villescas research, media & instruction, llc

resources for community-oriented initiatives

villescas research, media & instruction presents...

july 13: castro's campaign will inspire a new generation of latino leaders

Austin, Texas - Last week I helped organize a meet-and-greet for Joaquín Castro in East Austin that brought a full spectrum of over 200 reporters, politicos, activists, academics, entrepreneurs, community leaders, neighborhood families and currently enrolled students together who were galvanized by his commitment to represent Central Texas in Washington, D.C. I brought Zach, one of my mentees, along for this meet-and-greet at the iconic Juan In A Million restaurant to observe the preparations, interviews and politicking that were sure to unfold before and after the event.

From my perspective, Congressional District 35 positions Joaquín Castro to be the first Latino leader who could link the predominantly Latino enclaves between east Austin and central San Antonio togethersince the way Juan Seguín himself once did over a century and a half ago. Congressional District 35 combines six central Texas counties that contain rapidly growing Latino populations, particularly high concentrations of young voters distributed across high schools and institutions of higher education throughout Bexar, Caldwell, Comal, Guadalupe, Hays and Travis counties.

Castro seems uniquely positioned to be the candidate this new district needs.

It was very moving to see so many young people who traveled from far away because they were inspired by his vision. After speaking to him, I believe his campaign will inspire a new generation of young Latinos and Latinas to not only vote in the upcoming election - but to also respond to the call of leadership, as he and his brother did at such an early age. Listening to him, it's clear his motivation was encouraged by his family and that he draws tremendous strength from their love and support. Enhancing an "infrastructure of opportunity" so that all residents, Latino and non-Latino alike, can achieve the American Dream seems directly derived from conversations at the dinner table with his mother and brother. His personal stories about his family's struggles and accomplishments reminded us all of our parents' and grandparents' experiences with institutionalized discrimination in Texas.

When he addressed the crowd, I saw excitement and hope among the faces of most in attendance that was reminiscent of the latter days of the 2008 Obama campaign. The crowd dissipated in East Austin as the sun set in the west, and it was obvious to me that the hybrid-Latino-grassroots support that Castro is galvanizing will serve the Democratic Party during the 2012 presidential election, and beyond. For east Austin residents in particular, improving educational outcomes for majority Latino schools and increasing access to greater economic opportunities for historically under-served populations are priorities. Part of the solution is tapping into local talent and the energy of organized networks of families, neighborhoods and small business owners. Castro is already gaining momentum across these key sectors, like the community organizers, and the potential youth Latino vote comprised of high school seniors and currently enrolled college students will definitely secure his victory.

Perhaps the most fascinating part of this congressional campaign is how easy it is for young Latinos to relate to Joaquín Castro and to believe that they, too, can apply their talents to improve the future of Texas for the benefit of us all.

Joseph P. A. Villescas, Ph.D is an independent consultant, writer and instructor. He conducts extensive investigations on Latino and other multidimensional populations that explore trends in their educational development, media consumption, internet usage, voting behaviors, racial categorization, organizational capacities and readiness for future leadership roles in community settings. He is also the founder and owner of Villescas Research, Media & Instruction, LLC.

News Taco provides innovative and insightful news, critique, analysis and opinion from a Latino perspective in a 24-hour world.

subscribe to news taco     

july 6: 52% of the u.s. latino population lives in four border states

For the first time since the 1850s, the borderlands have again become a predominantly Latino region of the United States. Over half of border county residents are of Latino ancestry.

At the close of the U.S.-Mexico War, the southwest region of the newly configured continental U.S. contained the majority of the country's Latinos, and over 80% of this population resided in New Mexico. Although several border cities would eventually establish Latino majority populations in the late 20th century, the borderlands as a whole are now 54.3% Latino and contain 8% of the total Latino population.

The 24 counties that share an international border with Mexico in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas contain 8% of the U.S. Latino population. 

If these counties were configured as a state, the 7.3 million residents and would be the 13th largest state in the country, ranking between Virginia (8 million) and Washington (6.7 million)...read more 

june 29: to mobilize 12 million latinos, register 15 million

Before we begin mobilizing Latino voters for the 2012 presidential election, we must understand the population of available voters in our community as well as the total number of Latino elected officials.

Keep in mind that of today's 50.5 million U.S. Latinos, less than half are eligible to vote or run for public office due to age and citizenship status.

• The largest Latino voter turnout in history was produced in 2008 presidential election: 19.5 million adult Latinos were eligible to vote, 11.6 million registered to vote, and over 9.7 million cast votes. To visualize the scale of voter turnout, this is nearly equivalent to today's entire Texas Latino population.

• Two years later, 3.1 million less Latinos voted in the 2010 congressional elections. According to the recent National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO) projections, this body of voters is expected to nearly double from the 2010 elections and surpass the 2008 voter participation rate by nearly 2.5 million votes in the upcoming 2012 presidential election.

• In order to achieve the goal that NALEO has set for mobilizing over 12.2 million Latinos, it will require at least 15 million Latino voters to be registered and well informed in the coming months. 

But registering and mobilizing Latino voters shouldn't be enough. We should want more...read more  

june 9: latinas, not latinos, hold the future in their hands

As we are already aware, the first wave of U.S. Latino "baby boomers" are now exiting exceptional positions of power and influence. During the era when the eldest members of this generation were born, there were less than three million Latinos living in the United States. Now nearing their mid-60s, this generation has witnessed a major demographic shift from one in fifty Americans being Latino to now one in six...read more  

june 7: less than 6 million latinos have a college degree

Out of 31.8 million adult Latinos in the United States,

• 10.6 million (33,3%) did not complete high school and are ineligible for postsecondary degree programs;
• 2.4 million (7.5%) are currently enrolled in an institution of higher education;
• 5.8 million (18.3%) have completed a postsecondary degree program;
• One out of every three Hispanic degree holders only has an associate's degree;
• Half of all Latino degree holders ended their postsecondary studies upon the completion of their bachelor's degrees;
• 884,000 (2.7%) Latinos in the United States have completed graduate degree programs;
• 147,000 (.5%) Latinos have obtained a doctoral degree.

read more    

june 2: volunteerism essential to the success of latino youth

If you're reading this, it's likely you form part of  the massive cluster of former beneficiaries of student initiatives and scholarships that were developed by community-based Latino organizations such as the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the National Hispanic Institute (NHI), the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF), ASPIRA, regional Hispanic chambers of commerce across the country, or many others...read more