How We Became Hispanic

*As much as we’ve come to argue among ourselves about how we should identify – Hispanic, Latino, Chicano, by national origin, etc, etc… – the fact is that for government and marketing purposes the term Hispanic has stuck. This isn’t about whether it’s right or wrong, or the imposition of the hegemonic structure (I actually heard that one tossed around). This is a good recounting of how things got that way. VL

By G. Cristina Mora, NBC News

BERKELEY, CA — My daughter, a half-Mexican half-Cuban bundle of laughter, was born last year and her birth certificate says “Hispanic.” Her school forms will also all likely say Latino/Hispanic, and when she goes to college she will likely join Latino/Hispanic clubs and perhaps – if she is so lucky – she might benefit from Latino scholarships. Her drivers’ license will say Hispanic, and she will likely identify herself as Hispanic/Latino on all of her census forms. Indeed, she will grow up in an era that takes the idea of Latinidad for granted.

Now that “Hispanic” Heritage Month is upon us this month it might be useful to reflect on just how the term came about.

In the late 1960s Mexicans, Puerto Ricans and Cubans in the U.S. for the most part inhabited different worlds and tended to have different political interests and cultural institutions. Many even resisted the idea of coming together. This changed slowly as Mexicans and Puerto Ricans realized that their common fights for social equality ultimately hinged on the availability of data.

Click HERE to read the full story.

[Photo by Cliff/Flickr]

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