Highbrow Magazine - Hispanics https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/hispanics en Jennifer Lopez and Spanish Linguistics in the Age of Black Lives Matter https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/17073-jennifer-lopez-and-spanish-linguistics-age-black-lives-matter <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Mon, 11/15/2021 - 14:35</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1jenniferlopez_ana_carolina_kley_vita-flickr.jpg?itok=7q_dkC-s"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1jenniferlopez_ana_carolina_kley_vita-flickr.jpg?itok=7q_dkC-s" width="480" height="270" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Just about a year ago, global superstar Jennifer Lopez released two songs in tangent featuring Colombian singer Maluma. The songs, collectively referred to as <em>Pa’ Ti + Lonely</em>, are part of the soundtrack for the two celebs’ upcoming film <em>Marry Me</em>, due for release next year. The song <em>Lonely</em> contains a line that Lopez dialogues in Spanish: <em>Yo siempre seré tu negrita del Bronx</em>. It created a bit of firestorm in an already stuffy and heated racial climate, fueled by the conversations around racial justice, immigration, and identity that were already taking center stage. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">For good reasons, too. The criticism against the lyrics were <a href="https://belatina.com/jlo-maluma-negrita-controversy-translation/" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">valid</a> in many ways; and I say in many ways because some of it was, of course, just hateful for the sake of getting to tweet about it. It all centers on the perceived meaning of the word <em>negrita</em> within this context, “perceived” being the key word. Literally, the word translates as “little Black girl.” In other words, in a literal translation, what Lopez sings is: “I will always be your little Black girl from the Bronx.” The initial <a href="https://wearemitu.com/wearemitu/entertainment/jennifer-lopez-racist-lyrics/" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">backlash</a> was swift for obvious reasons. It’s worth mentioning that it seems that those who first began calling Lopez out were other Latine people from the United States, who with even the most basic knowledge of Spanish, were able to quickly translate into English what the singer said. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">But many also immediately came to Lopez’s defense, explaining that the word <em>negrita</em> doesn’t actually mean “little Black girl” in Spanish, but rather it is a word of endearment that would more accurately be translated as “honey” or “sweetheart.” Now, this is factually <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2020/10/19/jennifer-lopez-fans-debunk-confusion-over-little-black-girl-lyrics-new-song-lonely-13446637/" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">true</a>. There were some who mentioned that <em>negrita </em>is a term of endearment for any light-skinned Black girls. But at least in Puerto Rico (where Lopez has roots) and in South America (where Maluma is from), the word <em>negrita</em> is a term of endearment used arbitrarily for any and every girl. The palest, blue-eyed blonde would be called <em>negrita</em> because within this cultural context, it just means “honey.” </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/1joearroyo.jpg" style="height:500px; width:500px" typeof="foaf:Image" /></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">But the root of the word <em>negrita</em> by its own merit is <a href="https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/columnists/story/2020-11-01/latina-professors-discuss-use-of-negrito-negrita-in-latin-culture-after-j-lo-controversy" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">racialized</a>, and that’s also factually true. While contextually the word may be a term of endearment in modern use, its origin is still one mired in racist history, colonialism, and colorism; especially because the tone, social standing, and cultural context all play an important facet in how the word is perceived. And this truth is what sparked the biggest conversation around Latinidad, the anti-Black racism that is still prevalent in Latin America, and even who gets to “claim” Latinidad within the American framework. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Latinidad can be loosely translated as “Latin-ness.” It’s a term that’s been around since the mid-1980s as a way to speak about Latine <a href="http://latinxexperiences.leadr.msu.edu/latinidad-the-similarities-and-differences-in-latino-communities/" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">communities</a> specifically outside of Latin America, especially within the U.S. It’s an umbrella term of sorts, meant to facilitate the conversation about Latine peoples, culture, language, belief systems, etc. as they are practiced in the U.S. But as any umbrella term, it has its limitation. Because Latinidad is generally viewed within its American context, it’s oftentimes <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/hispanic-heritage-month-latinidad/" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">exclusionary</a> because of the limited outlook that America itself has of Latine people. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">In other words, because Latinidad seeks to create a unified Latine experience in the U.S, it undoubtedly ends up painting a monolithic view of what it’s <em>supposed </em>to be like being Latine in America. It inevitable gets corrupted to fit the American narrative; in fact, more modern uses of the word <a href="https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/la-casa-latina-krista-cortes" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">opt</a> for <em>Latinidades</em> to try to cover the plurality of Latine peoples. And to be sure, there are myriad commonalities and shared experiences in being Latine in the US; but because Latinidad is framed within the American experiment, it brings with it the racial connotations that are inescapable in the U.S. along with Latin America’s own ugly racial history. And so Latinidad comes to mean that you’re a hard worker, you have an immigrant story, you have strong family values, your Spanglish is smooth and fluid, you call your mother every Saturday and go to church on Sundays, and you have that idolized Latine look of Ricky Martin or of, yes, Jennifer Lopez.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/1christinaaguilera.jpg" style="height:500px; width:399px" typeof="foaf:Image" /></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">That’s why it’s important to talk about Latinidad when we talk about Lopez’s <em>negrita</em> affair and the intersections of discrimination against minority groups. Because, for once and for better or worse, Lopez does have that romanticized Latine woman look – the straight long auburn hair, the always perfectly-sun-kissed skin tone that’s not too light but definitely not too dark either. We do have to tread carefully and be fair here, because the point is that there isn’t a “perfect” Latine look, and that Lopez embodies what we epitomize as the model Latine face and body speaks more to our culture and society at large than anything else. But because nothing exists in a vacuum, this is irrevocably part of the issue, or at least it informs some of the backlash that the lyrics generated. Lopez has never identified as Black, using this term so blatantly caused some anger, be it for the apparent clout to use an identity that was “in vogue” or because of Lopez’s historied <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2001/07/14/protesters-see-no-affection-in-jlos-use-of-racial-epithet/2b9832d0-6275-4cb6-b1b2-6bb990f2745b/" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">misuse</a> of Black culture. And while the meaning of the word <em>negrita</em> within this cultural context is relevant, it too is relevant to the actual roots and real definition of the word. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Slavery and racism in Latin America has a long <a href="https://www.realhistories.org.uk/articles/archive/slavery-in-latin-america.html" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">history</a>, and its remnants are still everywhere and very visible, just as they are here in the U.S. It’s no secret that anti-blackness and anti-indigenous racism still <a href="https://abc7chicago.com/latino-racism-latinx-community-colorism-hispanic/11112685/" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">exists</a> in Latin America and within the Hispanic populations at large, hard as we may try to sweep it all under the rug of brownish skin tones. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">So the word <em>negrita</em> will always inevitably retain some of its original racial connotations because we just don’t live in a post-racial world, and the semantics do matter. There is even a curious parallel here because just as some English words that were once slurs have been retaken and rightly appropriated by the Black community, so has the word <em>negro/a </em>taken different nuances in Spanish. At its core, the word <em>negro/a</em> means “Black” and it is an adjective that identifies a race, just as it is in English. But in Spanish, the word is also a noun. Historically, the noun form has been used as a pejorative, used to demean and dehumanize. And while that remains true, the noun has been slowly but surely taken back and repurposed.  </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/1blacklivesmatter_anthony_quintano-flickr_2.jpg" style="height:401px; width:600px" typeof="foaf:Image" /></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Just go to any Latine house party and Joe Arroyo’s <em>La Rebelión </em>will undoubtedly be played – a salsa by a Black Colombia <a href="https://variety.com/2021/film/global/joe-arroyo-salsa-biopic-rebellion-wraps-colombias-chocquibtown-does-cover-on-titular-song-exclusive-1235017042/" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">singer</a> that tells the story set in Cartagena sometime in the 17<sup>th</sup> century of a Black couple enslaved to a Spaniard who beats her. The song is truly ubiquitous in any Latine household whenever some dancing is involved, and Black Latine have since claimed it as an anthem of Black pride and identify, because this salsa is basically a draft of <em>Django Unchained </em>in song form (in case it wasn’t apparent, the title of the song translates to “The Rebellion). Same story with <a href="https://www.bustle.com/p/celia-cruzs-la-negra-tiene-tumbao-taught-me-how-to-accept-my-latinx-side-12193558" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">iconic</a> Cuban singer Celia Cruz’s <em>La Negra Tiene Tumbao</em>, which would loosely translate to “the black woman has swag.” </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">As exemplified by the above, the ever-shifting nature of language is also an integral part of this matter. As Spanish-speaking immigrants, our language is one of the purest vestiges of our culture that we get to keep (when it’s not being <a href="https://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2019/03/04/spanish-hate-crime-oscars-roberto-rey-agudo" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">policed</a>). So I must admit that when I first heard of this issue, my initial knee-jerk reaction was to say, “But that’s not what it means! Y’all must be English-speaking Latine because you obviously don’t know Spanish that well!” And immediately after that, I thought, “Wait… so are they not “allowed” to call it out? Are they Latine <em>enough </em>or is that not even a thing?” </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">It’s not a thing. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">But it’s worth mentioning because Lopez’s own Latinidad has been <a href="https://www.inquisitr.com/1235749/jennifer-lopez-latino-culture/" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">questioned</a> before – as far back as when she played beloved late singer Selena. Lopez has been widely criticized for not speaking Spanish well enough. She may be Puerto Rican and claims those <a href="https://www.nic.lat/jennifer-lopez-proud-latina-in-hollywood/" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">roots</a> proudly, but she was born in New York after all, so her first language is English. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/2jenniferlopez_dvsross-wikimedia.jpg" style="height:453px; width:600px" typeof="foaf:Image" /></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">To what extent, then, can she claim the language and specially to use it within the deep cultural context in which the word <em>negrita </em>lives? I don’t know that there’s a specific barometer here or even if there should be one. Likewise, Christina Aguilera has not actively distanced herself from her Latine roots, but that didn’t stop the criticism when she released a best-selling Spanish album even though she infamously doesn’t speak the language; she even <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/christina-aguilera-_n_1258067" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">acknowledged</a> that it may not sit well with some people. Aguilera recently returned to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5l4Xx5eCcs" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">singing</a> in Spanish, releasing a feminist-themed guaracha (a Cuban genre of music popular and beloved throughout the Caribbean) where she does sing with a marked accent. That Aguilera is a blue-eyed blonde doesn’t mean she doesn’t get to claim her Latinidad—even her last name is a dead giveaway. And for the record, iconic Mexican-American singer Selena didn’t speak Spanish very well <a href="https://www.thewrap.com/selena-the-series-learn-spanish-phonetically-sing-tejano-songs/" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">either</a>.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">So even if Lopez’s lyrics were not meant to be offensive within the culture of Spanish speakers, it was at least tone deaf. In the music video, she even delivers the line while she’s behind bars in a prison. In the end, it should all be about how we can better protect or unite with the most vulnerable. And it is important to maintain our cultural heritage, especially those that are so ingrained in us and prevailing like our language. But language evolves, as it should. We just have to evolve with it and either do away with some terms or be more mindful of the power that they still yield. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong>Author Bio:</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong><em>Angelo Franco is</em> Highbrow Magazine’s <em>chief features writer.