Chapter 9 
Latinos: 
The Largest Minority
Hispanic Population 
• Nearly 32 million, or two-thirds of 
Hispanics in the United States: 
– Are Mexican Americans, or Chicanos 
• The majority of Hispanic adults in the 
United States worry that: 
– They, a family member, or a close friend 
could be deported 
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Latino Identity 
• Panethnicity 
– The development of solidarity between ethnic 
subgroups 
• Hispanic or Latino 
– Collective term is subject to debate 
– Latino more common in the West 
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Latino Identity 
– Hispanic more common to the East and the 
term used by federal government 
• Actions of the dominant group have an impact in 
defining cultural identity to some degree 
• Among Hispanic youth age 16–25: 
– Only a minority, about 20 percent, prefers to 
use panethnic names 
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Latino Identity 
• About 72 percent of immigrant youth are 
likely to prefer country of origin 
– Compared to 32 percent of grandchildren 
• The sharp White–Black divide is absent in 
their home countries 
– Where race, if socially constructed, tends to 
be along a color gradient 
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Latino Identity 
• Name issues/“language battles” distract 
group’s attention from working together 
• Income and education does not appear to 
influence Hispanics’ perceptions 
• Younger generation think more in 
panethnic terms 
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Latino Identity 
• Color gradient 
– The placement of people on a continuum from 
• Light to dark skin color rather than in distinct racial 
groupings by skin color 
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Borderlands 
• Borderlands 
– Refers to the area of a common culture along 
the border between Mexico and US 
• Notion of separate Mexican and US 
cultures obsolete because of 
– Legal and illegal immigration 
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Borderlands 
– Day laborers crossing the border to go to jobs 
in the US 
– Implementation of (NAFTA) North American 
Free Trade Agreement 
– Exchange of media across the border 
• Maquiladoras 
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Borderlands 
• Multinational companies found even lower 
wages in China 
– 40%+ of the 700,000 new maquiladoras jobs 
created in 1990s were eliminated by 2003 
• Immigrant workers have significant 
economic impact on home countries 
– Remittances estimated at $24 billion annually 
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Borderlands 
• Hometown Clubs 
– Typically are non-profit organizations that 
maintain close ties to immigrants’ hometowns: 
• In Mexico and other Latin nations 
– Collect money for improvements in hospitals 
and schools 
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Borderlands 
– Some states in Mexico began matching-funds 
programs 
– Inland from the borders, hometown clubs 
have sprung up in northern cities: 
• With large settlements of Mexicans 
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Economic Picture 
• Median income increased over past 25 
years 
• Gap remains between Latinos and Whites 
• Latino household earns 70 cents for every 
dollar earned by Whites 
• Low wealth is characteristic of Hispanic 
households 
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Economic Picture 
– Likely to earn less annually and have fewer 
financial resources to fall back on 
• Poverty rate reflects pattern in income 
• Beginning of 2010 
– 25.3% of Latinos were below poverty level 
compared to 9.4% of Whites 
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Economic Picture 
• Situation difficult to predict 
– As a group, poor Latinos are more mobile 
geographically 
– Half send money abroad to help relatives 
• Puts a strain on supporting themselves in the US 
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Growing Political Presence 
• Federal law requires bilingual or 
multilingual ballots in voting districts 
– Where 5% of voting-age population does not 
speak English 
• Voting turnout was poor 
– Many were ineligible – non-citizens 
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Growing Political Presence 
• 2010 
– 19% of Latinos voters have more confidence 
in the Republican agenda on immigration 
– 51% leaned toward the Democratic position 
• Factors that elicit support from politicians 
– Growing population; higher proportions of 
voter registration; higher election participation 
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Growing Political Presence 
– Less commitment to a single political party 
• Resent the fact that existence is 
rediscovered during election years 
– Little interest in between except by Latino 
officials 
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Cuban Americans 
• Cuban settlements in Florida date back to 
the early nineteenth century 
– Where small communities organized around 
single family enterprises 
• 1960 census – 79,000 Cuban born in US 
• 2010 – more than 1.7 million of Cuban 
descent in the United States 
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Cuban Americans 
• Increase followed Fidel Castro assumption 
of power after 1959 Cuban revolution 
• Three significant influxes of immigrants 
through the 1980s 
– 1st - About 200,000 came during the first 
three years after Castro came into power 
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Cuban Americans 
– 2nd – Freedom Flights; 340,000 refugees 
between 1965 and 1973 
– 3rd – 1980 Mariel boatlift is most controversial 
– “Freedom Flotilla” 
• Castro used Carter’s invitation to send prison 
inmates, patients from mental hospitals, & addicts 
• Marielitos 
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Cuban Americans 
• Wet Foot, Dry Foot Policy 
– Refers to government policy which generally 
allows Cuban nationals who manage to reach: 
• The US (“dry foot”) to remain while those picked up 
at sea (“wet foot”) are sent back to Cuba 
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Cuban Americans 
• Cuban refugees have advantage over 
other refugees in terms of public opinion 
• Issue of communism still overshadows 
attitudes about US relationship with Cuba 
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Current Picture: Cuban 
Americans 
• The influence of Cuban Americans 
– Miami area 
– In Urban centers 
• Generational relations among Cubans 
– Generational clash between cultures (parent 
