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By Meredith Mitchell
Dr. Loida Velazquez of Knoxville, a long-time member of the East Tennessee Hispanic community, has been an observer as well as a participant in trends concerning Hispanics.
"The residents of East Tennessee have to accept that, wanting it or not, they have a growing Hispanic population in their midst," said Velazquez in an e-mail interview.
Now retired, Velazquez is a former program director at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. There she managed a federally funded program that aided migrant and seasonal farm workers.
Velazquez provides information, through her own observation, by giving speeches on migration trends. This is an aid to help others better understand Hispanics, trends concerning Hispanics moving to the United States, and assimilation.
According to Velazquez, there have been three waves of migration of Hispanics to the South.
“The three waves I have described relate only to the experience in the South and in particular to East Tennessee since they are based on my personal observations," said Velazquez.
"The first wave came as a response by large employers to the Affirmative Action legislation. They were trying to comply and make their work force 'diverse.'
“This wave was formed by professionals and their families. The people belonging to this wave were more or less well received because they came to fill jobs that were created for them; they were highly educated and were in the process of becoming bilingual. My husband and I belong to that wave and now we have children and grandchildren that are at different levels of assimilation as second and third generation immigrants."
The second wave consisted of mostly farm, construction and service workers from rural areas of Mexico and Central America.
In these particular areas, residents are not obligated to attend school, so some became semi-literate or illiterate in their own language, Velazquez said. With the size of this particular wave, immigration became intimidating to local residents, she said.
“They have been accused of taking jobs from local residents, overloading schools and taking advantage of social services,” Velazquez said. “But the most surprising thing about this wave was that they were hired, and have settled in the area with only a minimum of resentment.
"The most recent wave responded to ads from mortgage companies, banks, hospitals, stores and even schools giving employment advantage to bilingual people. They are being hired to meet the needs of the second wave. They are second and third generation Latinos who were taught Spanish at home and were encouraged to be bi-cultural,” Velazquez said.
With the increase of Hispanics to the area, there has been an outcropping of organizations to help them. Some examples are El Centro Hispano, Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, HOLA: Hora Latina, the Latino Task Force of CEDnet and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of East Tennessee, which are all based in Knoxville.
Locally, Club Latinoamericano and the Hispanic outreach division of Catholic Charities of East Tennessee in Jonesborough, as well as many churches, offer programs designed for Hispanics.
Velazquez’ husband Luis is the director for the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of East Tennessee. This group focuses on the growth of Hispanic businesses through networking and technical assistance and also serves as a unique link between these businesses and mainstream businesses in this region, Luis Velazquez said. The group’s Web site also features several links to business directories, local events and even to some of the aforementioned organizations.
As far as education goes, Loida Velazquez believes that it has been difficult for members of the second wave, especially, to further themselves because of current legislation.
"Although many of the higher-education institutions are making greater efforts to attract students, education is a big issue among Latinos,” she said.
“Most undocumented children cannot enter college since they do not qualify for financial assistance and only few of the members of the second wave are using education to increase their employability. We need to pass legislation pending in Congress [the DREAM Act] to open education doors to all Latinos."
According to the National Immigration Law Center, the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act would provide illegal immigrant high school students the opportunity to obtain permanent residency. The students must be planning to attend college or serve in the armed forces to become permanent residents.
Velazquez has some ideas on how residents of East Tennessee can support the Hispanics.
"Learning more about them as people will do a lot to improve communication," said Velazquez.
"We are not expecting everyone to learn Spanish, although learning any foreign language opens doors and horizons; we want only to be seen as an asset, not a threat.
“Many Southern rural communities that were dying because of attrition are now being revitalized and are thriving due to the influx of workers, capital and businesses,” she said.
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According to the information released in 2006, the U.S. Census reports the number of Hispanics living in America at 44.3 million, or 14.8 percent of the population.
The Tennessee Department of Health estimates that the Sullivan County Hispanic population has grown from 1,090 in 2000 to 1,437 in 2006.
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