Lizette Escobedo,NALEO representative discussed about the calls NALEO received were people asked which group they pertained to and what boxes should they mark on their Census form. Marina D. Sandoval/Photographer El Nuevo Sol
By BRIAN DE LOS SANTOS
EL NUEVO SOL
Experts from the Latino community say that Latinos will be seeing many changes in their populace due to the 2010 Census data.
El Nuevo Sol, CSUN’s Spanish-Language journalism department’s multimedia project, hosted a panel discussion regarding Census data and the impact on the Latino community.
Journalism students, faculty and community members attended the forum. Representatives from the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO), Cuentame, a youth advocacy organization, and the National Council de La Raza (NCLR) discussed potential modifications in the Latino community due to its higher population in the United States.
There are about 50 million Latinos in the U.S. According to Census information, one in four people living in the U.S. are Latino.
“Census enumeration is a very important subject throughout civic engagement,” said Lizette Escobedo, NALEO representative.
Various organizations and associations got involved in encouraging Latinos to be counted in last year’s Census poll.
Jesus Malverde, Latino artist, was among the celebrities that pushed Census involvement within the Latino community.
However, one of the challenges for Latinos was race identity. Escobedo said most of the calls NALEO received were people asking which group they pertained to and what boxes should they mark on their Census form.
“Latinos have different identifications,” said Delia de la Vara from NCLR.
The panelists said different race titles such as Hispanic, Latino, non-White Latino and Indigenous tend to confuse people.
Among the potential changes that were discussed at the panel, experts said Latinos would be the targets for advertising.
There has been a distinguishable spike in American companies marketing their products on Spanish-Language media.
Public policy was also a major topic discussed at the panel.
The federal Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM Act), a measure that would grant undocumented students a path for citizenship through certain criteria, did not pass in December. Many Latinos had rallied and protested for the passage of the Dream Act.
The essence of political inclination may or may not change if the current administration is able to cater successfully to Latinos, said Axel Woolfolk of Cuentame. People are dissatisfied with the results of the DREAM Act. In 2004, many Latinos voted for Republican representatives, however in the 2008 elections the majority of Latinos voted for the Democrat party.
The experts concluded the session with a question and answer discussion with the audience in the room and viewers online.
They confirmed that Latinos are the “majority minority” and that in the coming years they will have the largest ethnicity population in the U.S. Malverde said Latinos are like “a sleeping giant… we need to wake up.”
Tags: Brian De Los Santos Census 2010 Census 2010 Panel CSUN Cuentame Delia de la Vara Dream Act El Nuevo Sol Jesus Malverde Latino Journalist Students Lizette Escobedo Marina D. Sandoval NALEO National Association of Latino Elected Officials National Council of La Raza NCLR
