The "Of Color" Image

"Person of color" is quickly emerging as a replacement for "minority," or for anyone non-White. The new label has less baggage. It's softer. It doesn't have the inferior overtones its soon-to-be predecessor has. It's colorful. But its use may have a negative association itself, particularly with a dark period in society, when segregation was a way of life between Whites and Blacks. Although "person of color" has no official derivation, it has a natural connection with "Colored," a term that co-existed with "Negro" for decades before the Civil Rights Movement. In the south, for example, "Coloreds" was displayed above run-down, public bathrooms and water fountains, whereas "Whites" appeared on signs for cleaner, more modern facilities.

The Hispanic community may never accept the new label "person of color," or at least no time soon. According to Alex Lopez Negrete, President of Lopez Negrete, a Houston-based Hispanic-marketing firm, "If you ask Latinos if they consider themselves people-of-color, most of them would say 'no.' The term strips us of our identity, which has taken us nearly 60 years to get," he says emphatically. "I take exception to demographers who talk about the 'browning' of America during their presentations. Being Latino is not an issue of race, it's an issue of culture." However, if given the choice between "person of color" and "minority," Negrete says he would take "person of color" any day.

Hispanic vs. Latino

Until the mid-1990's, "Hispanic" was the dominant term for referring to Spanish-speaking people in the U.S., or descendents of Spanish-speaking countries. The term came about in the 1970's as a result of the U.S. Census' attempt to quantify Spanish-speaking people. Today, "Latino" and "Hispanic" are used interchangeably, yet in realty they do not have exact meanings. "Latino" refers to people whose ancestral lineage connects to the central and southern parts of the Western Hemisphere. Mexico and the lands annexed by the U.S. in the 19th century, Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and all the Spanish-speaking countries of Central and South America are homes to first, second and third-generation (and higher) people who are considered Latino. "Hispanic," on the other hand, includes all Latinos plus people with a cultural heritage related to Spain. The sub-categories for "Hispanic" listed by the Census are Spanish, Spaniard, Mexican-American, Chicano, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Other (representing people from other parts of Latin America).

What Labels Do Hispanics Prefer?

According to the Hispanic Market Handbook, the business community prefers "Hispanic" when identifying this segment of the market. "Latino," the newer term, carries soft, political overtones. Nagrette says that "Latino" may someday replace "Hispanic."

However, research shows that Hispanics prefer labels that are more descriptive of their cultural heritage.

Latino Voices, a recent survey conducted among Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans found foreign-born respondents identified themselves with the name of their country of origin. The pattern of identification was similar among U.S.-born Hispanics, particularly Mexicans and to a lesser degree among Cubans and Puerto Ricans who seem to have a stronger preference for pan-ethnic labels (e.g. Hispanic, Latino and Spanish-American).

The Latino community may never accept the new label
"person of color."

Strangers in a Native Land: A Labyrinthine Map of Latino Identity, from a Latino Ethnic Attitude Survey (LEAS), conducted by Daniel L. Roy of the University of Kansas, reveals how Hispanics identify themselves. According to LEAS, 93% of Hispanics feel ethnicity is important when defining identity. "Chicano," "Hispanic," "Mexican American" or "American of Mexican Descent" are a few labels Hispanics prefer depending on their gender, age, national origin, geographic region and time in the U.S.

LEAS found there is more ambiguity about the degree of importance placed on ethnic identity among women than among men. Also in general, the more educated Hispanics become, the less important ethnicity is to identity. Furthermore, LEAS found that self-identity labels change depending on the sociopolitical context. For instance, Hispanics may use "Mexicano," "Chicano," or "Pocho" at home, but change to "Mexican American," "Latino," or "Latin American" at work. For an umbrella term or specific national origin, there is no single, preferred label. Eighty-five percent of LEAS respondents preferred a national-origin label to an umbrella term. When an umbrella term is used, however, "Latino" is the most acceptable. Interestingly, "Hispanic" is uniformly disliked, which suggests it may someday become obsolete.

