Hispanics in the United States

Transcription

1 Hispanics in the United States One Identity or Many? Horowitz Associates Study Reveals That for Many U.S. Latinos, Biculturalism is Key to Self-Identity Student Name: Student Exam No.: Number of Characters: 54,315 (exclusive of blanks) Exam Title: Bachelor Assignment To fremmedsprog, Kultur-Int 2e Name of Supervisor: Hanne Tange

2 Abstract Spanish-speaking people in the United States are categorized as an ethnic group because of their shared Spanish language. Therefore, my question is: Do Hispanics in the United States have one identity or many can they be seen as one homogeneous group because they happen to have the Spanish language in common or does the group consist of many individual groups? I will look at how Hispanics are identified as a minority in the United States and how it coincides with the perception of identity of the group itself, focusing on Mexicans, Puerto Ricans and Cubans. This paper looks at the identity of Hispanics/Latinos, an ethnic minority group in the United States, in the context of two opposing scientific approaches to defining a social group which are represented by Samuel P. Huntington (positivist tradition) and Richard Jenkins (social constructivist) respectively. Huntington s classical positivist/functionalist approach is represented by his works Clash of Civilizations? and The Hispanic Challenge, whereas Richard Jenkins is represented by his social constructivist approach in his work Rethinking ethnicity: identity, categorization and power and his book Social Identity! I must conclude that Hispanics are not just one group with a common language. Hispanics come from a variety of different countries (and many identify first with that country) which were colonized by the Spanish and of which I have only looked at the three largest groups. There are differences in racial composition, language, age, and religious practices, although some are similar. Reverting to Huntington and his fears of being overpowered by hordes of Hispanics who do not want to assimilate into the American mainstream, a more diverse picture emerges of young people who initially identify mostly with their family s country of origin but largely adopt an American identity after the third generation. Also of people who come to take part in the American Dream. They work, send their kids to school, and after three generations they speak and write English as well as other Americans while still retaining their cultural ties and negotiating a bilingual identity. Moreover, they seem to be racializing their pan-ethnic label and adopting it as a new racial identity, while also renegotiating and claiming their own kind of whiteness. I

3 Table of Contents 1 Introduction Problem Statement Method Definitions and Delimitations Theory - Positivism versus Social Constructivism The Positivist Tradition The Social Constructivist View History and Traits of the United States History and traits of the Hispanic Minority Mexicans Puerto Ricans Cubans Analyses of Dimensions of Group Identity Race Country of Origin Language Age Religion Conclusion II

4 1 Introduction The way we describe the identity of social groups depends on how we see the world and more specifically, on our scientific approach. On the one hand, in the positivist/functionalist tradition, scientists prefer to look at social groups by defining what they see (as in what is positively there) and tend to use science to neutrally reveal the objective characteristics that are specific to a group and which distinguishes it from similar groups. An example is Geert Hofstede s work in the field of intercultural communication. In his view, culture is not an essential element, but rather an obstacle to be overcome in order to get ones own message across (Holm, 2011, p. 42). This approach can be described as the classical conservative view of the world where a people is unified in a nation and (ideally) bonded together by common culture and traditions (Holm, 2011, p. 186). On the other hand, modern social constructivists see identity in social groups as something that is constantly created, negotiated and recreated through social interaction between different groups and group members. Social identity is not static but changes depending on the situation, the context, which groups we choose to belong to and the groups that we are placed in by others (Jenkins, 1994, p. 209). This paper will look at the identity of Hispanics or Latinos (hereafter referred to as Hispanics), an ethnic minority group in the United States. The two ways of defining a social group is represented by Samuel P. Huntington (positivist tradition) and Richard Jenkins (social constructivist) and their theories will be presented later. According to the latest census from 2010, the Hispanic population In the United States had surpassed 50 million people and constituted 16 percent of the American population (total of 309 million). It is the fastest growing minority in the United States, responsible for half of the total population growth between 2000 and 2010, and is expected to account for 25 percent of the population by 2050 (Ennis, et al., 2011, p. 2). This high growth rate is attributed partly to high fertility and partly to continued immigration. As a natural consequence, the Hispanic minority is younger than the white Anglo-American majority which is aging steadily. The median age for Hispanics is only 27 years whereas it is 42 years for non-hispanics (Pew Hispanic Center, 2012, p. Table 9). Because of their rapidly growing numbers, Hispanics are demanding increasing interest 1

