Hispanic Heritage Month offers opportunities for all

Growth, understand- ing and unity are the watchwords that forge this year’s observance of Hispanic Heritage Month in the Mahoning Valley and throughout the nation.

The 30-day observance began Sept. 15 to recognize the Independence Day celebrations of five South American countries – Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica – as well as Mexico’s one day later. It provides a fitting backdrop to recognize the contributions of Hispanic Americans in our local and national history while tearing down stereotypes and busting myths that too often jade many Americans’ perceptions of this growing, significant and diverse segment of our population.

To be sure, the meteoric growth of the Hispanic community stands as a force to be reckoned with. According to 2015 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, Hispanic citizens are now 54 million strong, making up 17.4 percent of the population, the largest ethnic minority group in the U.S. African-Americans now rank second, at 13.2 percent.

As Cuba-native Gabriel Palmer- Fernandez, a philosophy and religious studies professor at Youngstown State University, noted in ceremonies at the Mahoning County Courthouse last week to launch heritage month in the Mahoning Valley, the Hispanic population here has doubled from 6,000 in 1990 to more than 12,000 today.

Paralleling that growth has been the growth in the scope of Hispanic Heritage Month activities in our region through Oct. 16. Highlighting those events will be the Hispanic Heritage Celebration that will take place Oct. 3 from noon to 3 p.m. at YSU’s Kilcawley Center. The celebration will feature music, entertainment, dance performances, children’s activities, cultural displays, demonstrations and more.

For a list of more Hispanic Heritage Month events in the Valley, see Page A5 of today’s Vindicator.

MYTHS ABOUND

But despite such growth, many inaccurate perceptions of the Hispanic population linger throughout the larger American culture, perceptions that often weaken intercultural relations and fracture multicultural unity. Consider, for example:

A full 70 percent of Hispanic- Americans speak English fluently while 25 percent do not even speak Spanish at all among their family units, according to the Census and the Pew Research Center. Such data illustrate that nativist animosities based on language barriers have little grounding in reality.

A full two-thirds of all Hispanics in the United States were born here. In fact, the Pew Research Center has found that illegal immigration from Mexico and other countries actually has declined since 2007. As such, the labels of foreigner or outsider that some attach to the ethnic group have no basis in reality, either.

Most Latinos do not enter America illegally,v anyway. In fact, most immigrants are here legally (up to 75 percent). Of those who are not here legally, most enter the country legally and then let their visas expire. Undocumented immigrants are estimated to be less than 2 percent of the population. Those facts make the hyperbole of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and others ring hollow.

CONTRIBUTIONS ABOUND

Once these and other myths are busted, all Americans can better put in perspective the myriad accomplishments Hispanics have made to the founding, the growth and the advancement of the United States.

President Barack Obama summarized those achievements well in his Hispanic Heritage Month proclamation last week: “Hispanics have served honorably in our Armed Forces, defending the values we hold dear. They have transformed industries with new, innovative ideas. And they have led and inspired movements that have made our Nation more equal and more just.”

U.S. citizens of all ethnic backgrounds have many opportunities over the coming four weeks to pay homage to those and other accomplishments and to recognize the growing importance and impact of the Hispanic community in our Valley and in our nation. We urge all to take advantage of those opportunities as concrete means to build bridges with this dynamic and proud segment of our rich melting-pot population.