</em></strong></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong>For Highbrow Magazine</strong></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong>Image Sources:</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><em>--Ana Carolina Kley Vita (<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/anakley/7444383848" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">Flickr</a>, Creative Commons)</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><em>--Rafael Amado Deras (<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Christina_Aguilera_(2006).jpg" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">Wikimedia</a>, Creative Commons)</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><em>--DVSRoss (<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GLAAD_2014_-_Jennifer_Lopez_-_Casper-37_(cropped).jpg" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">Wikimedia</a>, Creative Commons)</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><em>----Anthony Quintano</em><em> (<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/quintanomedia/49984521671" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><em>Flickr</em></a>, Creative Commons)</em></span></span></p> <p> </p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/jennifer-lopez" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">jennifer lopez</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/maluma" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">maluma</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/lonely" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">lonely</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/music" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Music</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/negrita" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">negrita</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/spanish-language" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">spanish language</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/black-lives-matter" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">black lives matter</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/cultural-appropriation" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">cultural appropriation</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/christina-aguilera" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">christina aguilera</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/hispanics" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Hispanics</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/racism" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">racism</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/political-correctness" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">political correctness</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/woke-culture" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">woke culture</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Angelo Franco</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Mon, 15 Nov 2021 19:35:02 +0000 tara 10746 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/17073-jennifer-lopez-and-spanish-linguistics-age-black-lives-matter#comments Why Controversy Has Often Loomed Large in the History of the U.S. Census https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/10696-why-controversy-has-often-loomed-large-history-us-census <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Wed, 06/17/2020 - 06:03</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1census.jpg?itok=mNh5o1KL"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1census.jpg?itok=mNh5o1KL" width="381" height="480" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p>The 2020 U.S. Census is underway and in full swing. In the middle of March, right during the unfortunate uptick of the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. Census Bureau began its efforts to conduct a headcount of all residents of the nation.</p> <p> </p> <p>Usually with a timeframe of approximately four months to allow people to respond to the questionnaire, the bureau has now <a href="https://2020census.gov/en/news-events/operational-adjustments-covid-19.html?cid=23764:census%20deadline:sem.ga:p:dm:en:&amp;utm_source=sem.ga&amp;utm_medium=p&amp;utm_campaign=dm:en&amp;utm_content=23764&amp;utm_term=census%20deadline" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">revised</a> its schedule to accommodate the ongoing health crisis, extending the response deadline as far back as October. This year also marks the first time that the population headcount will be based almost entirely online, so that respondents will be able to submit their answers through the internet rather than by mail, thus allowing for a reduction of the usual Census agents that would normally go door to door to update records or collect this vital information (although this ground force will still be strategically <a href="https://www.aarp.org/politics-society/government-elections/info-2020/census-coronavirus.html" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">deployed</a>, as necessary). This means that most of us don’t have an excuse not to respond to this year’s Census in one form or another, and the importance of doing so cannot be overstated.</p> <p> </p> <p>The Census is mandated by the U.S. Constitution, established by the Founding Fathers as an important facet of a working democracy. The first Census was conducted soon after the birth of the nation, when in 1790 federal Marshalls mounted their horses and fanned out throughout the newly formed United States of America to tally up its population (just short of 4 million people at the time, although George Washington and Thomas Jefferson apparently <a href="https://www.census.gov/history/www/through_the_decades/overview/1790.html" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">doubted</a> the accuracy of this count and estimated the number of people to be much higher). Since that first mounted expedition, the federal government stages and launches its decennial population count, with many hiccups along the way and with questions that sometimes changed to reflect the panorama of the time.</p> <p> </p> <p>For example, the <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/how-the-census-changed-america" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">1880</a> Census, in addition to the usual headcount, also requested information on the type of soil and terrain of the land, whether it was hilly and if the soil was alluvial or clay. Native Americans were not counted at all until 1870—what that really means is that there was no count at all for Native American peoples in U.S. territory for the first 100 years of the nation’s history.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/2census.jpg" style="height:338px; width:600px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>The word “Negro” was <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2013/02/25/172885551/no-more-negro-for-census-bureau-forms-and-surveys" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">dropped</a> from the race/ethnicity category beginning just with this most recent 2020 Census, after having been on the form since at least 1950 to accommodate an older cohort of African-Americans who self-identified as “Negro.” From 1920 to 1940, Asian-Indians were <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/02/25/the-changing-categories-the-u-s-has-used-to-measure-race" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">categorized</a> as “Hindus” regardless of their religion. And a 1902 <a href="https://www.archives.gov/research/census/native-americans/1885-1940.html" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">directive</a> instructed agents taking Census data from Native tribes to assign women and children the surname of the husband or father even though this is not the way many Native nations assign names, and to translate animal names to English but to avoid “foolish, cumbersome, or uncouth translations which would handicap a self-respecting person.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Yet, the worth and value of the Census is paramount. One of the most well-known uses of the Census is to establish the number of congressional seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. At its core, being a tally of persons living in the country, the Census serves as the official federal count for each state and district, thus determining how many representatives a state sends to Congress; to this day, the number of seats each state holds in the House depends entirely on Census results.</p> <p> </p> <p>But the Census has many other applications, and the data it provides is as rich as its history. To have an accurate population count is essential not only to determine the number of representatives sent to the lower house of Congress, but also for a myriad of other things that may not be readily apparent. For instance, Congress also uses population counts to determine federal grants, aid, and other government-provided funds to congressional districts. In other words, it helps determine how much federal money is given to states to help fund hospitals, schools, community colleges, etc.</p> <p> </p> <p>The Census can even be used to establish officially recognized Native American tribes. During the 1970s, for example, Census <a href="https://rewire.news/article/2019/12/09/paper-genocide-the-erasure-of-native-people-in-census-counts/" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">counts</a> played a key role in establishing the sovereignty of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe in Massachusetts, when they were asked to prove that they were a culturally unified people when the Census data proved inconclusive. At the time, a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1978/01/07/archives/indians-lose-in-court-in-fight-to-gain-land-jury-says-mashpee-group.html" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">jury</a> found that the Mashpee were not really native, a decision that was eventually overturned in 2007, when the Mashpee were finally afforded the title of federally recognized tribe which, among other things, secured them with a land trust and native nation sovereignty. In 2018, the U.S. government <a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/native-tribe-could-lose-reservation-land-under-new-trump-administration-guideline/" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">questioned</a> the tribe’s land trust by citing the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934,  and as recent as March of this year, the Trump administration informed the Mashpee people that the government would revoke the tribe’s reservation status (although a judge was not <a href="https://www.indianz.com/News/2020/05/20/youre-gonna-have-a-lot-trouble-judge-tra.asp" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">pleased</a> by this turn of events and the case is currently pending). And all this because of inaccurate Census data. </p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/3census.jpg" style="height:412px; width:600px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>This question of race, ethnicity, and origins has always been a thorny point throughout the history of the Census, least of all because its job is to basically identify any person who count as “people.” The <a href="https://userpages.umbc.edu/~bouton/History407/SlaveStats.htm" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">first</a> Census of 1790 counted a total of about 700,000 slaves in the U.S., or about 18 percent of the population. In the South alone, 34 percent of the Southern population were slaves. But by then, the Three-Fifths Compromise had been reached three years prior during the U.S. Constitutional Convention—the same convention that eventually led to the drafting of the Constitution—to appease the Northern states which argued that the high number of slaves would give Southern states unfair legislative control, and so that the Southern states, in turn, would not bemoan any taxes related to population count. And so that first Census asked each household only five things: number of white males 16 or older; number of white males under 16; number of white females; any other free peoples; and number of slaves. In fact, the same article of the Constitution that <a href="https://www.census.gov/history/pdf/Article_1_Section_2.pdf" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">establishes</a> the Census as law (Article I, Section 2, Clause 3), also establishes the three-fifths count of non-free persons. </p> <p> </p> <p>Meanwhile, the government’s first <a href="https://www.prb.org/us-census-and-hispanics/" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">attempt</a> to count its Hispanic population came in 1930, when it added a “Mexican” category to that year’s Census. It was the first and only time that the Census included this question. It decided to drop it from future forms for many reasons, but also partly because the Mexican government itself complained about the bias of this question, given that the entire Southwest used to be part of Mexico and the United States had agreed to treat residents there as citizens.</p> <p> </p> <p>It must also be noted that Puerto Ricans had <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/puerto-rico-history-and-heritage-13990189/" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">received</a> U.S. citizenship in 1917, which meant that actual American citizens from Puerto Rico only had the option of choosing “Mexican” if they wanted to be categorized correctly as being of Hispanic origin. It wasn’t until 1970 when the Census included questions about ethnicity and place of origin again, now expanded to broader categories. This time around, this question still made a bit of a <a href="https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2010/03/03/census-history-counting-hispanics-2/" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">mess</a> but for different reasons. In an ironic flop, during this 1970 Census, hundreds of thousands of people living in the Southern and Central regions of the United States misidentified themselves as South or Central American in the ethnicity category. Interestingly enough, later research found that the total data reported by the Census was still about 500,000 less than the estimated number of Hispanic-Americans in the country, even though over 1 million of the responses collected had not come from actual Hispanic-Americans, but from those in the Central and Southern United States who had mistakenly self-identified. Before this, the government simply categorized the Hispanic population as <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2017/08/03/541142339/heres-why-the-census-started-counting-latinos-and-how-that-could-change-in-2020" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">white</a>.</p> <p> </p> <p>The need to properly categorize the subpopulations of the country is important beyond the simple desire of knowing our demographics. This is because different populations in any given part of the country have different needs, and an accurate count can help to ensure that the appropriate federal assistance is being given, or at least proportionally distributed to meet the necessities of a subpopulation. For example, Native American youth faces a higher rate of <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/67/wr/mm6708a1.htm" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">suicide</a> and <a href="https://americanaddictioncenters.org/rehab-guide/addiction-statistics/native-americans" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">substance</a> abuse than any other racial or ethnic group in the U.S., and an accurate count of a reservation’s adolescents can help tribal leaders and Congress implement effective policies to combat this crisis, perhaps by funding mental health programs or providing substance abuse counseling and rehabilitation centers.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/4census.jpg" style="height:400px; width:600px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Similarly, a correct Census count of persons who have English limited proficiency in a congressional district can even help <a href="https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/about/voting-rights/voting-rights-determination-file.html" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">ensure</a> that there are enough interpreters and language assistance during elections and at voting sites, in an attempt to protect citizens’ right to vote and ensure that they are all given sufficient information to make informed decisions in a language they speak or understand.</p> <p> </p> <p>This is why minority leaders have urged the subpopulations of the country not to  discard the importance of the Census, encouraging them to take its completion seriously. Although this is easier said than done given that, especially in minority populations, there is a spread of misinformation about the Census and a general mistrust of the government. Mistrust is one of reasons the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/06/politics/census-citizenship-question-donald-trump-administration/index.html" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">citizenship</a> question had been such a point of contention when the Trump administration announced its plan to include it on this year’s Census. It was first posed as a way to help enforce the Voting Rights Act, under the guise that having a count of actual voting-age citizens would help the Department of Justice oversee any districts that may be tempted to disenfranchise minorities. (In a way, the Census does help enforce the Voting Rights Act—see above about language assistance at the voting booth).</p> <p> </p> <p>When that rationale failed to convince the courts given the administration’s history of overexaggerating voter-fraud conspiracies, the Trump White House then floated a myriad of other possible reasons for wanting to include the citizenship question on the Census, one of them being <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-census-redistricting-insight/republicans-want-census-data-on-citizenship-for-redistricting-idUSKCN1RK18D" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">districting</a> based on citizenship. Basically, the Census data would open the possibility of drawing congressional districts based on the population count of eligible voters.