Henry Cisneros on Hispanic Influence in the Future
Talk Radio News Service Spoke to the CityView Executive and Author of LATINOS AND THE NATION'S FUTURE (Arte Público Press, 2009) About the Hispanic Second Generation Population
From Latinos: The Sleeping Giant?
Posted by Staff on June 3, 2009
By Celia Canon - Talk Radio News Service
The U.S is not responding to the needs of its Hispanic citizens even though the population of Hispanics college students in the US rises and many industries are gearing their marketing toward this changing demographic, according to former director of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Henry Cisneros.
Cisneros, now Executive Director at CityView and author of “Latinos and the Nation’s Future”, gave a speech on” Latinos and the Nation’s Future” today at the Woodrow Wilson Center.
“A very interesting phenomenon will be the growth of the second generation of Hispanic immigrants. The Pew Foundation says that this number, which is 11 million second generation Hispanics today, will be 30 million in 2030, so it will triple in 20 years or so,” said Cisneros.
Recently, the nomination of Hispanic judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court has brought many criticisms from Republicans, who argue that she is not being sufficiently patriotic because she pronounces her name with a Spanish accent.The criticism of Sotomayor has renewed the debate on immigration integration.
Tamar Jacoby, President and CEO of ImmigrationWorks USA and co-author of “Latinos and the Nation’s Future”, said “For a long time, people have said that Latinos in American politics were the sleeping giant of American politics… The reason they thought that is because they said ‘look at these people, look at these demographics’… The political participation was below the potential.”
But Jacoby rejoiced of this complete turn for the best which began with the most recent presidential election of Barack Obama, saying that “In November 2004, 7.5 million Latinos voted; In 2008, 11 million Latinos voted.”
As a consequence of this Hispanic political awakening, Cisneros says that “We will see that the make up of community schools and colleges will be decidedly different in the time period we are describing… We will see that in markets as consumer products relate to the reality of these markets.”
Cisneros added that “Many industries view the growth of Latinos and immigration as the principal basis by which they will grow.”
“The sleeping giant woke up,” said Jacoby.
To hear the entire interview, please click here.
ABOUT THE BOOK
The outgrowth of a conference involving Latino leaders and exploring the impact of the dynamic growth of the Hispanic population in the U.S., Latinos and the Nation's Future contains essays by leading scholars, civil rights leaders and other professionals on issues impacting the advancement of Latino citizens—and therefore, all U.S. citizens. Contributors include Harry P. Pachón, Tamar Jacoby, Sarita E. Brown and Elena Ríos, M.D.
Although the future is never certain, it is inevitable that the Latino community is destined to shape the future of the United States, and Cisneros contends, it is imperative that Americans accept this fact and work to harness its growth, develop its educational potential, engage its community-building energies, and transform it into the next middle class.
HENRY G. CISNEROS, former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and mayor of San Antonio, is currently the chairman of American CityVista, a company that finances inner-city workforce housing in twelve states. Previously, Cisneros was president and chief operating officer of Univision Communications in Los Angeles, the Spanish-language broadcaster which has become the fifth-most-watched television network in the nation. Cisneros earned a Bachelor of Arts and a Master's degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Texas A&M University, a Master's degree in Public Administration from Harvard University, and a Doctorate in Public Administration from George Washington University.
