More young Latinos live theCalifornia dream than theirgrandparents did

Blanca De La Cruz, 28, walks a group of kids to summer school on July 9, 2015, in the Boyle Heights

neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The latest census shows that, as of July 1, 2014, about 14.99

million Latinos live in California, surpassing 14.92 million whites to become the largest ethnic group in the

state. Photo: Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times/TNS

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Yolanda Garcia’s grandparents migrated from Mexico

and worked multiple jobs to save money to send all six children to college.

Garcia’s father attended Brown University, one of the best in the country, and

had five children. In turn, Garcia graduated from the University of California,

Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz). She worked as a teacher. Now she runs a gallery

and a store selling Latin American art and other items.

Along the way, the family moved up the ladder from South Los Angeles to a

wealthy neighborhood. They were the first Latinos in their area. Now there are

four other Latino families there.

By Los Angeles Times, adapted by Newsela staff on 08.02.15

Word Count 920

The Garcias’ story represents a common California immigrant dream. But it’s far

from the reality for all Latinos, who the U.S. Census Bureau says are now

California’s largest ethnic group.

More Professionals, Less Poverty

Although Latinos have made huge strides, they also face many challenges.

Latinos represent half of all Californians younger than 18. They number 4.7

million compared with 2.4 million whites, according to census data.

Overall, Latinos in California have lower incomes, education and job skills than

the average white Californian.

However, the younger generation has a chance to close many of these gaps.

A study published last year found that second-generation Mexican Americans

have done better than their immigrant parents. In California and Texas, they had

achieved more education, higher earnings, less poverty, more professional jobs

and greater rates of home ownership. Only about 21 percent of Mexican parents

had completed high school, for instance, compared with 80 percent of their

children by 2005.

“It’s extraordinary the progress that Latino youth have made relative to their

parents, but they are still lagging behind,” said University of Southern California

(USC) Professor Dowell Myers, one of the report’s authors. “We need to

recognize how important these people are and how urgent their success is for

the well-being of everyone.”

Throwing Out The Stereotypes

Marilyn Padilla represents the hope in this next generation.

She is the child of a Honduran immigrant mother who never attended school

and a father who was deported from America before she was born. Padilla is

now studying at UC Santa Cruz and hopes to become a Spanish teacher.

“We have come a long way," she said. “We are starting to put down the

stereotypes about us. Now we are becoming equals. We are doing that for

ourselves.”

California Gets A Cultural Makeover

The Latino population surge is making California the most diverse state in the

nation’s history.

That diversity could attract a “creative class” of younger, tech-savvy people in

cutting-edge industries, said Roberto Suro with UC Santa Cruz.

Signs of this emerging class can already be seen in hip neighborhoods of Los

Angeles, he said.

The Latino growth has already begun to reshape the state’s politics, schools,

economy and neighborhoods.

Many Latinos do not vote, but their numbers are so large that the community

wields power outside of the ballot box.

In Compton, for instance, Latinos make up two-thirds of the city’s population but

less than 30 percent of voters. Recently, Isaac Galvan became the first Latino

elected to the City Council.

Galvan, one of five children raised by a single mother, pushed for a Spanish-

language City Council agenda and a translator at all city events. He says that

Spanish-speaking residents are attending more city events.

The growing importance of Latino consumers has also drawn attention, with

businesses such as Target Corporation trying to attract their shopping dollars.

Nationally, Latino purchasing power has increased from $700 billion in 2000 to

$1.3 trillion in 2015, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.

More Money For Education

In 2013, the state changed its school finance system to give more money to

students who are from low-income families and learning English. Voters also

approved a temporary tax increase to give schools an additional $7 billion to

increase student achievement even more. Statewide, Latinos have boosted their

high school graduation rates to 76 percent in 2014 from 68 percent in 2010.

They also lowered their dropout rates to 14 percent from 21 percent.

But they still haven’t caught up with whites, whose graduation rate was 87.4

percent in 2014.

Although Latinos are going to college in greater numbers, there are more whites

and Asians at the University of California.

Rise Of The Bicultural Latinos

Across Los Angeles, Latinos say education and voting are crucial to their future.

Haydee Reyes, for instance, is part of the “uprising of the second generation,”

as she calls it — young Latinos who move easily between Latin and American

culture. She described her generation as college educated and living out the

dreams of their parents.

Reyes’ mother emigrated from El Salvador to escape a civil war in the 1980s.

Her father and older sister followed a few years later. She said the language

barrier and cultural differences have made everyday tasks - such as asking for

directions - difficult. But her mother, a seamstress, and her father, a pipe builder,

emphasized the value of education. Reyes graduated from college and became

a social worker.

As the Latino population grows, she said, she sees more Latinos in highly visible

positions, which helps get rid of negative perceptions of the group.

“Slowly but surely, the stigma of gang members, immigrants stealing jobs or just

working in the fields is going away,” said Reyes, 26. “We are now seen as public

members in office and in agencies and local government."

She added, "It’s a wonderful thing. We are a voice that is being heard finally.”

Quiz

1 What conclusion can BEST be drawn from the section "More Professionals, Less

Poverty"?

(A) Latinos and whites will be economically equal in the near future.

(B) The Latino community will begin to struggle more with each new

generation.

(C) Latinos face economic challenges that may be too difficult to

overcome.

(D) The Latino community will continue to progress with each new

generation.

2 Which of the following words BEST describes Marilyn Padilla's perspective on the

Latino community?

(A) fulfilled

(B) skeptical

(C) optimistic

(D) disheartened

3 Which of the following BEST represents the structure of the introduction

[paragraphs 1-4]?

(A) cause and effect

(B) chronological order

(C) problem and solution

(D) compare and contrast

4 Which of the following BEST describes the article's structure?

(A) a description of the effects of several people's actions

(B) a comparison of two historical events

(C) a description of a major change over time

(D) an explanation of a serious problem

Answer Key

1 What conclusion can BEST be drawn from the section "More Professionals, Less

Poverty"?

(A) Latinos and whites will be economically equal in the near future.

(B) The Latino community will begin to struggle more with each new

generation.

(C) Latinos face economic challenges that may be too difficult to

overcome.

(D) The Latino community will continue to progress with each new

generation.

2 Which of the following words BEST describes Marilyn Padilla's perspective on the

Latino community?

(A) fulfilled

(B) skeptical

(C) optimistic

(D) disheartened

3 Which of the following BEST represents the structure of the introduction

[paragraphs 1-4]?

(A) cause and effect

(B) chronological order

(C) problem and solution

(D) compare and contrast

4 Which of the following BEST describes the article's structure?

(A) a description of the effects of several people's actions

(B) a comparison of two historical events

(C) a description of a major change over time

(D) an explanation of a serious problem