</p> <p> </p> <p>Experts were quick to criticize this strategy, noting that the drawing of districts based on voting-age citizens would be <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/30/us/census-citizenship-question-hofeller.html" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">advantageous</a> to Republicans and non-Hispanic whites. This is a conclusion that the GOP’s own master strategist Thomas Hofeller arrived at during his 2015 study of gerrymandering which, in a bonkers turn of events, we only know about because his estranged daughter found thumb drives with her father’s work after he died and provided them to Common Cause, which <a href="https://www.commoncause.org/page/read-the-gops-plan-to-supercharge-gerrymandering-with-a-census-citizenship-question/" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">challenged</a> the citizenship question in federal court citing Hofeller’s own study. But alas, the Constitution may prohibit this anyway, as it calls for a democracy that represents all its people, including those who may not be able to cast a ballot as is the case for children, green-card holders, and some felons, for example.</p> <p> </p> <p>Activists also argued that inclusion of the citizenship question would discourage immigrants from responding to the Census. This is because while undocumented immigrants may not be drawn to taking the Census themselves, there are many immigrant household in which an undocumented alien may live. In other words, it would have discouraged documented immigrants and citizens alike to respond to the Census if an undocumented immigrant resides in their household, fearing retaliation from the government and immigration agencies.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/6census.jpg" style="height:473px; width:600px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>And this fear is not unfounded. Census data is supposed to be completely confidential, and it is never to be shared with other government agencies, except as applicable and compartmentalized for official and legal purposes. But the Census Bureau was finally forced to admit that it had played a role in the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.</p> <p> </p> <p>In 2000, after a study uncovered proof of the Census Bureau’s complicity, the agency recognized its participation and issued an <a href="https://www.census.gov/dmd/www/9-19.htm" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">apology</a>, in which then Census Bureau Director Kenneth Prewitt acknowledged that the bureau’s staff had proactively cooperated with internment efforts.</p> <p> </p> <p>Incidentally, Mr. Prewitt has been a vocal <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/07/06/739227590/former-census-director-citizenship-question-to-hurt-2020-accuracy" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">critic</a> of the citizenship question being included on this year’s Census based, in part, to this misuse of power back in the 1940s. A follow-up study in 2007 revealed that the bureau had provided microdata to the Secret Service, including individual Japanese-Americans’ names and addresses. There are some technicalities here; for example, the sharing of this information was <em>technically</em> made legal under the emergency provisions of the Second Powers Act of 1942. But its participation still contradicted the bureau’s own promises printed on their form:</p> <p> </p> <p>“Only sworn census employees will see your statements. Data collected will be used solely for preparing statistical information concerning the Nation’s population, resources, and business activities. Your Census Reports Cannot Be Used for Purposes of Taxation, Regulation, or Investigation.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Normal privacy protections have been reinstated, of course, and other restrictions have since been put in place. But it isn’t hard to understand why immigrants may have misgivings about sharing such personal information with a government agency, especially since these “protections” can easily be rescinded, say, by an executive order establishing a state of emergency (although one would hope that such an action would be challenged in the courts, just as the citizenship question was). </p> <p> </p> <p>Thankfully, there is no citizenship question on this year’s Census. Instead, the questions on the form are the <a href="https://2020census.gov/en/about-questions.html?cid=20007:%2Brespond%20%2Bcensus:sem.ga:p:dm:en:&amp;utm_source=sem.ga&amp;utm_medium=p&amp;utm_campaign=dm:en&amp;utm_content=20007&amp;utm_term=%2Brespond%20%2Bcensus" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">standard</a> fare in attempt to accurately identify the country’s demographics. There is also a myriad of ways in which to respond to the Census, including online, by mail, and even by phone, in 13 different languages. The Census is more than just a headcount; it is a vital tool that is used to create policies that directly affect all of us and to ensure that enough federal funding is allocated appropriately.</p> <p> </p> <p><em>For more information on how to respond to the 2020 Census, you can <a href="https://2020census.gov/en/ways-to-respond.html" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">visit</a> the Bureau’s official site. </em></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong><em>Angelo Franco is</em> Highbrow Magazine’s <em>chief features writer.</em></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>For Highbrow Magazine</strong></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Image Sources:</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><em>--Coffee (<a href="https://pixabay.com/illustrations/word-cloud-census-population-data-3269304/" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">Pixabay</a>, Creative Commons)                 </em></p> <p> </p> <p><em>--DonkeyHote (</em><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/donkeyhotey/24208842140" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><em>Flickr</em></a><em>, Creative Commons)                     </em></p> <p> </p> <p><em>--Defense Department (</em><a href="https://www.defense.gov/Explore/News/Article/Article/603726/face-of-defense-native-american-vietnam-vet-takes-spiritual-path/" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><em>Creative Commons</em></a><em>)</em></p> <p> </p> <p><em>--</em><u><em> </em></u><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/fdrlibrary/" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><em>FDR Presidential Library</em></a><em> c/o: Dwight Hammack, U.S. Bureau of the Census</em><em>, </em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Census#/media/File:1940_Census_-_Fairbanks,_Alaska.jpg" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><em>Wikipedia.org</em></a><em>)</em></p> <p> </p> <p><em>--</em><u><em> </em></u><em> </em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._National_Archives_and_Records_Administration" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline" title="en:U.S. National Archives and Records Administration"><em>U.S. National Archives and Records Administration</em></a><em> (</em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Census#/media/File:Card_puncher_-_NARA_-_513295.jpg" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><em>Wikipedia.org</em></a><em>, Creative Commons)</em></p> <p> </p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/us-census-0" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">the U.S. Census</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/thomas-hoffeler" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Thomas Hoffeler</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/census-bureau" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Census Bureau</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/hispanics" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Hispanics</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/african-americans" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">African Americans</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/constitution" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">the constitution</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/immigrants" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">immigrants</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/citizenship" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">citizenship</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/trump-administration" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">trump administration</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/2020-census" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">2020 census</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Angelo Franco</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Wed, 17 Jun 2020 10:03:04 +0000 tara 9624 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/10696-why-controversy-has-often-loomed-large-history-us-census#comments My Brown Face Contains Multitudes https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/10089-my-brown-face-contains-multitudes <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Fri, 08/09/2019 - 08:41</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1latino.jpg?itok=E12gcYyU"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1latino.jpg?itok=E12gcYyU" width="480" height="296" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p>When I came to the United States, I stopped being white.</p> <p> </p> <p>I was 12 years old, didn’t speak a lick of English, and had never even been on a plane before. I knew what we were doing, too: we weren’t just moving, we were migrating.</p> <p> </p> <p>Before our drive to the airport, my grandma gave me a <em>limpia de huevo</em>. She took a huge brown egg and rubbed it all over my face, my arms, my legs, my joints. She honed her forest lichen eyes on mine, like new spring growth blasting the brown rings of ancient trees of my own irises with life, muttering something under her breath. It was a blessing to rid me of the <em>mal de ojo</em> before my migration north, to cleanse me of any jinxes and curses that may befall me in America. She rubbed the egg against the palms of my hands twice, thrice, before finally cracking it open and letting the rotten yolk fall to the floor, a putrid orange slime. My grandma cradled my face in her hands and said to me, “Ahora vas a ser hispano.”</p> <p> </p> <p>I had no idea what that word meant. And I was a pretty smart cookie of a kid: straight A’s, always with a book in hand, shut up when my mom gave me <em>the</em> look, the works. But I had never heard the word “Hispanic” before.</p> <p> </p> <p>It made its second appearance when I was enrolling for seventh grade in a public school in West New York, New Jersey, where we had come to live (I was supposed to be going into the eighth grade but the school insisted I go down a grade because I didn’t speak English, and whatever I’m over it I’m not bitter about it at all anymore).</p> <p> </p> <p>Under the “race” section of the enrollment form, I had placed a checkmark next to “White or Caucasian.” I had no clue what “caucasian” was either but I knew I was supposed to be white so that seemed like the right answer anyway. Proofreading it, my father shook his head at me, grabbed the pen from my hand and crossed my checkmark out. He scribbled a neat check next to “Hispanic or Latino” and suddenly I was this whole other thing. I had this brand new identity thrusted upon me, an identity I didn’t know existed, with rules that were unknown to me, that would dictate every aspect of my life from that moment on.</p> <p> </p> <p>When I handed my Ecuadorian passport to the customs agent at Newark Airport when we had first arrived, she saw a kid of color. When I sat on the backseat of the cab that drove us from the airport to my aunt’s house in West New York, the taxi driver saw a fellow person of color. When I handed my enrollment form to the school secretary, she saw another brown kid coming to fill her classrooms.</p> <p> </p> <p>It was a strange age for me to be coming to a place like America, and a weird time too. All the news cycles were about 9/11, immigration, and Bush’s inevitable wars. And I wasn’t a Hispanic-American born in the U.S., I was very much a first-generation immigrant kid. Right at the edge of being in my teen years, so still very young but not quite a small child. This middle ground has always been a narrow road to travel on, like my own endless road to an American Damascus where my reasons, beliefs, and identities are constantly shifting and challenged. Where I am both an immigrant and a child of immigrants. Where I am both Hispanic-American and Latino. Where I am both white anywhere south of the border, and brown from sea to shining sea.</p> <p> </p> <p>Everyone is talking about immigration again right now. Not that we ever really stopped; we’ve all been talking about immigration for a long time, or at least since I didn’t know what “caucasian” was and this theme, this concept of immigration became part of my daily vocabulary even was I was still trying to learn English. And I have seen this shift of how the conversation around immigration has changed and also how it has not changed at all. To me, a so-called “White Hispanic,” the way America sees whiteness is so very uniquely American that there is just no other way to describe it.    </p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/2latinos.jpg" style="height:549px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>When I came to the U.S., I was still young enough to play <em>La Migra</em> with my schoolmates during recess. The game was like a mix of cops-and-robbers with some tag involved. Except in the game, the cops were replaced with INS agents doing a raid, and standing in for robbers were undocumented immigrants running from deportation. This was before ICE even existed, so it was up to the Immigration and Naturalization Services cops to round up the <em>mojados </em>(because in their eyes, the way we saw it, we were all undocumented Mexicans devoid of any national identity, just like we are all collectively Hispanics).  </p> <p> </p> <p>Usually, the eighth graders would play the INS cops, and the younger students would be the immigrants that ran away trying not to get caught. But sometimes we changed up the rules and the real, honest-to-God undocumented kids would disperse, being chased by the white kids and those of us who had our papers. We would start the game by shouting “La Migra!,” give the pursued a 15-second head-start, and then go after them. Those who were caught had the option to become informants and go after their once-comrades themselves, or be condemned to <em>la caja </em>(a corner of the basketball court where the ball cage was) for the rest of the game. Apparently, kids these days are still <a href="https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2018/04/13/la-migra-school-immigration-raid-game/">playing</a> <em>La Migra</em>, much to everyone’s feigned shock.</p> <p> </p> <p>And of course we knew what this was about. We were immigrant kids, not stupid; our game was way too specific for us to not know what we were playing at. We knew what the Border Patrol was and we knew which local supermarket was a magnet for INS raids. In the school cafeteria in between bites of square pizza and slurps of Yoohoo, we competed over whose uncle had the wildest crossing-the-border story, or who had to wait the longest for their visa, or whose older sister had paid the most to <em>coyotes</em> to bring her husband and kids <em>‘pa Nueva Yol</em>, with sums getting more and more exorbitant the longer we played.</p> <p> </p> <p>This was in the early 2000s. When electing a black president would have been laughed off as hopeful science-fiction. Evan back then the cry was against all these immigrants coming to take away jobs from well-intended white families who had once been Irish and Italian and Polish but were now just American.