by Charles A. Serrano Jiménez, MUPP
The Latino Population is growing faster than expected. With an influx of professionals from Latin America, rates will grow more rapidly in both urban areas and suburban America. The country is experiencing 500,000 Latino youth who turn 18 years old every month, with greater increases expected the next 8 to 10 years. By 2030, the nation will have a massive population of Latinos, greater than forecasted today.
Estimates on the growth and economic expansion of our society coupled with income gaps and disparities between affluent and poor will continue. This will lead to nearly half of the population of the country to be poor and a “permanent underclass” by 2050, with the greater portion being Latino.
Unless we “interrupt or disrupt” this process with a ”destiny bender,” the Latino population and our nation will be in dire straits. Such action is about the disruption of the predictable flow of history based on current indicators. Change must come about through a rise in awareness and the training of new leadership. This is of paramount importance. We must alter current thinking and direction of traditional Latino leaders across our many service areas.
Preparation, training, education, and transformation of leadership in our institutions and nonprofits should be uppermost among activities. Developing efficient, responsive, and relevant organizations is a needed vision of looking ahead to solve present Latino participant levels and change the direction our population must take in all sectors of society. This is the only way to decrease the chances of becoming a major portion of the permanent underclass, otherwise inevitable.
For Latinos to become participants in the USA they will need to contribute to the improvement of the greater society. Regardless of race, color or gender, key individuals that contribute to the saving of the planet and stabilizing our country will be of significant value. Others not contributing to this rescue will be set aside, as they will join “non-participants,” frozen as the underclass.
Society will be separated by those that are contributor-participants versus those wasting resources, living off the government and consuming vital resources. Today, only one variable will change the direction of individual that will be in one or the other group. It is about those that will have gained “knowledge” together with leadership “skills” that can well contribute to the nation for the benefit of others.
That is, it will be individuals that will have acquired knowledge, education, and the know-how of a trade or profession that will improve society and be of value to others. This is augmented by having attained the courage, morality, and leadership skills to guide a corporate entity, public or private. This is the direction we must ensure this decade if we are to succeed in being of value to our people and the nation.
The role of our institutions, nonprofits, and cultural organizations will be to address the need for capacity, awareness, and acquiring knowledge for our varying Latino populations and communities, as they are not monolithic. The present need is to train our leadership, board members and administrators in developing organizational structures together with needed transformational purposes that will enable disruption to current directions, creating “destiny benders” for Latinos and the country in the process.