Persuasive Speech Latin or Chicano or Hispanic Regarding Education or Policy

¶ … hear people talk of Latinos, Chicanos and the sorts may be after some strained race relationships. They may do so when they are enraged or because of some sort of sour grape fairy tale. You remember the hungry fox that saw a fine bunch of grapes hanging from a vine that was beyond his reach. The fox jumped as high as he could but could not get hold of the grapes.

The fox finally gave up trying and walked away with some air of dignity and concern saying that he thought that the grapes were ripe only to later realize that they were sour. Ladies and gentlemen, to better understand who the Latinos are, it is imperative that we trace how they came to be, something that dates back to the history of conquest. The Latinos came about after the intermingling of Spanish and Indian blood after the death of countless indigenous people in the Americas.

The Latino populations in the United States trace their decent from central and south America. Latinos of Mexican heritage form the larger bulk of the Hispanic constituency in the United States accounting for 66.9%. Puerto-Ricans and Cubans form the second and largest groups within the Hispanic populations accounting for 8.6% and 3.7% respectively. The fourth group is comprised of Salvadorians, Nicaraguans, Costa Ricans, Panamanians, and Hondurans. According to the census conducted in the year 2000, the Hispanic population in the United States was 35.3 million (U.S. Census Bureau, 2001).

Given the bigger population of Hispanics, we need to worry especially with regard to the education and poverty among the Latinos. The percentage of Hispanics who graduate from high school or those with college study experience is 45.9 compared to their non-Hispanics counterpart's 59.3%. this indicates that over 50% of Hispanics will in the future not be in a position to get college education or obtain a higher educational degree. You and I know that without quality education none can be absorbed into workforce.

What does this mean to the Latino youths? Poverty will be staring at them in their faces. As a matter of fact, the poverty rate among the Hispanic community stands at 21.2% (U.S. Census Bureau, 2001). this has dire consequences on the overall health of the Hispanic communities in the United States. Because of poverty, ladies and gentlemen, adults in the Latino households are forced to spend extended times away from home. A greater percentage of households are headed by single mothers. Children are often free of adult supervision.

These children finally join gangs which provide them with a community. The gangs destroy the hopes of the community and the health of the community. Because of poverty in other parts of Latin America, the United States has over 10 million undocumented Hispanics from Latin America. This clearly shows that lack of education and raging poverty among the Latinos is not their own problem but the greater United.