</p> <p> </p> <p>Back then, post 9/11 <a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/post-911-policies-dramatically-alter-us-immigration-landscape">policies</a> were put in place in the name of national security and they disproportionally targeted Muslim immigrants or those who appeared to be Muslims. These are the policies that paved the way to the immigration “reform” we have now: the creation of entire federal agencies to enforce immigration; the <a href="https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/the-cost-of-immigration-enforcement-and-border-security">meteoric</a> rise of funding for immigration enforcement agencies like ICE and CBP; the National Fugitive Operations Program, used to <a href="http://www.apple.com/">remove</a> any absconders from the U.S., regardless if they posed any credible threat or not; the actual <a href="https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/dhs-report-confirms-serious-civil-rights-problems-local-immigration-enforcement?redirect=immigrants-rights/dhs-report-confirms-serious-civil-rights-problems-local-immigration-enforcement-pr">execution</a> of the 287(g) program, which granted state and local officers the authority to enforce certain immigration laws; the Secure Communities <a href="https://qz.com/899563/trump-executive-order-reinstates-bushs-secure-communities-policy-which-may-have-serious-impact-on-immigrants-in-sanctuary-cities/">program</a>, used to identify removable immigrants when they are booked into local jails for criminal offenses, and through which non-citizens can be deported even if they have not been actually charged with or committed a crime. What was once supposed to be initiatives to deter and address national security concerns became effective tools to track, detain, and remove non-citizens that don’t pose any sort of threat.</p> <p> </p> <p>Before then, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act <a href="https://www.vox.com/2016/4/28/11515132/iirira-clinton-immigration">applied</a>, among other things, new restrictions to the asylum process, allowed for deportation of undocumented immigrants who commit even a misdemeanor, and made it a whole lot harder for undocumented immigrants to obtain legal status.</p> <p> </p> <p>Before then, the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965 <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/10/immigration-act-1965/408409/">eliminated</a> national origin quotas but set worldwide limits on the number of persons that could migrate to the U.S. This act is likely one of the biggest causes of the “hispanization” of North America because it established a system of family-based and employment-based preference for issuing visas. It was the driving force behind the enormous influx of immigrants from Mexico and Central America during the 70s and 80s, a period that is considered the crux of Latin American immigration. Prior to this, national-origin quotas were set aside so that they overwhelmingly favored immigrants from northern and western Europe, which is perhaps what helped cement the anglonization of the United States, its quasi-idea of what whiteness is and what is of worth and how the building blocks of the American dream are the Anglo-Protestant values of the founding settlers that were promulgated by European immigrants, and where contributions from the Southern Hemisphere have no place.</p> <p> </p> <p>Before then, Japanese immigrants were put in <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/japanese-american-relocation">internment</a> camps.</p> <p> </p> <p>Before then, anti-Asian sentiments <a href="http://immigrationtounitedstates.org/590-immigration-act-of-1924.html">barred</a> Asian immigrants from entering the United States legally.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/3latinos.jpg" style="height:499px; width:624px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Before then, Texas Rangers, local law enforcement, and civilian vigilantes were <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2016/05/texas-finally-begins-to-grapple-with-its-ugly-history-of-border-violence-against-mexican-americans.html">massacring</a> Mexican-Americans in the Borderlands. It was a reign of terror that killed thousands of people of Mexican descent and that went largely ignored, a decade-long period of time known to locals as “<em>La Matanza</em>.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Before then, early American immigration policy <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2017/05/05/527091890/the-135-year-bridge-between-the-chinese-exclusion-act-and-a-proposed-travel-ban">prohibited</a> the entry of Chinese laborers into the country for 10 years and barred them from becoming citizens.</p> <p> </p> <p>Now, we are calling Mexicans rapists and drug dealers. Now, we are calling majority black nations shithole countries. Now we are chanting to send an actual citizen back to where she came from, presumably because her skin is too dark and she wears a hijab so she could therefore not be a real American. Or rather, she could not be an American that fits the mold of Americanness.</p> <p> </p> <p>We really should not be shocked that the current administration is running for reelection on a platform that is straight-up racist and embraces white nationalism. After all, the underbelly of immigration enforcement has always been colored by racism and America's obsession with its version of whiteness, and that's what got them to the White House in the first place. So the writings on the wall have always been there. Though perhaps we should lament that these racist sentiments have become publicly mainstream and are therefore viewpoints to be debated like two sides of a coin, rather than something that should be condemned and eradicated, at least under the guise of “strength in diversity.” As if the “other side of the coin” is nothing short of survival, of dehumanization, of human worth. That does not need debating.</p> <p> </p> <p>But immigration reform has never really been anti-immigrant; it’s been against color, it’s been against slanted eyes, it’s been against non-Christian faiths, it’s been against languages.</p> <p> </p> <p>I have one of those faces. The kind that people just can’t place. With eyes that are not too big, but not too small. With skin that is not too dark, but not too light. With lips that are not too thin, but not too full. With big hair that is full and saturated, not straight but not quite curly. All in all, a face hued in ambiguity. But still one that makes people second-guess themselves, wondering whether I would understand their language, their hand gestures, their smiles, their struggles. </p> <p> </p> <p>Like the time I was buying some halal from a food cart in Chelsea (lamb over rice, yes to onions, a splash of hot sauce and extra white sauce, btw) and this Egyptian cook looked through the window and threw some sounds my way, all assonance and bass, and I had to say, “Sorry, I don’t speak Arabic.” </p> <p><br /> Or when I was pricing some organic avocados in a store in the Upper West Side, and this woman pushing a stroller with a white baby in it came at me with a question, some lilting song full of highs and lows escaping her lips, like homespun cotton being woven into the air, and I had to say, “Sorry, I don’t speak Tagalog.”</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/5latinos.jpg" style="height:417px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Or when this man on the uptown 2 train leaned my way and pointed at my watch, his voice crisp and brassy with vibrance in every syllable, a smile lining his face when he looked up back at me, and I had to say, “Sorry, I don’t speak Hindi.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Or every single time that someone had raised their eyes at me, bottom lip getting crushed between their teeth in anguished coyness, and they smiled a lopsided smile that was halfway between an apology and hopeful camaraderie, and they asked me in hard fricatives and dropped vowels, “Sorry, do you speak Spanish?”</p> <p> </p> <p>I love these moments because I love how so many people can see themselves in me even though I am not non-white. My Spanish is still fluent, but I am made fun of by my siblings when I forget how to say things in my native tongue. In the Ecuadorian census, I was not listed as mulatto, Afro-Latino, or native; I was listed as white. It is easier for me to translate from Spanish into English rather than the other way around. My roots are planted, but they don’t go deep enough - my birth certificate says I am Ecuadorian and so I am Latino through-and-through, but my environment and my shortfalls outside America question my heritage, “But is he, though? Is he brown enough? He looks and sounds white to me.”</p> <p> </p> <p>But I am also not white, not within the concept in which the United States sees whiteness. When I came to the U.S., I was young enough to become fluent in English, but just a tad too old that the thrill of the Latin accent lodged in my speech. Rice and beans will always taste better to me than any sort of deep-fried anything. And I love my bougie cheese and charcuterie boards paired with some Napa something-or-other nonsense; but oh my God, give me some empanadas, some alfajores with honest-to-God dulce de leche, and some queso salado and watch me feast. Because my skin is burnt caramel and my eyes are fertile earth, in my America I am a brown person.</p> <p> </p> <p>So there I have lived, always halfway to a standard.</p> <p> </p> <p>In the U.S., this standard is a ruse. It doesn’t exist. I will always be the “right” type of immigrant. The one that waited his turn in line in an 11 year lull while our papers came through for our green cards. Whose parents stayed put while their older children grew out of the age of eligibility for American residency, and had to leave them behind and took only their youngest boy with them on their plight north. The immigrant who registered with the Selective Service so he can get financial aid for college, who took out student loans to get an American education, who sold clothes in a mall store, who opened credit cards and took on some debt. The type of immigrant who exemplifies upward mobility because he waited his turn and made all the sacrifices we’re supposed to make. But still an immigrant. Still an illustration. The example used to build up detention centers and to justify them, to point to and say, “See, his parents broke their family apart and now his siblings live 3,000 miles away but this is the right way to do it, the only way to do it.” As if breaking a family apart should be the only way to do something right. </p> <p> </p> <p><br /> When a president returns to the White House having run on a racist platform, or when the first female president sits behind her desk in the Oval Office. When we send American citizens back to their countries of origin because they don’t share our Christian values, or when a Jewish president is signing executive orders. When we put kids in cages—not in a basketball court as child’s play but in an iron prison— for committing a misdemeanor with the same type of punishability as owning fireworks under the law, or when a Mexican-American is seeking Congress's permission to declare war. Still, I will always be just that - a brown immigrant. Not until we dismantle America's unique definition of whiteness will we be able to truly say that we can work on immigration reform, instead of implementing policies that will always be based on racist ideologies and that place American whiteness on a pedestal.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/4latinos.jpg" style="height:417px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>This is not to say that people of color, regardless of their origins, should continue to be seen as lesser or less worthy. Rather, I would hope this puts whiteness on the same level as all other ethnicities, so that immigration enforcement is truly based on just laws and policies. Though perhaps that is hoping for too much and people of color will end up getting the runt of the litter anyway. What do I know, I’m just a brown immigrant after all.     </p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong><em>Angelo Franco is</em> Highbrow Magazine’s <em>chief features writer.</em></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>For Highbrow Magazine</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>           </p> <p><strong>Image Sources:</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://pixabay.com/photos/nicaragua-murals-lake-volcanoes-205234/">RobertoVi</a> (Pixabay—Creative Commons)</p> <p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/vocesdelafrontera/2865603995">Voces de la Fronteras</a> (Flickr – Creative Commons)</p> <p><a href="http://www.freestockphotos.biz/stockphoto/17047">Free Stock Photos</a></p> <p><a href="https://pixabay.com/photos/boy-child-human-face-portrait-603805/">Cocoparisienne</a> (Pixabay – Creative Commons)</p> <p><a href="https://pixabay.com/photos/latino-family-latina-hispanic-2569583/">Quinntheislander</a> (Pixabay – Creative Commons)</p> <p> </p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/latinos" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">latinos</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/hispanics" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Hispanics</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/hispanic-amerians" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">hispanic amerians</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/latino-community" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">latino community</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/immigration" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">immigration</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/donald-trump" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Donald Trump</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/racism" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">racism</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/latin-america" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Latin America</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/people-color" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">people of color</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/immigrants" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">immigrants</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/dreamers" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">dreamers</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/discrimination" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">discrimination</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/race-issues" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">race issues</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Angelo Franco</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Fri, 09 Aug 2019 12:41:20 +0000 tara 8893 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/10089-my-brown-face-contains-multitudes#comments GOP Voter Suppression and the Threat to Democrats https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/9490-gop-voter-suppression-and-threat-democrats <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Sun, 12/02/2018 - 13:08</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/3blackvoters_1.jpg?itok=004gp9PO"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/3blackvoters_1.jpg?itok=004gp9PO" width="480" height="350" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>This is an excerpt from an article originally published in the Louisiana Weekly. Read the rest <a href="http://www.louisianaweekly.com/gop-voter-suppression-poses-grave-danger-to-democrats-in-2020/">here</a>. </strong></p> <p> </p> <p>New Jersey Democratic Senator Corey Booker flatly called the Georgia gubernatorial election a theft for GOP winner Brian Kemp. This was not partisan hyperbole. Thousands of eligible votes weren’t registered, were tossed, discounted, or ignored. The process was only slightly less muddled and outrageous in Florida, where there were also widespread reports of irregularities, incompetence, fraud and manipulation.</p> <p> </p> <p>The result in both states was that Democratic contender Stacey Abrams in Georgia and Andrew Gillum in Florida didn’t make history by being the first black governor in their states. Instead they made history by being embroiled in rancor and controversy over the vote process. The brutal reality, though, is that no matter how many votes Gillum and Abrams got or would have gotten in a fair process where all the votes were allowed and counted, their defeat was almost preordained before the first shout of voter fraud was made in their races.