5 from politicians and marketers who are interested in finding out how to profit from the patronage of this group s future potential, both in terms of an important future work force, political votes, and also as a powerful consumer group, which has already reached a purchasing power of over $ 1 trillion (Fahmy, 2010). Others warn against the challenge of unchecked immigration, and possible demise to traditional American society, if Hispanics are allowed to change the definition of American identity, claiming the group does not readily assimilate into the American mainstream and give up its original ethnicity or language, like earlier waves of immigrants from other parts of the world. This is why I found it interesting to try to determine how Hispanics see their own identity and how it might change over time, i.e. first to consecutive generations of immigrants? 1.1 Problem Statement Spanish-speaking people in the United States are categorized as an ethnic group because of their shared Spanish language. Therefore, my question is: Do Hispanics in the United States have one identity or many can they be seen as one homogeneous group because they happen to have the Spanish language in common or does the group consist of many individual groups? I will look at how Hispanics are identified as a minority in the United States and how it coincides with the perception of identity of the group itself. 1.2 Method For statistical information, my main references are the Census Briefs from the US Census Bureau census These reports contain information based on statistics gathered from the entire American population in the latest decennial census of The US Census Bureau collects data for the Office of Management and Budgets. Censuses are performed every 10 years (mandated by the US Constitution) mainly for redistricting purposes, but the information is also used as a basis for policy decisions (Ennis, et al., 2011, p. 16). Census data are a reliable source of statistic information, because it reflects the actual numbers at the time of the collection of the census data. Another important source is the Pew Hispanic Center which produces reports on many topics related to the Hispanic ethnic group based on tabulations of the decennial census numbers as well as the annual American Community Surveys, and the Latino National Survey of 2006, which is the largest survey of Hispanics outside the census. The surveys update the most recent census 2

6 data based on questionnaires answered by a representative portion of the population, which can be less accurate and subject to errors. Surveys also tabulate and interpret census data which allows for deeper analysis. For background information, I have read David Nye s book on American society: Contemporary American Society, The National Research Council s book on Hispanics and the American Future: Multiple Origins, Uncertain Destinies, Professor Carlisle s volume I: The Hispanic Americans from the series Multicultural America. Also, the encyclopedia: Hispanic American Religious Cultures, in two volumes has given valuable insights about the Hispanic group s religious and historical background. Other materials have included articles retrieved from the Internet on the multicultural economy, buying power, immigration reform, newspaper articles, a book relating immigrant Hispanic teenagers experiences in America: Growing up Latino. For theory, I have chosen the opposing views of positivism and social constructivism as represented by Samuel Huntington and Richard Jenkins respectively. I selected my dimensions on identity from Miller McPherson et al s paper on homophily in social networks. 1.3 Definitions and Delimitations There is a vast material of information available about the Hispanic minority in the United States and there are many interesting topics that might be included, which would be impossible due to time and space restraints in this report. With regards to Hispanics in the United States, the first that springs to mind is immigration, illegal immigration and immigration reform. There may be references to illegal immigration, but the topic will not be explored in this paper. Neither will I explore the socio-economic status of Hispanics in depth in this paper or analyze the Hispanic group in terms of political affiliation or electorate or as a consumer group. The topic of my paper is the identity of the Hispanic minority in the United States in the definition used for the 2010 Census. The US Census Bureau definition was: Hispanic or Latino refers to a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race (Ennis, et al., 2011, p. 2). It also states specifically that Hispanic does not refer to race as people of Hispanic origin may be of any race. The Three Main Groups of Hispanics Hispanics from three countries of origin represent more than three-quarters, or 38.2 million, out of a total of 50.5 million Hispanics. 63 percent self-identified as being of Mexican, 9.2 percent as Puerto Rican, and 3.5 percent as of Cuban origin (Ennis, et al., 2011, p. 3). For the purpose of this 3

7 paper, I am going to concentrate on these three groups. It should be noted that the Puerto Rican minority in this report only refers to those who live in the 50 states and Washington D.C. (unless otherwise indicated) and not to the population of the island of Puerto Rico itself which is home to another 3.7 million, even though they are American citizens (Ennis, et al., 2011, p. 11). Native born refers to people born in the United States or in other countries by at least one American parent. Foreign born refers to people born outside of the United States by parents who are not citizens. Foreign born is also used for Puerto Ricans born on the island of Puerto Rico because it has a predominantly Spanish culture and Puerto Ricans immigrating to the United States share more similarities with other foreign born Hispanics, according to the Pew Hispanic Center (Taylor, et al., 2012, p. 6). Dimensions of Group Identity In the paper Birds of a Feather: Homophily in Social Networks, the authors explain how similarity breeds connection, is a basic organizing principle (McPherson, et al., 2001, p. 416), and therefore people s networks tend to consist of people like themselves who reinforce their own identity but also limits their outlook, restricts the information they receive and determines their attitudes and experiences in the world (McPherson, et al., 2001, p. 415). Miller McPherson et al. have identified the following factors as being important to the formation of homophily: Race, ethnicity, age, religion, education, occupation and gender. This paper will focus on the following dimensions to try to determine the identity of the Hispanic population of the three largest groups: race, is one of the biggest divides in social networks in the United States, according to McPherson (McPherson, et al., 2001) and it is important because Hispanics are of several races. Country of origin, this is an important marker of ethnic identity and Hispanics come from different countries. Language is included because it is one of the most important dimensions of ethnic identity and a marker of assimilation, which is relevant for the identity of Hispanics in America. Age, is important for the characteristics of group affiliation (children, working age, retirees). Religion, because religious convictions determine belonging to social networks and often determines religious homophily in marriage partners. Hispanic/Latino Both Hispanic and Latino are used to describe the ethnic group of Spanish origin by the United States Census Bureau (Ennis, et al., 2011, p. 1) and 51% of Hispanics do not prefer one over the other when asked. To keep it simple, for this paper, I will use the term Hispanic which will cover 4

