Hispanic Americans

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Chapter 9

• Hispanic Americans

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Hispanic Population

• In 2002 the Hispanic population by nationality
  was
• Mexican 66.9
• Puerto Rican 8.6
• Central/South American 14.3
• Cuban 3.7
• Other Hispanic 6.5

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Hispanic Population

• By the year 2100 Hispanics will constitute about
  one-third of the population
• Diverse
• Culturally
• Economically

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Latino Identity

• Panethnicity - refers to a common identity and
  sense of solidarity among Latinos from different
  nationalities

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Latino Identity

• While there is considerable diversity among
  Hispanics, a number of factors tend to bring the
  Hispanic community together
• 1. Language
• 2. Spanish formatted television stations
• 3. English and Spanish periodicals aimed at the
  Hispanic community

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Latino Identity

• Divisions remain
• culturally
• politically
• economically
• identity

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Figure 9-4 People in Poverty Trends, 1979-2003
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The Language Divide

• Bilingualism - involves the use of two or more
  languages
• Bilingual educational
• 1. English as a Second Language program
• Most common program but most lack a bicultural
  basis
• 2. English immersion program

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The Language Divide

• Problems in implementing bilingual education
• 1.Lack of teachers to incorporate a Bicultural
• approach
• 2. The number of languages spoken by children
  and
• the lack of qualified teachers
• 3. Ethnocentrism
• Research results on bilingual education

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Official Language Movement

• The 1980s and 1990s saw an increase in attacks
  on
• bilingualism
• Political
• Education
• Decline in Federal support for bilingual programs

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• An increase in the number of States that have
  passed laws making English the States official
  language
• California and Proposition 227 end to bilingual
  education
• Attacks on bilingual education

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Growing Political Presence

• Voting rights
• Banning literacy tests
• In 1975 Congress moved in the direction that
  resulted in legislation that provided for
  multilingual election ballots in areas with at
  least a 5 minority population

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Growing Political Presence

• Political trends
• Increase in registered voters
• Increased number that vote
• Less commitment to one party
• In between major elections, little effort is made
  to count Latino interest except by Latino elected
  officials

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Borderlands

• Borderlands land between Mexico and the United
  States, the area of common culture
• Legal and illegal immigration
• North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
• Exchange of media across the border

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• Hometown clubs are nonprofit organizations that
  maintain close ties to immigrants hometowns in
  Mexico and other Latin American countries

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Borderlands

• Maquiladoras - foreign-owned and established
  businesses on the Mexican side of the border
• Job exportation from the manufacturing North in
  the United States and the exploitation of Mexican
  workers
• Migradollars or remittances

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Cuban Americans

• Patterns of immigration
• Cuban settlements in Florida date back to the
  early nineteenth century
• Where small communities organized around single
  family enterprises

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Cuban Americans

• Since the Cuban Revolution in 1959, there have
  been successive groups of immigrants
• First About 200,000 came during the first three
  years after Castro came into power

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• Second Freedom flights - another 340,000 came
  from 1965-1973
• Third Mariel - another 124,000 came in the
  freedom flotilla (Mariel controversy)
• Fourth In 1994 - economic push factors

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The Present Picture Cuban Americans

• The influence of Cuban Americans
• Miami area
• In Urban centers
• Generational relations among Cubans
• Generational clash between cultures (parent and
  child)

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• Cuba and Cubans
• Inter-ethnic relations between Cubans and other
  Hispanics at times have been strained
• Adjustments were made by Cuban immigrants with
  the loss of income and family roles
• Long-range perspective of Cubans in the U.S.
  depends on several factors

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Central and South Americas

• Central and South Americans came from
• historically different experiences and times
• culturally diverse backgrounds
• Color gradient and race in the United States

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Central and South Americans

• Immigration has been influenced by a number of
  push and pull factors
• U.S. immigration laws
• Social and economic forces in their home country
• War and persecution
• Economic deprivation

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Present View

• Many immigrants have problems because they came
  to the United States without the proper documents
• Many were professionals and had to adjust to
  downward mobility
• lower status jobs
• Unemployment
• Adjustments in family roles
• Brain drain