Regionally, according to LEAS there are differences in self-identification. Hispanics in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado prefer "Chicano." On the other hand, Hispanics in Texas prefer "Mexican American" and "Mexicano." In Pennsylvania, Hispanics prefer "Puerto Rique no" and "Chicano," while those in Florida prefer "Latin American" followed by "American" and "American of Mexican descent." New York Hispanics prefer "American," "Chicano," "Central American," or "Puerto Rique no," while those from Massachusetts equally prefer "Puerto Rique no" and "Latino." Hispanics in Illinois prefer both "Mexican" in the first and second generations and "Mexican American," in the later, more assimilated generations.

Mexican American, Hispano, Chicano

Most U.S. citizens who are descendants of Mexico accept the term "Mexican American." As Americans they identify with a Mexican heritage. However, there are some descendents who reluctantly accept this term, specifically those who are not "Americans by choice." In the 1800's, about half of what was Mexico was appropriated by the U.S. as spoils of war and in a series of "coerced" land sales. As a result, a large number of Mexican citizens became U.S. citizens over night. The treaty between Mexico and the U.S. recognized the rights of such people to their private properties (as deeded by Mexican or Spanish colonial authorities), their own religion (Roman Catholicism) and to speak and receive education in their own tongue (Spanish). Descendents of this population continue to press for these rights today.

"Person of Color" is quickly emerging as a replacement for "minority."

A sub-population of Mexican Americans located primarily in the U.S. southwest prefers the term "Hispano," because they do not identify with a Mexican heritage. Instead they identify with the Spanish settlers of the area, specifically the Creole Spanish-Native American race. A significant number of the Hispano lives in New Mexico along the Rio Grande Valley and in the northern Sangre de Cristo mountain range. Traditionally, this group has been very closed and conservative. With recent evidence, some historians suggests the reason why is because they are descendants of persecuted Jews who fled Spain during the 16^th and 17^th centuries and sought refuge in what were then the farthest reaches of the known world. They survived by minimizing contact with outsiders and hiding their cultural identities. Some researches call them "cryptic Jews."

The term "Chicano" has been appropriated by many Mexican descendants as unique and reflective of their culture, though originally its usage was discriminatory. It is not certain where and when the term originated. Some historians claim that the word is traced to the 1930 and 40's period, when poor, rural Mexicans (often native Americans) were imported to the U.S. for cheap field labor, under an agreement of both the Mexican and U.S. governments. And that the term came about in California from the inability of native Nahuatl speakers from Morelos to refer to themselves as "Mexicanos," and instead spoke of themselves as "Mesheecanos" (in accordance with pronunciation rules of their language). Another factor is often in Spanish vernacular it is common for Mexicans to use the "CH" conjunction in place of certain consonants to create a term of endearment. So "Mesheecano" became "Mecheecano," which led to "Chicano." Whatever its origin, the term "Chicano" was first insulting. But Mexican-America activists who took part in the Brown Power Movement of the 1960's and 70's appropriated the term. It has since come into widespread usage, particularly by political activist and by those who seek to create a new and fresh identity for their culture rather that to subsume it blandly under the guise of a mainstream culture. Among more assimilated Mexican-Americans, however, the term still has unsavory connotations.

What's the Right Label?

As with Asian Americans and African Americans, the Hispanic community is far from homogenous. Country of origin, education and socioeconomic status are a few factors that differentiate members of this group along dimensions of tastes, habits and identity. Therefore, the right label or identifier to use depends on the individual. Certainly, this presents a challenge to those who want to interact with this community.

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"Not Latino"

Latino just means Latin in the Spanish language. Latinos are the Latins: Southern Europeans; the Spaniards, French, and Portuguese. Calling ourselves "Latino" makes us cultural slaves of Europeans, of Spaniards and their descendants. Latino is cultural suicide when we use it. Latino is cultural ethnocide when promoted by the Spaniards and their descendants. It betrays our true Indigenous ancestors. Latino is ANTI-INDIGENOUS and ANTI-ANAHUAC. Latino is part of the continuing Spaniard colonization of our people. Latino unites us as cultural and economic slaves of the White Spanish speakers of "Latin" "America".