por Janet Murguía
Marchers protest the passing of the Arizona law that makes it into a crime to be undocumented in the country on May Day. (PHOTO BY DAVID BACON)
COLUMN – Every Mother’s Day, we have honored the women who nurture the hopes and dreams of families throughout the nation. This year our message has carried special meaning — to renew our focus on the number one priority of mothers everywhere —children.
Every mother looks for the future in her child’s face and, in the United States, the face of our future is increasingly Latino.
By 2035, nearly one-third of all children in the United States will be Hispanic. It is crucial to our nation that these children become productive citizens. Yet we lack the policies to allow Latino children to reach their true potential.
According to a new report by the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) and the Population Reference Bureau, America’s Future: Latino Child Well-Being inNumbers and Trends, the future of our nation is in trouble unless we take a targeted and comprehensive approach to address the challenges Latino children face.
Nearly 60 percent of Latino children are growing up in low-income or poor families, almost 20 percent of Hispanic children lack health insurance, and only 55 percent of Latino students graduate with a regular high school diploma. This is no way to prepare children so they can achieve the big dreams their mothers have for them.
Hispanic mothers have earned their worry lines. Today, too many are concerned with losing their homes and having to double up with relatives, forcing their children to attend new schools. As NCLR documented in another recent report, The Foreclosure Generation: The Long-Term Impact of the Housing Crisis on Latino Children and Families, the current financial struggles of millions of Latino families are detrimental to their children’s ability to do well in school.
Given the unacceptably high unemployment and foreclosure rates that burden Hispanic families, we urge Congress to fast-track the creation of jobs to serve local needs in the communities hit hardest by the recession, to invest immediately in infrastructure, especially schools and public transit, and to protect the unemployed and other homeowners in distress from foreclosure.
Hispanic mothers want better lives for their children, and one way they can obtain this is by securing a quality education. We must hold our schools accountable for ensuring that children who are learning English master the same age-appropriate subject matter as their peers.
Just as Congress needs to take a comprehensive approach, so too should educators and state policymakers as they work to make schools more effective for Latino students. They should be aware of the significant differences in the challenges Hispanic children face according to which state they live in and how long their families have been in the United States. A full picture of Latino children’s well-being and circumstances in all 50 states is available at www.nclr.org/latinochildwellbeing.
The Latino population has many strengths, including cohesive families and communities, a youthful population, a commitment to the health and welfare of their children, and a strong work ethic.
Hispanic mothers are doing all they can to keep their children on the right track. What’s missing, though, is a sense of urgency in our nation to make sure that Latino families have the opportunity to work hard, acquire a good education for their children, and build a better future for us all.
With a little help in leveling the playing field to create brighter prospects, we can turn around the troubling statistics on Latino children. Mother’s Day serves as a timely reminder that taking care of families is the best way to honor the mothers of this nation. Hispanic Link.
(Janet Murguía is president of the National Counsel of La Raza.) ©2010
