Young Hispanos, the Republican Party, and Political Participation

By Melissa Blair.

In the first article of the series (The Republican Party and Hispanic Youth) I said our Party had to accept the perceptions young Hispanos have of us. What do I mean by ‘accept’? Well, very simply accepting isn’t suggesting that their perceptions are true and Republicans are racist and outdated. Instead, in this case, accepting means to understand, and not reject or protest against such feelings and perceptions. If some don’t want to ‘accept’… fine, but ask yourselves this “How do you plan on protesting perceptions?” You can’t, so let’s all ‘accept’ and move on. One final note, I use the term ‘outreach’ because it’s linked to missions, goals, and milestones with an educational component, but feel free to use whatever term suits you.

Let’s also be very clear about our outreach ambitions. We should not be engaging in ‘race-baiting’ when trying to connect with our fellow Americans. What we should be doing is learning about them, listening to their issues and concerns like we do with all groups of people with common backgrounds or interests. We need to educate, and serve as role models so we can mentor our youth through leadership and example, especially when we take on the mission of establishing a relationship with young Hispanos. Remember we are not re-establishing a relationship with young Hispanos like we are with older generations in Hispanic Communities. Generation X, Y & Z Hispanics, who were born after 1970, collectively, have virtually no relationship with the GOP. Am I saying there are no young Hispanic Republicans? Obviously not considering I’m a Generation X Republican Hispanic woman, but I am saying we are far and few between. I’m sure we’re viewed as mythical creatures by a number of folks! This piece will generally focus on Generations Y & Z, those born after 1980.

Before we can begin any initiative we have to have a foundation on why young Hispanos are “politically disengaged”. We can’t just start creating and implementing initiatives without a basic body of knowledge. There are a myriad of reasons why young Hispanos have a lower level of interest in politics, but due to the short nature of opinion pieces I will only touch on a few I discovered through personal experience, observation, interviews and research. First, parents proved, in the majority, to be poor political role models. Widespread social movements had come and gone and were replaced with single-issue groups lessening the need for political action. Secondly, there is a vague understanding of what it means to be an active citizen; rights are better understood than responsibilities. In essence, young Hispanos “have not thought deeply about their responsibilities or opportunities as citizens.” Other reasons for their disengagement are: they feel ignored by politicians, they lack base knowledge of the political system and their civic duties, and they have a low level of social trust. They don’t feel Republicans have “their backs”, or best interests at heart. For example, affording and earning a good education; they believe they don’t have access to an equal education because of where their homes or neighborhoods might be located. As a final point, and most aggravating, celebrities and the media have become the new political role models and ‘experts.’ Since young Hispanos don’t trust us they will listen to what rapper PitBull has to say, and he said vote for Obama in the last election. We allowed celebrities and Liberals to unfairly, and mistakenly define us when we should have been defining and sticking up for ourselves! We should have been less worried about running away from confrontation and misconceptions, and more worried about being inclusive and building strong relationships.

O.k. so what do we do with our new body of knowledge? We embrace it, focus, and move forward. First and foremost we have to listen to young Hispanos and discuss their thoughts, concerns and ideas. Do you really expect their support when they feel ignored by the Republican Party, and our policymakers? Get out there, and talk to them! Support their communities and learn about their principles and traditions. Education is a two-way street we must learn about them if we want them to learn about us. Engage them by organizing political awareness activities in their neighborhoods. We should stress the need for all young citizens to be more involved in school politics like running for office, or joining community clubs. Let’s get them involved in campaigns to expand their knowledge of the political arena, and to boost their interest in serving communities. We need to establish mentoring programs, and give them access to successful Hispanos who can share their stories with them. I’m not suggesting non-Hispanic Republicans’ wouldn’t be great mentors or that they shouldn’t be, but as I mentioned before we are trying to ‘establish’ a relationship so trust must be built. Trust will have to be built initially via Hispano-to-Hispano outreach in conjunction with activities with all Republican Party members. Let’s support the idea that all mentors should stick to our Republican credo that focuses less on one’s hardships and more on successes! An increase in their knowledge base united with an increase in interest, social trust, and understanding of their civic duties will lead to a well-informed and participative young Hispano voter!

Is this all we have to do? No, but it’s a great start! We must inform them on who we are and what our Republican principles are, and why we believe what we believe. We must remind them that they are personally responsible in achieving their hopes and dreams, but that the Republican Party is here to help. Let’s stop letting others speak for us and allowing Liberals to influence young Hispanos against us. Let’s show them what we’re all about! We’re the Party of empowerment through personal responsibility, and an education. We fight to maintain a strong national defense to keep them and their family safe, and we’re the Party that respects traditionalism and family values. We are the Republican Party, and we represent what our founding fathers wanted for this nation, and we’re the best Party to lead this great country.

Melissa Blair is a Doctoral candidate at the University of North Texas. She holds Masters degrees in Hispanic Studies and Public Administration from Auburn University.

September 8, 2009.

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