“The Latino American Dream: High Hopes and Harsh Realities” is the first report to take an in-depth look at what the American Dream means to Latinos in the United States. The report, commissioned by The National Community for Leadership, Inc. (NCLL), is based on a recent national survey taken from a sampling of more than 3,000 Latinos. The survey also examines the extent to which Latinos believe in and live the American Dream. To Latinos, this dream encompasses much more than economic prosperity – it symbolizes personal advancement, the ability to provide a better life for one’s children, and the individual pursuit of liberty and justice.
The survey’s key findings, illustrated below, point to positive conclusions about the Latino population in the United States. Latinos are among America’s most dedicated dream makers. Latinos believe in the promise of the American Dream to a greater extent than many Americans, are more optimistic about the nation’s future and their own future. Latinos also tend to be very supportive of the United States government. Their faith in the American Dream exists despite the harsh reality of discrimination faced by millions of Latinos.
Seventy-six percent of the Latino respondents
believed the American Dream is attainable.
Eighty-one percent agreed that it was likely that today’s
Latino children would achieve the American Dream in their lifetime.
Seventy-five percent of Latino young adults (age
18 to 24) believed the American Dream could be theirs.
Close to one-third (32 percent) of the
Latino respondents said they had already achieved the American Dream. Another forty-four percent believed they
would achieve the American Dream in five to ten years.
Seventy-six percent of the Latino respondents felt
they either had already achieved the American Dream or were on their way to
doing so over the next 10 years.
Latinos were generally positive about their future
and the future of the Latino community in the United States. Sixty-one percent believed the lives of the
average Latino would get better over the next 25 years.
For Latinos the most meaningful aspect of the
American Dream was to provide “a better
life for their children (35 percent).” Financial success and security ranked as the least important –
only nine percent indicated this represented the American Dream to them.
Forty percent of the Latino respondents said they
experienced discrimination because of their race.
Over 9 million Latinos reported they were
discriminated against because of their ethnicity and culture.
Half of the Latinos living in Illinois said they
were discriminated against compared to 29 percent of Latinos living in
Texas.
Latinos tend to feel closer to the United States
government than many other Americans.
A majority (52 percent) claimed seeing "the" government as "our"
government in contrast to fifty-five percent of non-Latino Americans who
think of government as "the" government.
Eighty percent of the Latino respondents agreed with the statement, “Voting gives people like me some say in what government does.” Fifty-six percent completely agreed with the statement.