Latin Americans
In the 2000 census, Latinos/as became the largest racial minority with
over 35 million (12.5% of the population) individuals within the United
States. By the year 2100, Latinos/as will represent one-third of the
overall population within the United States. Latinos/as are quite
diverse with individuals whose roots originate from Mexico, Cuba, Puerto
Rico, and South and Central America. Hispanic and Latino/a have been
mistakenly used to refer to all Spanish speakers, including persons from
Spain. The concept of Hispanic relates to those individuals with a
background in speaking Spanish. However, not all Latino/a Americans
speak Spanish or originate from a cultural lineage related to Spain.
