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The United States is increasingly a multiracial society, with white students accounting for just over half of all students in public schools, down from four-fifths in 1970.

Yet whites are still largely concentrated in schools with other whites, leaving the largest minority groups — black and Latino students — isolated in classrooms, according to a new analysis of Department of Education data.

The report showed that segregation is not limited to race: blacks and Latinos are twice as likely as white or Asian students to attend schools with a substantial majority of poor children.

Across the country, 43 percent of Latinos and 38 percent of blacks attend schools where fewer than 10 percent of their classmates are white, according to the report, released on Wednesday by the Civil Rights Project at the University of California, Los Angeles. READ MORE

To say that Hispanic consumers play an important role in the US economy is an understatement. According to the Pew Hispanic Center, Hispanics represent the majority of the population growth in 33 states. The 2010 Census documents 38.7 million Hispanics in 33 states (http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1928/census-hispanic-count-compared-with-estimates) .

This consumer group provides a valuable source of richness to our culture, source of employment to businesses and income to retailers. In order to successfully offer products and services to Hispanics, it is essential to understand their opinions, needs and wants. They also possess a large voice in the November 2012 Presidential election.

I recently published a book entitled “The Changing American Consumer.” As the title suggests, opinions and actions of the consumer are very different from the past. Indeed consumers think and act very differently from just five years ago.

As the presidential election moves toward the November deadline, the role Hispanics will play in the election may shape the future of our government and indeed the landscape of our country. A March 2012 BIGinsight Month Consumer Survey reveals interesting, if not somewhat disturbing insight regarding Hispanics level of trust regarding the economy and, national policy and ethics of public corporations. READ MORE

Little in the nation’s annual tabulation of disadvantage released by the Census Bureau last week can be described as encouraging. But, there was one sliver of good news for a population very hard hit by the Great Recession.

Latinos were the only ethnic or racial group in the United States that saw the share of people living in poverty decline. Latino poverty slid to 25.3 percent in 2011 from 26.5 percent in 2010. The difference, while statistically slight, means that 278,000 fewer Latinos were living in poverty in 2011 than in the prior year.

But nearly all of that progress was concentrated in one group, childless Latino adults, according to a National Council of La Raza analysis. Of the 13 million Hispanics living in poverty, 6 million or 46 percent of these people were under the age of 18. READ MORE

Does not speaking Spanish make someone a “fake” Latino?

San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro was headlined across the country as the first Latino keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention earlier this month, but the Mexican-American’s lack of Spanish fluency has sparked some debate within the Latino community.

While introducing “the Democrats’ rising star” The Guardian questioned whether Castro could be considered “Latino.”

But does not speaking the language make anyone less Latino? HuffPost Live’s Alicia Menendez hosted a segment asking guests and viewers “does it matter?”

“I find it hypocritical and frustrating that it’s the language [that is considered binding], when the culture, I think, is more binding,” said Angelica Martinez, a student at Smith College.

Sara Inés Calderón, journalist at News Taco, thinks there may be “some sort of cultural bind between different Latinos,” but she adds “that Spanish is definitely a component of that, even if it is just a little bit.” READ MORE

Cancer has surpassed heart disease to become the leading cause of death among Hispanics in the United States, according to an American Cancer Society report released Monday.

Every three years since 2000, scientists at the cancer society have published Cancer Facts and Figures for Hispanics/Latinos. Such studies provide data that help develop an efficient science-based cancer control plan.

Hispanics are the fastest growing demographic group in the United States. Approximately 16.3% of America's population (50.5 million out of 310 million people) is Hispanic. It is estimated that 112,800 people of Hispanic ethnicity will be diagnosed with cancer and 33,200 will die of the disease in 2012.

The finding is due in part to the younger age distribution of Hispanics. Approximately one in 10 Hispanics is age 55 or over, compared to one in three non-Hispanics.

