Interview Transcript

Maria Gonzalez Mabbutt

A: One of the things that I see as far as impact--as many of us know, in Idaho the Hispanic population is about 7.9%. What we know from other states, and what they have experienced, and just in general, is that basically in Idaho, we are at a cusp right now with that 8-10%--when you really start seeing significant changes because of the ethnic group being able to more fully participate economically, politically and so forth. So one of the things here in Idaho that we see is the booming growth of Hispanic-owned businesses. It is interesting to see especially here in Canyon County, where the most significant population in Idaho of Mexican-American is, that one didn't used to see signs in Spanish and we are seeing that. So we are becoming more impacting and more significant in that respect. Definitely, when you look at the state of Washington with almost half a million Hispanics, and the state of Oregon, I think that Idaho will be there, and definitely Wyoming and Nevada--they will continue to grow and have numbers similar to Oregon and Washington. Long term, what I see could be an impact: it's just like in Washington and Oregon, there will be more Hispanic legislators, there will be more Hispanic policy-makers, administrators, and I think that that is good not only for the Hispanic community but for everyone in Idaho and in the other states.

Q: Talk to me about what a difference it makes hitting that 10% population?

A: Well, I think that from a political point of view, once that 10% is hit, a group is taken more seriously, because there are greater numbers. And there is always power in numbers, so as that growth happens, hopefully we will see more in the political sense. And the political and the socioeconomic are so tied together that one affects the other, and so that it will be good for Hispanics as a whole, in that as decisions are being made [brief interruption] in education, employment, civil rights and other things, that then serious attention is paid to the particular ethnic group. They cannot be taken as lightly as when it's a smaller number than 10%.

Q: Let's talk about how we as a society need to start dealing with the greater diversity issues and populations?

A: Well, I think that one of the areas for sure that school administrators, the Superintendent of Public Instruction--education I think is one area that seriously needs to be looked at. A lot more could be done at the university level to educate not only the minority students but just the population at large at what the implications of a diverse community is. Instead of being a reactive society, start looking at being proactive and implementing some things that are needed to address some of those things. I am not really sure, because Hispanics in Idaho and in the United States, we're a very young population, and I think the average is that for every one white baby that is being born, there are four brown babies being born. Are we really looking at and are we prepared with the schools to address some of the needs that we will see coming along very soon, sooner than a lot of people are prepared to deal with.

Q: Are our schools ready for Hispanic population increases?

A: My opinion is that they are not. I think that some efforts have been done and there is a higher emphasis, but as a whole, I don't believe that we are prepared. In Idaho, because of the rurality of the state, and because agriculture is the number one industry in the state of Idaho, definitely it's those smaller rural areas that probably need the best preparation, but I don't believe that they are.

Q: What challenges does the Hispanic community have?

A: I believe that as we know, not only in Idaho but nationwide, what is referred to as the drop-out rate by the dominant society but we in the Hispanic community like to refer to it as the push-out rate, is that many of our young people do leave school, do not graduate. And then it's even a smaller percentage that goes on to attain a higher education. For us, it is going to be challenge to be sure to stay in school and that our kids stay in school and become educated so that we have the skills, and we are prepared to contribute in those policy-, rule- and law-making positions where our visibility will be extremely important, not only here in Idaho but in other states as the Hispanic population grows.

Q: Talk to me about the idea that as the Hispanic community starts gaining more rights, some people in the Anglo community view it as "they're getting too uppity." How do you explain equality to that somebody?

A: One of the challenges I think for the dominant society is as equal access to services, as equal right to education and so forth, many times, it is viewed as "Okay, this group wants all of these special things done for them." From the point of view of the Hispanic community, it's not a request for special or preferential treatment. It's about equality, that is what it comes down to. But there's always, anytime there is fear that somebody is going to have just as much power or more power, then it gets into that fear issue that what we have enjoyed, the dominant society, the white privilege and so forth, are we willing to share it? Or the view "it's going to be taken away from us." But I have always believed in the abundance principle--there is enough to go around for everyone. Many times, the resistance to change, the resistance to inclusion, is fear-based. But the thing is, we will have a richer Idaho and a richer West if all are contributing and all are equal. Because in the end, that is the thing that works. We will have a better economy, we will have better schools if all are participatory. [brief interruption] In the end when all citizens--whether the dominant society or what's considered the minority society--if all are contributing, and if all enjoy the same level of opportunities, the same education, same rights, in the end what it does is that it makes for a richer community, a richer state and it is a win-win for all instead of "if they have more, it means we have less." And I don't see that as the case, and so we really need to look at when we talk about diversity, it's not just the fluffy, feel good sort of things, but the real significant changes that must take place in order for it to be equal for all.

