BY STUDENT
Over the
years Latinos have become the largest minority group, accounting for 17.1% of
the nation's population. According to Mike Davis, Latinos now outnumber African Americans in six of the 10
largest metropolitan areas: Los Angeles, New York City, Houston, San Diego,
Phoenix and San Antonio. We are well aware of these booming cities, but what
about cities located in the South? Not the famous southern cities like Miami,
New Orleans, or Atlanta but a city more like Helena, Alabama. In this blogpost,
I elaborate on how the Latino population growth of a small town affects
individuals.
According to Census Viewer, Helena is a small town in Shelby
County that has a population of 16,973 people. In a decade it had a population
growth of 6,198 people. This town is known to be predominantly white and makes
up 82.8% of the population. This was clearly noted in schools for example.
When I was in middle school there were only 6 latinos in the entire school,
myself included. But, once I reached high school the latino population
dramatically increased. This could have possibly been influenced by the fact
that two towns were placed in one high school, but the difference was most
certainly noticed. The latino population went from 116 in 2000 to 560 in 2010.
This may seem like a small number, but Census Viewer states that the Latino
population did in fact increase by 382.76%. However, this was small compared to
the white population. Because of such a small Latino population, non-Latino
individuals were not well educated about Latin America. People always assumed I
was Mexican because I spoke spanish. To many individuals if you spoke spanish
you were automatically from Mexico. Clearly this is not the case, I believe
this has to do with the fact that they were not exposed to a variety of
Latinos.
When I first moved to Helena in 2002, I remember there not
being a single Latino owned business. About a 2 years after, a Mexican
restaurant opened. This became a thriving business due to its new different
cuisine. Even during on typically slow business days it was always full. Four
years after the restaurant launched, a small Mexican grocery store opened. They
sold typical Mexican products along with authentic mexican food. To my
surprise, it became popular among the white community. I recently went back
this summer and saw that the small Mexican store was no longer small. They had
expanded the store and is now the size of a supermarket, which now has a fresh
produce section, dairy, a butcher shop, and an international aisle that consisted
of products from Latin America. Clearly, over the years the support from the
community has been able to help Latino businesses thrive in giving these
Latinos the ability to achieve the American dream.
Resources:
Davis,
Mike. Magical Urbanism: Latinos Reinvent the US City. London: Verso,
2000. Print.
"Helena, Alabama Population: Census 2010 and 2000
Interactive Maps, Demographics,
Statistics, Quick Facts." Census Viewer. Moonshadow Mobile, Inc., n.d. Web. 9
Nov. 2015.<http://censusviewer.com/city/AL/Helena>.
I can see what you mean by the support of the community helping Latino businesses thrive. My dad lives in a very Latino community in Florida where many of the businesses are Latino and are very successful however when we do go to the other parts that are not so populated by Latinos they're businesses still thrive. And it's because of the support of the community.
ReplyDeleteI like that you shared your personal experience to prove your point about how the increasing Latino population in small towns affect individuals. Your points also showed that they affect small businesses in a positive way. It kind of reminds me of the small Latino businesses here at Albany. Since our school's population is mostly white, the small Latino businesses as well as other minority businesses attract the white population too.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to see how a small town such as the one you mention can be a reflection of a bigger city such as San Antonio. I like how you pointed to the fact that the white local residents called all Spanish speakers Mexicans and it wasn't due to racism but the lack of Latino exposure. I assume the accidental ignorance is a problem in a lot of small towns around America and if they're anything like Helena, the upward trend of Latinos will hopefully shine a good light on them.
ReplyDeleteI found this post to be quite interesting as I can relate to your experiences as my town is very white dominant. In my high school, there were few Latinos as well. Definitely more than 6 but compared to the size of our school, whites definitely dominated. I think more Latino owned business in my town would effect the town the same way as yours did too. Through your post it made me think about that possibility and if my town would react the same as yours. This is what i found most interesting.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great story to write about. It is an upbeat positive note that opposes all the negativity we discussed in class all semester. To hear a success story is encouraging and especially when it happens on a small scale and so personally. It was nice to hear that even the non-Latino community was interested in the new Latino culture and committed to buying from them. Where I live, there's a sizable Latino population in the inner city and for the most part, many of the Latino owned businesses only attract minority groups. It's good to know it's not like that everywhere!
ReplyDeleteThis was a really good blog to read and your story was amazing. I have never experience not being around a large population of hispanics. When I was in middle school and high school my school was made of mostly minorities. There was a large population of latinos and african americans. You could probably count with your fingers the amount of caucasian people in my school. In my schools it was reverse, caucasians were the small group that had to fit in with the rest. It was such an eye opener to realize that the roles were reversed.
ReplyDeleteIt is nice to see that I am not the only person in the class that is not from New York City. I grew up in a town with a population of 28,000 people that is shrinking more and more. I feel I can be on the side that does not have much Latino experience. In our schools, we did not have any Latinos or any that openly would say they were from Latin America (any country) or speak Spanish. I knew one girl whose mother spoke Spanish from Mexico but she did not speak it, she just understood things here and there from her mom. I have noticed that even in my town, we have a Mexican restaurant that opened up on the small main street around a tattoo parlor, old book store, old bicycle shop, and a family owned pizza place. It is great to see how your town flourished culturally! My town still has a low population of Latinos, mostly consisting of Whites and African Americans. I liked your perspective of a small town and latinization and very much enjoyed this post! I would love to see my town experience more and understand more!
ReplyDelete