Latino-Hispanic Ethnic Group
Amy Jackson
SOC/262
April 25th, 2016
Francis Wardle

Latino-Hispanic Ethnic Group

If you ever met any Latinos/Hispanics, they are really quick to let you know when you call them the wrong nationality. They are all very proud of their own culture whether it’s Mexican, Latino, Puerto Rican or Dominicans. We have such a variety in the US that’s it’s sometime hard to tell the difference.
The Latino/Hispanic group is the only ethnic category counted separately by the United States Census. According to the U.S. Census, a Latino/Hispanic person can be of any race. There is a great amount of variability in the ethnic group, which may confuse some people on what is considered to be a Hispanic individual and something else. The census category of Hispanic became official only near the late 20th century. The term “Hispanic” has brought on a lot of confusion. In 1940, President Roosevelt had made a “good neighbor policy” in which they had alliances with Mexico. However, when three Mexican immigrants were not granted citizenship because they were not white. Roosevelt circumvented the law and counted Hispanics and Mexicans as white, thereby allowing entry and citizenship to the country. In the year 2000, Hispanic was considered many races and creeds. For instance, someone who was Hispanic could have been of “a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American or another Spanish culture origin.” (Publications - U.S. Census Bureau).
The term Hispanic also refers to the people who share the culture of Spanish people, which does not refer to race. So one can be considered both black and Hispanic, if they share same Spanish culture, similarly, a white citizen can also be called a Hispanic individual, it is a confusing term. Some distinct Hispanic subgroups in the United States would be, Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Dominican