</p> <p> </p> <p>Voter suppression is a well-documented fact of life in American politics. The GOP has welded it as a potent weapon to assure its continued domination of American politics. The even more terrifying reality is that voter suppression has the force of law behind it. Kemp in Georgia was the crudest example of that. As secretary of state, he could legally make the call about which votes could and couldn’t be counted. The lawsuits that were filed against his blatant voter suppression were at best stopgap efforts to blunt some of the damage. They did absolutely nothing to change the legal authority Kemp had to make the call about the voting process.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/14trumphat_0.jpg" style="height:446px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>The voter suppression ploys the GOP employs in a variety of other stats include closing polling places limiting voting hours, a rigid requirement for ID, and outright purging voters from the rolls if they haven’t voted in a recent election. These were all upheld by various courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. With few exceptions, the other GOP voter suppression ploy of tightly gerrymandering districts to make it impregnable to a Democratic contender has also been let stand in court challenges. This combined with the control of the vote process by GOP governors and GOP-controlled legislatures in Florida and Ohio, the two states that virtually determine who sits in the Oval Office, heighten the danger to Democrats in 2020.</p> <p> </p> <p>But it’s the legality of voter suppression that is the tough nut to crack. Its impregnability was made possible by the GOP’s crass, cynical, but stupendously successful assault on the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act. In 1981, despite some grumbles and idle threats to oppose its renewal from a few in the Reagan administration, President Reagan dutifully signed the renewal legislation.</p> <p> </p> <p>A quarter-century later, a core of House Republicans stalled the legislation for more than a week and demanded that hearings be held. They used the same old argument that it punishes the South for past voting-discrimination sins, and they didn’t like the idea of bilingual ballots again. Despite the challenge, President Bush signed the renewal of the Voting Rights Act in 2006. The renewal by two conservative GOP presidents seemed to assure that any effort to scrub the Voting Rights Act from the federal books was a pipe dream.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/4voters_0.jpg" style="height:402px; width:602px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>It wasn’t. The GOP demanded that the High Court scrap the act as outdated, discriminatory, and a blatant federal intrusion into states’ rights. GOP state attorney generals in several states endorsed the challenge.</p> <p> </p> <p>The Supreme Court obliged. In a landmark ruling, it dumped the key requirement that Southern states get “preclearance” from the Justice Department before making any changes in its voting rights laws and procedures.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>This article originally published in the November 26, 2018 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>This is an excerpt from an article originally published in the Louisiana Weekly. Read the rest <a href="http://www.louisianaweekly.com/gop-voter-suppression-poses-grave-danger-to-democrats-in-2020/">here</a>. </strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Highbrow Magazine</strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/voter-suppression" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">voter suppression</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/stacey-abrams" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">stacey abrams</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/andrew-gillum" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">andrew gillum</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/gop" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">GOP</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/voting-rights-acts" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">voting rights acts</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/african-americans" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">African Americans</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/hispanics" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Hispanics</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/minority-voters" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">minority voters</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/republicans" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Republicans</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/democrats" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Democrats</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/2020-elections" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">2020 elections</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Earl Ofari Hutchinson </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Google Images; Wikipedia Commons</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Sun, 02 Dec 2018 18:08:30 +0000 tara 8395 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/9490-gop-voter-suppression-and-threat-democrats#comments Why Does the Temp Industry Shut Out Black Workers? https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/5882-why-does-temp-industry-shut-out-black-workers <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Wed, 06/22/2016 - 20:47</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1tempindustry.jpg?itok=ePp91ls5"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1tempindustry.jpg?itok=ePp91ls5" width="480" height="268" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>From the <a href="http://chicagoreporter.com/growing-temp-industry-shuts-out-black-workers-exploits-latinos/">Chicago Reporter</a> and republished by our content partner New America Media: </strong></p> <p> </p> <p>The code word for black workers caught Rosa Ceja by surprise.</p> <p> </p> <p>She was working for a temp agency in spring 2014, supervising workers at a big brick packaging plant northwest of Chicago. Crews of minimum-wage temp workers in hairnets boxed consumer products such as adult diapers and energy drinks in shifts around the clock.</p> <p> </p> <p>She knew the company wanted only men for some jobs and only women for others. And she knew those codes: “heavies” for men, “lights” for women.</p> <p> </p> <p>But when Ceja asked the recruiting office to send more heavies, she was told there were only “guapos” available. She was confused. “Guapo” means “good-looking” in Spanish. “I'm like, ‘Who cares if he's cute?’ ” Ceja remembers saying.</p> <p> </p> <p>Guapo, her fellow recruiters told her, meant a black worker. Black people didn’t want to work hard or get their hands dirty, they explained, so they were called the pretty ones. Latinos, the “feos” or ugly ones, were what the company wanted.</p> <p> </p> <p>Ceja said she checked with a packing company supervisor to make sure.</p> <p> </p> <p>“She said, ‘If you ever bring me a black guy, they’re automatically walking out,’ ” Ceja said.</p> <p> </p> <p>Ceja had stumbled into the noxious muck of systemic discrimination in the rapidly growing temp industry. Around the country, temp agencies have used code words, symbols and gestures to illegally hire workers by sex, race and age. Whether filling orders for only white workers or only Latino ones, the tactics often hit black workers the hardest.</p> <p> </p> <p>As Ceja underwent a crash course in this hidden system, an advocacy group called the Chicago Workers’ Collaborative was devising a counteroffensive.</p> <p> </p> <p>The group eventually developed legislation to make temp agencies keep track of the race and gender of all job applicants.</p> <p> </p> <p>Illinois Senate Bill 47 would provide the proof, supporters said, that temp agencies were shutting out black workers in favor of Latinos they could more easily exploit. If it passed, it could mean a fair chance at a paycheck.</p> <p> </p> <p>Although a modest reform, it was likely the first of its kind. It put Illinois at the forefront of tackling a national problem in an increasingly important part of the workforce.</p> <p> </p> <p>This is the story of why SB 47 was born – and how it was killed.</p> <p> </p> <p>                   ♦ ♦ ♦</p> <p> </p> <p>Inside Illinois’ silvery-domed Capitol building in May 2015, Democratic Rep. Ken Dunkin was trying to guide the bill through a Labor and Commerce Committee hearing. It already had cruised through the state Senate the month before.</p> <p> </p> <p>But a powerful Latino lawmaker pushed back, and not gently. Staffing agencies were doing a great job employing his mostly Latino constituents, he said. The exchange got heated.</p> <p> </p> <p>“You’re hurting people in my community,” said Rep. Luis Arroyo, also a Democrat and a power player on Chicago’s Northwest Side. “You’re hurting the people that I’m putting to work in my community.”</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/1blackemployment_1.jpg" style="height:365px; width:650px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Dunkin tried to say the bill, which would amend the Day and Temporary Labor Services Act, wasn’t just about boosting the job prospects of black workers. But Arroyo cut him off. If it wasn’t just about black workers, Arroyo argued, why weren’t any Latinos complaining about the situation?</p> <p> </p> <p>“I don't want folks to get this twisted,” Dunkin said.</p> <p> </p> <p>“It’s twisted already,” Arroyo shot back.</p> <p> </p> <p>Arroyo’s district is 61 percent Latino and 4 percent black. The Chicago district Dunkin held – and lost in the March primary – is just about the opposite, at 52 percent black and 4 percent Latino.</p> <p> </p> <p>The debate echoed the tensions between black and Latino laborers competing for minimum-wage jobs on the streets of Chicago.</p> <p> </p> <p>It’s a dynamic playing out in cities across the country, as some employers choose Latinos for jobs black workers once often had. The clash is particularly sharp in Illinois, with one of the highest rates of black unemployment, far surpassing Latino joblessness.</p> <p> </p> <p>And that wasn’t the only problem.</p> <p> </p> <p>Dan Shomon, a lobbyist for an alliance of temp agencies, said the proposed law would create a paperwork nightmare costing businesses millions of dollars. Shomon is also executive director of the Staffing Services Association of Illinois, which he said represents 25 agencies that provide 250,000 jobs a year.</p> <p> </p> <p>“We oppose discrimination also,” said Shomon, a top aide to Barack Obama during his state and U.S. Senate careers until 2006. He didn’t mention that, just one week before, a board member of his association had signed an $800,000 settlement to resolve government findings of widespread discrimination at his company. Other association members also have been hit with bias claims.</p> <p> </p> <p>Shomon said the bill’s requirement to track the race and gender of job applicants wasn’t necessary: The federal government already collects that data, he told legislators. He had that wrong, but nobody caught the error. He repeated it a few times.</p> <p> </p> <p>After the SB 47 hearing, Shomon took Arroyo and another bill opponent to Saputo’s, an Italian restaurant popular with politicos, spending $45 on each of them, according to lobbyist expenditure records. Asked about this, Arroyo said free meals don’t buy votes in Springfield.</p> <p> </p> <p>“I would be a heavy, heavy individual if that was the case,” he said.</p> <p> </p> <p>Following another hearing on the bill a few days later, the lobbyist treated Arroyo to a $50 meal at Nick &amp; Nino’s, a “penthouse steakhouse” with 30th-floor views of the Capitol dome. By then, the bill effectively was dead.</p> <p> </p> <p>At the second hearing, Arroyo and another lawmaker had made Dunkin promise that he wouldn’t bring it up for a final vote unless the industry lobbyist approved it.</p> <p> </p> <p>And with that, a lobbyist who spread inaccurate information, representing companies that have faced serious allegations of discrimination, squelched what could have been a trailblazing reform.</p> <p> </p> <p>                            ♦ ♦ ♦</p> <p> </p> <p>SB 47 had grown out of a larger battle over hiring discrimination in the temp industry.</p> <p> </p> <p>The Chicago Workers’ Collaborative has been raising a ruckus for years as one of the nation’s only labor groups running a grassroots campaign to reform temp agency hiring practices. The regional office of the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is among the most active in the country in suing over temp industry job bias. And a Chicago union organizer-turned-workers rights attorney has unleashed multiple class-action lawsuits against temp agencies on behalf of black workers, recently clinching a $1.5 million settlement.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2tempindustry.jpg" style="height:417px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>The temp agency tactics aren’t lost on job seekers who show up at stark storefront recruiting offices before dawn. Some take buses across Chicago as early as 4 a.m. – not for a job they can count on, but for a chance to snag a shift making as little as $8.25 per hour.</p> <p> </p> <p>They sit next to each other with packed lunches, in rows of plastic chairs or wooden benches. They wait for hours to see whether they will get a spot on the vans that transport temp workers to various plastics manufacturers, food factories, printing plants and packaging facilities.</p> <p>For Derell Pruitt, it was bad enough watching Latino workers board the vans while black workers like him were left behind. The worst, he said, was one time last year when he actually did get sent out for a job. It was for a temp agency called Most Valuable Personnel, or MVP.</p> <p> </p> <p>As soon as the vanload of workers arrived at the job site, a packaging plant, Pruitt said a supervisor picked all the Latinos and sent back all the black workers. They weren’t needed, they were told.</p> <p> </p> <p>“I could not believe that they would not pick one black, not one,” said Pruitt, talking in a McDonald’s near his Waukegan home. “It was very bold and humiliating, too.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Rosa Ceja said the same thing happened on her watch. Back when she learned that black workers were “guapos” to be avoided, she was a dispatcher for MVP, working on-site at the same packaging plant.</p> <p> </p> <p>“Right now, if I think about it, it's really, really sad,” she said.</p> <p> </p> <p>Another former dispatcher, Adriana Hernandez of Round Lake, has similar stories: “They would tell me, ‘Remember, the supervisor doesn’t want any older ladies, and she doesn’t want any black people.’ ” She provided a text message that she claimed showed the codes for men and women, an order for “10 lights and 4 heavys.”</p> <p> </p> <p>In response to the allegations, an attorney for MVP, Elliot Richardson, said, “We deny that we discriminate on any basis, including race or gender or for any other reasons whatsoever.”</p> <p> </p> <p>He declined to address specifics.</p> <p> </p> <p>“It’s not our desire to be litigating this in the media,” Richardson said. “We have directed our clients not to speak to the media about these pending matters.”</p> <p> </p> <p>The packaging plant, called Metropolitan Graphic Arts, or MGA, doesn’t hire by race, said its president, Greg Szymanski. If any workers were sent back, he said, it was because they didn’t want to do the job.</p> <p> </p> <p>“We’ll hire the United Nations, and we’ll look for good workers, period,” he said.</p> <p> </p> <p>But Szymanski acknowledged requesting male workers for certain jobs and women for others.</p> <p> </p> <p>“If it’s picking up very heavy things, men are stronger, sure,” he said. “We’ve been in this business, and we know that men do this job better and women do this job better.”</p> <p> </p> <p>MGA’s clients include a long list of name-brand companies that once scrolled across its website: Advil, Dove, Crest, Tide, Huggies, Tums, L’Oreal, Arm &amp; Hammer, Target, Starbucks, Walmart and Unilever.</p> <p> </p> <p>Pruitt is part of class-action lawsuits claiming that MVP discriminated against black workers and didn’t pay him for his time. MVP responded in court filings that Pruitt never worked for the company.</p> <p> </p> <p>Pruitt, 40, said he had to go to counseling for his rage – against Latinos.</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/3tempindustry.jpg" style="height:417px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>“I was starting to hate them,” he said. “I knew that I shouldn’t be thinking the way that I was thinking, but I was frustrated and angry.