By Dolores Delgado-Campbell
Duane Campbell
Hispanic Heritage Month
begins in the U.S. on September 15 of each year and celebrates several of the independence struggles in
Latin America from 1810- through the 1820’s.
More about the history further
down this post, but what about this complex and at times confusing term Hispanic?
Hispanic or Latino,
refers to people in the U.S. from Puerto
Rican, South or Central American, as well as
the indigenous people of the once
dominant Spanish empire in the Americas. The majority of these people do not
call themselves Hispanic.
PEW.
The divisions and contentions
over the terms Hispanic, Latino, Mexican
Americans, Chicanos and others have complex historical antecedents. We are not
going to resolve them here- although we will suggest a operational “solution”.
On the 2010 Census form, people of Spanish,
Hispanic and/or Latino origin could identify themselves as Mexican, Mexican
American, Chicano, Puerto Rican, Cuban, or "another Hispanic, Latino, or
Spanish origin."
According to this Census, 50.5 million people or 16% of
the population are of Hispanic or Latino origin. The
2010 Census listed 33 Million Mexican-origin residents (64.9 % of all Latinos);
Puerto Ricans within the U.S .numbered 4.7 million (9.2 %); Cuban Americans 1.9
million ( 3.7 %); Salvadorans 1.8
million (3.6 %); Dominicans 1.5 million (3 %); Guatemalans 1.1 million
(2.2 %); Colombians 972,000 (1.9 %); Hondurans 731,000 (1.4%);
Ecuadorans 665,000 (1.3 %); and Peruvians 609,000 (1.2%). Each of these groups have their own identity
and historical experiences.
The development of the term
Hispanic was promoted by the Nixon administration to describe the collective
of the variety of people descendants
from Latin America. Choosing this term, however, had significant political
connotations and results. In general,
the use of Hispanic promotes the idea of a broad, inclusive Spanish
influence. At the same time it tends to
ignore the very vast ethnic and cultural influences of the millions of
indigenous people in the Americas.
Some people prefer Hispanic;
some would rather use other terms including Latino (which has its own
problems). In general Hispanic is freely
used east of the Mississippi and less so west.
(Except East Texas uses the term).
West of the Mississippi terms such as Mexican and Mexican American are
more often used. From the 1960- 1990’s,
Chicano was used to indicate a particularly
politically conscious person of Mexican American heritage. And, by the way, Northern New Mexico and
southern Colorado have their own histories and usages not described here.
In the East, the descendants
of Latin America were predominantly Puerto Rican, then Cuban, and later
Dominican- each with their own histories.
In the 1970’s refugees from Chile came in significant numbers, and in
the 80’s came Salvadorans, Guatemalans, and others.
Currently Florida has a major
new population of Venezolanos and Columbians- as does the New York region. And since the 2000’s Mexican immigrants have
spread far beyond the Southwest to Chicago, Atlanta, the Midwest, New York, and
much of the nation.
In addition to geographic
differences there are tentative class differences important to those of us on
the left. You will find Hispanic
Republican Clubs, seldom Latino Republican clubs. You will find Hispanic
Chambers of Commerce- we have never
heard of a Chicano Chamber of commerce. In the East you will have Hispanic
Legislative caucuses, and Hispanic Republican caucuses, in the California you
will find a Latino Democratic Caucus.
On Sept.10, 2014 one major organization, the National Council de
la Raza issued a statement saying this…
Today Latino leaders from
the National Hispanic
Leadership Agenda stood together at NCLR
Headquarters to express disappointment in President Obama's immigration delay.
His decision has certainly made our job of mobilizing Latino voters harder, but
as our President and CEO, Janet Murguía said today, "We are discouraged,
but we are not defeated and we must go to the polls to vote in November!"
You can see in this statement how Hispanic and Latino are used
interchangeably by persons advocating before the government.