8 both Hispanic and Latino, as surveys show that 33 % of the rest, when asked, say they prefer Hispanic (Taylor, et al., 2012, p. 10). Structure As a background to understanding the construction of the identities in American ethnic groups, I will first give a short history of the United States, founded and represented by the white English speaking majority as well as an account of the shared Spanish history of the countries of origin of the Hispanic minority. Then I will give a description of the three largest Hispanic groups. For each of the dimensions of identity, I will identify the characteristics of the three individual groups: Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans and compare them with the group identity assigned to the category by the American government. From the result of the analyses of the different dimensions, I will determine whether Hispanics in the United States can be viewed as one single homogeneous group or whether indeed they are a heterogeneous group placed into one ethnic category. But first, let me introduce the theories that I have chosen for my paper. 2 Theory - Positivism versus Social Constructivism 2.1 The Positivist Tradition The positivist/functionalist tradition focuses on groups as something objective and scientists in this tradition tend to define social groups by what they see (as in what is positively there) and tend to use science to neutrally reveal the objective characteristics that are specific to a group and which distinguishes it from similar groups. Dahl explains Edward Hall s view that functionalists see cultures as barriers which obstruct the perfect communication between nation groups and which must be overcome in order to get the message across. Scientists must therefore try to predict how culture will influence communication. (Dahl, n.d., p. 2). The positivist tradition represents the classical conservative view of the world with nation states and a homogeneous group of citizens who ascribe to a shared culture and traditions. Cultural essentialism involves viewing the world in cultural territories and borderlands. Dr. Samuel P. Huntington, American political scientist, represents the positivist view which declares that cultures must not and do not change. In 2004, he published The Hispanic Challenge (Huntington, 2004), an article in the journal Foreign Policy, where he decries the persistent inflow of Hispanic immigrants, who refuse to assimilate as earlier immigrants from Europe did. He declares that the American identity is based on Anglo-Protestant values and the 5

9 English language; and that it should remain that way. Therefore, he goes on, The United States national identity, like that of other nation-states, is challenged by the forces of globalization and poses the question: Will the United States remain a country with a single national language and a core Anglo-Protestant culture? (Huntington, 2004, p. 32). He warns of the danger that traditional American culture will eventually be splitting into two (Anglo and Hispanic) and two languages (English and Spanish)? He points out how the Hispanic culture and the Spanish language are taking over, especially in the Southwest, receiving many Central American immigrants; and in Miami, Florida, where exile Cubans have founded a parallel Spanish-speaking society, wielding a substantial political influence on national government (Huntington, 2004, p. 42). We can see Dr. Huntington s positivist legacy in his famous work The Clash of Civilizations (Huntington, 1993) in the way that he focuses on group homogeneity, if not in national groups, then as groups within a homogeneous civilization sharing religion, language, culture, and traditions. Here, he predicts that the main future conflicts will be, not between nation states, but rather between civilizations, especially at the so-called fault lines (Huntington, 1993, p. 23), which represent the boundaries where civilizations overlap. Latin America is defined as a civilization (based on the fact that religion is the most important marker of civilizations; it is Christian although mainly Roman Catholic), and he recommends that countries in this civilization, which are close to the culture of the West, be incorporated into the West societies. In Huntington s view, the traditional American culture has come under assault by the doctrines of multiculturalism and diversity (Huntington, 2004, p. 32). To him, there is no other dream than the original American dream created by an Anglo-Protestant society. Mexican Americans will share in that dream and in that society only if they dream in English. (Huntington, 2004, p. 45). This point of view makes Huntington relevant to my topic, since his positivist view calls for the Hispanic ethnic group to assimilate into the mainstream American society adopting the creed, Protestant values (if not the religion) and language of the original founders and giving up their own ethnicity in return for joining in the American Dream. Opposed to the cultural essentialist view of the positivists, we find another view, namely one of social constructivism. 2.2 The Social Constructivist View The social constructivists believe in individuals power of defining and redefining their cultural identities in a multicultural society. The social constructivist view is represented by social anthropologist Richard Jenkins in this paper, especially his work on ethnicity: Rethinking ethnicity: identity, categorization and power (Jenkins, 1994). According to the social constructivist view, social identity is something that is developed, and changes over time, through 6

10 our interactions with others (Jenkins, 1994, p. 209). It is the result of groups which we choose to belong to and also of categories that we are placed into by others, e.g. authorities or people in power. Especially, Jenkins theory on social categorization is useful when looking at the ethnic identity of the Hispanic population in the United States. He explains that ethnic identity depends on processes of social categorization and goes on to list ten contexts: routine public interaction, sexual relationships, communal relationships, membership of informal groups, marriage and kinship, market relationships, employment, administration allocation, organized politics, official classification (Jenkins, 1994, p. 210). These processes of ethnic categorization occur in social settings at varying degrees of formality and informality and are mostly negative or stigmatizing in nature (Jenkins, 1994, p. 210). Jenkins theory explains that external categorization contributes to group identity formation because the categorization by a more powerful group is an intervention in the categorized group s social world which will change the group s experience of living in it. (Jenkins, 1994, p. 217). He argues that this happens because of internalization which is explained as the categorized group assimilating the identity assigned by the more powerful group into its own and he goes on to list five possible ways (Jenkins, 1994, p. 216) that this might happen: Validation (if own identity is reinforced), cultural change (language, culture as result of inter-ethnic contact), legitimate authority (degree of participation), physical force or threat (exercise of power), resistance (strife for autonomy of self-identification). There is a difference between power and legitimate authority at play, but according to Jenkins, the internalization is also dependent on the distinction between the nominal and the virtual dimensions (Jenkins, 1994, p. 202) of ethnicity, where the nominal is the name and the virtual the experience of what it means to have that name. Self-identification we are what we are must be validated by an audience of outsiders or others. (Jenkins, 1994, pp ). According to Jenkins, Race and racism is one of the most powerful processes of social categorization and admits that relationship to ethnicity is not well explained. Before I go on to analyze the identity of the Hispanic ethnic group, I am going to provide a short account of American history as a background for understanding the formation of Hispanic identity. 7

