LATINOS, LET’S TAKE OUR PLACE AS THE NEW LEADERS OF AMERICA

By: Gabriel Reyes

?On March 27, 1997, The New York Times published an article titled U.S. of Future: Grayer and More Hispanic. The article’s author, Katharine Q. Seeley, wrote:

?“And by the year 2050, the report says, they [Latinos] will outnumber the nation’s total of blacks, Asian-Americans and American Indians combined, and will account for one-fourth of the population, up from 10.7 percent now.

The long-term rise in the number of Hispanic people, who have the nation’s highest fertility and immigration rates, will coincide with a decline in that of non-Hispanic whites, says the report, which projects that by 2028, the number of white Americans who die will exceed those being born.”

The reality of a Latinized, older United States population, foretold by Seeley in 1997, has come to pass. Today, Latinos in the United States are one of the youngest, largest, and fastest-growing communities while the white population ages. According to an August 12, 2021, Associated Press article by Mike Schneider titled: “Census shows US is diversifying, white population shrinking:”

?“The share of the white population fell from 63.7% in 2010 to 57.8% in 2020, the lowest on record, driven by falling birthrates among white women compared with Hispanic and Asian women. The number of non-Hispanic white people shrank from 196 million in 2010 to 191 million.”

“The Hispanic population boomed over the decade, growing by almost a quarter to 62.1 million residents in 2020 and accounting for almost half of the overall U.S. population growth, which was the slowest since the Great Depression. By comparison, the non-Hispanic growth rate over the decade was 4.3%.”

“The data ‘demonstrates that the Latino community is a huge and increasing part of our nation’s future,’ said Thomas Saenz, president of the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund.”

?Latinos must realize that we are the new leaders of the United States and exercise our responsibility, bringing to public policy-making the values of family, community, and cooperation passed down by our ancient indigenous ancestors.?

A Latinized America. This month, thousands of Latinos throughout the United States celebrated the independence anniversaries of several Latin American countries, including Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua, signaling an increasingly robust Latino presence and impact on American culture. Vibrant Latino communities like El Barrio in upper Manhattan, neighborhoods in Queens, Brooklyn and The Bronx in New York, Calle Ocho, Hialeah, Homestead, and Orlando, Florida to Houston-Dallas-San Antonio-Rio Grande Valley and El Paso, Texas, La Villita and Pilsen in Chicago, Barrio Logan in San Diego, East Los Angeles, The Mission in San Francisco and countless other Latino enclaves are revitalizing communities in cities and town all across the U.S.. From food, music, and language to holidays like Cinco de Mayo, traditions like Day of the Dead, and the participation of millions of Latinos in all walks of American life, Latino culture permeates the nation’s zeitgeist.

Latinos are a Powerful Workforce. The U.S. economy would suffer without Latino labor. Latinos pick the fruits and vegetables Americans eat every day. We are the nation’s builders, chefs, small business owners, nannies, teachers, maids & and janitors, gardeners, nurses, doctors, lawyers, accountants, etc. According to a September 15, 2021, U.S. Department of Labor Blog by Kevin Dubina:

?“The number of Hispanic workers in the labor force has grown from 10.7 million in 1990 to 29.0 million in 2020 today and is projected to reach 35.9 million in 2030.”

“Hispanics are projected to account for 78% of net new workers between 2020 and 2030. The U.S. labor force growth rate has slowed over the past couple of decades – and what growth has occurred is largely due to the increasing number of Hispanic workers.”

And yet, Latinos Are Behind Other Groups in Wealth-Building, Political Power, and Media Ownership and Portrayals. Despite our powerful influence on culture, the U.S. Latino community lags in generational wealth-building, political clout, and media ownership and portrayals. Too few Latinos are in decision-making positions, especially in government, media, and the financial sector.

?We Need More Latinos in Boardrooms and Finance.? A Latino Corporate Directors Association and KPMG’s Board Leadership Center study states that Latinos hold just 3.7 percent of Fortune 1000 board seats. In addition, Latinos still lag in wealth building or long-term financial security. According to a study titled “Sources of the Latino Wealth Gap in America” by UnidosUS, a Latino advocacy organization:

?“in 2017, Latino families held $20,000 in wealth compared to $175,728 held by white families.”

“Despite post-recession growth in the housing market, Latino wealth has not recovered as many Latinos still confront foreclosure, debt, and limited opportunities for affordable homeownership.” We must foster Latino economic policymakers who focus on dismantling obstacles to Latino wealth-building.”

We Need More Latinos in Government. Although, according to a December 3, 2022 Vox article titled “The next Congress will be the most representative of Latino identity ever,” the current U.S. Congress is nearly 11% Latino, the most Hispanic representation ever, Latinos in Congress are by and large rank and file members, exercising limited power to influence policy-making.

