Jorge Ramos, A Latino Leader
Pew Hispanic has just released the results of a new study showing that U.S. Latinos are, essentially, a people without a leader. When asked who they considered a national Latino leader, a whopping 64% replied that they did not know. An additional 10% said “no one”. When someone was named, the most frequent name was Sonia Sotomayor, at 7%, and Univision evening news anchor Jorge Ramos received 2%.
Another aspect of the study was gauging respondents’ familiarity with different Latino leaders. When asked if they recognized the names of 8 prominent Latinos, only two were familiar to respondents- those mentioned above, Sotomayor and Ramos. Democratic Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva and President of the National Council of La Raza Janet Murguía were the least recognized names.
The results of this study are disheartening, to say the least. 75% of the Latinos surveyed believe that no one leads their community, and the few people who chose Sonia Sotomayor mistake a woman who many admire for a leader. As a Supreme Court Justice, Sotomayor cannot take on any sort of formal leadership role, political or otherwise. After Sotomayor, the number of recognized Latino leaders drops. Whom do YOU think should be recognized as a leader of the Latino community?
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