Plainfield's Hispanic population now stands at 40.4 percent, according to 2010 census figures released Thursday. In 2000, it was 25.2 percent. That is a 60 percent increase, according to my calculations.So what are some of the implications?
I am going out on a limb to say that city leadership may not have caught up with this reality. In 2008, a budget committee question on Spanish-speaking staff in public offices found a lack that probably not much improved at the present time. Click here to see Plaintalker's post.
One might also say that Hispanic leadership has not done much to increase the engagement of Spanish-speaking residents in city affairs. The result is a largely parallel society that functions without much regard to local political decision-making or civic involvement.
The long-awaited seating of members to serve on the Plainfield Advisory Commission on Hispanic Affairs has not advanced goals stated in the ordinance creating the commission. Little has been heard from the commission so far and its makeup - a mother and daughter, several members of a single community group - does not augur well for broad representation. The first Hispanic Heritage Month after the group's inception passed with little fanfare or acknowledgement, even though such celebrations are often "hooks" to get the attention of the larger population. Click here for a blog post on that topic.
The ordinance mentioned above has a sunset clause that calls for the commission to be dissolved "a year after a U.S. Census Department reports that Plainfield's Hispanic population has risen to forty-five (45) percent of the total Plainfield population and a minimum of thirty-five (35) percent of Plainfield's registered voters are Hispanic." Could it be that such a day will arrive and the Hispanic population will find itself still not a vital part of civic life here?
Historically, Plainfield politicians seem to have preferred to choose a few spokespersons for the Hispanic population and to ignore or disrespect other Hispanic activists. This is a barrier that must be overcome, whether by enlightenment on the part of the politicians or by the insistence of Hispanic activists to be at the table when important decisions are being made. Perhaps these new numbers alone will spur a reckoning on both sides of what is at stake if such a division continues.
--Bernice
If only 25% of them voted we would see dramtic changes.
ReplyDeleteRegistrarse para votar para que su voz puede ser escuchada.
ReplyDeleteClose enough?
Oh sí, y no se olvide de voto demasiado.
There is a fear of losing power, no doubt greater today than when this article made the New York Times in 2004:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/24/nyregion/24bias.html
As much as I dislike the idea of racial, religious, or ethnic, bloc voting, the ballot box is the only real answer to lifting the shroud of the status quo and bringing changes that will improve this city's fortunes.
Our first significant opportunity is coming up in the June primaries. With luck we will make the most of it.
So Alan, you want to see the illegal aliens in the mix voting also? Or do you only mean the law abiding illegal aliens not the criminal illegal aliens?
ReplyDeleteProbably 1/3 of the Spanish speaking people in Plainfield should not be in this country at all (and this opinion comes from people of Central and South American decent who I know personally and who immigrated here and live here legally)!
Don't get me wrong, I am not really angry with the illegals . . . but I am IRATE with the government officials, both elected and appointed, who have allowed this to go on unabated for so long!
We need another Eisenhower in office . . . if you know your history you will understand what I am saying!
Thanks for the stats. Will we get a breakdown by wards because inquiring minds want to speculate on which ward will be the first to see the exertion of hispanic political power?
ReplyDeleteBlackdog- Plainly I mean whoever is eligible to vote should make the most of the opportunity. Not much good will come from decisions that are motivated to disenfranchise any groups in order maintain another's power. If you think there is not an undercurrent that Plainfield 'belongs' to one set as opposed to others, then you are misinterpreting things, in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteNo offense intended Alan, I belive that it is a sin and a shame when my fellow Americans whether natural born or naturalized do not exercise their voting rights (I belive that they are duties or responsibilities that come with our citizenship!). It irks me to hear someone complain about what is going on in this country only to find out that they have never voted . . . that is the first step in voicing your opinion as an American Patriot!
ReplyDeleteIf only the Hispanic population were to embrace all of Plainfield and not just their own. We would have much more cohesion. They have come to Plainfield and turned it into their Homeland.
ReplyDeleteI never see them at any City meetings or during elections. They seem to do quite well in their own "little" world. No other ethnic group gets so much, with so little participation.
African Americans are losing jobs because they are not bilingual. It has taken us a very long time to make the small strides we have made only to now have to step aside because we can't speak Spanish.
12:07 we should not have to speak Spanish, English is what is spoken here!
ReplyDeleteAlso there is not one Hispanic population. There are Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Mexicans, Salvadorians, Hondurans, Costa Ricans, Guatamalans, Dominicans, (I hope I have not left anyone out),and they sort of get along because of the common ground of Spanish language, but they are all seperate communities! They have different customs and likes and dislikes! The food is even somewhat different from country to country.
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