Among non-Hispanic whites and African-Americans, heart disease remains the leading cause of death, according to Monday's American Cancer Society report, the fifth. READ MORE

On the day Mitt Romney is speaking to the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Los Angeles, new numbers out from the polling firm Latino Decisions this morning show that his gender gap extends to Latina voters as well:

With seven weeks until the election Republican candidate Mitt Romney’s potential gender gap with women faces a new hurdle in the Latino community, as reported today by Pilar Marrero. According to the fourth week of the impreMedia/Latino Decisions tracking poll Latina voters plan to vote for President Obama by a margin of 74% to 21% for Romney – a 53 point gap. Among Latino men, 61% plan to vote for Obama and 32% for Romney. The September 17 polling data suggest the President continues to solidify his lead among Latinos, and there are no signs of cracks in the Obama coalition among Latino voters. Overall Obama holds 68% of the Latino vote to 26% for Romney, erasing the small bump Romney received in the September 3 (week 2) poll release following the RNC convention. [Full Week 4 results by gender here]

But it is among Latina voters that Romney and the Republican party fare the worst. The impreMedia/Latino Decisions tracking poll data show very clearly that Hispanic women are very opposed to Mitt Romney and the Republican party image right now. Romney’s favorability is 27% among Latino men and just 22% among Latinas, while Republicans in Congress are seen favorably by 29% of men, but just 20% of women in the Latino community. Looking towards the vote in the U.S. House, 68% of Latinas say they will vote Democrat compared to 59% of Latino men.

Alex and I wrote a few weeks back about whether Republicans are in danger of losing the Latino vote for good -- Romney has consistently been 30-plus points behind Obama among the demographic. These latest numbers suggest he hasn't made any significant inroads, and even that he's losing ground among Latino (and Latina) voters. READ MORE

It's been a year to remember for Latinos in the United States. Now it's time to celebrate and reflect.

Latinos are growing in power and influence. Census numbers show Latinos are the nation's largest minority population, moving front and center in U.S. political discourse, innovation, and pop culture.

Hispanics have become a potent force in virtually every dimension of U.S. life.

At 52 million, they now comprise more than 16 percent of the nation's total population, making them the largest ethnic or race minority in the United States. They account for a large percentage of new small business owners, generating roughly $351 billion in receipts annually. This year, Latinos had unprecedented prominence in both the Republican and Democratic national conventions.

A Latina topped the Forbes Celebrity 100 list, a ranking of the most powerful people in entertainment. Jennifer Lopez, who came in at No. 50 last year, soared to the top of the heap, with her estimated income of $52 million. The magazine said she was "the nation’s hottest and most sought after celebrity" -- the result of "smart positioning and whole lot of hustle." READ MORE

President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney will participate for the first time in history in election television programs specially directed at the Hispanic audience.

Spanish-language network Univision will broadcast the forums "to discuss education and the future of the Hispanic community."

Both of the "Meet the Candidates" events - Sept. 19 with Romney and Sept. 20 with Obama - will be held in front of a live audience at the University of Miami BankUnited Center, the network said.

Both of the sessions will be moderated by Jorge Ramos and Maria Elena Salinas, the anchors of Univision's main nightly newscast.

"Hispanics will play a key role in electing the next President of the United States and these events will help address key issues so that the more than 20 million Hispanics expected to vote this year can make an informed decision," Univision Networks President Cesar Conde said in a statement.

Conde said that direct contact with Latino voters also shows the candidates' desire to move closer to "a group that is younger and more active in social media than the average citizen, and whose influence in U.S. politics continues to grow." READ MORE

Enterprises launched by Hispanics represent the fastest-growing segment among U.S. small businesses, rising to about 3 million, the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce says, giving Hispanic policymakers, activists, and corporate executives converging this week in Washington much to discuss.

From 2002 to 2007, for instance, the number of Hispanic-owned companies grew by nearly 44 percent to 2.3 million, and that growth is continuing, as more companies and initiatives, such as the forthcoming ABC-Univision joint venture aimed at English-speaking Latinos, seek to reach the burgeoning Hispanic market.

The purchasing power of U.S. Hispanics, at over $1.2 trillion, is larger than that of all but 13 countries in the world, according to a May report released by the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia. Purchasing power is defined as disposable income, or the total personal income available for spending on goods and services after taxes. READ MORE

For the 10th consecutive year, Verizon has been named to the Latina Style 50, LATINA Style magazine’s annual list of the best companies for Latinas to work for in the U.S. Verizon’s strong commitment to diversity and inclusion earned the company the No. 3 rating on the list, up from No. 8 in 2011.

One of the most respected sources of employment and career information for Hispanic women in the country, the annual survey and report highlight companies that have a dedicated effort to diverse recruitment and promotion initiatives as well as programs that recruit military personnel.

