Latinos Number One in Texas

Big Deal!

Well, it is kind of a big deal. Latinos (Let’s face it, it’s Mexicanos) now have overtaken White folks as the largest population group in Tejas, sorry meant Texas. Don’t worry, we are not planning a name change, ‘Well, not yet’ No, we have a lot of work to do before we go from “Being the governed to becoming the Governors” As one of the four horsemen (Jose Angel Gutierrez) of the Chicano Movement would often say.

According to the census bureau report last week, this milestone was achieved in 2021. La Raza now makes up 40.2% of Texas’ population edging Los Gueros (Whites) at 39.8. So a tiny lead but one that most Raza know will increase. Before I get into what that could mean for (us), I think it only fits how we lost the honor in 1850.

Without going into the entire history of how Texas became a Republic and then part of the U.S., I’m’ sure you heard that story in school. And I’m sure we have all heard the “Remember the Alamo” cry enough to last five lifetimes. By the way, much of that has now proven to be mentiras (Lies). So, in short, Texas, being a long way from Mexico proper, whoever was in power in Mexico then decided it would be okay to let a few Gringos in. Mexico just told them they only needed to follow three rules, and they will be rewarded with land and possibly the company of a Senorita or 2. The rules were ‘Be Loyal to Mexico,’ ‘Become Catholic,’ and last, ‘No Slaves’ All agreed even though more than a few had their fingers crossed behind their backs.

Stephen F. Austin, the other economic immigrants, and others fleeing the law got along. This is because the immigrants’ pledge to be let in was unenforced. However, that would not last as increasingly illegal aliens were coming in with enslaved people they considered their property, and no one could take them away. When the government of Mexico started to enforce the No Slaves rules, the immigrants tried a couple of workarounds.

One was, ‘They are not enslaved. They have work contracts, like for 99 years, and they must pay for their room and board. Pero, don’t worry; we can deduct that from their wages (sic), So I guess we all know what was going on here. They, the immigrants, and some illegals came here and never really cared to follow the laws. And why would they, since they knew that their Uncle Sam was just across the border, ready to help? Not because of some moral obligation but because they wanted Texas and were willing to get it by ‘Hook or Crook.’ I am going to leave this part of my article here; you get it; however, if you want to read more on this history, see the book referral below.

Now as to what this number 1 status means to our community, in a word, nothing. Sorry to say that Pero is true. A few reasons are Latinos only graduate from High School 70% of the population compared to 95% of the White population. And for college, it is even worse, which leads to us having 50% more people under the poverty level. All this, coupled with low voter turnout based on our population, is a recipe for nothing will change with our new status.

The good news is that despite everything, we are still here despite efforts every political season to get rid of us. Why is that, some may ask? There are many reasons for that, Pero I like to answer that with a saying I read somewhere that says ‘” If you don’t have a place at the table, then likely you are on the menu. Many in our state will not be celebrating our newfound status with us. Some state legislators are already proposing laws to dilute our voting power. Some have already passed. And if you think that a minority cannot legislate to keep power, you never heard of Apartheid in South Africa.

More good news, though, our community is the youngest population in Texas at 30.0 compared to the White population at 41.1. And that is not only the case in Texas but in much of the Southwest and beyond, with one in every four children born of Latino origin. These figures are very fluid and may change before this article even appears, but that is what is reported for now. With all this in mind, the ball is in our court. It is time to pull up a chair at the table and start making your voice heard. The writing is on the wall “Come join us and bring someone with you.”