Q: What changes do need to take place in order for this?

A: In Idaho, we look at Hispanics being the largest ethnic group, almost 8%, then one takes a look at the composition of our legislature, does that represent what Idaho looks like today? No, it doesn't. If one was to look at school boards, for example, throughout the state, or city councils, or even county commissions, are they representative of the citizens of Idaho? And those are some of the things that we really need to start looking at very seriously. As I mentioned earlier, there is a direct correlation between political power and socioeconomic power, and so if we are not at the table as Hispanics, then are those rule-, policy- and law-makers really taking into account the issues that affect Hispanics and some of the solutions that need to be inclusive of Hispanics? So that is one of the areas that I see as really, really important for the future here in Idaho. We've seen some things happen, I don't want you to misinterpret, and part of it is because people are realizing some of the changes that have happened in the legislature as far as some of the changes in laws in Idaho have been good. It's taken 10 years for just some baby steps and there is much, much more to be done. But I know, speaking of fear, that there are some folks that are concerned, "Ok, if this group is asking for this today, what is that they are going to be asking for tomorrow?" And that there is fear in "If we give them this, then we are going to have to give them the following and the following." But I believe that that is good for Idaho because all of Idaho will gain.

Q: Why is it important for the Anglo community to start talking about this and start doing things about this?

A: Well, because at the present time in Idaho, the Anglo community, Idaho is one of the whitest--I think it ranks in the top 10 of most white states in the United States--and so Anglos currently hold the power, the key to be able to do that. Some of them are sympathetic, but it is a minority and sometimes they are really ostracized from the whole because of their support for Hispanic issues. We've seen it happen with the workers' compensation issue, unfortunately, some of those people are long-time residents of Idaho and have a standing in the state of Idaho, but they were affected--not to the point that it was detrimental--but that's why Anglos need to be aware, need to be more supportive. Because currently, they are the ones in power and right now, they are the ones that can do something about helping with change and helping change come about in the state of Idaho.

Q: Is change coming?

A: I believe so. I believe that change is coming, much to the happiness of many others and much to the discouragement of others because of that factor of fear. I am resistant to change sometimes, but when one looks at change, for the most part, most changes are good. It isn't 100% of the time, like all other things, but I do believe that it's human nature to resist change and it's because we are afraid. "Is it going to be worse than it is now or is it going to be better?" I'd like to be optimistic and think that change is good and good for all.

Q: Turning to the Latino community, how do you get them organized to realize that they can make a difference in the situation?

A: Well, it's what many of us have been doing for a lot of years: trying to get Latinos organized. The challenge for our community has been that most of this work is done on a volunteer basis. It's not like somebody gives us $50,000 to go out and do work that is very, very hard. I had pointed out that in Idaho, because of the rurality of Idaho, the most removed communities--we cover a lot of geographic area--and so there are challenges in that. But I think that we have been successful as Hispanic organizations in trying to get information out. I know personally, I am working on two volunteer projects right now that does exactly that, because knowledge is power, information is power. Often, because folks are so removed, they don't receive timely information. This is one of the challenges in the communications arena where we could be doing more through TV, through mainstream radio, and especially through mainstream newspapers that things could be offered. So the dominant society could help a lot, but right now, there are some efforts by Hispanic organizations to do exactly that: organize workers and Hispanics. [brief interruption] But one of the key items, and especially as we're in that cusp of that 8-10%, the key thing that I believe for Idaho in 2002 will be the level of political participation, basically at the polling places, during this general election. We've got our work cut out for us. I think that many of us are fired up this year about doing that. We see more Hispanics running for office, we need to see a lot more Hispanics running for office, and I think that that's going to be an area. Probably, the two areas that I see as very key for the Hispanic community are education and then the political participation, and they go hand in hand.

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