Summary
Highlights
Giorgina Dorn of the Hispanic Division introduces Ray Suarez, highlighting his extensive career in journalism and his books, including 'Latino Americans: The 500-Year Legacy That Shaped a Nation.' Suarez expresses his appreciation for speaking to an audience that shares an understanding of the topic, contrasting it with his usual Anglo audiences who may carry cultural anxieties about America's changing demographics.
Suarez distills his book into three main points: Latinos are not new, with a history older than Plymouth Rock; many are in the U.S. due to past American interventions in Latin America; and as a substantial portion of the population (over 50 million), their fate is intertwined with the rest of America. He argues this necessitates a new understanding of the U.S. as a multicultural nation from its inception, rather than a British-derived one that merely tolerated others.
Suarez emphasizes that Latinos are simultaneously the newest and oldest inhabitants, citing Ponce de Leon's presence in Florida in the 16th century and modern-day Spanish-speaking newcomers revitalizing the state. He references how Thomas Savage chronicled life in Spanish California, fearing the erasure of Spanish history, a fear often fueled by anxiety over new immigrants. He stresses that immigration is a two-way street, where immigrants transform America and are transformed by it, critiquing the negative reactions to multicultural expressions like the Super Bowl Coke commercial.
Suarez projects that by the 2040s, a majority of Americans will trace their ancestry outside Europe, signaling a significant shift from the historical European-descended majority. He highlights St. Augustine, Florida, as the oldest continuously settled city in America, affirming Spanish presence long before English settlement and challenging the notion of English as the original language of the land. He underlines that America has been multicultural since European exploration began.
Suarez describes how even in seemingly homogeneous areas like Sioux County, Iowa, Latino workers are increasingly vital to the economy, such as in agriculture. He discusses governor Tom Vilsack's push for Iowa to attract immigrants to maintain economic vitality despite local resistance. The 1965 immigration law drastically changed demographics, bringing doctors from South Asia to the rural South and challenging the region's traditional black-and-white racial binary. New Latino populations are transforming areas from the Sun Belt to places like Dalton, Georgia, which relies heavily on Mexican and Central American labor for its carpet industry.
Suarez notes that minority groups, especially Latinos, are younger than other Americans, leading to significant impacts on various sectors, starting with maternity wards. Since 2010, more babies born in the U.S. have non-European ancestry. The largest single age cohort of Latinos is under five, creating waves in school systems across the country, not just traditional immigrant hubs. He points out that this new migration is both rural and urban, with major Latino settlements concentrated in large metropolitan areas like LA, Houston, and Miami.
Unlike previous immigrant groups, the Latino presence is constantly renewed and highly diverse, encompassing various ethnicities, languages, and socioeconomic statuses. Suarez illustrates the challenge for politicians to craft appeals that resonate with this diverse electorate, from rural Dominicans in the South Bronx to affluent Puerto Rican professionals in Westchester. He argues that trying to find common political ground between such disparate groups, like a Mexican family from the early 20th century and a recent immigrant family, is complex and often presumptive.
Suarez contrasts the widespread gloom in Europe with the striking optimism among Latinos in the U.S., despite significant economic setbacks. Latinos lost two-thirds of their accumulated wealth between 2007 and 2012 due to the real estate crisis, having been the last buyers into an overheated market. Despite these losses, their optimism persists, which Suarez considers a crucial asset for America's future economic viability, especially as minority consumers form a growing percentage of the market.
Suarez emphasizes that the educational attainment of Black and Brown students is critical for America's future prosperity. If current college graduation rates persist, the U.S. risks becoming a poorer country. He highlights the interdependency of older, largely white retirees on the FICA taxes of a future, much "browner" workforce. High school and college completion rates among minority Americans are therefore not just a minority issue but a national concern, impacting infrastructure, education, and social security.
Suarez briefly discusses Puerto Ricans, who, as U.S. citizens, are not counted in immigration numbers but are experiencing a significant exodus to the mainland, especially Florida. This migration now includes white-collar professionals, distinct from past movements. He recounts the historical annexation of Puerto Rico as an 'unanticipated war prize' and the initial American focus on its agricultural exports over its people. He details the landmark 1903 Supreme Court case brought by Isabel Gonzalez, which affirmed Puerto Ricans' right to enter the mainland not as foreigners but as citizens, a crucial legal precedent.
Responding to a question about the American Southwest, Suarez acknowledges the complex history of land acquisition, noting that the U.S. 'stole it fair and square' from those who themselves had 'stolen it fair and square' from Indigenous peoples. He describes how the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo's assurances to Mexican residents were often disregarded, leading to dispossession. He also touches on figures like Juan Seguín, a Tejano who fought for Texas independence but became a 'man without a country.' Suarez then shifts to the widespread ignorance about Latino culture and history, even in places with long-standing Latino populations like New York City, where Puerto Ricans' history is largely unknown to non-Latinos.
Suarez provides contemporary examples of xenophobia, such as the social media backlash against Marc Anthony singing the national anthem, with many asking why an 'American' wasn't chosen, despite Anthony being born in Spanish Harlem. Similarly, Sebastian de la Cruz singing the anthem in a mariachi outfit at an NBA Finals game drew similar ignorant comments, highlighting how 50+ million Latinos remain 'strangers' in their own country. Suarez suggests his book and the PBS series as an antidote, aiming to integrate Latino history into the broader American narrative, moving past the idea that it's a separate history only for Latino students.
He argues that Latino history is 'our history,' not 'their history,' and that presenting it separately, a trend that gained traction in the 1960s with good intentions, has unfortunately led to segmented understanding. He contends that all Americans should understand this shared history, from the Mayflower Compact to the role of American capital in Central and South America, as central to the country's past and present identity.