Los Jóvenes

According to the 2010 Census of Population and Housing and the Census Bureau’s 2013 American Community Survey, the population of young Latin@s is surpassing all other groups in the state. Between 15 and 20 % of the Latinos are between the ages of 5 and 25. This is a considerably large number, since Latinos are only 3.4% of Ohio’s population. Many of these young Latin@s have grown up here, some arrived as children, and others came to further their education. But what these statistics really tell us is that there’s an exciting road ahead of us as leaders emerge out of this generation that knows Ohio well—some of them are homegrown Ohio Latin@s. The rapidly growing population of young Latinos also reveals the lack of resources to support students and parents in the education system, K-12 and college, as evidenced by a recent newspaper article. In January, 2015 the Columbus Dispatch wrote a story regarding a complaint filed by parents, stating that Columbus and five other central Ohio school districts fail to provide translation and interpreters services for Spanish-speaking parents with special-education students.

Through the work and research many of my students and I have done around Ohio, it is evident that there is a great need for bilingual resources in education, health care and law enforcement. The need for translation and interpreting services is one specific example of such needs. The issue of language and cultural maintenance, family values and identity is of high importance for the young people interviewed in this chapter. As you listen and read about their journey, life lessons, and their stories of growing up, you’ll discover the passion these young Latin@s have for education, and for learning and maintaining the Spanish language—although it has not been an easy task for most of them—as well as their genuine interest in their communities. From belonging to different Latin@ student groups, to creating a space within their universities to engage in dialogue about cultural issues, to investing their time to support the development of a central Latin@ community in Cleveland, OH; these young people are truly an inspiration.