Will Hispanic Millennials Vote?

*Boomer parents, millennial kids, Hillary v Bernie, it happens in the Latino community as well. VL

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By Pricilla Alvarez, The Atlantic (2 minute read)

The Hispanic population is looking young.

Millennials make up roughly a quarter of Hispanics in the United States, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data released on Tuesday. The analysis found that Hispanics between the ages of 18 and 33 comprise 26 percent of the population, while those younger than 18 make up 32 percent. Taken as a whole, the two age groups account for well over half of the Hispanic population in the United States, making it the youngest ethnic group in the country.

It’s a dynamic that has played out over 34 years. The Hispanic population has always been one of the youngest in the United States, dating back to the 1980s. Then, the median age of the Hispanic population was 22, increasing to 28 in 2014, according to the Pew analysis. The reason there are such large swaths of young Hispanics in the United States is that many of them are born here, marking a divide within the community. While nearly three-quarters of Hispanics born in the United States are currently under 34, Hispanics over the age of 34 are more likely to be foreign born. As the Pew analysis notes, waves of immigration from over the last 50 years are driving this youth trend—and their voices are being heard. What’s unfolding this election cycle—and is most apparent in the Democratic primary—is a split between the voting patterns of two generations of Hispanics.

To be sure, Hispanic voters have mostly flocked to Hillary Clinton . . . READ MORE

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[Photo by Ray S/Flickr]

Suggested reading

Chicano! The History of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement is the most comprehensive account of the arduous struggle by Mexican Americans to secure and protect their civil rights. It is also a companion volume to the critically acclaimed, four-part documentary series of the same title. This volume is a testament to the Mexican American community’s hard-fought battle for social and legal equality as well as political and cultural identity.

Since the United States-Mexico War in 1846-1848, Mexican Americans have striven to achieve full rights as citizens. From peaceful resistance and violent demonstrations, when their rights were ignored or abused, to the establishment of support organizations to carry on the struggle and the formation of labor unions to provide a united voice, the movement grew in strength and numbers. However, it was during the 1960s and 1970s that the campaign exploded into a nationwide groundswell of Mexican Americans laying claim, once and for all, to their civil rights and asserting their cultural heritage. They took a name that had been used disparagingly against them for years—Chicano—and fashioned it into a battle cry, a term of pride, affirmation and struggle.

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