Women and people of color make up nearly 60 percent of Verizon’s workforce, and 64 percent of Verizon’s Board of Directors.

“We take pride in our commitment to removing barriers to success and leveraging the outstanding talents and contributions of Latinas,” said Magda Yrizarry, Verizon’s chief talent and diversity officer, and one of the company’s Latina leaders. “Latinas hold prominent positions at Verizon, such as regional president, vice president – marketing, vice president – customer service, area vice president – enterprise sales, and assistant general counsels, to name a few. We’re honored to once again have our commitment to diversity and inclusion recognized by LATINA Style magazine.”

To compile the list of best companies, LATINA Style surveyed more than 800 companies and evaluated them based on: number of Latina executives, mentoring programs, Latina board members, educational opportunities, alternative work policies, dependent/child care support, employee benefits, women’s issues, job retraining, affinity groups and Hispanic relations.

Verizon’s recruiting programs actively promote awareness of career opportunities within the company for Hispanic women. The company has strong relationships with important organizations such as the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting, the National Society of Hispanic MBAs, the National Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, the Society of Women Engineers and the National Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. READ MORE

Despite some gains, the digital divide more broadly affects Latinos than nearly any other demographic group in the U.S. While public policy efforts and outreach campaigns seem to have had only a modest effect on improving the matter, a number of nonprofit organizations are working diligently to create a new generation of tech-savvy Latinos.

A recent report from the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) shows Latinos lag significantly behind other groups when it comes to technology adoption rates. About six million Latinos in California aren’t online and large disparities among Latinos persist. Some Latino subgroups are similar to other racial/ethnic groups in their access to broadband. For example, relatively high rates of access are evident among those who are U.S.-born (76 percent), prefer to speak English (75 percent), and earn at least $40,000 per year (75 percent). But other Latino subgroups still lag far behind in their rates of Internet access, such as those who are foreign-born (48 percent), prefer to speak Spanish (46 percent), or earn under $40,000 annually (50 percent). Surveys of Latino populations across the U.S., such as this Pew study, have presented similar findings.

“Latinos with incomes under $40,000 are among the lowest adopters of broadband, ” says Dean Bonner, survey project manager at PPIC. “Among Latino adults who don’t have a computer at home, cost was the number one reason, but there is also this large portion of the population that says they are just not interested. This is not to say that Latinos don’t see the value in it. According to a survey we conducted last year, a majority of Latinos said that not having high-speed Internet is a major disadvantage when it comes to finding information about job opportunities, gaining new career skills or accessing health information.” READ MORE

Hispanic population growth and improved high school completion rates helped Latino young people become the largest minority group on U.S. college campuses, according to a Pew Hispanic report released Monday.

The center's analysis of census data shows more than 2 million Hispanics ages 18 to 24 were enrolled in college last year, making up a record 16.5 percent share of enrollments in that age group at two-year and four-year universities.

Simultaneously, for the first time, one-fourth of America's pre-K through 12th grade population was Latino, the center said.

Last year, 76 percent of Hispanics aged 18 to 24 years had a high school diploma, up 6 percentage points from 2009. That's still below the national average of 85 percent and below African Americans' 81 percent. READ MORE

LATINA Style Magazine has named Sodexo, Inc., as one of the Top 50 U.S. companies in its annual LATINA Style 50 Report. The winners were announced this week and Sodexo is featured in the magazine's August edition. The LATINA Style 50 Report is a comprehensive annual study of the fifty best companies for Latinas to work for in the United States, and is the most respected evaluation of corporate America's policies and practices as they relate to Latinas in this country.

"We are honored to once again be included in the LATINA Style 50 Report as it speaks to our continued commitment and support for workplace diversity and inclusion," said Dr. Rohini Anand, senior vice president and global chief diversity officer for Sodexo. "This is an important achievement as we celebrate the tenth year of our diversity journey."

"Every year, since 1998, we have produced the LATINA Style 50 Special Report. It is the most intensive effort that our company undertakes in ensuring that Latinas and the companies that they work for receive the recognition they deserve," said Robert Bard, president & CEO of LATINA Style Magazine. "LATINA Style Magazine carefully evaluates over 800 corporations to choose the 50 best companies for Latinas to work for in the U.S. Our survey is a highly regarded source of employment and career information for Hispanic women in our country, and the Selection Committee was impressed by Sodexo's well-documented commitment to creating an environment where all employees can thrive. I congratulate Sodexo, Inc. for making the 2012 Top 50."