11 3 History and Traits of the United States The United States was initially settled in the s, beginning from the Northeast, by Protestant immigrant groups fleeing the persecution of Europe during the Reformation. There were the Puritans from England who came to Boston in 1630, the English Quakers who came to Pennsylvania. The Mennonites and the Amish from Central Europe also settled in Pennsylvania in the 1680s and the English Shakers who came in (Nye, 2009, p. 199). All these groups were deeply religious Protestants who dreamed of creating a better society in the New World. This dream is deeply ingrained in modern American identity in the notion of building an admirable city upon a hill which other societies would imitate. (Nye, 2009, p. 199). The independent country, the United States of America, was founded after the original 13 colonies revolted against Britain and won the war for independence. Three important documents laid the foundation for the new nation: The Declaration of Independence (1776), The Constitution (1787), and the Bill of Rights (1791) (Nye, 2009, p. 22). During the 19 th and 20 th centuries, immigrants kept arriving. Northern Europeans, similar to the original immigrants from England, but also large numbers of people from continental Europe and Ireland arrived. These latter groups were somewhat different culturally and also were not usually Protestant but rather Roman Catholic, and Orthodox. Around the turn of the 20 th century immigration from Latin American was picking up speed as well as from Asia, Canada and other countries (Nye, 2009, p. 30). Modern American society is made up of several different races and ethnicities and Americans take pride in that their society is a multicultural one where ethnic heritage is celebrated. The Federal government protects the rights of minority groups and regions, but also ensures a national front towards to rest of the world (Nye, 2009, p. 222). Ethnic intermarriage is on the rise although racial mix is less common. (Nye, 2009, p. 221).The majority of Americans are of white and mostly of European descent. The United States of America has been a multicultural society from the beginning as it is a nation made up of immigrants from all over the world. At the time of the 2010 census, the American population numbered almost 309 million. The US Census Bureau, relying on self-identification, breaks down the population into the races: White (72.4 percent), Black (12.6 percent), Asian (4.8 percent), Indian (0.9 percent), Islander (0.2 percent), Some Other Race (6.2 percent), and Two or More Races (2.9 percent). Hispanics or Latinos (of any race) make up 16.3 percent of the total population (see appendix 1). 8

12 Americans share some common characteristics. Nye lists the following: restless individualism (Nye, 2009, p. 223) defined by the idealization of always being on the move to new and (hopefully)better experiences, homes, jobs and the possibilities for new beginnings for everyone. Material well-being is also listed as another trait, although this is mainly true for the white majority of the population, whereas things look quite different for poor members of the society (Nye, 2009, p. 226). Nye also explains that saving time is important and work is more important than food, so Americans often do a number of other things while eating, i.e. watch television, work, read etc. (Nye, 2009, p. 227). Even though very individualistic and taking pride in being selfmade, this trait is balanced by the need to part of a whole and be accepted by others. (Nye, 2009, p. 231). In all, there seems to be many contradictory values at play in the American mind: individualism versus communalism, equality versus hierarchy, regional versus national, white versus black, multiculturalism versus the melting pot, the future versus the exotic past, America versus Europe to name a few (Nye, 2009, p. 232). 4 History and traits of the Hispanic Minority The new continents of the Americas were first discovered in 1492 by Christopher Columbus on a journey financed by the catholic Spanish king Felipe II and his queen Isabella. With the blessing of the Pope, the Spanish conquistadors colonized a vast part of South America (the territories that are now Spanish speaking), Central America, Mexico, including the American Southwest (from 1539) and most of the Southeast (where Florida was first explored in 1513). During the 16th and 17th centuries, Spain became the largest empire in the world based on the riches of gold and silver from its American colonies. The Spanish armada (naval fleet) ruled the Atlantic, protecting its merchant ships on the trade routes between the Spanish peninsula and America. So, Spain had a presence in the New World 100 years before the British and for 300 years they ruled the areas (including vast present day US territories) imposing Catholicism as the uniform religion. (Nye, 2009, p. 198). Much of the indigenous inhabitants were either slaughtered or enslaved and decimated by common illnesses like the flu and other pathogens unknown in this part of the world (Miguel A. De La Torre, 2009, p. 13). Central America was home to great civilizations i.e. the Aztecs and the Mayas who were indigenous American Indians. In the Caribbean, large numbers of African slaves were imported to work on the sugar cane plantations. This resulted in a difference in the population of the regions in the New World, where the indigenous population of Central America blended with Spanish heritage to produce a large mestizo population ( mestizaje - mixture of Indian and Spanish) (Miguel A. De La Torre, 2009, p. 351) whereas the Caribbean 9

