Dear citizens of North Carolina: A storm is gathering in your great state. I'm not talking about the next big hurricane or the annual Andy Griffith look-alike festival. I'm talking about a foreign invasion. The state has not had to worry about foreign invasion since the Revolutionary War (or since the Civil War as some residents will say), being protected from miles and miles of land and ocean from the nearest countries. Maybe your guard has been let down over the past 200 years and you've been spending all your time reenacting the War Between the States. I don't know, but this state is at a cross road. You're at a crossroad, because the aliens are coming.
Not them fancy X-Files aliens (they prefer the deserts of New Mexico), I'm talking about immigrants. Lots of them are coming, Hispanics to be precise. As many already know, North Carolina has one of the highest growth rates of any state in the Union and the number one Hispanic growth rate over the past decade. This leaves North Carolina at a sort of fork in the road on what type of state it wants to base itself on: California or Texas.
(Note: I apologize for now attacking some of my readers' home state and if you are upset, you know my e-mail address).
North Carolina can embrace the inevitable emergent Hispanic base in the state or it can turn away and embrace xenophobia. It can be like one of the most liberal states in the Union, California--the birthplace of anti-immigration resentment--which passed Proposition 187, which banned all state services for illegal immigrants. The Almanac of American Politics wrote in their new edition California has shown "scorn, disgust and worst of all, indifference to Mexico." Texas--one of the most conservative states in the Union and a state that loves to go to war with its neighbors to the south--meanwhile nurtured its Hispanic population by enacting bilingual education programs. This was actually done under the man everyone on this campus loves to hate, George W. Bush. As that great orator once aptly put: "To stand up and say 'English-only' basically says to a lot of Hispanic people: 'you don't count.' I think they do count."
I will concede California has made efforts to overcome its policy decisions of the mid-90s and is much more receptive to immigrants since the 187 vote. Also Texas has a far from perfect past in race relations with its history of slavery and border violence, but it's important that both states are starting to move forward. Having an immigrant now as governor should help California-immigrant relations too.
We are already starting to see signs of what could be an emerging race battle in North Carolina right here in Durham with the recent Immigrant's Rights Marches in the Triangle area in which many immigrants took to singing the civil rights unifying song "We Shall Overcome" as "Vamos a Vencer." Some Duke students even participated in the march that was held in Durham.
It should be noteworthy that despite the huge Hispanic percentage growth in North Carolina, Hispanics still constitute only 4.7 percent of the population. California and Texas's Hispanic population is around 30 percent. But already seeds of xenophobia are being planted in the Triangle community despite the still little relative population percentage of Hispanics. One such group, Stop the Invasion!, has begun holding counter-protests in the area to voice their concerns over the growing problem in North Carolina. In a recent Herald-Sun article, founder Randy Lewis commented, "Mexico is a really rich country... they make a lot of money [in Mexico], they just don't spread it around. It is not our problem." With Mr. Lewis already in a tizzy with Hispanics constituting 4.7 percent of the population, imagine what will happen when that number gets bigger.
And Mi Gente is spending the bulk of its voice on campus complaining about a drunken frat party.
As the son of a legal Colombian immigrant, I think campus groups and local leaders need to start preparing to promote equal rights and protection at local workplaces and more state businesses that are designed to accommodate for both the Hispanic and English language. I can say from family experience even being a legal immigrant in this country is not easy. If the needs of the Hispanic population aren't provided for, then education, employment and median income rates will surely suffer.
Only with good education programs can possible downturns be avoided. That, I could really finally use a place in Durham that can make decent enchiladas (no offense Armadillo Grill).
Jonathan Pattillo is a Trinity sophomore. His column appears every third Wednesday.
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