Hispanic: Hispania was the name given by the
ancient Romans in 200 BC to the whole Iberian
Peninsula located in Western Europe. Upon the fall
of the Roman Empire, Hispania was divided into two
separate countries, one of which later became known
as Spain. Because this area was called Hispania, it
eventually became common to refer to people who
could trace their lineage or cultural heritage back
to Spain as Hispanos.
In 1960, the U.S. Census Bureau was seeking a term
to refer to people of Spanish ancestry who were
residing in the United States. The Census Bureau had
previously used the term Mexican but this confused
those who were of Latin American descent but were
not from Mexico. Because the Spanish had colonized
parts of Latin America and given that in other parts
of the world those who could trace their lineage to
Spain were called Hispanos, the Census Bureau coined
the term Hispanic to refer to those of Spanish
ancestry in the United States. Eventually, the
Census Bureau expanded the use of the term Hispanic
to include those whose origin was Cuba, Central
America, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Spanish Caribbean
and South America.
The key element of the term Hispanic is that it
refers to residents within the United States
regardless if they are U.S. citizens, permanent
residents or temporary immigrants. This is important
to remember because organizations often make the
mistake of referring to individuals or programs
focused outside of the United States as Hispanic.
For example, some organizations mistakenly refer to
someone who is born and raised in Mexico and working
at a facility in the country of Mexico as being
Hispanic. This is not the case since the individual
does not reside in the United States. Similarly,
some organizations mistakenly refer to efforts to
build business and revenue in Latin America as
Hispanic initiatives. Such efforts can only be
correctly called Hispanic initiatives if the focus
is on domestic efforts in the United States.
The use of Hispanic has been prevalent for a long
time and is still quite popular in the names of
several prominent organizations (such as the
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the National
Society of Hispanic MBAs). However, there is a
growing trend against the use of the term Hispanic
for a couple of reasons. First, some resent the fact
that Hispanic is an English word that was created by
English speakers. These individuals consider the
term offensive because they see it as a word Anglos
made up for Latinos. Secondly, others have
difficulty with the term Hispanic because it conveys
thoughts of the Spanish conquest of Latin America
and Spanish colonialism.
Latino: Unlike Hispanic, the term Latino is
an actual Spanish word and essentially refers to
people with Latin American ancestry which includes
the Spanish Caribbean, Central and South America as
well as those from Spain. Unlike Hispanic, the term
Latino also has gender connotations in that a male
is a Latino and a female is a Latina. Latino also
follows the usual conventions for Spanish words in
that the masculine plural form Latinos refers to
both males and females collectively. As ethnic pride
has grown, so too has the popularity of the term
Latino. Many prefer Latino because it more closely
associates to the people and culture of Latin
America as opposed to Spain. Others prefer it
because it is a term that has come from within the
community as opposed to one made up for them from
outside the community.
Today, the terms Hispanic and Latino are often used
interchangeably by organizations and by the members
within the community. However, we should all remain
aware that the debate over which term to use is more
than a battle over names. The conflict involves a
power struggle and the attempt by those who have
been marginalized in the past to name themselves as
opposed to allowing others decide what labels they
will use to refer to them.
I personally prefer the term Latino and have found
its use to be more “en vogue” by organizations.
However I respect those who prefer to use term
Hispanic. Whichever term you prefer, I believe it is
important for all of us to know the different
meanings of these two words associated with this
community
View all of Robert's Blog
Dr.
Robert Rodriguez's Bio
is the Assistant Dean of the
Graduate School of Management at Kaplan University.
His responsibilities curriculum design, course
development, and course delivery for Kaplan’s
Newsweek MBA programs. Prior to Kaplan, Robert
taught at the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business
at DePaul University and also was a faculty chair at
Capella University.
Prior to academia, Robert held human resource
leadership roles at several Fortune 500 firms
including Target Corporation, 3M Company, BP Amoco
and RR Donnelley & Sons. Along with teaching at
Kaplan, Dr. Rodriguez is the Managing Partner at
Astira Group, a human capital services firm based in
Chicago. Robert leads the firm’s Talent Management
Practice and some of his clients include Wachovia,
SuperValu, Allianz Life, Darden Restaurants, 3M
Company, Thompson NETg and DaimlerChrysler. He helps
firms develop proactive strategies in the area of
succession planning, leadership development,
employee engagement and diversity initiatives.
Robert’s experience and education serve him well in
his role as a frequent contributor for HR Magazine
where he writes articles that focus on talent
management issues. He has also published numerous
articles on human resource topics in such
publications as The Chicago Tribune, Chief Learning
Officer Magazine, The OD Practitioner Journal,
Workforce Performance Solutions, and I-Street
Magazine.
Robert has also been featured in such publications
as Workforce Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The
Washington Post, FastCompany Magazine and Crains
Chicago Business. Dr. Rodriguez is an Advisory
Council member for The Conference Board and he is
frequently called upon to speak by associations such
as the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
and the Chief Learning Officer Symposium.
Dr. Rodriguez currently serves as Chairman of the
Board of Directors for The Hispanic Alliance for
Career Enhancement (www.hace-usa.org), a national
non-profit organization dedicated to incubating and
nurturing Latinos throughout their career continuum
and working to develop increasing numbers of
successful Latino professionals and leaders. Robert
just finished a book that will be published by Wiley
& Sons Publications in Sept. '07 titled, Latino
Talent: Effective Strategies to Recruit, Retain and
Develop Hispanic Professionals.
Dr. Rodriguez received his doctorate in Organization
Development at Benedictine University in Chicago.
His research interests include career branding,
talent management, succession planning, leadership
development and diversity. Dr. Robert Rodriguez can
be reached at Kaplan University at
RRodriguez2@kaplan.edu
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