Exclusive: Mayor Dixon on Hispanics, diversity and the upcoming census

October 9, 12:09 PMBaltimore Hispanic Business ExaminerElianne Ramos

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Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon [photo © 2009 Elianne Ramos]

Judging by U.S. Census figures, new studies and statistics, America’s face is changing. Hispanics are the fastest-growing minority group in the nation. And for the past couple of years, it seems that the one-time black-and-white city of Baltimore, is finally awakening to its multicolor Latino community.

Celebrating this diversity was the main focus of last week’s 3rd Annual Mayor Reception to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. At the event, the Mayor spoke about the importance of appointing more Latinos to leadership roles in the different government agencies, and called out some of the Latinos who are already part of it: Dr. Andrés Alonzo, CEO the Baltimore City Public School System, Hugo S. Lam, Director of Park Conservation and Community Outreach (PCCO) for the Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks and Julio Colón, Executive Director of the Park Heights Reinassance Project.

After her presentation, a very lively Dixon took a few moments to chat with us about the event’s significance and some of the issues the Latino population in the City is currently facing. “This event is very important because there is a growing and strong Hispanic comunity,” she said, adding “we want them to know that this, City Hall, is their home, just like it is for any other citizens in the City of Baltimore.”

Julio Colón and Mayor Dixon [photo © Elianne Ramos]

She also emphasized the way that diversity is taking shape in her administration: “This is as a result of the members of the [Baltimore City] Hispanic Commission. One of the things that they have stressed is that they want to see more Latinos to leadership roles. They’re working year-round to have more Hispanics working with us in the different government agencies. They are really making sure that we have that kind of diversity.”

When asked what kind of initiatives she’s implementing to benefit the Hispanic community in the City, she answered: “First of all, this whole language access program, we have volunteers and we going to make sure that we are going to compensate them.”

She’s referring to Language Access Program (LAP), one of the major projects of the Baltimore's Mayor's Office of International and Immigrant Affairs, a program that makes it possible for city agencies to request interpreters through the Mayor’s Office and access documents in various languages. According to the Mayor, the City is finalizing a policy to compensate the bilingual staff that serve as interpreters. 

Dixon also named other initiatives her office is putting in place to benefit the Latino community in the city. “We have our health clinics, and are planning to do more outreach, to have some agencies that are more sensitive in order to be able to plan strategically.” 

MD Immigration stats, US Citizenship and Immigration Services field report, 2000

An issue that she is particularly concerned with is the upcoming Census: “it’s very important to get counted because millions and millions of dollars come to cities for services that accomodate and serve everyone,” she said.

Given the language barriers, the estimated large amount of undocumented immigrants in the city, and the opposition of some activist and religious organizations asking Latinos to boycott he Census, the City will have to make a concerted effort to make this happen. But the Mayor seems to be aware of this fact, and as she put it: “Our whole point is that we need to have people working in the community who actually reflect the community so that people are not turned off.”
 

It is estimated that on the last Census, Latinos were undercounted by 3%. Being undercounted could have long-term consequences for the state. For every individual that is not counted, there’s approximately $1,000 per year in federal funds that the state stands to lose in terms of funding. Multiply that by an estimated 56,000 undocumented immigrants in the State of Maryland, according to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services field report of 2000, and the number of funds coming into the State could drop by $56,000,000. That’s $56 million dollars less in federal funds for things like health care, education programs, roads, water mains, sewer lines and public transit.

For us as a community, an inaccurate count will mean diminished grant funding for Latino immigrant causes and programs. What's worse, it would undermine the clout that the Latino population is starting to gain politically in the State.

There’s still a long road to travel, and Mayor Dixon seems to agree. “I think there’s been a lot of improvement, but things can be improved in a lot of areas: particularly in the language access for parents of kids who are in public schools, in the workforce, in making sure that contractors are taken care of in the right way.”

For now, supporting and creating awareness about the Census is one of her administration’s main initiatives. “Everyone needs to be part of the Census and understand the importance of being counted so that those communities can benefit from the resources that become available,” she concluded.

In order for this initiative to be truly successful, the Mayor will need the united cooperation of everyone in the community. Only then will the federal government get an accurate picture about our community. Only then we can show the strength of our numbers, underscore our growing political influence and garner more federal funds that are so needed by our population. Only then we can make sure that Baltimore continues celebrating our culture beyond Hispanic Heritage Month.

Agree? Disagree? Please leave your comments below or send me an e-mail to eramos@elianneramos.com

All text and images [except where noted] ©2009 Elianne Ramos. All Rights Reserved.