Hispanic Experience in the United States

The Hispanic community in the U.S. has long remained silent about its needs for equal opportunity and recognition. This collection of essays by recognized scholars explores how Puerto Ricans, Chicanos, Cubans, and other Latinos have begun to publicly articulate their needs, rights, and aspirations. The volume is divided into three major thematic sections: demographic profiles; immigration assimilation, and cultural identity; and socio-economic profiles. The authors address such questions as: Who are the Hispanics and what are their origins? What impact will Hispanic population growth have on U.S. society? What demographic factors affect the status of Hispanics? How does Hispanic immigration differ from other prior immigration? The essays gather the most recent demographic and socioeconomic data on Hispanics and interpret their implications for the present and future of the community.

Edna Acosta-Belen is associate professor in the Department of Latin American and Caribbean Studies, and the Department of Hispanic and Italian Studies, at State University of New York, Albany. She recieved her PhD from Columbia University and has been a postdoctoral fellow at Princeton, Yale, and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She has edited The Puerto Rican Woman: Perspectives on Culture, History, and Society (New York: Praeger, 1986, first edition, 1979), and La Mujer en la sociedad puerto-rriquena (Rio Piedras, PR: Ediciones Huracan, 1981). She has also published extensively in the areas of Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Hispanic literature and cultural history, and women's studies.

Barbara R. Sjostrom is associate professor in the Teacher Education Program at State University of New York, Old Westbury, and an adjunct faculty member in the Bilingual Education Program at Hunter College. She received her PhD from State University of New York, Albany and has published in the areas of ethnicity, gender and education, and bilingual/multicultural education. Her publications include Guidelines for the Analysis of Classism, Racism, and Sexism and The Educational and Professional Status of Puerto Rican Women (with Edna Acosta-Belen). She is also an evaluator of bilingual and English-as-a-second-language instructional programs for the New York City Board of Education, the Multicultural Resource Center at Hunter College, and Teachers College, Columbia University.