The Increasing Presence of Hispanics and Asians in Houston

The Increasing Presence of Hispanics and Asians in Houston

The article I read dealt with the emerging population booms of both the Hispanic and Asian populations. The first part of the document deals with the emergence of a strong Hispanic population beginning to grow in the Houston metro area and how the Hispanics are dealing with it. Some, like Felix Fraga believe that the Hispanics are doing just fine in Houston and that the people as a whole are making great strides to become productive members of Houston not only as workers, but as political contributors and business leaders and educated scholars. However, there are those like W. R. Morris who see the much bleaker side of things and point out how life is only good for the few who have had the chance to get a decent education and have the money to afford a lavish life when for that one person, there are countless others that live in absolute poverty and don't have the chances to excel in the realms of academia and beyond. The document also points out that even before redistricting can take place to give the Hispanics more of a voice, they have to actually go out and become registered voters and have a reason to vote.

The second part of the document was about the Asian population's rise in numbers and how they were trying to deal with becoming their own power group. The article touches on how violence against the Asian community has grown in the past number of years, with two cases pointed out about one man, Hung Truong being beaten to death by to Anglo males and another case about a girl, Tracy Gee, who was shot in her car during a robbery attempt. Unlike the Hispanics, the Asian community has found a way to excel in the school systems of Houston, but they still find problems in the business world as they lack a fluency of the English language that is used as an excuse to keep them from moving up the ladder. The Asian community also had to deal with jealousy from other communities as their success in the classroom and their business acumen has caused them to be hated by others who are resentful for their somewhat meteoric rise.

The final part of the document simply touched on the idea of a Hispanic-Asian coalition, an idea talked about so that both parties of minorities could band together to demand equal representation within Houston and that with their combined power, they could use the other as voting blocs and get issues passed that matter to them.

Answers to Questions about the selected reading:

1: The value of a primary source like this allows me to better understand the changing ethnic / political climate that was taking place in my hometown to a greater degree than when I was only seven years old.

2: I learned that even after all