Civic Engagement In The Latino Community

The presence of Latino leaders in all levels of government is necessary in order to have advocates who will represent the needs of the Latino community. Although the Latino population is on the rise and quickly becoming one of the largest ethnic minorities in the United States, the ethnic and racial backgrounds of leaders in government positions are not reflective of our nation’s diversity. Leadership can be developed within the Latino community by individuals who are active participants, have strong roots in their community, and

Social workers have been historically involved in allocating resources within Latino communities. As a social service worker that forms part of the Latino community, I feel compromised with advocating for social justice on behalf of my people. To me, social justice goes beyond the desire of helping and serving unprivileged populations; it encompasses a high degree of effort and commitment towards a community that one identifies with. Dolores Huerta, a young schoolteacher in central California in the 1970s, was also compromised with bringing equality and social justice to her Latino community. After witnessing all the injustice, displacement, and hunger that children in central California were facing, Dolores Huerta abandoned her profession

Immigration from Latin America and the growth of the nation 's Latino population are two of the most important and controversial developments in the recent history of the United States. Latinos are destined to continue to have an enormous impact

Now it has become the largest racial minority in the U.S., there’s no denying the influence that Latinos have as a voting bloc. While Hispanics have more political power than they did during the Civil Rights Era, they also have new challenges. Immigration and education reforms are of key importance to the community. Due to the urgency of such issues, this generation of Chicanos will likely produce some notable activists of its own.

The presentation topic was to examine the impact of politics on Latino in United States by studying various factors such as- population, citizenship status, geographic location and age.

The American Dream for everyone alike is to prosper and succeed in a land that individuals are determined to call their own. Almost every immigrant that has entered the United States has done so in hopes of finding a better life for themselves and for their families. For most Hispanic-Americans, the goal was the same. Hispanic-Americans come from a variety of different Spanish-speaking countries. Just as the wave of immigrants from Europe came to the United States of America in the late 1800's and early 1900's, Hispanics came from places like Mexico, South and Central America, and the Caribbean Islands. Although everyone came with the same goal in mind, to make sure their families would have a better life in a new environment, each subgroup within the Hispanic community faced different circumstances once they arrived in the United States and have different definitions of what it feels like to be an American.

This research examines the disjuncture between Hispanic strength in population and Hispanic participation in politics. I examine the nature of this disjuncture: its severity, its causes, and its consequences. Hispanics currently comprise 11.2% of the U.S. population, but the Hispanic vote in the 1998 elections comprised only 4.7% of all ballots cast. The situation is even bleaker when considering Hispanic representation in Congress. Currently, less than four percent of U.S. House members are Latino. Add to that clear disjuncture the fact that two of the Hispanic Congressmen do not even possess the ability to vote and that there is not a single Hispanic Senator, and we see that

A diverse minority group of Latino and Spanish-speaking peoples has played an important part of what it means to be American and what it means to be a citizen in the United States today. Moving into the future, in order to analyze the trajectory that this group is in, we must first understand the group’s history in the United States and in territories that would become the United States. In addition, we must look at the origins of the most recent wave of Latino immigration in order to understand their current effect on American society and the intersection between both minority and majority groups. Finally, we get to the apex of this investigation: what lies in the future for Latino Americans in the United States? Although Latino

Many workers work in jobs that pay them under the table or in horrible conditions. “Latino households can expect to earn 70 cents to a dollar less than the average white person makes. Hispanic households make 12 cents to a dollar less than white non-Hispanic people” (Schaefer, 2012, P. 224). With Latinos and Hispanics working under the table, they are not making as much as they would make if they were earning a paycheck legally. Since they are also sending money home to their families they have very little left of what they do earn for themselves. “Out of the last quarter century, the proportion of Latinos in poverty has been two or three times that of white non-Hispanics” (Schaefer, 2012, P. 224). With the average American battling to stay above the poverty line, more of the Latino and Hispanic communities are below it because of the financial obstacles in the way. Latino and Hispanic populations have been rapidly growing in the United States. “In 1975 congress addressed citizens with multilingual backgrounds” (Schaefer, 2012, P. 226). Many Latino and Hispanic Americans want to become legal so they can participate in the political position of being a United States citizen. Latino and Hispanic Americans want to be able to vote in upcoming elections. Since the increase in their population and the decision of congress in 1975; more ballots are being made to be English and Spanish depending on the particular country, city or state (Schaefer, 2012, P.

Underrepresented Minorities is a big topic that I felt covering in this class was necessary, especially on the leadership viewpoint. Being part of the Latino community, we have struggles of being misrepresented, especially lately in the social media concerning Donald Trump. His comments hit home with many of us and drew many Latinos to attention that we are underrepresented as a community within the minority category.

The United States is home to over 53 million Hispanic citizens who comprise nearly 17 percent of the entire population. Despite this, Hispanic public administrators only hold 34 out of 435 Congressional seats and 4 out of 100 Senate seats. However, Hispanic leaders are making inroads into the United States political system and paving the way to represent their peers on local and national levels. In conjunction with public supporters and community groups, these professionals are inspiring the next generation of Hispanic leaders and making significant progress on administrative and political fronts.

According to Lily Galanis-Olaez (494), she examines Latinos involvements in their Children school have difficult of involving themselves in their children’s education process because the schools do not help them in effective way. She writes that “parents of Latina/o children, who have different cultural linguistic background, find it difficult of involve themselves in the child’s schooling when vehicles do not exist to encourage their participation” (Lily, 2015, p.494).

The United States of America is considered a melting pot of heritages and nationalities from all around the world. There is no official language, and no one culture all citizens abide by. Despite the fact that everyone in this country is different from one another, there is still a constant uniform citizen that has a more favorable position. This citizen is white, English-speaking, and somehow always in the front of the public sphere. In the recent years, there has been an increasingly dominant Latino presence in America. Their strength in numbers challenges there being a poster American citizen, and that that citizen will remain white. When working to assimilate to America’s “culture,” Lations seem to believe that there is one America, within which people speak a singular language and experience one culture. The pressure to assimilate stems from the white citizens of the country feeling threatened when there is a new culture and language, which they do not understand. As a result they feel personally threatened by the people who can speak both Spanish and English, and their response response involves marginalization and the obvious exclusion of Latino groups in the United States. There is a phenomenon, cultural citizenship, where Latinos perform their cultural practices to stretch their identity into the states, and practice their right to be authentic members of their community.

Community life and civic engagement are a huge responsibility of citizens, although it is not required by citizens, it is an important aspect of a proper citizen. Residents of a community have the constant responsibility of making the society around them reflect an advance in the eminence of lives in the community. The simple duty of any citizen is to give to the common good. Civic responsibilities are achieved by volunteering and choice. Volunteering, involving in positive organizations and aids, or tutoring people in certain subjects, are all ways that people can subsidize to the good of the community. Small deeds that seem to prosper someone in some way or the other is still a way of helping. To learn something from the assistance that one does to another, the deed does not have to be big, as long as the person providing the assistance is doing it with a good heart they can always acknowledge a lesson. Compassion and love is necessary in helping others. When people have the opportunity to help others they may not always get a gift in return, sometimes they may not even get a reply back. This is when the person has to realize that the purpose of helping someone is not for the thank you or the gift, but is for the satisfaction of their soul, betterment of the other, and the ability to learn a lesson. Assisting people needs to be done in a thoughtful and effective way for it to create a lasting impact on his/her self and on society itself.

Civic engagement refers to the ways in which citizens participate in the life of a community in order to improve conditions for others or to help shape the community’s future. It means promoting the quality of life in a community, through both political and non-political processes.