May 2010
The 2010 census – and its “10 questions in 10 minutes” questionnaire – inspired serious questions of its own among our nation’s many ethnic and racial groups. Facing a short list of race and ethnicity boxes to check, along with four separate write-in areas, the communities that don’t fit neatly into one category sought to establish and promote a way to represent the full strength of their populations.
Leaders in the Arab-American community discouraged their peers from self-identifying as “white,” which is how the census has traditionally designated people of European, Middle Eastern or North African descent. Instead, they advocated checking the box for “some other race” and writing in “Arab.” Caribbean-Americans not from Puerto Rico or Cuba also promoted the write-in area as a way to identify ethnicity and potentially to increase the federal dollars allocated to their community significantly.
The issue of self-identification is amplified for indigenous migrant communities like the Zapotecos, Mixtecos or Triquis. Members of these indigenous groups from Mexico have immigrated to the United States but remain profoundly isolated due to language and cultural barriers, marginalization, poverty and a deep-seated mistrust of government and labor unions.
California has an estimated 200,000 indigenous immigrants from Mexico working in farming, construction and restaurant industries primarily in the Central Valley, Los Angeles and San Diego areas. These groups speak 25 different dialects among them, and boast a rich diversity of customs and traditions. Many come to the U.S. in search of better conditions, only to encounter discrimination, and scarce job security, unsafe and overcrowded residence, and limited access to quality medical care.
While the census represents one opportunity to give these isolated communities a voice, overcoming their apprehension to engage them on a grand scale will be a gradual and delicate process. One of our newest team members, María Fernanda Trochimezuk, has extensive experience communicating with hard-to-reach populations.
“They have fought hard to hold on to their cultural identity and traditions,” said María, who has joined Hershey|Cause as a director, “but are increasingly feeling the pressure of American social norms penetrating their boundaries.” The culture clash is often traumatic; according to Asociacion Esperanza Maya Quiche, indigenous parents report that, over time, their children begin to behave disrespectfully towards them and reject their culture. Meanwhile drug abuse and gang violence are on the rise, and ancient medical treatments are being called upon to combat the effects of modern pesticides, poor sanitation and depression.
“Before we can improve the quality of life for these people, we must first understand their unique point of view – their fears and their values,” María said. “And then we must recognize that traditional media doesn’t work. We need to be authentic, and get creative.”
These are some of the lessons María has learned from working specifically with the Mixteco, Triqui and Zapoteco communities:
If you’ve followed Hershey|Cause for a while now, you are familiar with our mission of Communications for Good. These complex, diverse and hard-to-reach populations represent what happens when communications is oversimplified or ignored – we look forward to discovering all that can be accomplished in these communities through the use of meaningful, effective messaging and engagement strategies.