PART V

Latino Destino

OUR MULTICULTURAL NATION IS RAPIDLY emerging. Yet building a truly diverse and equitable society necessitates a new vision of inclusiveness. When the Constitution was written, only White male property owners were allowed to vote. Black men, as slaves, were counted as only three-fifths of a person, and women could not vote until the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920.¹ Because Hispanics were considered “White,” they theoretically could vote, but as we know, they did not have an official US designation until the 1980 census. Birthing our multicultural society requires uprooting this race-based view of our country and embracing a more encompassing and equitable vision of our humanity.

A premise of this book is that Latinos, because of their inherent diversity, demographic prominence, and bienvenido spirit can guide our transformation to a multicultural society. I refer to this as Latino destino—the unique contribution Latinos will make to the Americas.

As we have learned, Latinos are a culture, not a race, and since culture is learned there is the potential to invite people to partake in the many facets of Latinidad (the Latino experience). People who connect to our culture and values can become Latinos by corazón, or affinity. Not exclusion, but inclusion. This would turn America’s race-based consciousness upside down!

This process is not new to Latinos. Most of us already have extended familia that are not Latino by birth and include amigos who are not blood related. Our extended familias are elastic and stretch to welcome others. And then, of course, Latinos are the only group that self-identifies, which facilitates the entrada into culture because it is not based on race or bloodline. And the bonus is once a person becomes a Latino by corazón, they become a cultural adaptive—a person who can respectfully acknowledge and adopt beneficial behaviors, values, and reference points from different cultures. This is a coveted skill for our multicultural future!

Furthermore, Latino humanistic values emphasize social responsibility, a needed attribute in fashioning a society that embraces not only diversity but also equity, a society that genuinely cares for (and takes care of) its people. Our final chapter, “Latino Destino: Building a Diverse and Humane Society,” summarizes ten strategies Latinos can use to move us closer to creating this society.

Our journey ends with an intriguing vision put forth by Mexican philosopher José Vasconcelos more than one hundred years ago: la Raza Cósmica—the Cosmic Race. His vision foresaw the mixing of the four major groups of humanity into a new familia that combined the best characteristics of all the races. As we have noted, multicultural identity is proliferating particularly among young people.

This indicates that Vasconcelos’s prophesy is happening Ahora! Latinos are already the fusion of many cultures and celebrate de colores—the radiant rainbow of humanity. Latino destino is to lead the multicultural transformation of our society and to actualize the vision of la Raza Cósmica.