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Pruitt said he has gone from backing Obama to full-throated support for Donald Trump, citing the Republican presidential candidate’s combative stance on immigration.</p> <p> </p> <p>“I want to help build that wall,” he said of Trump’s plan to seal off the U.S. border with Mexico. “I want to help get rid of some of these people.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Racial preferences loom over recruiting offices around the country, lawsuits and interviews show.</p> <p> </p> <p>A trio of temp agencies in Tennessee, for example, systematically recruited Latinos at the expense of black workers, according to government lawsuits.</p> <p> </p> <p>“Whether it’s low-wage Hispanic workers or low-wage African American workers, each of them are trying to make a decent living, and they’re being pitted against each other,” said Faye Williams, regional attorney for the Memphis office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.</p> <p> </p> <p>This dynamic goes back to the 1990s, when global economic competition drove employers to seek a cheaper, more flexible workforce, said Virginia Tech sociology professor Barbara Ellen Smith.</p> <p> </p> <p>They found a solution in temp agencies, which allowed for quick and easy hiring and firing. And they found a willing workforce in a growing stream of Latino immigrants, desperate for work of any kind, she said.</p> <p> </p> <p>“In effect, employers were replacing black workers with Latino immigrant workers,” said Smith, who studied the phenomenon among warehouse workers in Memphis. “You’ve got a population that’s really kind of exploitable.”</p> <p> </p> <p>The ensuing conflict between black and Latino workers served employers’ interests, too: “It keeps people from organizing,” she said.</p> <p> </p> <p>Overcoming that racial divide has been the ongoing struggle of the Chicago Workers’ Collaborative. The group, formed in 2000, traditionally advocated for Latino workers, campaigning against problems such as wage theft and sexual harassment. But a few years ago, its leaders reached out to black workers and discovered a reservoir of frustration and resentment.</p> <p> </p> <p>“Their view was those 10 Latinos … getting in that van are the reason I’m not going to work,” said Leone Bicchieri, the group’s executive director. “As opposed to, it’s the dispatcher following orders from someone higher up.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Black workers, he said, are more likely to complain about wage theft or workplace injuries than Latino workers, who might be worried about their immigration status or unsure of other options.</p> <p> </p> <p>Bicchieri’s wife emigrated from Mexico and worked for years as a temp. He’s trying to convince Latino workers it’s in their long-term interests to fight job discrimination that actually favors them.</p> <p> </p> <p>The group’s pitch is this: Black workers are losing jobs, and Latinos are losing their rights. Only united can they hold temp agencies accountable.</p> <p> </p> <p>Read the rest <a href="file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/tara/My%20Documents/From%20the%20Chicago%20Reporter%20and%20republished%20by%20our%20content%20partner%20New%20America%20Media">here</a>.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>From the <a href="http://chicagoreporter.com/growing-temp-industry-shuts-out-black-workers-exploits-latinos/">Chicago Reporter</a> and republished by our content partner New America Media</strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/blacks" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">blacks</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/african-americans" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">African Americans</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/unemployment" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">unemployment</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/temp-industries" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">temp industries</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/temp-agencies" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">temp agencies</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/workers" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">workers</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/discrrimination" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">discrrimination</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/workplace-discrimination" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">workplace discrimination</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/hispanics" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Hispanics</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Will Evans</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Stacey Rupolo; Google Imges</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Thu, 23 Jun 2016 00:47:10 +0000 tara 7009 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/5882-why-does-temp-industry-shut-out-black-workers#comments Millennials and the End of Spanglish https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/5810-millennials-and-end-spanglish <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Sun, 05/15/2016 - 13:21</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1spanglish.jpg?itok=Bb2TaLgZ"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1spanglish.jpg?itok=Bb2TaLgZ" width="480" height="314" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>From our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2016/05/hispanic-millennials-saying-adios-to-spanglish.php">New America Media</a></strong>:</p> <p> </p> <p>Hispanic millennials are turning their backs on Spanglish—a slang that mixes English-language norms into Spanish—and instead opting for proper American English.</p> <p> </p> <p>“The typical trend is that the first [generation] prefers to speak Spanish, the second generation is bilingual, and the third generation is generally monolingual,” Jody Agius Vallejo, an associate professor of sociology at USC who studies immigrant integration told the <em>Los Angeles Times</em>.</p> <p> </p> <p>But there is more going on than the natural trajectory of how immigrant groups assimilate to become Americans.</p> <p> </p> <p>The fading of Spanglish, not unlike Ebonics, could be a response to two separate trends we have seen over the last decade: terrorism and gender-empowerment.</p> <p> </p> <p>Spanglish flourished in the 1980s and 1990s. Two factors fueled its rise. The first was the economic collapse of Latin America -- an international debt crisis precipitated when Mexico was forced to devalue the peso in August 1982. The ensuing economic crisis resulted in a “lost decade” from Mexico to Argentina. Hundreds of thousands of Latin Americans moved to the United States as economic refugees.</p> <p> </p> <p>Then there were the “dirty wars” in Central and South America that saw hundreds of thousands of political refugees flee to the United States, giving rise to “sanctuary cities,” especially in California.</p> <p> </p> <p>The result was the influx of Spanish-dominant immigrants—economic and political refugees alike—many of whom struggled to learn English. As they became acculturated, they began to “forget” their Spanish vocabulary. “Lunch” replaced “almuerzo;” “troco,” a corruption of “truck,” replaced “camion.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Waves of Spanish-dominant immigrants struggled with acculturation on their way to assimilation. In the process they availed themselves to “Spanglish”— a mix of English and Spanish that consists of calques and semantic extensions. Calques are literal, word-for-word translations of words or phrases from one language into another. For example, “I’ll call you back” becomes “Te llamo para atrás,” instead of “Te devuelvo tu llamada.” Semantic extension refers to a phenomenon when speakers use a word more similar to that of a second language in place of their own. For example, “Close the window because it’s raining,” becomes “Cierra la window que está reinando.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Some observes heralded the rise of “Spanglish” as a hybrid language. Ilan Stavans, a Mexican immigrant, championed this “dialect” spoken in the Hispanic diaspora in the United States as a proper language, evidence of his own struggles assimilating into American society.</p> <p> </p> <p>Then came the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.</p> <p> </p> <p>“Fortress America” resulted in the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security. Immigration from Latin America has fallen to historic lows. Barack Obama ordered the deportation of “illegals” — and more than 3 million Latin Americans will have been deported by the time he leaves office.</p> <p> </p> <p>In addition, peace broke out in Central America; and Mexico has enjoyed a period of sustained economic growth, with millions of Mexicans entering the middle class.</p> <p> </p> <p>As a result of the slowdown in immigration from Latin America, the U.S. Hispanic population is now mostly U.S.-born, not immigrants. As the Pew Hispanic Center reported, “In 2013, U.S.-born Hispanics outnumbered foreign-born Hispanics by nearly two-to-one—35 million to 19 million—and made up a growing share (65 percent) of the nation’s Hispanic population."</p> <p> </p> <p>As Hispanics have now become English-dominant, the need for Spanglish may be disappearing.</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/1hispanicstudents.jpg" style="height:422px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>In fact, many Hispanic millennials have gone one step further: they don’t speak Spanish at all.</p> <p> </p> <p>In a surprising analysis, the Pew Hispanic Center reported that 71 percent of U.S. Hispanics believed that speaking Spanish was not necessary to their “Latino” identity.</p> <p> </p> <p>Why this repudiation of Spanish? One reason could be that unlike English, it has a gender binary.</p> <p> </p> <p>In the 2010s, as part of promoting diversity and inclusivity, U.S. Hispanic youth sought to transcend gender in Spanish—el hombre; la mujer. The first attempt, Latino/a, proved cumbersome. The second solutions, the “at sign,” or ampersand, proved equally dissatisfactory simply because it is a symbol, not a letter: Latin@.</p> <p> </p> <p>In recent years some activists have demanded that Spanish remove gender altogether: niño and niña would become niñx.</p> <p> </p> <p>The absurdity of the proposition—that English-language speakers would dictate how Spanish speakers speak Spanish—smacked of cultural imperialism and linguistic neo-colonialism.</p> <p> </p> <p>Enter Hispanic millennials who have solved the problem by simply refusing to consider Spanglish—or even speak Spanish.</p> <p> </p> <p>“Fully 89 percent of U.S.-born Latinos spoke English proficiently in 2013, up from 72 percent in 1980.</p> <p> </p> <p>This gain is due in part to the growing share of U.S.-born Latinos who live in households where only English is spoken,” the Pew Hispanic Center reported.</p> <p> </p> <p>Marketers are taking note—and ridding media advertising of Spanglish. Instead, they are careful to use proper English and proper Spanish. Their most “difficult” decision is not whether to use Spanglish words, but whether to use the formal (usted) or formal (tu). (For broadcast, it’s informal; for written it’s formal.)</p> <p> </p> <p>When Target Style wanted to reach Latina millennials during the Billboard Latin Music Awards with their “Influencer” campaign, they recoiled from the very idea of using any Spanglish. Their campaign, “Show off your way,” was translated in proper Spanish: “Lúcete a tu manera.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Madison Avenue is catching on to the trend: To reach Hispanic millennials, use either proper English or proper Spanish, but not Spanglish.</p> <p> </p> <p>The rise of English-dominant Hispanic millennials is now reverberating throughout the United States. Three of the leading Hispanic millennials writing today are Kristiana Rae Colón, Christopher Soto (aka Loma), and David Tomás Martínez. Their prose is exclusively in English and there is almost no reference to Spanglish; its only appearance is for ironic effect.</p> <p> </p> <p>Hispanic millennials, who are defining their identity in English, could represent the graveyard of Spanglish.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>From our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2016/05/hispanic-millennials-saying-adios-to-spanglish.php">New America Media</a></strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/spanglish" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">spanglish</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/english" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">English</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/spanish" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">spanish</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/languages" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">languages</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/hispanics" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Hispanics</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/latinos" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">latinos</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/speaking-spanish" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">speaking spanish</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/millennials" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">millennials</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Louis E.V. Nevaer</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">New America Media</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Sun, 15 May 2016 17:21:49 +0000 tara 6911 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/5810-millennials-and-end-spanglish#comments Gauging the Influence of the Latino Vote in This Year’s Elections https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4208-gauging-influence-latino-vote-year-s-elections <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Mon, 08/11/2014 - 12:26</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1republicansdemocrats%20%28NAM%29.jpg?itok=BJkTY9LA"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1republicansdemocrats%20%28NAM%29.jpg?itok=BJkTY9LA" width="480" height="268" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>From our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2014/08/latino-voices-will-be-heard-in-the-2014-elections-but-not-enough--why-not-shout-louder.php">New America Media</a></strong>:</p> <p> </p> <p>On August 4, a provocative article from Nate Cohn appeared in the <em>New York Times</em>—“Why House Deportation Vote Won’t Hurt the G.O.P.” Cohn argues, accurately, that the low proportion of Latino voters who are eligible to vote in eight of the nine states with competitive Senate races means the Latino vote won’t have a big impact on Senate outcomes in 2014. That’s an unpleasant analysis but well-justified wake-up call for those who care about political equity for Latinos and eventual passage of immigration reform.</p> <p> </p> <p>Where Cohn over-extends his analysis is in arguing that Latino voters won’t have much impact on the 2014 House races either. He says that since Hispanics make up only 7.4 percent of the eligible voters in Congressional districts held by Republicans, the party will retain their majority in the House—even after infuriating Latino voters (and many others) with their mean-spirited vote on deportation of Central American children and the effort to ban administrative relief for undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children (DACA).</p> <p> </p> <p>Cohn is probably right about the dynamics of this year’s Senate elections and about Republicans’ continued control of the House in 2014, but the party’s anti-immigrant stance will actually inflict a good deal of pain on many of its candidates. At least in California. Republican efforts to block immigration reform as their best recipe for winning elections is already a losing gambit.</p> <p> </p> <p>There are real uncertainties about how rapidly the real-world changing demographic profile of U.S. communities will affect national politics and the extent to which right-wing anti-immigrant politicians in Congress can continue to perpetuate de facto segregation on the basis of immigration status. But in California and in other states (including those in the South and the Midwest), as increasing numbers of U.S.