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VOICE ONE:
In the United States, the population of Hispanics is growing fastinto America’s largest minority group. I’m Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Mary Tillotson. Today we report on Hispanics in theUnited States on the VOA Special English program, THIS IS AMERICA.
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VOICE ONE:
Hispanics come from or have ancestors from Spanish-speakingcountries. The term Hispanic or Latino describes an ethnic group.Hispanics can be white, black or Latin-American Indian, or a mixtureor races. Experts who study communities point out that Hispanicsfrom different countries often have different cultures.
Between nineteen-ninety and two-thousand, the Hispanic populationin America increased fifty-eight percent. That was more than anyother minority group.
Recently the Census Bureau estimated that thirty-seven millionHispanics lived in America in two-thousand-one. That was thirteenpercent of the population. Just over thirty-six million people wereblack or African American. However, when the population countersadded people of mixed race, that number grew tothirty-seven-point-seven million.
VOICE TWO:
In little more than one year, from April two-thousand to Julytwo-thousand-one, the number of Hispanics increased four-point-sevenpercent. This included babies, immigrants and some people hereillegally. The African American population grew by justone-point-five percent.
During this same period, AsianAmericans increased by almost four percent, totwelve-point-five-million. America’s white, non-Hispanic populationgrew by three-tenths of one percent.
Most Hispanics live in the southern and southwestern states. Butthey have settled in many cities across the country. New York, LosAngeles, Chicago and Houston, Texas, had the largest numbers in thetwo-thousand Census. Many of those in New York are from the UnitedStates territory of Puerto Rico. In Los Angeles, America’ssecond-largest city, half the people are Hispanic, mostly of Mexicanancestry.
VOICE ONE:
The roots of Hispanic life in the United States are deep andhistoric.
California, on the Pacific coast, was formerly ruled by Spain andthen Mexico. Americans captured California during the MexicanAmerican War in the eighteen-forties. Mexico lost half its landunder the treaty that ended the war. Not only California but all orpart of six other states grew on this land.
Today, among all the fifty states, California has the mostpeople. Researchers at the University of California at Los Angelesrecently announced that the majority of babies born in the state arenow Latino. In the words of one researcher, “The future ofCalifornia looks very much like its nineteenth-century past.”
VOICE TWO:
The largest number of Hispanics in the United States are ofMexican ancestry, followed by people from Puerto Rico. Hispanicsalso come here from other parts of the Caribbean, Central and SouthAmerica, and Spain.
Hispanics are taking an increasing part in American life. Theybring new food, new music and new customs. Religion — traditionallyof the Roman Catholic Church — is also an important part of familylife.
VOICE ONE:
Hispanics in America are politicians, teachers, engineers,doctors, business leaders and lawyers — although none has yetreached the Supreme Court. They are actors, artists, writers, poetsand musicians. Hispanics like Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin andGloria Estefan are among popular entertainers.
At the same time, though, many Hispanics are poor. There arelarge numbers of unskilled laborers and farm workers. There arethose who struggle with two or three jobs to make a better life forthemselves and their children.
VOICE TWO:
Some African Americans worry about the growth of the Hispanicpopulation. Hispanics have joined the competition for jobs, housingand social aid. Some African Americans see this as unfair, becauseblacks have struggled hundreds of years for better living conditionsin a country that once kept them as slaves.
But there are issues of common concern to black and Hispanicgroups. Both, for example, oppose government efforts to end specialminority-admissions programs by colleges and universities.
Also, no group likes to see itself treated unfairly or insulted.Hollywood is one target of criticism by Hispanic activists. They saythere are not enough Latinos in television or film — and when theydo appear, it is often as criminals or housekeepers.
VOICE ONE:
Some experts say it will take years to know how the big increasein the Hispanic population will affect the nation. For one thing,not all who immigrate here become citizens. That means they cannotvote.
And then there are the ones here illegally. Immigration officialsrecently estimated that the United States had seven-million illegalimmigrants in January two-thousand. The report said sixty-ninepercent of them came from Mexico, up from fifty-eight percent innineteen-ninety.
Still, Hispanics hope to gain more political influence. Somegroups already have — Cuban Americans in Florida, for example.
VOICE TWO:
More than forty years ago, many Cubans left their island afterFidel Castro took control and established a Communist government.Over time, hundreds of thousands followed. They became extremelysuccessful in business and other professions.
Cuban Americans are only four percent of America’s Hispanicpopulation. Yet they exercise strong influence. This was apparent afew years ago in the dispute over a six-year-old Cuban boy namedElian Gonzalez. His mother tried to take him to Florida on a smallboat at the end of nineteen-ninety-nine, but drowned.
Elian was rescued. Relatives in Miami wanted him to live withthem. His mother and father had ended their relationship. Theadministration of President Bill Clinton, however, supported theright of Elian’s father to raise him in Cuba.
Cuban Americans in Miami protested. Finally, armed federal agentsseized the boy. Courts upheld the decision, and Elian went home withhis father. But his story captured the interest of the Americanpublic.
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VOICE ONE:
Because of the large Hispanic population, Spanish is sometimescalled America’s second language. There is also a mixture of Englishand Spanish called Spanglish. This version is especially popularwith young Hispanics. Spanglish is working its way into popularculture, in music and television shows.
But some Spanish language experts see Spanglish as a threat toSpanish culture. One professor says that if Hispanics choose tospeak their first language, then they should speak it in its pureform.
VOICE TWO:
Language is an issue for Hispanics in America. There have beentensions in some states over laws that declare English an officiallanguage. There is also debate over bilingual education in schoolsthat receive public money. In California, for example, until recentyears, schools taught Spanish-speaking children first in Spanish.Only later, sometimes years later, did the children enter classestaught in English.
Opponents said bilingual education slowed the progress ofHispanic children. In nineteen-ninety-eight, Californians rejectedthis bilingual system. They voted to replace it with one year ofintensive preparation in English.
VOICE ONE:
Many activists protested this new system as unfair. TheMexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund brought legalaction. So did other organizations. But courts upheld the measure.Other states have faced similar arguments over bilingual education.
In any case, educators agree that more must be done to helpHispanic students get a better education. Many of these young peopleleave high school without finishing. In places like Los Angeles,many turn to the criminal life of street gangs.
Only sixteen-percent of Hispanic high school graduates in Americafinish four years of college by the age of twenty-nine.
VOICE TWO:
Activists are working to increase that number. For example, theHispanic Association of Colleges and Universities representsthree-hundred-forty schools. In a recent letter to President Bush,association leader Antonio Flores urged increased federal spendingfor these schools.
The Pew Hispanic Center is a research organization at theUniversity of Southern California. The goal is to improveunderstanding of the Hispanic population in the United States.Recently the center reported that education levels among Latinoimmigrants have increased sharply over the past thirty years. Itsays educational gains are extremely important if millions ofHispanics are to improve their lives in America.
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VOICE ONE:
This VOA Special English program was written by Jerilyn Watson.It was produced by Paul Thompson. I’m Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Mary Tillotson. Join us again next week for the VOASpecial English program, THIS IS AMERICA.