13 islands with many African slaves produced the mulatto mix (between African and Spanish) (Miguel A. De La Torre, 2009, p. 352). About half of all Hispanics today, were born and have lived in the US all their lives and some in the southwest as well as on the island of Puerto Rico, can trace their ancestry back to before it was US territory or before the Mexican-American war which ended in 1848 and the Spanish American war in 1898, respectively. After the Civil War ( ) ended, and aided by the completion of the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1876, the move to the West picked up speed and the original Hispanic population in the South western states of California, Arizona, and Texas quickly became outnumbered by the incoming white Anglo-American settlers. This meant marginalization and loss of political and cultural influence. Only New Mexico maintained a majority of Spanish speaking residents until the 1890s. (Carlisle, 2011, p. 67). In the 1950s, there were fewer than 4 million Hispanics residing in the US. Today, they have become the largest minority group larger than blacks. (Nye, 2009, p. 31 and 42). In 2010, the geographical distribution of Hispanics showed that 41 percent lived in the West, another 36 percent lived in the South, 14 percent lived in the Northeast, and the remaining 9 percent lived in the West (Ennis, et al., 2011, p. 4). 4.1 Mexicans Mexicans originate from the country of Mexico located in Central America, just to the south of the United States. As can be seen in The Hispanic Population: 2010 (Ennis, et al., 2011), the Mexican origin population numbered 31.8 million in the 2010 census. It is by far the largest Hispanic group in the United States and accounts for 63 percent of the total Hispanic population. The Mexican group also grew by the largest number, namely 11.2 million, equivalent to an increase of 54 percent, since the last census in year When asked about race, the majority (52.8 percent) of the Mexican population said they were White, 0.9 percent identified as Black, 1.4 percent as Indian, 0.3 percent said they were Asian. The second largest category among Mexicans was 39.5 percent who cited Some other Race and finally 5 percent who said they were of Two or more Races. According to the American Community Survey of 2009, the Hispanic population of Mexican origin is the youngest of all the Hispanic populations. and had a median age of only 25 (Dockterman, 2011b, p. 1). About half of Mexicans was born in the United States and the other half was born 10

14 abroad. In 2011, the Pew Hispanic Center cited that there were 5.8 million legal Mexican-born immigrants in the United States and also an estimated 6.5 million unauthorized illegal immigrants from Mexico. (Passel, et al., 2012, p. 8). This constitutes 58% of the total of 11.2 million illegal immigrants. Since the 1990s, considerable measures have been taken to tighten immigration laws to curb the illegal immigration from Mexico (Carlisle, 2011, p. 186). According to a recent report on Mexican migration, the large wave of immigrants of the past decades has only been equaled, if not exceeded by the large numbers of Germans and Irish in the late 19 th century (measured as a percentage of the immigrant population at the time). (Passel, et al., 2012, p. 8). Compared with other foreign-born residents of the U.S., Mexican-born immigrants are younger, less educated and less likely to speak English very well, according to tabulations from the 2010 American Community Survey. Many Mexicans come to the Southwestern United States where they benefit the economy by taking on low-paid jobs as laborers for factories and farms (Carlisle, 2011, p. 164). Only a quarter of foreign born Mexicans (23%) are U.S. citizens, in large part because most Mexican immigrants are unauthorized and not eligible for citizenship; by comparison, a slight majority of immigrants from all other countries (52%) are citizens. Even without counting the unauthorized immigrants, legal Mexican immigrants have lower rates of naturalization than other immigrants (Passel, et al., 2012, p. 36). 4.2 Puerto Ricans The Caribbean Island of Puerto Rico became a US colony after Spain lost the Spanish-American war in Puerto Ricans are born US citizens, since they were granted US citizenship in 1917 and the first governor of Puerto Rico, Luís Muñoz Marín, was elected in (Carlisle, 2011, p. 133). Since 1952, its status has been the commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Carlisle, 2011, p. 142). During the 1940s and 1950s, large numbers of Puerto Ricans left the island and migrated to the US where they mainly settled in the Northeast. Puerto Ricans in New York developed their own distinct ethnic culture which is called Nuyorican a combination of the two identities of New York and Puerto Rican. (Carlisle, 2011, p. 134) Which was closer to the ethnic black culture in New York. Puerto Ricans in the bigger cities formed activist groups to help their communities and newly arrived immigrants with problems with discrimination, education, housing and better jobs (Carlisle, 2011, p. 165). Nuyoricans, in the 1970s, succeeded in demanding bilingual ballots on 11