-born children of Latino immigrant parents reach voting age, their votes will very soon tip the balance toward social policies that more fairly and inclusively represent community perspectives. Given the social and economic consequences of failing to act, particularly in the rural communities where demographic change is moving fastest, there’s a critical need to accelerate the slow pace of progress toward a future with truly inclusive democracy.</p> <p> </p> <p>This future has already arrived in California. The Republican Party’s anti-immigrant stance will hurt its candidates in each of the competitive House races in California in 2014—even in the cases where local Republican Congressional candidates have attempted to distance themselves from their party’s anti-immigrant mainstream.</p> <p> </p> <p>How important are the California 2014 House races? The Cook Political Report identifies 36 House races across the nation as being highly competitive—i.e., they are characterized as leaning red or blue or as a tossup. Six of these races considered to be competitive are in California (in the 7th, 21st, 26th, 31st, 36th, and 52nd Congressional districts). In contrast to the low national proportions of Latino voters cited by Cohn, Latino voters make up 8 to 23 percent of the registered voters in each of these competitive House races in California—substantially more than the national average. Even if we adjust for historically low Latino turnout in mid-term elections, 5 to 15 percent of the likely voters in the 2014 voting in these House races will be Latinos. At least in these races, their votes will make a big difference.</p> <p> </p> <p>It’s worthwhile to remember what happened in the 2012 House races. In 2012, demographics had already caught up with the status quo in two of the currently six competitive California districts, which went from red to blue in that cycle. Both newly-elected Congressional representatives (Ami Bera in the 7th District and Raul Ruiz in the 36th District) are the U.S.-born sons of immigrant parents. Bera won by 3.4 percent and Ruiz won by a margin of 5.8 percent. Both were strong and open supporters of immigration reform as well as being highly-qualified candidates for public office and were elected in part because of their progressive stance on immigration reform.</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/mediumlatinovoters_0.jpg" style="height:434px; width:650px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Do we need to resign ourselves to the current statistical reality of Latino under-representation in the electorate? Why not work harder and faster to help democracy keep up with real-world change? Why not address the huge economic and social issues faced by undocumented immigrants (which author Michelle Alexander correctly refers to as an American “human rights problem”) by investing more in vigorous voter registration and get-out-the-vote initiatives to mobilize the large numbers of Latinos (and others) who are eligible to vote in opposing the proponents of perpetual official inequality? Social and political equity for immigrants is not simply a partisan issue</p> <p> </p> <p>Even if we fail to act, pundits’ dismal warning that Latino voters don’t matter has to be discounted—certainly in these 2014 competitive House races in California, and eventually everywhere in the U.S. Given the likelihood that the spread between candidates in these six California House races in 2014 that are competitive will be only 5 to 10 percent, everyone who is concerned about practical and just immigration policy should join in efforts to assure that Latino and other under-represented groups of voters’ voices will be heard still more loudly in November.</p> <p> </p> <p>Communities’ stakes in equity for immigrants are too high to be relegated only to the realm of partisan messaging. Latino families’ stakes in immigration reform and upward career pathways for DREAMers are high. But they are also high for all of us, whatever our ethnic group, wherever we live.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong><em>Ed Kissam has led various studies of immigrant settlement in the United States over the past decade, including the New Pluralism Study of immigrants in rural areas and the Latino Entrepreneurship study focusing on North Carolina and Iowa . He is currently working with a research task force on strategies to improve educational outcomes for Latino youth in rural communities throughout the United States.</em></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>From our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2014/08/latino-voices-will-be-heard-in-the-2014-elections-but-not-enough--why-not-shout-louder.php">New America Media</a></strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/latinos" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">latinos</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/latino-voters" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Latino voters</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/2014-elections" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">2014 elections</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/midterm-elections" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">midterm elections</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/democrats" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Democrats</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/republicans" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Republicans</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/hispanics" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Hispanics</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/hispanic-voters" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Hispanic voters</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Ed Kissam</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">New America Media</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Mon, 11 Aug 2014 16:26:12 +0000 tara 5058 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4208-gauging-influence-latino-vote-year-s-elections#comments Team Romney is Struggling to Connect with Latinos https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1724-team-romney-struggling-connect-latinos <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Wed, 10/24/2012 - 19:16</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumromneynorfolk%20%28PBSNewshour%29_1.jpg?itok=jNiel8eR"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumromneynorfolk%20%28PBSNewshour%29_1.jpg?itok=jNiel8eR" width="480" height="320" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>  </p> <p> From <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2012/10/team-romney-struggling-to-connect-with-nevadas-latinos.php">New America Media</a> and <a href="http://www.theworld.org/2012/10/team-romney-struggling-to-connect-with-nevadas-latinos/">PRI’s the World</a>:</p> <p>  </p> <p> LAS VEGAS--Drive a few miles northeast from the heart of the Las Vegas Strip, and you’ll reach the Latino parts of Sin City. This is an area of Vegas most visitors don’t see – grocery stores, dry cleaners and playgrounds. And now, sandwiched between stores at a strip mall: A Team Romney campaign office.</p> <p>  </p> <p> I stopped by to see the operation. A few people were milling about. The staffers were welcoming, but they needed clearance to speak with me; standard procedure for a political campaign. They suggested I come back the next day.</p> <p>  </p> <p> I left and spent some time in the neighborhood. I didn’t meet many people who knew about the new Romney campaign office.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “I’m surprised they’re opening it right now,” said Blanca Gamez. “The campaign is about to finish in less than a month, and now you’re in such desperate need to open an office, it’s ridiculous to me.”</p> <p> A poll released earlier this month reflects this attitude: 78 percent of Nevada’s Latinos favor Obama, while 17 percent prefer Romney. Overall, the state is 27 percent Latino according to the U.S. Census Bureau.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Latinos make up 17 percent of Nevada’s eligible voters. Fernando Romero, a board member with the local group Hispanics in Politics, the state’s oldest Latino political organization, said Latinos heavily favor Obama, in large part, because of all of the anti-immigrant rhetoric from Republican candidates during the primary debates.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “Every single one of them mentioned and brought up the subject of immigration, and it was harsh, it was cruel,” he said. “How can that not energize a community?”</p> <p>  </p> <p> Romero said it’s commendable that the Romney campaign is now opening an office in the heart of what he calls the barrio. But he says Romney won’t connect with Latinos until he and his surrogates actually come talk to them on their turf.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “He’s 100 percent right,” said Dan Burdish, past executive director of the Nevada Republican Party. “If you’re going to work for the Latino vote, you need to go to the Latinos.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Bringing in the Big (Latino) Guns</strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> Team Romney in Nevada brought in perhaps the biggest Latino name in Republican politics, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, R-Fla., on Oct. 2.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Rubio spoke for 30 minutes, mostly talking about the economy and the need for more free enterprise and less government regulation. Several hundred people came to hear Rubio speak at a casino ballroom in the city of Henderson, about a 30-minute drive from Las Vegas.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “Imagine for a moment, if in the next couple of years Mitt Romney is elected president and the following things happen, Obamacare is repealed and replaced,” Rubio told the crowd to raucous applause. Rubio went on to list other things that he says would happen under a Romney presidency, including a simpler tax code and an energy policy that relies on more domestic sources.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The crowd in Henderson was overwhelmingly older and white. Besides 30 seconds of Spanish geared toward the Spanish-language news cameras, there was no nod to Latinos in Nevada.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Blanca Robles was one of the few Latinos at the event. She said she wasn’t disappointed that Rubio didn’t address Hispanic voters more directly.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “He was speaking to all Americans, we’re all Americans, and that’s the thing that I like also about Republicans, we don’t try and segregate and divide. We are all Americans.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/romneylatinosposter%20%28JasonMargolis%29.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 335px; " /></p> <p>  </p> <p> She said she likes Mitt Romney because he favors a smaller government.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “I think unfortunately a lot of the minority groups, especially the Latinos, have kind of been – I hate to say it – have been almost brainwashed into the Democratic Party as their party. Whereas if they really analyzed their views and their morals and their work habits it really is more conservative toward the Republican party.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> So why not have Senator Rubio come speak directly to Latinos?</p> <p>  </p> <p> I posed that question to Elsa Barnhill, the director of Hispanic outreach for the Romney campaign in Nevada. She’s the woman I tried to speak with the day before at the campaign office in the Latino neighborhood.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Barnhill said, “We inquired about using a couple of facilities on the east side of town, but it wasn’t able to happen, they were pre-booked. As you can imagine with campaigns, things are at the very last minute, they don’t give us a whole lot of notice, and we just kind of have to move quickly.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> Barnhill added that the last time Marco Rubio was in town, he did speak at a grade school in a Latino neighborhood. Problem was, many Latinos also showed up to protest his visit. There weren’t any protesters on this day in Henderson.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>The Message Is the Economy, But Is It Working?</strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> Barnhill went on to say that the Romney campaign has been going door-to-door delivering a pro-Romney, or anti-Obama, message to voters in Latino neighborhoods. Their focus: jobs and the economy.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “Hispanic voters, they know, as much as President Obama goes on TV and tells them how great things have become since he’s been a president, nobody takes that seriously,” said Barnhill. “I mean, not the person that doesn’t have a job, not the person who is wondering if they’re going to lose their job, certainly not the person who has lost their home in a foreclosure like has been the crisis here in Nevada.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> But David Damore, a political scientist at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), who conducted the recent poll about Latino voters in the state, said talking points that play well with white suburban voters aren’t working with Latinos.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “Tax cuts, for instance, don’t really resonate in the Latino community. The social issues don’t really resonate as a political issue in the Latino community. So there really isn’t much of a message there besides: The economy has been bad here. And no clear path to what we’re going to do about it.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> Damore’s poll shows that more than three-quarters of Nevada’s Latinos approve of the job Barack Obama is doing as president. Perhaps that’s why the president feels comfortable talking directly to Latinos on their turf.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Only three weeks ago, the president spoke at a high school in the heart of the Latino part of town. The hugely popular Mexican rock band Maná also played. More than 11,000 people showed up, some waiting five hours in the near 100-degree heat to get in.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “This is why I like coming to Vegas. Good weather and good people,” said the president to much applause.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Mitt Romney won’t be able to match that enthusiasm among Nevada’s Latinos. But David Damore at UNLV says if Romney can peel away just 10 percent of Hispanic voters, that could make the difference in who wins Nevada.</p> <p>  </p> <p>  </p> <p> <em>Reported by PRI’s The World, a co-production of WGBH/Boston, Public Radio International, and the BBC World Service. </em></p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong><em>Photos: New America Media; Jason Margolis.</em></strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/mitt-romney" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Mitt Romney</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/president-obama" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">President Obama</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/minority-voters" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">minority voters</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/latinos" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">latinos</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/hispanics" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Hispanics</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/hispanic-voters" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Hispanic voters</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/2012-elections" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">2012 elections</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/polls-0" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">polls</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/democrats" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Democrats</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/republicans" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Republicans</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Jason Margolis</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">New America Media</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Wed, 24 Oct 2012 23:16:13 +0000 tara 1790 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1724-team-romney-struggling-connect-latinos#comments Spotlight on Rubio, Castro at Conventions Masks Reality of Issues Facing Latinos https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1534-spotlight-rubio-castro-conventions-masks-reality-issues-facing-latinos <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Sun, 09/09/2012 - 14:32</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumrubiocastro.jpg?itok=34ZMm-3x"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumrubiocastro.jpg?itok=34ZMm-3x" width="480" height="268" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>  </p> <p> From <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2012/09/in-a-primetime-magic-act-the-parties-turn-latino.php">New America Media</a> and <a href="http://www.pontealdia.com/editorial/in-a-prime-time-magic-act-the-parties-turn-latino.html">Al Dia</a>:</p> <p>  </p> <p>  </p> <p> There was magic at the recent Republican and Democratic National conventions. But don’t get too excited, it was just an act.