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St. Cloud State University
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Latino perspective presented
By Kelly Kremer
Published:
Thursday, March 25, 2004
Women on Wednesday presented a research project regarding the reality of Latino life in Central Minnesota.
Presenters included Flora Calderon Steck, an SCSU ethnic studies faculty member and Margaret Villanueva, community studies faculty member.
Though the Latino population is rapidly growing in the United States, it is virtually unrecognized and under- represented in American communities, Steck said.
The project focuses on the Latina perspective of who these women are and their experiences living in rural Central Minnesota.
The research team gathered information by interviewing 96 Latina residents of Melrose, Bel Clare, Long Prairie, St. Cloud and Cold Spring areas.
The information gathered included the Latinas' birth place, why they came to Central Minnesota, length of U.S. residency, type of housing they reside in and household size, profession held, the importance of having a racial identity, experiences of discrimination, their needs and aspects they contribute to their communities.
Many Latinas stated that they preferred to be identified as Mexicana or Hispana rather than Hispanic, Steck said.
"Hispanic to me sounds like it's a top-down label and is imposed by the government, whereas Hispana is more of a grassroots/community term," Steck said.
"One of our objectives is to overcome stereotypes," Villanueva said.
Some common stereotypes Latinos endure are that they are all immigrants, live in poor housing conditions and abuse the welfare system, Steck said.
However, many Latinos are either migrant workers or were born in the United States, own houses or experienced housing discrimination and were forced to live in trailers and hold down the majority of jobs in food processing and manufacturing businesses, Steck added.
Steck said that Latinas most urgent need was the opportunity to take English courses, and that their most important needs were information and college education.
"Service providers assume that Latinas want vocational training over college, but in reality, it's the exact opposite. In terms of subordinance and dominance, people with power have the ability to structure people's experiences," Steck said.
Latinas' inability to obtain information prohibits involvement in their communities, Steck said.
"They feel invisible in the community and would like to be invited to participate," Villanueva said.
For a solution, Steck suggests that citizens extend a "more proactive outreach" to Latino residents.
For those interested in finding more information, the Stearns Historical Museum in St. Cloud has an exhibit about Latino life in the United States. Cost is $4 and it will be open through late April.
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