15 grounds of discrimination against native-born Americans with Spanish as their first language. (Carlisle, 2011, p. 165) Data from the US census 2010 show that there were 4.6 million Puerto Ricans, which is 9.2 percent of all Hispanics and makes this the second largest Hispanic group living in the 50 states and D.C. whereas another 3.7 million lived on the island (Lopez & Velasco, 2011, p. 1). At present, there are more Puerto Ricans living on the mainland than on the Caribbean island itself. Because Puerto Ricans are US Citizens by birth, they do not face the same status problems as other Hispanic immigrants. In De la Torres account, Puerto Ricans have long tried to find their cultural, national and religious identity out of the meeting between indigenous, African and Spanish cultures. (Miguel A. De La Torre, 2009, p. 470). 4.3 Cubans Cuba was also a Spanish colony until 1898 when Spain lost this territory in the Spanish American war. The war was presented as being a battle against Spanish colonialism and to help Cuban freedom fighters break free from Spanish oppression represented by outdated feudalism and tradition (Nye, 2009, p. 120). Cuban immigration started after the war, where successful business owners moved mainly to New York and some to Florida. After Fidel Castro took power in Cuba in 1959, a large wave of political refugees came to Florida during the 1960s (Tienda & Mitchell, 2006, p. 22). Later, Castro allowed 125,000 refugees to leave in the so-called Mariel Boat lift in the 1980s (Carlisle, 2011, p. 171). The so-called Marielitos, were poorer people without higher education or job training and many were of Afro-Cuban descent, which caused racial tensions with the local African-Americans and resulted in riots in the city of Miami (Carlisle, 2011, p. 172). In the 1990s, there was another wave of balseros (rafters) who floated across the Caribbean to escape communist rule. Cubans have been better received in the United States than other Hispanics and had better access to becoming US citizens. They are the group of Hispanics that tend to have better jobs, incomes, and higher education (Carlisle, 2011, p. 172). In the Miami area, Cubans have recreated their homeland in Little Havana and Cubans enjoy considerable political power and dominate the area economically and politically (Tienda & Mitchell, 2006, p. 22). Carlisle also states that, the first political refugees that arrived in Miami from Cuba, where primarily wealthy, white, and well-educated people who were able to help later waves of arrivals. They have founded neighborhood communities which maintain the cultural 12

16 heritage of their Cuban homeland with regards to customs, religion, food, music, and the Spanish language. Because of their exceptional concentration in Miami, Cuban-Americans have been able to use their political power to pressure the US government to keep sanctions against Cuba in place for as long as Castro is in power. (Carlisle, 2011, pp ). This is part of the work of the influential Cuban American National Foundation founded in Miami in the 1970s (Miguel A. De La Torre, 2009, p. 170). According to the US Census 2010, the Cuban population was 1.8 million which made it the 3 rd largest group of Hispanic origin representing almost 3.5 percent of the total Hispanic population in the United States (Hispanic Pop 2010, p. 3). De la Torre relates how Cuban Americans have founded numerous private schools, many Catholic, whose leaders were expelled by the Castro regime or fled religious oppression. This has been an important way for Cubans to keep a sense of shared history and memory of their country s culture and religion, while integrating into American society (Miguel A. De La Torre, 2009, p. 170). De la Torre notes how Cubans have struggled with identity and what it means to be bicultural and how new generations will have to redefine themselves with regards to their own society and how to fit into the society of a white North American majority (Miguel A. De La Torre, 2009, p. 171). 5 Analyses of Dimensions of Group Identity What is the Hispanic group s own perception of identity and is this identity the result of a label attributed by the surrounding society in an attempt to separate them from us? Does the label create the group where there was no obviously homogeneous group to begin with? Just immigrants from different countries, who happen to share a distant Spanish history, including Spanish ancestry (or any mixture thereof) the Castilian language, and a predominantly Catholic religious point of view, to name the most important ones! The rhetoric about Hispanics is often colored by the fact that Mexican immigrants account for the overwhelming majority of Hispanics in the US and also for 6.5 million of the 11.2 million unauthorized immigrants (Passel, et al., 2012, p. 8). I will now proceed to the discussion of each of the selected dimensions of group identity selected earlier, determining the specifics for each of my selected subgroups: Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans. 13

17 5.1 Race As De la Torre explains, Hispanics are often seen as unwelcome and not belonging due to the race-conscious culture of the United States. Historically, people of mixed races have been viewed as inferior by white Anglo-Americans and being non-white has meant being at a disadvantage in American society (Miguel A. De La Torre, 2009, p. 27). In the Spanish colonies, as the white Spaniards mixed with the indigenous Indians of Central America and with the African slaves imported to the Caribbean island colonies, the result was different degrees of mestizos and mulatos. All the while the colonist Spaniards maintained the notion of white supremacy in a strict hierarchy in society which categorized people in terms of skin color and ancestry, mulatez i.e. varying degrees of whiteness (Miguel A. De La Torre, 2009, p. 20). The US Census Bureau used 7 categories for race in the 2010 census, namely: White (White), Black (Black or African American), Indian (American Indian and Alaska Native), Asian (Asian), Islander (Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander), Some Other Race (Some Other Race), Two or More Races (Two or More Races). In addition two ethnicities: Hispanic and Non- Hispanic. Most individuals in the group of Hispanic descent further identified themselves as being of one race (95.5 percent), with the following distribution: White alone (64.1 percent), Some Other Race (28.1 percent), Black alone (2 percent), Indian (0.9 percent) Asian (0.3 percent, Islander (0.1 percent). Only 4.5 percent reported Two or More Races and often in combination with Some Other Race (Pew Hispanic Center, 2012, p. Table 3). Mexicans reported the following: one race (95 percent), White alone (52.8) Some Other Race (39.5 percent), Black alone (0.9 percent), Indian (1.4 percent) Only 5 percent reported Two or More Races. Puerto Ricans had the following distribution: one race (91.5 percent), White alone (53.1) Some Other Race (27.8 percent), Black alone (8.7 percent), Indian (0.9 percent). 8.7 percent reported Two or More Races. Cubans reported: one race (96.3 percent), White alone (85.4) Some Other Race (5.8 percent), Black alone (4.6 percent), Indian (0.2 percent). 3.7 percent reported Two or More Races. 14