The story is the same throughout many state legislatures and local governments. For example, in Texas, Latinos recently became the largest ethnic group in the state, but they are still governed overwhelmingly by white men. According to a January 11, 2023 piece by Alexa Ura and Carla Astudillo in The Texas Tribune titled “As the share of white Texans continues to shrink, the Legislature remains mostly white and male,” only 46 Latinos served in the 2023 legislature. That number should be 73 if the Texas Legislature accurately reflected the Texas population. We must strive to elect Latinos to our governmental bodies at all national, state, and local levels. Latino elected officials will bring common sense and practicality to governance and legislate programs that help the American people based on our indigenous cultural traditions.

We Need More Latinos in Hollywood and Newsrooms. According to MPA 2021 THEME Report (page 55), Latinos outpace all other groups in per capita theatre attendance. However, Latinos are still underrepresented in Hollywood, and Latino portrayals remain negative or pathological. A May 3, 2023, Hollywood Reporter article by Christy Pi?a titled “Latin Representation in TV and Film Reverts to 2019 Levels, Study Finds,” quotes a new diversity report from the Latino Donor Collaborative, a nonprofit that researches the Latin community in the U.S.:

“According to its 2022 report, the percentage of Latin stars, co-stars, showrunners and directors all decreased from 2021 to 2022.”

“The LDC report also called attention to specific streaming and premium cable networks that had zero Latin leads across their several programs in 2022: HGTV, Discovery, TLC and HBO. Netflix had two Latin leads across its 124 series, while AppleTV+ only had one in its 44 shows.”

“In a few case studies provided in the report, season 23 of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit was randomly selected to analyze the inaccurate characterization of U.S. Latin people in mainstream media. It pointed out three ways in which the community is inaccurately represented in the series: Latin folks make up 30 percent of the New York Police Department, but there’s only one Latin officer as a co-lead in the series; the co-lead has a backstory of growing up in a violent home and was forced to work for the Mexican cartel briefly as a child; and a lot of the Latin characters in the show were cast as either criminals or victims of violent crime.”

Latinos are also underrepresented in news organizations. An October 5, 2022 CNN.com article titled “Latino representation in media industry grew by only 1% in the past decade, a new report finds,” author Jalen Brown writes:

“Latinos remain grossly underrepresented in the media industry and are significantly more likely to perform service roles, according to the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) newest report on Latino representation in film, television, and other publishing entities.”

“The GAO’s 2021 study found that Latinos make up 12% of the media workforce and 4% of industry management, despite making up 18% of the overall U.S. workforce.”

As a result, unrealistic and biased images of Latinos still abound in our media and entertainment ecosystems. We need more Latino decision-makers in mainstream media and Hollywood who will greenlight projects that celebrate Latino culture and values while eschewing obsolete media tropes portraying Latinos in a negative or condescending light.

What Keeps Us Down? ?An insidious element that inhibits many Latinos from advancement is our collective negative self-image. Five hundred years of indoctrination of European-based values drilled into generations of mestizo and indigenous Latino Americans have negatively impacted our self-image. For centuries, colonial institutions, laws, and customs were designed to deny rights and opportunities to indigenous and mestizos, while media images and official messaging denigrated those communities. As a result, many Latinos have internalized self-loathing, projecting colonial colorism and racism onto themselves. Many adopt anglicized names and dye their hair blonde, subconsciously hoping to live up to European ideals of beauty and "civilization" they can never attain while looking down on their own. I have heard Latinos disparaging their own for not living up to "American" standards. Latina mothers refer to their daughters' kinky, unruly hair as "pelo malo” (bad hair). Others who have encouraged their kids to marry white people to “improve the race.” And, we’ve all lamented many Latinos’ “crabs in a pot” “tear each other down” mentality.

Latino Values Will Save America. Latino culture is rooted in ancient pre-Colombian customs and traditions based on family, community, work, and cooperation. These values will save American culture:

1. We Work. Latinos are some of the hardest-working people in the world. The U.S. benefits from Latinos’ strong work ethic.

2. We Stay Together. Latino families stick together and weave strong family networks of support.

3. Latinas Rule. Latin women are Latino culture's social, economic, spiritual, emotional, and moral backbone. They keep families together and continue traditions.

4. We Respect our Elders. Latinos generally do not put elders in nursing homes. Latinos live in multigenerational homes where grandparents are cherished.

5. Latinos are Spiritually Connected. Latinos are religious and also spiritual, practicing many of the mystic arts. Latinos are natural environmentalists, our culture respects nature and animals.

6. Latinos don’t do daycare. Generally, Latino families don’t use daycare. Latino babies are primarily cared for by their moms and dads and a vast network of family members.

?In conclusion, Latinos, don’t wring your hands and see yourself as an outsider. You have arrived. Take your seat at the table and get to work. America is depending on us.

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Gabriel Reyes is an award-winning communications and Latino marketing expert founder of Reyes Entertainment, a boutique PR agency based in Los Angeles. The company offers multicultural and bilingual media relations, marketing and mobile solutions to a diverse roster of film, TV, celebrities and other entertainment client as well as Lifestyle Brands across the mainstream and Spanish-speaking markets.

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