The Fine Art of Political Correctness

Ever since a key discussion in a college Spanish linguistic class, I have been continuously correcting my parents when they use the term "Hispanic" rather than "Latino," claiming that "latino" is the P.C. term to use nowadays.  But then I heard a story by the ever-wonderful Code Switch team at NPR earlier this year highlighting the results of the Pew Research Center's Hispanic Trends Project. (Note the use of "Hispanic" in the title of the project, but then the use of the term "Latino" in the description of the poll).  Basically, the results of the poll show that about half of the respondents had no preference for one term over the other, while the half that did have a preference preferred the term "Hispanic" 2 to 1; but what is really preferred is the use of "origin terms" such as "Mexican-American" or "Peruvian" etc. After hearing the story, I got off my high horse about correcting my parents.  And now to kick of my investigations this summer, I decided to dig a bit deeper into the terms.  Here is a brief summary of my findings:

Semantics:
Basically, the term "Latino" refers to geography, whereas "Hispanic" refers to language.  So, for example, "Latino" includes Brazilians because they are from Latin American, but excludes Spaniards whereas, "Hispanic" includes Spaniards because they speak Spanish, but excludes Brazilians because they are Portuguese speakers.

History:
I realized that my parents kept using the term "Hispanic" because the term was popularized in the 1970's by the Nixon administration as an attempt to categorize people from Mexico, Cuba, and Central and South America for data collection.  Some of those who find the term distasteful have formed that opinion based on the fact that they claim the government invented the term to group a diverse population into one category.  Historically, the term "Hispanic" was generally used more on the Eastern Seaboard and "Latino" on the West Coast, although these preferences have generally broken down over time.  In 2000, the term "Latino" was used on the US Census as an effort to be more inclusive towards people who also identified as mestizo and mulatto.  In recent years, media outlets have increasingly turned towards using "Latino" in their branding (ex: CNN Latino, Latinos for Obama 2012), but many journalists like those at Univision, along with the authors of almost every article I read for this post, used the two terms interchangeably.  Interestingly enough, REFORMA, the affiliate organization of the ALA that focuses on Spanish-language library services, chooses to describe itself as "The National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking."  I suppose the "Spanish Speaking" addition could be an attempt to include Spaniards and make everyone happy?   

Clear as mud?

I suppose the takeaway message I got from all this returns me to the mantra I have heard throughout my SLIS education so far: "KNOW YOUR COMMUNITY!"  Latinos are a diverse group that trace their roots back to many countries that stretch across a vast swath of the globe.  An immigrant from Mexico may have a completely different cultural association with and perception of libraries than an immigrant from Argentina.  A successful librarian will look at the demographic statistics and go out into the community and get to know just who is out there (and of course, also what they need/want in terms of library services), rather than just thinking about "the Hispanic population" as one lump-able group.