Is It Time for a National Latino Leader?

The good news is that the usual suspects have lost their appeal, at least within the Latino community.

There was a time not too long ago when any reference, opinion or glimpse into the Latino community was the exclusive territory of a few standard bearers. Any time main stream media needed a face or a talking head to accompany a Latino story they went to the automatic, ready made Latino. You know the names, no need to belabor the issue.

In politics, it’s been a while since Latinos had any semblance of true leadership. There have been movements, and legislative causes, legal battles and social issues that have had specific front persons. In the arts Latinos have followed the lead of not a few people.

But there hasn’t been a person or handful of people who can claim a mantle of Latino leadership. Like I said, it’s not really a bad thing.

There’s a new Pew Hispanic Center study, National Latino Leader? The Job is Open, that backs the idea with solid evidence: “When asked in an open-ended question to name the person they consider “the most important Latino leader in the country today,” nearly two-thirds (64%) of Hispanic respondents said they did not know. An additional 10% said ‘”no one.'”

No one. There’s a world of potential in that statement.

There are some recognizable names among Latinos. For instance “Sonia Sotomayor, appointed last year to the U.S. Supreme Court, was the most frequently named individual-some 7% of respondents said she is the most important Latino leader in the country. U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) of Chicago is next at 5%, followed by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at 3%, and Jorge Ramos, an anchor on Noticiero Univision, the national evening news program on the Spanish-language television network Univision, at 2%. No one else was named by more than 1% of respondents.”

Seven percent name recognition does not a leader make. But it does provide room for speculation. There are many Latino leaders at the local level across the country. Any one of those local leaders can be swiftly sucked into the leadership vacuum. At the same time it’s a cause for concern. Leadership vacuums can ruin young leaders that need a little more simmering time.

And there are remaining questions. At such a critical time, when the Latino community is growing in influence, purchasing power, and population there is a need for a semblance of leadership – not so much a standard bearer as a custodian of general interests.

Latinos have been doing well on those fronts with  the leadership of groups and organizations and Pew raises a good question. Is there a need for a recognizable national Latino leader? Is is time for one?