18 The largest Hispanic category involving multiple races was: White and Some Other Race (1.6 million). In this category, 65 percent of Hispanics reported White and Some Other Race, 10 percent White and Black, 9 percent White and American Indian, and 6 percent White and Asian (Hixson, et al., 2011, p. 7). According to the US Census Bureau, New York and Los Angeles had the largest number of multiple-race whites (Hixson, et al., 2011, p. 14). Race is one of the biggest divides in the American society and creates strong homophily in networks (McPherson, et al., 2001, p. 420). Jenkins explains racial differentiation as a historical form of ethnicity where one ethnic group may dominate another by categorization referring to their inherited unchangeable inferiority (Jenkins, 1994, p. 209). Hispanic parents and children tend to describe themselves differently with regards to race. Whereas the older generation primarily identifies as white their children tend to identify as multi-racial. (Tienda & Mitchell, 2006, pp ). Tienda and Mitchell sees this development as an indication that Hispanic self-identity is changing in a shift towards multiracial in the next generation and suggests that the ethnic category of Hispanic is shifting into a racial category. (Tienda & Mitchell, 2006, p. 45). This shift could be explained in Jenkins theory as an example of external ethnic categorization by the government for statistical purposes which is internalized by the labeled group (Jenkins, 1994, p. 217). 5.2 Country of Origin The American Community survey of 2010 lists 50.7 million Hispanics in the United States, and further breaks them down to 31.9 million native born and 18.8 million foreign born (Pew Hispanic Center, 2012, p. Table 1). Of these, Mexicans accounted for 63 percent, Puerto Ricans for 9.2 percent and Cubans for 3.5 percent. The remaining 24.3 percent came from 17 other countries in Central and South America, and Spain. In a new national bilingual survey of Americans with Spanish roots, a majority, or 51 percent of the respondents, said that they most often identity themselves by their family s country of origin, saying they are Mexican, Puerto Rican or Cuban etc., whereas only 24 percent said they prefer a pan-ethnic label (Hispanic/Latino). (Taylor, et al., 2012, p. 9). The share of Hispanics that identified themselves by the term American was 21 percent for native born group. 15

19 However, if we look at the numbers who identify by their family s country of origin by generation, it turns out that 62 percent of the first generation of Hispanics identify by their country of origin. This share falls to 43 percent by the second generation and to 28 percent once we get to the third or higher generation of Hispanic immigrants. As identification by country of origin falls, so the shares of immigrants who identify as Americans grow correspondingly. Only 8 percent of first generation immigrants say that they identify themselves as American. This share grows to 35 percent by the second generation and to 48 percent by the third generation or higher. While 28 percent of the first generation Hispanics identify most often by the pan-ethnic term Hispanic/Latino, this falls to 18 percent by the second generation respondents and increases slightly to 21 percent for the third-generation Hispanics (Taylor, et al., 2012, p. 12). These findings show that half of Hispanic Americans prefer to identify themselves by their country of origin whereas a quarter accepts the pan-ethnic label and about a fifth felt they were American. When we look at this by immigrant generation, we see that more than half of first generation Hispanics identify by their country of origin and then the share falls steadily to 43 and 28 percent for consecutive generations. This would be an example of categorization where a new identity comes from gradual cultural change as a result of inter-ethnic contact, as explained by Jenkins (Jenkins, 1994, pp ). 5.3 Language Language is central to identification and is one of the dimensions of primary identification in early childhood (Jenkins, 2004, p. 62). The language of a group of people is very closely connected to the culture of that particular area. The native language of the Hispanic groups is Spanish (Castilian) but there are marked local and national differences in accents and vocabulary which clearly distinguishes groups from different countries and shows how the indigenous peoples have made their individual marks on the Castilian language introduced by Spanish colonialists. This is especially evident in names of localities, and also in names of food dishes, fruits and vegetables which often keep their original ethnic names. Anyone, who knows Spanish, will be able to tell the difference between Mexican, Puerto Rican or Cuban Spanish as well as any of the other Spanish speaking countries. Language is an example of borderline influence between cultures. Examples of Mexican adopted into the English language of the United States are: margaritas, tacos, salsa, quesadillas. An indigenous Indian word in Mexican is huitlacoche (corn fungus). Puerto Ricans call the color 16

