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I live in California and most Hispanics around here look Mexican which is pretty similar to native Americans (I've been exposed to Natives in Arizona)
But recently traveling around Florida and NYC I've discovered people who you would have never guessed were Hispanic because by looking at them you assume they are black or white, that is until they open their mouth and disclose the fact they are Hispanic.
It does not make sense to me how people that look like all races is lumped into one category.
Hispanic is not a race. It's an ethnicity. It is a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race. It's related to Spanish colonialism.
The term was first introduced in the U.S. census in 1970. Prior to that time Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans were identified as white.
I live in California and most Hispanics around here look Mexican which is pretty similar to native Americans (I've been exposed to Natives in Arizona)
But recently traveling around Florida and NYC I've discovered people who you would have never guessed were Hispanic because by looking at them you assume they are black or white, that is until they open their mouth and disclose the fact they are Hispanic.
It does not make sense to me how people that look like all races is lumped into one category.
I reccomend reading the book Making Hispanics to understand this. In short, the use of the "hispanic" label is purely political. It's used by organizations to appropriate resources, funding, and make political claims. It's been 40 years since the introduction of "hispanic" ethnicity, and it has always been fake. It isn't supposed to make any sense.
This is actual very relevant to Genealogy research because a lot of people wonder why there is no public record of "hispanics". Mexicans and Puerto Ricans wonder why all of their ancestors were listed as "white" in all records.
"Hispanic" is a concept that did not historically exist. In the United States people were white or black, and persons of Spanish origin have always historically been considered white. There was no such thing as a separate "hispanic" minority group before the 1980s - and that idea was politically fabricated.
Hispanic is not a race. It's an ethnicity. It is a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race. It's related to Spanish colonialism.
The term was first introduced in the U.S. census in 1970. Prior to that time Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans were identified as white.
Not 1970. Nobody in the 70s would have understood what a "hispanic" was. 1980 was when it first appeared. And in the 80s, people were saying "what's a hispanic?". The concept didn't really catch on until the 90s.
I live in California and most Hispanics around here look Mexican which is pretty similar to native Americans (I've been exposed to Natives in Arizona)
But recently traveling around Florida and NYC I've discovered people who you would have never guessed were Hispanic because by looking at them you assume they are black or white, that is until they open their mouth and disclose the fact they are Hispanic.
It does not make sense to me how people that look like all races is lumped into one category.
Taking your argument on its surface and assuming that you're not trying to make a political statement, I'll say I agree with your general argument.
Using the term "Hispanic" is painting with too broad of a brush for what we use it for. I look at my wife's family - the father's lineage is Mexican (native) and the mother's lineage is Mexican via Spanish colonialism. By the definition she is half Hispanic.
Before man-made borders the native Mexicans are of the same lineage as those who we refer to as Native Americans. Some of my friends, through my wife, who are of Mexican ancestry have ties to Native American tribes.
I find this stuff fascinating and I also wonder at what point census data such as Hispanic and African American are no longer relevant to anything. (I don't make that as a political statement)
I always just thought Hispanic referred to one of the countries where Spanish is primary language- no more no less.
To refer to Hispanic as any sort of "race" is inaccurate.
Races have been defined as four: White/Caucasian, Mongoloid/Asian, Negroid/Black, and Australoid- most of which are assessed by general observation. Many people represent more than one category.
Not 1970. Nobody in the 70s would have understood what a "hispanic" was. 1980 was when it first appeared. And in the 80s, people were saying "what's a hispanic?". The concept didn't really catch on until the 90s.
This is interesting.
In the Los Angeles area in the 1970s and 80s, the first term I remember hearing was "Chicano," but it was limited. For instance, the media referred to Spanish-speaking Mexicans in the more urban neighborhoods as Chicanos. In my public elementary school there were English-speaking kids with Spanish last names, some of whom had darker skin than others, but no one called them Chicanos or anything else.
And I still recall the first time I heard someone refer to himself as "Latino," it was about 1984. I remember thinking it was a more pleasant-sounding word than Chicano.
I really don't remember when "Hispanic" became so prevalent. I think it first started showing up on questionnaires and surveys, along with "White, non-Hispanic." Since I'm not Hispanic in any sense, I didn't pay a lot of attention, but I imagine those English-speaking kids with Spanish last names I grew up with had to wonder if they were now to think of themselves as "Hispanic" rather than "White." That had to have been weird.
The OP joined yesterday, made 16 posts (several about ethnicity) and is now not a member.
Moderators: Please do not close or delete this thread! This is very relevant to genealogy research in the United States.
People will not find any "hispanics" in their genealogy research (not even in Texas history), and it needs to be understood why. Traditionally in the United States people were white or black, there wasn't a concept of a separate "hispanic" minority group before very recently.
Last edited by Tritone; 01-18-2022 at 10:45 AM..
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