I’ve been getting lazy with my blogs. Sometimes my blog projects are too big. Here’s one of the Latino/a posts I promised. Pay attention because you might have to learn Spanish soon. LOL!
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-=[ Between Black and White, pt. 1 ]=-
-- Ray Barretto, Together
When I lived down south, people would often express confusion about who or what I was. I was light-skinned with blue-eyes, but I spoke English/ Spanish fluently and the bulk of the people I hung out with were African Americans. I looked like a white man, but danced like a black man, and cussed you out in Spanish. LOL!
I think the Latino/a experience can inform the way race is discussed in this country. And please be assured: racial discourse in the country is nothing short of pathological. What I hope to do with the next two posts is offer a little insight and in that way lend what I feel is alternative, much-needed point of view.
For today, however, I’m just going to try to a little overview on Latino/a demographics and some introductory comments...
Masked by the controversy of the 2000 national elections (Bush’s Junta) and the historic election of President Barack Obama in 2008, was another historical revolution taking place. If the twentieth century was the “American Century,” the new century certainly points to an emerging prominence of
I should correct myself, we are not becoming, or arriving, Latino/as are a major political, economic, and cultural force in the
The existence of this paradox is one of the man y reasons why I am writing this series on Latino/as. I have written this with Latino/as in mind but also for those who possess a genuine interest in the history of Latino/a political thought and possible directions that it may take in the future. Finally, I offer this because most Latino/a youth are not taught their own history, and, if they are, this history is often biased and one-dimensional. Latino/a youth, in particular, need to have a political and historical sense of place, to be able to make sense of and become active in their social and political-economic realities. In short, my objective is to begin to raise the level of discourse of, by, and for Latino/as in the
Throughout this series, I will be sharing links and sources for those uninterested in going a little deeper. There is no way for me to address the enormity of the Latino/a condition in several relatively short blog posts. Because of this limitation, I will confine the bulk of my discussion to U.S. Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans. If I ever decide to return to my graduate studies for my doctorate, maybe I’ll consider a major foray into Latino/a political thought and philosophy, but not today. LOL Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans were first subjected to the
A demographic snapshot of these three groups shows that (20.5 million) Mexicans make up two thirds of Latino/as in the United States (32 million) and their population is increasing faster than that of any other group, including other Latino/as. There 6.6 million Puerto Ricans (11 percent of all Latino/as); 2.8 million are in the mainland US and 3.8 are on the island. There are approximately 1.5 million Cubans living in the United States (5% of all Latino/as). South Americans make up 13 percent of all Latino/as and there are 7 percent who fall under the "Other" category in the U.S. Census.
A close up of this snapshot reveals that almost one third of all Latino/as living in the following six counties or metropolitan areas: Los Angeles County, California (4.1 million); Miami-Dade, Florida (1.2 million); Cook County, Illinois (930,000); Harris County, Texas (908,053); Orange County, California (801,797); and New York City (two million). the political revolution is taking place because these human bodies are becoming active participants in the political process. furthermore, because of the age distribution of this population, there will be an increase in their portion of the electorate regardless of what happens to immigration. More to the point, voter registration among Latino/as increased by 164 percent in 1976-96 (compared to 31 percent for non-Latino/as). Voter turnout increased by 135 percent (compared to 21 percent for non-Latino/as).
To be sure, my focus will probably stop at the intersection of race. Diversity among Latino/as is not limited to national origin. As one scholar pointed out, Latino/as are the only group that proclaims its mestizaje (its mixture of races). A Latino/a can be of any race or ethnic group. In many ways, Latin America and the
In the meantime? You had better start learning how to Spicky da Spanish, muthafuckas! LOL
Hay Cariño,
Eddie
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