A few years back I heard a remarkable statistic while attending a seminar on Marketing to Hispanics. The speaker stated that there were more Hispanics in the United States than there were Canadians in Canada. For this reason, she said, we need to learn how to communicate this growing market.This month's Hispanic magazine cited a number of statistics that reveal much about the changing face of our American demographic.
In 1990 there were but 22 million Hispanics in the U.S., approximately 9% of our population. In 2006 there were 44 million Hispanics, or 15%, with this being the fastest growing people group in in our nation. Education levels have increased by near fifty percent and purchasing power has risen dramatically, from $212 billion in 1990 to $863 in 2007. Last year, for the first time, Hispanic buying power exceeded African American purchasing power.
Latino clout goes beyond the dollar signs. Increasing numbers of Latinos have taken seats on the board or as presidents and CEOs of America's leading corporations. And there is no denying the power of the ballot box in future elections as the population of Hispanics is projected to rise to 61 million by 2025 to 100 million by 2050.
Based on emails that I receive, there is a lot of fear out there with regard to this Latino power surge. Having lived a year each in both Mexico and Puerto Rico, it's a fear that I do not fully comprehend. People are people and from my experience there are wonderful people everywhere. Maybe it's the politics of it all that gets people riled, I don't know. In whatever shade it appears, however, racism is wrong.
From its very inception this nation has prided itself on being a melting pot. A melting pot metaphor can be a misnomer if it means we all give up our personal flavors and become a gigantic, tasteless stew. I prefer another metaphor. We're really a tossed salad, as we not? We preserve our personal heritages while simultaneously being flavored by those around us.
Disney got it right with his "It's a Small World" vision. The idea of a Global Village likewise touches this same truth. Red and yellow, black and white, we're all precious in His sight. Rodney King got it right, too. "Why can't we all just get along?"
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