Annotations for People: Tapia-barrie Lynn

Over the last 10 years, the number of Latinos in this country grew seven times faster than any other group. They had more children and less elderly than non-Latinos. They were also less likely to be covered by health insurance. Julio Moran, a reporter for the "LA Times," says the findings are more than just statistics.

The Census Bureau also says Latino unemployment rates are consistently higher and median family income lower than the population at large. Although more Latinos are graduating from high school than a decade ago, Latinos still lag behind the rest of the nation in education. For "Latino USA," I'm Barrie Lynn Tapia in Washington.

Politicians, activists, and journalists came together in Washington, D.C., to examine how well the media has covered Latino civil-rights issues. It was made clear there exists a unique link between social activism and the coverage of minorities. Many veteran Latino journalists, such as ABC's correspondent John Quiñones, say the activism of the '60s and '70s paved the way for them in the media.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Latinos make up almost 10% of the total population. But Latinos in newsrooms around the country account for less than 5% of the work staff. Dolores Huerta, Vice President of United Farm Workers, says this leads to stereotypical portrayals in the media.

Cruz Reynoso, a former California State Supreme Court judge, has recently been named to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission.

Reynoso says lack of coverage of Latino issues makes this population almost invisible to the rest of the country. One example of this was the failure of the media to accurately report how the Los Angeles disturbances of last year affected Latinos. He also cited studies documenting not only a lack of positive Latino images but also how the media has ignored this segment of the population.

NAHJ President, Diane Alverio, says the poor portrayal of Latinos in the media is due in part to the small number of Latinos in the industry. Her organization is poised to try and change that.

For "Latino USA," I am Barrie Lynn Tapia with Arthur Dungan in Washington.

The figures show that Latino population growth is at three times the national average. And by 1996, Hispanics will add more people to the US population than any other ethnic group. In the early part of the next century, Latinos will increase by one million every single year and are well on their way to becoming the second-largest ethnic group, only behind African-Americans. The Census Bureau figures do not include the 3.5 million residents of Puerto Rico. But resident commissioner Carlos Romero Barceló, the island's representative in Congress, said he is urging for its inclusion when the next figures come out. For Latino USA, this is Barrie Lynn Tapia in Washington.

There were over 36 million poor Americans last year. According to the US Census Bureau that accounted for over 14% of the total population. The Hispanic community was especially hard hit with 29 out of every 100 Latinos living in poverty and over half of Hispanic children were among the poor. According to the Census Bureau, Black and Hispanic Americans were about three times more likely to be poor than whites. There were more than 6 million Latinos living in poverty last year than in 1991. The Bureau also found that poor Hispanics were more likely to be without health insurance than whites or blacks. For Latino USA, this is Barrie Lynn Tapia in Washington.

According to Democratic Congressman Bill Richardson of New Mexico, the coalition could play a crucial role in swaying Latino congressional leaders who oppose or are undecided on NAFTA.

The congressman admitted the battle is an uphill one. Yet members of the coalition feel they may be able to turn the tide in favor of free trade in the next few weeks. For Latino USA, this is Barrie Lynn Tapia in Washington.