Transcript Chapter 11. Hispanic Americans

Strangers
Strangers
to These
to These
Shores,
Shores,
Tenth
Tenth
Edition
Edition
by Vincent
by Vincent
N. Parrillo
N. Parrillo
©2011
©2011
Pearson
Pearson
Education,
Education,
Inc.Inc.
All All
rights
rights
reserved
reserved
Sociohistorical Perspective
The Hispanic American
experience varies greatly,
depending on the particular
ethnic group, area of the
country, and period
involved
Overpopulation throughout
Latin America is a
significant factor in the
continued migration of
Hispanics to the U.S.
Strangers to These Shores, Tenth Edition by Vincent N. Parrillo
©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved
Cultural Differentiation
Strangers to These Shores, Tenth Edition by Vincent N. Parrillo
©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved
Racial Attitudes
In most Latin American
countries, skin color is less
important than social class as
an indicator of social status
An apparent correlation exists
between darker skin color and
lower social standing
Color often serves as an
unexpected basis of
discrimination for Latinos
coming to the United States
Strangers to These Shores, Tenth Edition by Vincent N. Parrillo
©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved
CURRENT PATTERNS
Hispanics are the largest ethnic group in the
United States and are steadily increasing
in number all the time; at 46 million
residents in 2008, they now constitute over
16 percent of the total U.S.
Strangers to These Shores, Tenth Edition by Vincent N. Parrillo
©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved
CURRENT PATTERNS
Half of all Hispanics live in just two states:
California and Texas, where they
constitute about 36% of each state’s total
population
Strangers to These Shores, Tenth Edition by Vincent N. Parrillo
©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved
Strangers to These Shores, Tenth Edition by Vincent N. Parrillo
©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved
SOCIAL INDICATORS OF
HISPANIC CULTURE
About 44 percent of
foreign-born Hispanic
adults are high school
graduates compared
with 73 percent of U.S.born Hispanic adults
A higher percentage of
Mexicans and Puerto
Ricans live in poverty
than any other group,
whereas Cubans and
South Americans are
least likely to live in
poverty
Strangers to These Shores, Tenth Edition by Vincent N. Parrillo
All Hispanic women are more
likely than non-Hispanics to
work in service occupations as
well as in unskilled blue-collar
positions as operators, in
transportation, and as laborers
©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved
THE MEXICANS
Most of the 31 million Mexican Americans live in
the southwestern states, accounting for more
than three-fourths of all Latinos in Arizona,
California, Illinois, and Texas, as well more than
half of all Latinos in Colorado and New Mexico
In the second half of the 19th century, Mexicans helped fill U.S.
labor needs
From 1942-1964 under the bracero program, Mexican aliens
entered the U.S. on temporary visas and then returned to Mexico
after the harvest
Strangers to These Shores, Tenth Edition by Vincent N. Parrillo
©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved
Strangers to These Shores, Tenth Edition by Vincent N. Parrillo
©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved
The Mexicans
Between 1954 and 1959
government officials
found and expelled 3.8
million Mexicans
About 92 percent live in
metropolitan areas, but
only 49 percent reside
inside central cities
Strangers to These Shores, Tenth Edition by Vincent N. Parrillo
Many of the central city
residents are of a low
socioeconomic status
and live in areas where
the school dropout rate
of Mexican American
youths is nearly 50
percent, with student
alienation serving as a
major cause
©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved
Strangers to These Shores, Tenth Edition by Vincent N. Parrillo
©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved
THE PUERTO RICANS
Puerto Rico was annexed by the U.S. in
1898
The greatest period of Puerto Rican
migration was 1946–1964, when about
615,000 moved to the mainland
Of all of the major racial or ethnic groups,
Puerto Ricans have the highest poverty
rate
Strangers to These Shores, Tenth Edition by Vincent N. Parrillo
©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved
THE CUBANS
Almost 500,000 people came to the United
States from the West Indies between 1820
and 1950, although the Cubans appear to
have had little impact on the U.S. scene
during that period
Strangers to These Shores, Tenth Edition by Vincent N. Parrillo
©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved
THE CUBANS
Approximately 62 percent of Miami–Dade
County is now Hispanic, including 778,000
Cubans, 89,000 Puerto Ricans, 45,000
Mexicans, and 561,000 others from
Central and South America
Strangers to These Shores, Tenth Edition by Vincent N. Parrillo
©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved
Strangers to These Shores, Tenth Edition by Vincent N. Parrillo
©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved
HISPANIC AMERICAN
ASSIMILATION
National origin and age of entry are
significant variables in the effectiveness of
education as an agent of assimilation
Recent studies show high rates of
intermarriage with non-Hispanics, yet an
exception exists among Puerto Ricans and
Dominicans
Strangers to These Shores, Tenth Edition by Vincent N. Parrillo
©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved
SOCIOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVES
The Interactionist View
Extensive poverty among Hispanics often invites
outsiders to blame the victim or to engage in cultureof-poverty thinking
Instead of confronting the problems of poor education,
and lack of job skills and job opportunities, some find
fault with the group itself, reacting with avoidance,
indifference, or paternalistic behavior
Strangers to These Shores, Tenth Edition by Vincent N. Parrillo
©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved
SOCIOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVES
The Interactionist View
Too many Anglos view Hispanic communities, parallel
social institutions, and limited English as detrimental
to the cohesiveness of U.S. society, failing to realize
that 80 percent of Hispanics are first-generation
Americans repeating the resettlement pattern of
earlier European immigrants
Strangers to These Shores, Tenth Edition by Vincent N. Parrillo
©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved