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Harnessing The Hispanic Population's Powerful Growth
Delivering the keynote address at the Radio Ink Hispanic Radio Conference, former Clinton administration Housing and Urban Development Secretary and Univision CEO Henry Cisneros outlined what he called the four dimensions taking place within the Latino community that will make the business of Spanish language radio stronger in the years ahead; population growth, leadership development, cultural beachheads, and economics.
Citing Census Bureau figures, Cisneros noted that between 2000 - 2006, the number of Latinos in the United States grew by 25.5%, versus a 1.6% jump for whites, and a 6.9% increase for African-Americans. Further, the Census Bureau predicts that between now and 2050, the number of Hispanics living in the U.S. will increase by 63 million people, versus 18% for whites, 25 million for African-Americans, and 27 million for Asians. "50% of the new growth will be Latino," he noted.
As for the reasons why, Cisneros noted that Hispanic families tend to be younger, and larger. Indeed, he noted that one half of the children under age 5 in the U.S. are either Hispanic, African-American or Asian. He also noted that while the number of non-Hispanic school age children has declined 4% since 2000, the number of Hispanic school aged kids has increased 21% over that same span.
On the matter of leadership, Cisneros noted that the number of Latinos in elected office is increasing, while better education for younger Hispanics is increasing the opportunities for Latinos to become leaders in business, and offering people a chance to work together on common goals. "We've decided to put aside the contentious issues on which we can't agree, but focus on the many questions on which we can work together; bi-lingual education, elderly care, entrepreneurship strategies and asset development in the middle class." He also noted that while a few years ago there were no Latino members of Congress, there are now three. "This is immense progress," he said, "and unbelievably important in the coalescence of interests."
Despite the importance of these leadership gains, Cisneros said the cultural impact Latinos are having on the U.S. landscape are perhaps more important because it allows Hispanics to communicate in a way that doesn't challenge, offend, worry or bother other groups. "Many of you are facilitating this process by giving Latinos a way to communicate with people, via radio," he said. In addition to music, Cisneros cited the progress Latinos are making in sports, literature, fashion, food, and architecture.
Last but not least, Cisneros said the economic impact the "Hispanization of America" is having cannot be denied, noting that Latinos are expected to have $1 trillion in disposable income by 2010. Still, he noted that the reason advertisers remain skeptical comes from the impression that Hispanic listeners aren't the most attractive potential consumers.
"We also have to be honest - many or our people remain poor," he said. "You aren't getting the same dollars because advertisers see the population as undocumented and not consumers they want, so we've got a distance to go. But we're in this together. Those of us who are advocates for Latino communities all do better when this population moves to the middle class, when this community has more disposable income and is rewarded for its hard work. We all do better when it has savings and begins to amass more wealth."
To that end, Cisneros encouraged business leaders to fight unfair business practices that punish Latinos who aren't educated about finances and wind up paying high interest rates for loans, higher car insurance, higher real estate fees, etc. "They're taking money right out of our communities," he said. "If you want to take on a cause, this is the next big challenge," he said. "We have to help people save that money, create some wealth, and help them move towards the middle class and towards real opportunity."
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