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A New Day for Hispanics
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15066 |
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Section : |
SPECIAL SECTION
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| Issue
Date : |
9 / 1988 |
1,896 Words |
| Author
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Henry Cisneros
Henry Cisneros is the mayor of San Antonio. |
A new day has arrived for the Hispanic community in America. We've been through a period in which we were described as a "sleeping giant," and people talked about the eventual power of this giant when it awakened. And we've been through a period in which people talked about the Hispanic community as the largest minority of the future and about our power when that happens, sometime in the next century. What I want to discuss is the Hispanic community today.
Let me begin by citing what the Rand Corporation has concluded about minority populations in California, the most populous state in America. In the year 2000, the population of the state of California will be 46 percent minority--Hispanic, Asian, or black. In some areas, the numbers will be far greater than that. Los Angeles Country, which has some eight million people, will be 60 percent minority--the largest group, Hispanic. San Francisco County will be 65 percent minority--the largest percentage Asian. Orange County, which we think of as a bastion of traditional politics, will be 35 percent minority and better than 20 percent Hispanic. San Diego will be 40 percent minority--the largest portion, Hispanic. Imperial County, 73 percent minority; Fresno County, 52 percent minority; San Benito County, 63 percent Hispanic; King's County, 50 percent Hispanic.
But this statistic struck me more than any other: 92 percent of the people of California will live in a county that is over 30 percent minority--whether Hispanic, Asian, or black. That is a demographic wave that begins in California but sweeps across the country.
Why? Because we're living through a period where we're seeing a confluence of major forces. The lower birthrates and the aging of traditional populations contrast with the tremendous explosion of numbers, immigration, and birthrates in minority populations. This will literally change the coloration, complexion, and politics of many states--certainly, of many cities--and, indeed, of the United States.
No Second Class
I heard a young man in Dallas express his concern about this change and the role of minorities better than I've ever heard it before. He said, "We used to be second-class citizens in a first-class country. What we don't want is to become first-class citizens in a second-class country." His comment drives home a very important point. Now, as minority populations are getting larger, we find the United States saddled with a massive trade deficit, key
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