Politics (147)
Latinos' contributions to the development, welfare and culture of this country have been largely overlooked, and are not properly reflected in our nation's museums. But that could soon change with the creation of a museum dedicated to the diverse contributions of Latinos in America.
"A lot of folks don't realize the incredible stories of how the Hispanic influence is in everything that we experience in the United States today," said Estuardo Rodriguez, director of the Friends of the National Museum of the American Latino, the nonprofit organization leading the effort. "And the Smithsonian, as wonderful as it is, tells an incomplete story."
The National Museum of the American Latino, as it currently referred to, is a long way from breaking ground, but already it's been a hard fought battle. The idea was officially introduced through bi-partisan legislation in 2003. The commission to investigate the viability of the museum was approved by Congress in 2008, and the report affirming the need and feasibility of the museum was delivered to the president and Congress on May 5, 2011.
While the American Latino museum is not yet an official museum, it already has the support of more than 61,000 Facebook fans (more than any individual Smithsonian museum) and more than 70,000 Twitter followers, numbers that offer a glimpse into the community's demand for this museum. But even with the grassroots momentum and a host of celebrities, museum experts, and business, congressional and community leaders supporting the effort, ground won't be broken for at least 8 to 10 years under the most optimistic of timelines. READ MORE
Latino activists said Monday they are planning a national "day of action" to protest President Barack Obama and demand an end to a controversial program involving local officials in immigration enforcement.
Actions are scheduled for Tuesday in 10 U.S. cities, including Atlanta, New York, Houston and San Francisco.
"Since signaling a new course in our immigration policy a few weeks ago, President Obama has continued his aggressive persecution, jailing, and deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants who he has labeled 'criminals' and whose lives are being destroyed through traffic violations and similar minor infractions," said Roberto Lovato of Presente.org, a Latino rights organization.
Protesters want an immediate end to Secure Communities, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement program that seeks to find unauthorized immigrants who have criminal records and deport them.
Federal officials have praised the program, arguing it allows authorities to catch criminals who would otherwise fall through the cracks. But critics say it results in the deportations of immigrants who are in the United States illegally but have no criminal arrest records. READ MORE
New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez made history when she was sworn in New Year's Day as the nation's first Latina governor.
But the rising GOP star's momentous victory for the Hispanic community earned her little recognition in the national media.
Several mainstream news outlets like the Washington Post and Chicago Tribune -- even FoxNews.com -- neglected to mention her Hispanic heritage, while others such as the New York Times failed to cover the events as she took the oath during a chilly outdoor ceremony on the Santa Fe Plaza.
The apparent oversight prompted some media analysts to question why Martinez – as well as a handful of conservative Hispanics – has been left largely out of the national news spotlight.
"The media is not paying sufficient attention to the number of Hispanic conservatives who are elected to statewide offices and to Congress, especially in the western states," said Mike Gonzalez, vice president of communication at the Heritage Foundation and a former reporter for the Wall Street Journal.
"It goes against the narrative" of the "liberal media," he said, adding that the news industry has long classified Hispanics as "another liberal group."
Martinez’s story is an impressive one. The 51-year-old former district attorney, from middle class roots in El Paso, graduated near the top of her high school class before attending the University of Texas at El Paso and the University of Oklahoma College of Law. In 1996, Martinez was elected district attorney of the state’s 3rd Judicial District, which covers heavily-Democratic Doña Ana County. Touting herself as a no-nonsense prosecutor during the 2010 gubernatorial election, Martinez defeated the state’s Democratic lieutenant governor, Diane Denish.
But the Republican’s rise to statewide office garnered little attention in the national spotlight overall.
The Associated Press made note of Martinez's historic inauguration in a news wire Jan. 1, acknowledging her as the first female governor of the state, while omitting her Hispanic heritage. That story was picked up by several media outlets including the Washington Post and Chicago Tribune websites. FoxNews.com also ran the AP story that day, but Fox News Latino had covered Martinez's candidacy and victory in a series of election articles beginning in October. READ MORE
The proportion of U.S. Hispanics with college degrees in 2009 was 19.2 percent, far lower than the 41.1 percent figure for the population as a whole, which indicates an alarming lack of progress.
The situation is shown in detail by The College Completion Agenda Progress Report 2011: Latino Edition, released Friday in Miami by the College Board Advocacy & Policy Center.
The report shows that a very limited proportion of Latinos go to college and even fewer earn degrees.
All that in spite of the fact that young Hispanics make up the largest minority group in K-12 schools and is the fastest-growing student segment, according to the College Board, which represents more than 5,000 universities in the United States.
"It's a very worrying situation, very serious, but it can be fixed" because the reason for it all is the lack of information among Hispanic families, Dr. Eduardo J. Padron, president of Miami-Dade College where the report was presented, told Efe.
"College completion is a national imperative," he said. "It is the key to improving our nation's economy. Each additional person with a college credential has a significant multiplier effect on the economy."
Latino families "have to make getting a college education for their children a priority, not buying a new car or making a trip to Africa," he said.
But the way things stand, he said, only a small number of Hispanic high school graduates go to college, and a large number of those "often drop out for a lack of funds and their need to get a job." READ MORE
