| A couple of years ago, I wrote a five-part blog named the “Nuevo Latinos.” The blog described a new generation of Latinos who were proud of their heritage but viewed themselves as part of the mainstream rather than some outlier faction of America. Most of these Latinos were U.S. born, but not all of them, and some of them do not speak Spanish – see the hilarious MiTú video on Latinos who are linguistically challenged. Since that time, we have seen this phenomenon continue to expand with Latin artists, politicians, and entrepreneurs setting the bar even higher. I recently joined the board of The Latino Donor Collaborative, an organization committed to changing the narrative and improving the Latino brand in America. While there are millions of Latinos in this country who need our help because they are dealing with unspeakable challenges regarding their finances and/or their immigration status, there are many more Latinos who are doing exceptionally well and achieving at the highest levels. Our country needs to hear more about them as well.
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Latinos are the youngest demographic in America, with the highest workforce participation rate. We are young and we are not afraid of hard work. Our dedication to God, family, and country is of the highest level. We contribute a lot to this country, but I’m not afraid to say, we are still vastly underachieving as a community.
I think most Latinos would agree that at our core, we are a generous people. If a member of our family is in need, Latinos as a rule, won’t hesitate to help financially. Family is central to Hispanic culture: our generosity has few limits. Maybe that explains why when it comes to making political donations and writing checks in support of actual philanthropic activities, Latinos come up short….When I interviewed Barack Obama last year at NAHREP at L’ATTITUDE, I pressed him about politicians not prioritizing issues that are important to Latino voters, he politely pushed back by saying…
We hear frequently how Latinos are not a monolithic community. In other words, we are not all the same. We come from different countries, have a variety of political views, and even eat different foods. I get all of that, but I also think focusing constantly on our differences versus our similarities undermines our political and economic power as a community...