For many on the Left and in
progressive movements the term Latino came to be used to substitute for the
Nixonian preferred Hispanic term in the
1980’s and 1990’s to describe the collection of diverse groups. Millions of
El Salvadorans, and thousands of
Nicaraguans, as well as Hondurans and Guatemalans poured into the U.S. as a
result of U.S. affiliated wars in the
region. Thus, it was no longer accurate
to describe the population of Los Angeles,
San Francisco, Seattle or Chicago
as Mexican, they were in fact diverse -Latinos. And, the above is but a brief introduction to
the issues.
So, what is a person seeking
to interact within these communities to
do? Relax. Listen to what people say about themselves. You will hear a diversity of terms, first
generation immigrants tend to use their native country- ie. I am Bolivian, or
Argentinian, while second and third generation people use the more universal
terms Hispanic or Latino. Persons who
speak only English tend to use Hispanic more while bilinguals tend to use Latino
or other terms. Note: not all Latinos
are immigrants, some come from families that were here long before the U.S. claimed the west – such
as co author Delgado-Campbell.
Identities are constructed by the individual
defining and interpreting their own experiences and their interactions with
others. A person becomes Hispanic, Chicano, or Latino, or White, or Asian
American. We learn and accept an
identity. And, for some people their identity is potentially
changing. A Pew
Hispanic Center study released in April 2012, argues that most members of this ethnic group don’t care which you call them.
But, of those that do care, “Hispanic” is preferred over “Latino” by more than
a two-to-one margin—33 percent versus 14 percent.
The same study revealed
significant regional differences as described above and it did not explore class
nor political differences.
Pew also concludes “When it comes to describing their
identity, most Hispanics prefer their family’s country of origin over
pan-ethnic terms.”
We hope that this detail
assists readers to go out and talk with your neighbors.
One caution.
Please don’t tell people how to define themselves. They can do that for
themselves. It is particularly not the
role of Whites or Anglos to define other peoples’ identities. Listen and learn.
In a book Duane wrote in 2004 and 2010, he chose to use Latino rather than Hispanic,
except when a person called himself Hispanic.
New York author and newsman Juan Gonzalez in Harvest of Empire says, “ I believe needless time has been spent by
Latino intellectuals in this country debating whether the term “Hispanic” or
“Latino best describes us. Neither is
totally accurate but both are acceptable, and I use the terms interchangeably
in this book.”
Oh. And about the history we promised.
Spain ruled most of Latin America from 1521 until 1820. The movements of independence
from Spanish rule began most notably on Sept. 15, 1810 in Dolores , Mexico with the
Grito de Dolores when Fr, Miguel Hidalgo declared Mexico’s independence from
Spain.
The war of independence in
Mexico lasted until 1821. This challenge
to Spanish power in Mexico led to the
collapse of Spanish power in the Americas with independence struggles winning in Chile,
Columbia, Venezuela , Ecuador and Peru among others. Five Latin American countries; Costa Rica, El
Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua celebrate the anniversaries of
their independence on Sept. 15.
After 1810 the
independence movements went through several stages. Many of the leaders were
imprisoned or executed by forces loyal to Spain including Fr, Hildalgo.
A notable leader in South
America was Simon Bolivar who organized and fought for over a decade to
liberate the area now part of Chile, Columbia, Venezuela and Peru. By 1820, many of the leaders went beyond a
demand for independence and took more radical positions, including the
abolition of slavery.
So, lets go out and celebrate
Latino Heritage Month.
Dolores Delgado-Campbell,
Dolores Delgado Campbell is a DSA member and
professor of women’s history and Mexican American history at American River
College in Sacramento, California. She is a Chicana, and was the Co-Chair of
DSA’s Latino Commission from 1982-2004.
Do not call
her a Hispanic.
Duane Campbell
Duane Campbell is a professor emeritus of bilingual
multicultural education at California State University Sacramento, a union
activist, and chair of Sacramento DSA.
No comments:
Post a Comment