20 orange for chinita, where chinita refers to an orange (originating from China). Puerto Rican also has Spanglish words (combination of Spanish and English) i.e. pana instead of amigo (friend), pari instead of fiesta (from English party ) to name a few. Then there s a local side dish, called mofongo made with smashed yucca, yams, or plantains, with a name believed to originate in Western Africa and to have come to the Caribbean with the slaves. A staple of Cuban cuisine is rice and black beans, carrying the name of African origin: congri. Some Cubans may greet people as compai instead of compadre which is the local way of saying friend with a hint to the comrade address of communist societies. For the Hispanic minority, English language dominance is a function of immigrant generation and an important marker of assimilation or integration. 61 percent of Hispanics overall speak English very well (Taylor, et al., 2012, p. 24). Hispanic immigrants all recognize the importance of learning English and 87 percent answered that it was important to learn English to succeed in the US (Taylor, et al., 2012, p. 23). English proficiency tends to rise with each generation with 38 percent of the first generation speaking English very well. By the second and third generations, English proficiency has risen to 92 and 95 percent respectively. Percentages for reading proficiency are slightly lower (Taylor, et al., 2012, p. 24). On the other hand, the longer Hispanics stay in the United States the more their Spanish proficiency diminishes. In the first generation, reading and writing abilities were 91 percent. In the second generation, speaking abilities fell to 82 percent and 47 percent for the third generation, with writing abilities several points lower. The Pew Hispanic Center has also produced a measure of Hispanics primary language where respondents saying that they are more proficient in English than in Spanish are classified as English dominant and respondents saying they are more proficient in Spanish than English are classified as Spanish dominant. Those that self-reported to be proficient in both languages were classified as bilingual. This way 24 percent of Hispanics overall reported to be English dominant, while the rest were divided equally into Spanish dominant and bilingual. 17

21 Cultural Identity of U.S. Hispanic Heads of Household by Language Mostly Spoken At Home. Among the first generation, 61 percent are Spanish dominant, 33 percent are bilingual and 8 percent are English dominant. By the second generation, Spanish dominants have fallen to 8 percent whereas bilinguals have grown to 53 percent and English dominant to 40 percent. Finally, by the third generation, only 1 percent reported as being English dominant, while 29 percent were still bilingual, whereas the English dominant group had grown to 69 percent (Taylor, et al., 2012, p. 26). This mirrors the normal development of immigrant groups. Hispanics gradually switch their primary language to English but the remarkable thing is that Spanish persists into the third generation and beyond (Taylor, et al., 2012, p. 23). Even so, 95 percent of Hispanics say that it is very important that future generations in the US can still speak Spanish (Taylor, et al., 2012, p. 23). 5.4 Age In the 2010 census, the median age of the Hispanic population was found to be 27 years. When looking at Hispanics nativity, the median age for foreign borns was 38 and only 18 for native borns. In comparison, the non-hispanic majority white population had a median age of 42 years percent of Hispanics were under the age of 18 whereas 66.2 percent were over 18; and the 18

22 equivalent numbers for White-alone not-hispanics where 20.1 percent and 79.8 percent (Pew Hispanic Center, 2012, p. Table 9). Mexicans had a median age of 25 years (Dockterman, 2011b, p. 1), the lowest of all Hispanic groups. Puerto Ricans (living in the United States) had a median age of 28 (Lopez & Velasco, 2011, p. 2) and Cubans had a median age of 40 (Dockterman, 2011a, p. 1), the highest of all Hispanic groups. There are marked differences in age between the three groups of Hispanics where Mexicans are the youngest group with a median age of only 25, followed by Puerto Ricans with a median age of 28, and finally Cubans who have a median age of 40 years close to the non-hispanic whites median age of 42 years. 5.5 Religion According to a Pew Hispanic survey, 83 percent of Hispanics say that they are religious which is higher than the 80 percent for the general public (Taylor, et al., 2012, p. 35). 62 percent of Hispanics reported as Catholic and 19 percent as Protestant. In the Protestant group, 13 percent said they were evangelical Christians and 6 percent said they were mainline. More Hispanics report as Catholic than the general American public, namely 62 percent versus 23 percent. The longer the Hispanic immigrants stay in the country the more they go from being Catholic to Protestant. By the third generation, only 40 percent reported as Catholic, whereas the protestant share had grown to 30 percent including 21 percent of these with an evangelical affiliation. The share of Hispanics with no religious affiliation grows from 9 percent to 24 percent by the third generation (Taylor, et al., 2012, p. 36). In comparison, the general US public is much more likely to be Protestant (50 percent) and 18 percent were white evangelical, 17 percent white mainline, 9 percent were black protestant, 19 percent were unaffiliated. De la Torre relates that, in figures from 2007, 74 percent of Mexican-descent Hispanics said that they were Roman Catholic (almost 33 percent of all Catholics in the United States) and 15 percent said they were evangelical, and 5 percent mainline Protestants (Miguel A. De La Torre, 2009, p. 363). Most Mexicans are Catholic, but this is more a description of cultural orientation and ethnic solidarity, while not so much of preference, says De la Torre, and points out more and more Mexicans are leaving Catholicism in favor of Evangelic and Pentecostal Christianity which has more of the appeal of popular Catholicism which cannot be found in the traditional Catholic congregations in the United States. This is not only true of Mexicans but of other Hispanics too 19