and child) 
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Current Picture: Cuban 
Americans 
• Long-range perspective of Cubans in the 
US depends on several factors 
– Most important – events in Cuba 
• Refugees proclaim desire to return if communist 
regime is overturned 
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Current Picture: Cuban 
Americans 
– Cuban Americans have selectively accepted 
Anglo culture 
• Split between original exiles and their 
children 
– Children more concerned with Miami Dolphins 
than they are with Havana 
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Central and South Americans 
• Central and South Americans came from 
– historically different experiences and times 
– culturally diverse backgrounds 
• Unlike racial groupings in the United 
States they use a color gradient 
– Describing skin color along a continuum from 
light to dark 
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Central and South Americans 
– Another indicator of the social construction of 
race 
• Little in common other than hemisphere of 
origin and Spanish language 
– Other languages are Portuguese, French, and 
Dutch 
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Central and South Americans 
• Other distinctions 
– Social class distinctions 
– Religious differences 
– Urban versus rural backgrounds 
– Differences in dialects among those speaking 
same language 
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Central and South Americans 
• Central and South Americans do not form 
a cohesive group 
• Do not naturally form coalitions with 
– Cuban Americans 
– Mexican Americans 
– Puerto Ricans 
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Central and South Americans 
• Immigration has been sporadic and 
influenced by 
– US immigration laws 
– Social forces in the home country 
• War and persecution 
• Economic deprivation 
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Central and South Americans: 
The Current Picture 
• Two issues clouding recent settlement 
– Many are illegal immigrants 
• Citizens from El Salvador, Guatemala, & Colombia 
are outnumbered only by Mexican nationals 
– Brain Drain 
• Immigration to US of skilled workers, 
professionals, and technicians 
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Central and South Americans: 
The Current Picture 
• Experience high unemployment compared to 
Whites 
• Better educated than most Hispanics 
• By 2010 El Salvador, Guatemala, and 
Columbia were the top countries of origin 
– Each with at least a million present 
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Central and South Americans: 
The Current Picture 
– Success found in catering to other 
Colombians 
– Many obliged to take menial jobs & combine 
income of several families 
• To meet high cost of urban life 
– Colombians of mixed African descent face 
racial as well as ethnic and language barriers 
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Central and South Americans: 
The Current Picture 
• Future of Central and South Americans in 
the US? 
– Could assimilate over generations 
– Alternative: being trapped with Mexican 
Americans as a segment of dual labor market 
– Possibility is that they retain an independent 
identity while establishing an economic base 
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Schaefer c9

  • 1.
    Chapter 9 Latinos: The Largest Minority
  • 2.
    Hispanic Population •Nearly 32 million, or two-thirds of Hispanics in the United States: – Are Mexican Americans, or Chicanos • The majority of Hispanic adults in the United States worry that: – They, a family member, or a close friend could be deported © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 3.
    Latino Identity •Panethnicity – The development of solidarity between ethnic subgroups • Hispanic or Latino – Collective term is subject to debate – Latino more common in the West © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 4.
    Latino Identity –Hispanic more common to the East and the term used by federal government • Actions of the dominant group have an impact in defining cultural identity to some degree • Among Hispanic youth age 16–25: – Only a minority, about 20 percent, prefers to use panethnic names © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 5.
    Latino Identity •About 72 percent of immigrant youth are likely to prefer country of origin – Compared to 32 percent of grandchildren • The sharp White–Black divide is absent in their home countries – Where race, if socially constructed, tends to be along a color gradient © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 6.
    Latino Identity •Name issues/“language battles” distract group’s attention from working together • Income and education does not appear to influence Hispanics’ perceptions • Younger generation think more in panethnic terms © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 7.
    Latino Identity •Color gradient – The placement of people on a continuum from • Light to dark skin color rather than in distinct racial groupings by skin color © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 8.
    The Borderlands •Borderlands – Refers to the area of a common culture along the border between Mexico and US • Notion of separate Mexican and US cultures obsolete because of – Legal and illegal immigration © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 9.
    The Borderlands –Day laborers crossing the border to go to jobs in the US – Implementation of (NAFTA) North American Free Trade Agreement – Exchange of media across the border • Maquiladoras © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 10.
    The Borderlands •Multinational companies found even lower wages in China – 40%+ of the 700,000 new maquiladoras jobs created in 1990s were eliminated by 2003 • Immigrant workers have significant economic impact on home countries – Remittances estimated at $24 billion annually © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 11.
    The Borderlands •Hometown Clubs – Typically are non-profit organizations that maintain close ties to immigrants’ hometowns: • In Mexico and other Latin nations – Collect money for improvements in hospitals and schools © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 12.
    The Borderlands –Some states in Mexico began matching-funds programs – Inland from the borders, hometown clubs have sprung up in northern cities: • With large settlements of Mexicans © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 13.
