From Stereotypes to Prototypes

*This was written by my friend Raul Lomeli, published in Spanish in a Mexico City Newspaper. It’s troubling to see how the stereotypes of U.S. Latinos prevail as well south of the border. Raul is working to counter that. VL

By  Raul Lomeli, NewsTaco

On January 22 ‘Excelencia in Education,’ an organization recognized throughout the United States for their work on issues of access to higher education in the Latino population, and that influences educational policies through statistical analysis, published a landmark study on the current status of Latino students in the country.

In a 30 page report they scientifically proved the relevant importance of the Latino community in the United States, and more importantly, their undeniable importance in the future of the American Union.

The document offers strong and undeniable data. The growing Latino presence in Texas and California is well known, but what’s perhaps not as well known is that Latino students enrolled in middle school, high school and community college now represent 52% and 51% respectively of all students in these two states.

However, what is surprising in the report is the percentage of Latino students in states like Nevada (40%), Colorado (32%), and in never before imagined Kentucky (22%). Even in Wyoming – where one would scarcely imagine there would be Latinos – one in nine enrolled students are of Latino decent.

Now, if we analyze the results of the Excelencia document, Latino students enrolled in elementary, middle and high school represent 1 in 4 students in the United States. The trend in the short and medium term is irrevocable, and its importance in the future is real and essential.

So I ask readers who may have fallen prey to wrong-headed stereotypes that abound on both sides of the border – like the one that says that Latino students don’t continue their education beyond high school, or that the Mexican migrant community doesn’t value the importance of higher education –  to understand that it’s precisely these issues that the Excelencia report helps to break down, As well as counter the harmful stereotypes that only help exacerbate xenophobia.

Take note of what the ‘Excellence in Education’ study shares with us. Let’s share these statistics: 70% of Latino students recently graduated from high school and enroll in higher proportion in colleges and universities, compared with 66% of white students (White non-Hispanic) and 56% African American students.

Also, a specific survey within this  study shows that even when only 24% of the parents of these young people have had access to higher education, 91% of them have the expectation and goal that their children enrolled in college . This definitely shows a commitment to the incorporation of Latinos and their children into American society.

In the following weeks I will be sharing with you this new reality of increasing empowerment of the Latino community. However, permit me to enter into a more immediate issue. As I was finishing this column I learned through national newspapers as well as news confirmed by the White House, a matter of great concern. Maria Echaveste, daughter of Mexican immigrants nominated four months ago by President Obama as US Ambassador to Mexico, abruptly declined this important commission.

The official version is that she declined due to the prolonged process of confirming her charge. However, I am working on another hypothesis. The reason for their decline may be the known rejection of the Latino immigrant community and the vision held by newly elected legislative body in the United States. It’s a shame that they still see us through unfounded stereotypes, and that they can’t see that the Latino community is the best bet to continued growth of the American experiment.

This article was originally published in Spanish in Crónica, a Mexico City newspaper.

Raul P. Lomeli-Azoubel-Raul is a proud son of migrant workers. He worked in the agricultural fields in California during the summers of his youth all the way through to his first year of college. He is lead author of 18 tutorials on topics of finance, health, technology and citizenship- with more than nine million copies distributed in the United States. He is currently Chairman of the Board of SABEResPODER, an organization dedicated to the empowerment of the Latino community in the United States.