Sodexo is considered the benchmark company for diversity and inclusion in its industry and is consistently recognized among all companies in North America as a best place to work for minorities, multicultural women, veterans, and people with disabilities. READ MORE

The 2012 U.S. Census revealed that Hispanic-owned small businesses are growing at nearly twice the rate of the national average with annual revenues at $350B (though many industry insiders believe this is a conservative estimate with the true figure being well-north of $600B). The U.S. Minority Business Development Agency reports that between 2002 and 2007, Hispanic owned businesses grew faster than the national average of 44 percent in 28 states. Clearly, the impact of the Hispanic population and the entrepreneurial spirit we bring with us is influencing the emergence of Hispanic-owned small businesses. - and with this rapid growth the need for Hispanic specific resources and support to help enable revenue generation and profitability is at an all-time high.

In a recent Fox Latino interview, Hector Barreto, the former Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration under George W. Bush, said that there are many intangible factors inhibiting Hispanic small business growth. According to Mr. Barreto, Latino business owners are filled with uncertainty and lack confidence in the U.S. government.

I respect Mr. Barreto's candor in identifying the challenges that both Hispanic (and non-Hispanic) small business owners are faced with in our current economic environment. However, for Hispanics in particular, the obstacles run much deeper and this is where the Presidential candidates and politicians across America are all missing the mark. Hispanics, perhaps more than any other community, are rich in diversity and self-identify with their culture. As such, they require tools, resources, government and educational programs that are culturally-relevant so that they can grow their business in ways they can identify with most naturally. This factor alone explains why Hispanic consumers (let alone Hispanic small business owners) represent the largest unbanked community in America. READ MORE

Hispanic Heritage Month begins Sept. 15 and runs through Oct. 15, giving business journalists ample time to focus business features on consumers, business owners, workers and investors in the local Hispanic communities.

According to this (PDF) U.S. Census Bureau briefing paper from May 2011, about 50 million of the 308 million Americans counted in the 2010 census identified themselves as Hispanic. And the Hispanic population represented more than half of the total growth in the U.S. between 2000 and 2010, the bureau reported. The Census Bureau’s “Hispanic Origin” portal gives additional information including a definition of the term, and of course not long ago the bureau reported that Hispanic-owned businesses are proliferating at double the average rate.

For additional demographic data and issues coverage, don’t miss the Pew Hispanic Center by the Pew Research Center. It includes state and county data sets on the Hispanic population among a wealth of other resources.

Business and entrepreneur profiles would be a lively and informative way to mark the month. HispanicBusiness.com, a publishing company, is an excellent resource. For example, you can scan its list of the 100 Fastest-growing Hispanic companies and perhaps turn up some likely subjects in your area. LatinBusinessToday is another interesting online resource.

The United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and member groups at the state level can likely connect you with companies, and of course as lobbying groups are a source of information on legislation of interest to Hispanic business owners. Many other professional and business groups are out there; Google for the niche that interest you, like the National Hispanic Business Women Association or the Hispanic IT Executive Council, which advances the Hispanic role in the information technology sector. READ MORE

If you grew up in a bilingual Hispanic household, listening to the Democratic and Republican conventions may have sounded a lot like home.

It's no coincidence that both parties highlighted politicians like Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro.

Rubio, whose parents are from Cuba, introduced Mitt Romney at the Republican convention; Castro, whose grandmother immigrated from Mexico, became the first Latino to give the Democrats' keynote address.

Their speeches, while delivered in English, included some Spanish. Even Mitt Romney's son Craig opened his speech in Spanish, a language he learned while working as a Mormon missionary.

In this year's presidential election, Latinos are a major voting bloc — and Spanish is getting its close-up.

"As a Latina mom of two children I'm raising bilingual, it's a great way of showing them why they need to continue speaking Spanish," writes Roxana Soto, author of the book Bilingual is Better, in an email interview with NPR. READ MORE

While attending the Republican National Convention, I received several emails and messages asking why, as Hispanic, I am a Republican. This question puzzles me a bit, because there is some implied assumption that if you’re Hispanic, by default you are expected to be a Democrat.

However, it seems to me that because of the values in the Hispanic community, it would seem only logical that Hispanics should actually be more aligned with the Republican Party than they would with the Democratic Party. President Ronald Reagan would say, "Hispanics are Republicans, they just don’t realize it yet."

