Latinos in America
Who?
· A Latino is a person of Cuban, Dominican, Mexican, or South and Central American culture.
· A Latino can also be from another Spanish culture or origin.
· Latino countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Panama, Puerto Rica, Uruguay, Venezuela
· The Hispanic population in 2012 was 53 million, which is 17% of the US population.
What?
· Most of the Latinos in the United States are Mexican.
· Immigration of Latinos in the United States began after the expansion of the regional rail system in the 1870s and 1880s as U.S. employers needed to fill a demand for labor in the industry of transportation and other industries including agriculture, construction, and mining. Following a farm labor shortage due to the conscription and war mobilization during the second World War, the lobbies of U.S. employers convinced the Federal Government to ask Mexico to allow Mexicans to work in the U.S. This lead to an increase in Latino immigration. By the 1960’s, there were about 6 million of Mexicans whereas nowadays there are about 50 million
· Latinos have experienced discrimination usually because of their race and ethnicity.
· Their identity
· 74% identify themselves as American beings
· 19% identify themselves as being American and Latino
· 4% feel like America is their home country
· 2% feel like they don’t belong in America
· 2% don’t know how to identify themselves
· Discrimination rate
· 32% say they have never been discriminated
· 29% say they have been discriminated more than once
· 22% say they have been discriminated at least once
· 14% say they aren’t sure
· In America, 52% of the population of Latinos say they have experienced or witnessed discrimination because of their ethnic background or of their race.
·
· 30% of Latinos in the US lack or don't have health coverage.
· Discrimination can lead to depression (lack of self-confidence, social isolation) or cause severe problems (poverty).
When?
Frequent areas of discrimination
· Studies show that Latinos get discriminated against in schools. There is often a communication problem between teachers and parents and this leads to poor school performance and high dropout rates. A study in 2010 demonstrated that the dropout rate for Latinos was 15% compared to 7,4 % for the overall population.
· Latinos also face discrimination in the workplace. Employers may choose a white person for the job over a Latino based on race only instead of looking at the person’s experience.
· When looking for housing, Latinos feel discrimination and not treated with the same respect as others. In 2013, a study in the US show that Latino renters are informed of 12.5% fewer units and shown 7.5% fewer units than white people.
· Latinos are often discriminated against by the police because they assume that they are criminals because of their skin color.
Where?
· 22% of Latino workers have reported that they have experienced discrimination in their workplace, compared to only 6% of whites.
· Lower income
· Long hours
· Less respect
· At school
· In the community
Why?
*Why does discrimination exist against Latinos? *
· Illegal immigration to the United-States
· Political influences: politicians telling the population that Latino immigrants are dangerous and violent, that they steal jobs.
· Their culture
· Their religions
· Their race
