet more ambiguity to existing racial classifications.
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From page 122... ...
Significant population growth is sure to increase the role of Hispanics in the American political system; and more-or-less "official" readings of the most recent data confirm protracted demographic growth, continued diversification, and potential assimilation (notably via intermarriage with non-Hispanic Whites)
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From page 123... ...
(3) These policies contributed to the burgeoning Hispanic middle class and served as proof that new policies made a difference in the life chances of hundreds of thousands of Mexican-Americans, Puerto Ricans, and other Hispanic Americans.
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From page 124... ...
If the demographic projections are correct, and if the disturbing trends that characterize so many Hispanics today continue into the mid-twenty-first century, when Hispanics will constitute a quarter of the entire population, it may well be impossible to change the course of history for such a huge sector of the citizenry. For the well-being of American society in general, improving the life chances and opportunities for disadvantaged Hispanics and other poor Americans may indeed be one of the challenges that will determine the course of American democracy in the present century.
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From page 125... ...
setting and in the countries of origin of Hispanic peoples. As a major living link in the playing out of economic restructuring in the hemisphere, Hispanics confront massive shortfalls in the capacity of market and state to provide employment at a living wage or adequate social infrastructures for all.
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From page 126... ...
By the sheer size of the Hispanic population and the myriad ways they are influencing society, this idea of cultural citizenship provides some valuable insights into how Hispanics, now and in the future, are bound up in dynamic interaction in American society, a dialectical process in which both the group and the society at large are constantly changing one another. "In our opinion," the authors state, "what makes cultural citizenship so exciting is that it offers us an alternative perspective to better comprehend cultural processes that result in community building and in political claims raised by marginalized groups in the broader society" (Flores and Benmayor, 1997:15~.
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From page 127... ...
As the Hispanic population continues to grow, and thus leaves American society with no "majority" population, the idea of cultural citizenship in a heterogeneous society may serve as a useful way to envision society and cultural change as a key component of American democracy in the twenty-first century. Country of Origin Linkages To complicate matters, the growing importance given to Hispanics in the United States by governments in their countries of origin has not escaped worried observers.
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From page 128... ...
foreign policy objectives further enhance the opportunities for Hispanic communities to assert independent perspectives in this terrain, rather than passively bowing to home-country or U.S. objectives.
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From page 129... ...
The amplification of horizons and synergizing impact of the give and take about policy perspectives on common issues enhances and strengthens communication and mutual empowerment. In this connection, IUPLR, mentioned earlier, has been a driving force among Hispanic academics and has fostered collaboration for scholarly research, policy formulation, and community mobilization around matters crucial to all disadvantaged Hispanics and the nation at large.
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From page 130... ...
On one level of analysisespecially if one examines the growing ranks of the emergent middle class Hispanic families seem to be doing just fine. They have, in ever
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From page 131... ...
If one looks deeper and more critically, however, at the diverse Hispanic population, there is cause for real concern in some cases, cause for alarm. Below the thin ranks of the Hispanic middle class lies a much larger group.
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From page 132... ...
Garcia, and A Falcon 1992 Latino Voices: Mexican, Puerto Rican and Cuban Perspectives on American Politics.
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From page 133... ...
1992 The Commuter Nation: Perspectives on Puerto Rican Migration. Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico: Editorial Universitaria.
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From page 134... ...
134 HISPANICS IN A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY 1973 1970 Census of the Population, Subject Reports: Persons of Spanish Origin.
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