I am a Republican because I believe in conservative values and principles — values such as faith, family and country; principles such as fiscal discipline, limited government and personal responsibility.

I believe most Hispanics also believe in these values. Hispanics overwhelming support the right to life, traditional marriage and parents’ choice in education. They have the highest enlistment rate in the military among ethnic groups.

Hispanics also believe in the principles of hard work and self-sufficiency, not wanting a handout, but a hand up, hoping that their children can realize the American dream. For the most part, Hispanics are not waiting for government to do for them what they can do for themselves. Hispanic entrepreneurs are the fastest-growing segment of small business ownership.

Democrats talk about immigration as though it were the only, or the most important issue, for Hispanic families, when poll after poll shows that immigrations ranks consistently fifth or sixth in level importance behind such issues as jobs, the economy, education and health care. Hispanic issues are not much different than the issues that concern other Americans.

It was the Republican Reagan who brought about the last substantial immigration reform. It was also President George W. Bush and Sen. John McCain, both Republicans, who proposed the last major effort to address this issue.

President Obama talks a good talk and promised to submit an immigration bill in his first 90 days in office, yet it has been over 900 days and he has done nothing to address this issue, despite having two years of overwhelming Democratic majorities in the Congress. In his first three and a half years in office, he was responsible for more deportations than any other president. READ MORE

San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro received a lot of praise following his keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention Tuesday. But he also sparked some criticism, particularly about his Spanish speaking skills.

While the Mexican-American mayor has admitted he "doesn't really speak Spanish," he did utter one phrase in Spanish during his DNC keynote address: “Que Dios los bendiga," meaning "May God bless you." The Daily Caller criticized Castro's use of a language he does not fully know, writing he "played up his Mexican heritage by speaking a few lines in Spanish."

The harsh critique of a Latino politician exploiting his roots by speaking Spanish -- what many believe to be a required language for Hispanics -- alludes to an ongoing debate in the Latino community: Is a Latino really Latino if they don't speak Spanish?

For Castro, who was born and raised in San Antonio, learning English, and not Spanish, growing up is not particularly unusual. Though his mother, Rosie Castro, taught herself to read and write in Spanish, she rarely spoke the language at home with Castro and his twin brother Joaquin, opting for English instead. In school, Castro studied Latin and Japanese. READ MORE

Four years ago, President Obama promised immigration reform in his first year, but he never delivered. This time around, the Latino vote - so crucial to Obama's chances for re-election - seemed to be fading.

Democrats weren't afraid that Latinos would vote for GOP nominee Mitt Romney. They were worried Latinos wouldn't vote at all.

Those worries are starting to dissipate, Latinos at the Democratic National Convention said this week, particularly since Obama signed an executive order in June that would defer deportation for young people who entered the United States illegally as children, if they met requirements.

The move would affect an estimated 1.7 million people, roughly a quarter of whom live in California. Still, some Latino leaders wonder if Obama's move was too little too late.

"It depends on how much work we do," said pioneering farmworkers organizer Dolores Huerta, a delegate from Bakersfield. "But it's looking up a little." READ MORE

Julian Castro, the mayor of San Antonio, Texas, has the role of keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention tonight. He has an even more important function: validator.

Castro, 37, a Stanford University and Harvard Law School graduate who is the first Hispanic convention keynoter, was re- elected last year to a second term with 82 percent of the vote in a city of 1.36 million people -- 63.2 percent of whom are Latino, according to the census.

“The main takeaway is, in order for Obama to win, Latinos have to vote,” said Paul Lopez, 34, a Denver city councilman who attended a Hispanic convention caucus session yesterday with Barack Obama’s campaign and party officials ahead of the convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The urgency surrounding the Hispanic vote is heightened in part because Obama is losing ground among working-class white men, those without college degrees. Hispanics may account for 8.9 percent of the U.S. electorate in November, up from 7.4 percent in 2008, according to a report last month by the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington-based research institute. The group also projected turnout among eligible Hispanic voters at 52.7 percent, up from 49.9 percent four years ago.

Latinos could comprise 14 percent to 18 percent of the electorate in the battleground states of Colorado, Florida and Nevada, said Juan Sepulveda, senior adviser for Hispanic affairs for the Democratic National Committee.

Both parties have sought to showcase Latinos during their conventions. READ MORE