Should “Hispanic” be a race?

*First off, this shouldn’t be a serious question. Second, the answer is no. Third, who is “Jane the Actuary.” Fourth, give this piece a chance, Jane says there should be a U.S. Census category for “person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America.” It’s like American Indian, but without the tribal affiliation requirement. She’d call it “Indigenous American.” The more European “Hispanics” can identify as white; Caribbean Latinos may chose to identify as “Black.” The idea is that “Latinos” are indigenous to the American continent. What do you think? VL

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By Jane the Actuary, Patheos (4.5 minute read)

Or, more precisely,[tweet_dis] should the US Census Bureau’s racial categories include as a “race” the characteristic of having ancestors predominantly indigenous Central or South American?[/tweet_dis]  Or take the existing definition of “American Indian”, which reads, “A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment,” remove the requirement for “tribal affiliation or community attachment,” and rename it “Indigenous American”?  (Numbers of “true American Indians” could still be determined by looking at tribal rolls.)

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Because right now, there is no census definition that properly covers individuals of Mexican or Latin American origin. READ MORE 

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[Photo courtesy of U..S. Army]

Ssuggested reading

Rain of Gold is a true-life saga of love, family and destiny that pulses with bold vitality, sweeping from the war-ravaged Mexican mountains of Pancho Villa’s revolution to the days of Prohibition in California.

It all began when Villaseñor’s maternal grandmother sat him down in their little home in the barrio of Carlsbad, California, gave him sweet bread and told him the story of their past. Of his mother Lupe, the most beautiful girl in the whole village who was only a child when Villa’s men came shooting into their canyon. And of his father Juan and his family, reduced to rags and starvation as they sought refuge across the border, where they believed that endless opportunity awaited.

Lupe and Juan met and fell in love in California, but they found that the doors to the Promised Land were often closed to those from south of the border. His father was forced to take the law into his own hands, in spite of his wife’s objections. With love and humor, Villaseñor shares this passionate love story that celebrates the triumph of the human spirit.

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