</p> <p>  </p> <p> If you watched, you might have been tempted to think Latinos had, at long last, arrived politically. After all, both Florida Senator Marco Rubio and San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro were foregrounded as primetime speakers.</p> <p>  </p> <p> They may well be the future of their parties — Rubio, the Cuban-American Republican, is 41; Castro, the Mexican-American Democrat, 37. In their speeches — hyped relentlessly before and after the fact — they drew on stories of their immigrant families. They spoke lovingly about grandparents who overcame great difficulties to come to an America full of possibilities. They spoke of parents who taught them about hard work and perseverance and responsibility. There was real magic in their words and stories, and their ability to reach right through the television screen and make you believe.</p> <p>  </p> <p> This is the reality of the magic act we saw: Both parties are trying to claim the hearts of Latino voters.</p> <p>  </p> <p> This is the deception behind the magic: Both parties are breaking Latino hearts when it comes to immigration.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The Republican Party’s platform makes no pretense of reflecting the immigration views of the majority of Latino citizens across the nation. Quite the contrary, it baldly proposes to:</p> <p>  </p> <p> • Authorize indefinite detentions by DHS</p> <p>  </p> <p> • Mandatory use of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (S.A.V.E.) program</p> <p>  </p> <p> • Use of the deeply flawed E-verify program</p> <p>  </p> <p> • Encourage self-deportation</p> <p>  </p> <p> • Strengthen 287g initiatives to engage local police in immigration enforcement</p> <p>  </p> <p> • Deny funding to universities that allow DREAM-Act eligible students to pay in-state tuition</p> <p>  </p> <p> • Fine or deny funding to Santuary cities</p> <p>  </p> <p> • Finish wall along border</p> <p>  </p> <p> • Dismiss Department of Justice suits blocking anti-immigrant laws in Alabama, Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina</p> <p>  </p> <p> • Make English as the official language</p> <p>  </p> <p> About the only proposal in the GOP immigration plank that doesn’t involve some punitive action is the proposed institution of a guest worker program.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Meanwhile, the Democratic Party platform, while much more positive, engages in some misdirection.</p> <p>  </p> <p> • DHS “is prioritizing the deportation of criminals who endanger our communities over the deportation of immigrants who do not pose a threat.” Actually, not. Or, at least, not effectively. Noncriminal mothers and fathers of citizen children are still routinely picked up, detained and deported. And Latinos cannot ignore that President Barack Obama, despite his pretty language, has a deportation rate roughly double that of his Republican predecessor.</p> <p>  </p> <p> • “President Obama and the Democrats fought for the DREAM Act legislation.” Well, not so fast. The DREAM-Act came to a vote in a Democratic majority Congress. And failed in the Senate because, in fact, a number of Democrats voted against it.</p> <p>  </p> <p> • The Deferred Action for DREAM-Act eligible students is mentioned in past tense in the platform because, hey, it’s all of half a month old. Little. Late. Not an executive order — which could have been issued at any time during the past four years.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Magic acts are showy. They have handsome and skillfull frontmen. But despite all the Latino faces behind the podium, when it comes to Latinos, neither political party gave us anything real to cheer about.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2012/09/in-a-primetime-magic-act-the-parties-turn-latino.php">New America Media</a></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/democratic-convention" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">democratic convention</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/republican-convention" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Republican Convention</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/marco-rubio" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">marco rubio</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/julian-castro" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">julian castro</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/obama" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Obama</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/mitt-romney" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Mitt Romney</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/immigration" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">immigration</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/latinos" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">latinos</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/hispanics" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Hispanics</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/immigration-reform" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">immigration reform</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Al Dia</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">New America Media</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Sun, 09 Sep 2012 18:32:21 +0000 tara 1526 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1534-spotlight-rubio-castro-conventions-masks-reality-issues-facing-latinos#comments Longevity Gap Between the 'Two Americas' Links to Education https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1516-longevity-gap-has-widened-between-two-americas <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Mon, 09/03/2012 - 13:49</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumcitycollegeNY%20%28SaturneFlickr--Fotopedia%29.jpg?itok=GxzWav0Y"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumcitycollegeNY%20%28SaturneFlickr--Fotopedia%29.jpg?itok=GxzWav0Y" width="480" height="360" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>  </p> <p> CHICAGO—The longevity gap between “two Americas” has widened since 1990, says a new study. One America is mostly white and well educated, and the other is ethnic or undereducated and dying about a decade sooner than their more affluent counterparts.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The gap between college-educated whites and African Americans who did not complete high school is “simply unbelievable,” stated S. Jay Olshansky, lead author of the extensive new analysis published in the August issue of the prestigious health policy journal <em>Health Affairs</em>.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The researchers, who crunched mortality numbers in key databases from 1990-2008, found that white men in the United States with 16 years or more of schooling had life expectancy at birth of 14.2 years longer than African American males with fewer than 12 years of education. The gulf between well-educated white women and black women with low educational levels was 10.3 years.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The research study is published with the stark title, “Differences in Life Expectancy Due to Race and Educational Differences Are Widening, and Many May Not Catch Up.” It is the latest publication by the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on an Aging Society, a roster of 15 leading academic experts in aging and longevity.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Low Education Shortens Life for All Groups</strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> The report shows that lower educational levels marked declining life expectancy within every demographic group examined.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The gap between black women of high versus low educational levels was 6.5 years, and for Latinas the difference was 2.9 years. For males the longevity gaps were 12.9 years among whites, 9.7 years among blacks and 5.5 years for Hispanics.</p> <p>  </p> <p> What’s more, the picture for those with fewer than 12 years of education “has grown notably worse for whites,” says the study. In terms of educational status, “whites at the bottom are losing ground at a faster pace” than those at the top.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The gulf between white women is especially wide, says the report. Those with 12 years or less of education were living just over a decade (10.4 years) less than white American females with at least 16 years of schooling.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The two Americas—those with very high versus very low education—are in a longevity “time warp,” Olshansky asserted.</p> <p>  </p> <p> While those with higher levels of formal learning are gaining longevity dividends every year, those least educated have had life expectancy linger at mid-20th century levels. Although blacks have added years slightly overall, among those with the lowest education, longevity for African American men is stuck at the average life expectancy the United States reached in 1954. For other groups with the least education, black women linger at the 1962 level, white women hover in 1964, and poorly schooled white men only live as long as Americans did in 1972.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Medical Advances Not Enough</strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> According to the study, higher education directly affects health because increased learning prompts more people to adopt healthier lifestyles, it improves their ability to cope with stress, and enables them to manage chronic diseases more effectively.</p> <p>  </p> <p> However, the report says, education’s indirect effects, such as increasing one’s access to “more privileged social position, better-paying jobs and higher income are also profound.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/mediumlongevityNAM.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 335px; " /></p> <p>  </p> <p> These underlying social and economic effects, the research group explains, is why efforts to modify behavioral risk factors alone, such as to reduce obesity or smoking, “are not likely to have a major impact on disparities in longevity.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> And the ethnic disparities in education are sharp. On the one hand, among those age 25 or older in 2008, the researchers found, more than one-third of Latinos had less than a high school education, compared with one in six African Americans and only one in 12 whites.</p> <p>  </p> <p> On the other hand, says the study, among those who “enjoy the health and longevity benefits” of a college or post-graduate degree, about one-third are white, one-sixth are black and one in eight are Hispanic.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The life-expectancy findings for Hispanics are more complicated than for others. Although Latinos appear to have the highest reported life expectancy at birth among ethnic groups in the study, the researchers cautioned that other factors are in play.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Previous research cited by the study’s authors shows that Latino immigrants “tend to be healthier than subsequent U.S.-born generations of Hispanics.” Second- or third-generation Hispanics born in the United States experience higher mortality risks and die 10-20 percent earlier than their immigrant parents’ and grandparents’ generations.</p> <p>  </p> <p> As Hispanics become a larger proportion of the total U.S. population—with a higher proportion of them born here, “their current longevity advantage may diminish rapidly,” the article says.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Also skewing the overall figures showing a Latino longevity advantage, says the study, many older Hispanic immigrants “return to their country of origin to die; and the people who emigrate from most countries in Latin America tend to be healthier and more highly educated than the population from which they originated.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Gap Could Grow Larger</strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> Without greater attention to education and its impact on social factors in health, say Olshansky and his colleagues, advances in medicine and technology alone are unlikely to close disparities by race and socioeconomic status. Nationally, he noted, increased access to good educational equity is apt to improve people’s health and productivity, thus reducing future demands on Medicare and dependence on Social Security—major budget issues in the presidential campaign.</p> <p>  </p> <p> They emphasize that expanding lifelong learning opportunities would be especially significant for those already in the workforce and who would find it very difficult to return to traditional formal education programs.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Olshansky and his colleagues warn that if the anticipated advances in medical science and technology continue without educational gains, by 2050 “the health and longevity gap between the two Americas could grow larger.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> They recommend that American society “implement educational enhancements at young, middle, and older ages for people of all races, to reduce the large gap in health and longevity that persists today.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2012/08/lost-decadeslongevity-declining-for-blacks-latinos-and-less-educated.php">New America Media</a></p> <p>  </p> <p> <em><strong>Photos: <a href="http://www.fotopedia.com/items/flickr-4876260507">Saturne</a>, Flickr (Fotopedia); New America Media:</strong></em> Former nurse Ollie Burton, shown last year at age 103 at the Kissito Healthcare’s nursing home in Midland, Tex., represents the longevity exception. </p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/education" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">education</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/longevity" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">longevity</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/living-long-life" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">living a long life</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/minorities" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">minorities</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/whites" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">whites</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/whites-live-longer" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">whites live longer</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/african-americans" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">African Americans</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/hispanics" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Hispanics</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/health" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">health</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Paul Kleyman</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Saturne, Flickr (Fotopedia)</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Mon, 03 Sep 2012 17:49:05 +0000 tara 1492 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1516-longevity-gap-has-widened-between-two-americas#comments