    The Economic Picture • Median income increased over past 25 years • Gap remains between Latinos and Whites • Latino household earns 70 cents for every dollar earned by Whites • Low wealth is characteristic of Hispanic households © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 14.
    The Economic Picture – Likely to earn less annually and have fewer financial resources to fall back on • Poverty rate reflects pattern in income • Beginning of 2010 – 25.3% of Latinos were below poverty level compared to 9.4% of Whites © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 15.
    The Economic Picture • Situation difficult to predict – As a group, poor Latinos are more mobile geographically – Half send money abroad to help relatives • Puts a strain on supporting themselves in the US © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 16.
    The Growing PoliticalPresence • Federal law requires bilingual or multilingual ballots in voting districts – Where 5% of voting-age population does not speak English • Voting turnout was poor – Many were ineligible – non-citizens © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 17.
    The Growing PoliticalPresence • 2010 – 19% of Latinos voters have more confidence in the Republican agenda on immigration – 51% leaned toward the Democratic position • Factors that elicit support from politicians – Growing population; higher proportions of voter registration; higher election participation © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 18.
    The Growing PoliticalPresence – Less commitment to a single political party • Resent the fact that existence is rediscovered during election years – Little interest in between except by Latino officials © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 19.
    Cuban Americans •Cuban settlements in Florida date back to the early nineteenth century – Where small communities organized around single family enterprises • 1960 census – 79,000 Cuban born in US • 2010 – more than 1.7 million of Cuban descent in the United States © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 20.
    Cuban Americans •Increase followed Fidel Castro assumption of power after 1959 Cuban revolution • Three significant influxes of immigrants through the 1980s – 1st - About 200,000 came during the first three years after Castro came into power © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 21.
    Cuban Americans –2nd – Freedom Flights; 340,000 refugees between 1965 and 1973 – 3rd – 1980 Mariel boatlift is most controversial – “Freedom Flotilla” • Castro used Carter’s invitation to send prison inmates, patients from mental hospitals, & addicts • Marielitos © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 22.
    Cuban Americans •Wet Foot, Dry Foot Policy – Refers to government policy which generally allows Cuban nationals who manage to reach: • The US (“dry foot”) to remain while those picked up at sea (“wet foot”) are sent back to Cuba © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 23.
    Cuban Americans •Cuban refugees have advantage over other refugees in terms of public opinion • Issue of communism still overshadows attitudes about US relationship with Cuba © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 24.
    The Current Picture:Cuban Americans • The influence of Cuban Americans – Miami area – In Urban centers • Generational relations among Cubans – Generational clash between cultures (parent and child) © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 25.
    The Current Picture:Cuban Americans • Long-range perspective of Cubans in the US depends on several factors – Most important – events in Cuba • Refugees proclaim desire to return if communist regime is overturned © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 26.
    The Current Picture:Cuban Americans – Cuban Americans have selectively accepted Anglo culture • Split between original exiles and their children – Children more concerned with Miami Dolphins than they are with Havana © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 27.
    Central and SouthAmericans • Central and South Americans came from – historically different experiences and times – culturally diverse backgrounds • Unlike racial groupings in the United States they use a color gradient – Describing skin color along a continuum from light to dark © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 28.
    Central and SouthAmericans – Another indicator of the social construction of race • Little in common other than hemisphere of origin and Spanish language – Other languages are Portuguese, French, and Dutch © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 29.
    Central and SouthAmericans • Other distinctions – Social class distinctions – Religious differences – Urban versus rural backgrounds – Differences in dialects among those speaking same language © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 30.
    Central and SouthAmericans • Central and South Americans do not form a cohesive group • Do not naturally form coalitions with – Cuban Americans – Mexican Americans – Puerto Ricans © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 31.
    Central and SouthAmericans • Immigration has been sporadic and influenced by – US immigration laws – Social forces in the home country • War and persecution • Economic deprivation © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 32.
    Central and SouthAmericans: The Current Picture • Two issues clouding recent settlement – Many are illegal immigrants • Citizens from El Salvador, Guatemala, & Colombia are outnumbered only by Mexican nationals – Brain Drain • Immigration to US of skilled workers, professionals, and technicians © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 33.
    Central and SouthAmericans: The Current Picture • Experience high unemployment compared to Whites • Better educated than most Hispanics • By 2010 El Salvador, Guatemala, and Columbia were the top countries of origin – Each with at least a million present © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 34.
    Central and SouthAmericans: The Current Picture – Success found in catering to other Colombians – Many obliged to take menial jobs & combine income of several families • To meet high cost of urban life – Colombians of mixed African descent face racial as well as ethnic and language barriers © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 35.
    Central and SouthAmericans: The Current Picture • Future of Central and South Americans in the US? – Could assimilate over generations – Alternative: being trapped with Mexican Americans as a segment of dual labor market – Possibility is that they retain an independent identity while establishing an economic base © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.