Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
>> >>PEGGY: DEMOGRAPHIC DATA PREDICTS WE'LL BE A MULTICULTURAL MAJORITY NATION BY 2042.
IT'S A QUESTION BEING ASKED HERE IN CITY HEIGHTS. JOINING ME TO TALK ABOUT THIS ISSUE ARE NORMA
SANDOVAL, AN EDUCATOR AND VOLUNTEER FOR THE SAN DIEGO ORGANIZING PROJECT AND PBS CORRESPONDENT
AND AMERICA BY THE NUMBERS HOST, MARIA HINOJOSA. MARIA, YOUR DOCUMENTARY REVEALED THERE IS
A BIG POLITICAL INTEREST A LOT OF IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES.
WHY DO YOU THINK THAT IS? >> >>MARIA HINOJOSA: I THINK MANY IMMIGRANT
COMMUNITIES UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS THEハ THE WORLD'S LARGEST DEMOCRACY, RIGHT? PART
OF THE DEMOCRACY IS BEING ABLE TO VOTE. I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF DREAMS THAT COME
WHEN YOU MAKE THE DECISION TO COME TO THIS COUNTRY OR IN THE CASE OF CLARKSTON GEORGIA
WHERE AMERICA BY THE NUMBERS IS BASED THESE ARE REFUGEES THAT ARE RELOCATED.
SOMETIMES THESE PEOPLE HAVE NOT HAD A HOME LAND, THEY HAVE NOT BEEN A CITIZEN OF ONE
PLACE BECAUSE THEIR HOMELANDS ARE VERY DIVISIVE, ET SET RAW.
FOR THEM TO VOTE IT'S A HISTORIC MOMENT. AND THEY INCULCATE THIS WITH THEIR YOUNG PEOPLE.
GIVEN THE DEMOGRAPHICS N OUR COUNTRY, THAT'S WHAT WE WANT TO START SEEING OVER AND OVER
AGAIN, IN THESE IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES. >> >>PEGGY: IT SEEMED IN THE DOCUMENTARY THERE
WAS SOME OWNERSHIP, I'M AN AMERICAN NOW, THEY SORT OF BELONGED TO THIS COUNTRY.
NORMA, YOU GROUP UP IN CITY HEIGHTS. DO YOU THINK THAT'S THE SAME THERE RIGHT NOW
WHAT ARE SORT OF THE POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT WE MIGHT SAY GO ON RIGHT NOW?
>> >>NORMA SANDOVAL: CITY HEIGHTS, THE MAJORITY OF RESIDENTS ARE BELOW THE AGE OF 18.
YOU HAVE THIS GROWING GENERATION THAT IS SOMETIMES NOT ALWAYS INFORMED ABOUT WHAT TO DO.
AND SO THE POWER STRUCTURE RIGHT NOW IS GIVEN BY THE WHITE, OLDER GENERATION AS AN EDUCATOR
I AM MAKING SURE MY STUDENTS ARE INFORMED SO THEY CAN BE PARTICIPANTS IN MAKING A CHANGE
IN THEIR COMMUNITY. >> >>PEGGY: LET'S TALK ABOUT YOUR DOCUMENTARY
AND THE ENORMOUS SHIFT THAT HAPPENED. IF YOU COULD BRIEFLY TELL US WHAT HAPPENED
IN GEORGIA. >> >>MARIA HINOJOSA: WELL, SO, I LIKE TO TALK
ABOUT CLARKSTON, GEORGIA LIKE THE FUTURE OF AMERICA ON STEROIDS.
THIS WAS A COMMUNITY THAT WAS ESSENTIALLY OVER 90% WHITE AND AMERICAN BORN, YOU KNOW,
30 YEARS AGO, AND IN THIS COUPLE OF DECADES HAVE BEEN TRANSFORMED FROM BEING MAJORITY
WHITE TO BEING NOW A MAJORITY NOT WHITE. AND WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR THIS PARTICULAR
COMMUNITY? IT'S HAPPENING EVERYWHERE.
IT'S HAPPENING IN SAN DIEGO, IN TENNESSEE, IN ALABAMA, EVERYWHERE.
AND SO WHAT WE LIKE TO TALK ABOUT IN THE DOCUMENTARY IS THAT THE NUMBERS ARE CLEAR, BUT HOW DO
REAL PEOPLE DEAL WITH THIS CHANGE? WE ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF FEAR OF THIS CHANGE
AND ESSENTIALLY TRY TO GIVE VOICE TO THIS. >> >>PEGGY: I'M GOING TO ASK BOTH OF YOU THIS,
WHAT DO YOU THINK HERE IN SAN DIEGO IN COMMUNITIES LIKE CITY HEIGHTS CAN LEARN FROM WHAT'S HAPPENING
IN GEORGIA? >> >>MARIA HINOJOSA: I THINK THAT WHAT WE
CAN LEARN IS THAT IF YOU ARE ENGAGED, IF YOU OWN YOUR VOICE, WHICH IS THE ESSENCE OF DEMOCRACY,
YOU IN FACT DO HAVE POWER. WE WANT PEOPLE TO OWN THEIR POWER TOO, OWN
THE NOTION THAT THEY CAN CHANGE, RIGHT? WHAT WE DON'T WANT IS FOR PEOPLE WHO FEEL LIKE
THEY'RE NOT THE MAJORITY FOR EXAMPLE. FOR THEM TO FEEL LIKE I HAVE NO ROLE, I CAN
DO NOTHING, NOTHING CAN CHANGE, AND I'M DISENFRANCHISED AND IGNORED.
>> >>PEGGY: IN CITY HEIGHTS, WHO ISN'T VOTING, THE PEOPLE WHO FEEL THIS WAY OR IS IT JUST
THE YOUNG PEOPLE PEOPLE OR WHAT'S STOPPING PEOPLE FROM VOTING?
>> >>NORMA SANDOVAL: I THINK THAT IN DISTRICT D, WHICH IS PART OF CITY HEIGHTS, WE HAVE
53% REGISTERED VOTERS AND ONLY 19% OF THOSEハ I'M SEAR, 19,000 OF THOSE ARE MINORITY VOTERS.
SO I THINK IT'S THE FEAR OF NOT UNDERSTANDING, SOMETIMES MAYBE THE LANGUAGE NOT KNOWING WHERE
TO TURN TO, KEEPING PEOPLE FROM ACTUALLY ENGAGING. I KNOW PEOPLE THAT WELL, I VOTED LAST TIME
AND NOTHING WAS DONE FROM IF T SO I DON'T KNOW IF I WANT TO CONTINUE VOTING WHEN MY
VOICE NOT BEING HEARD. >> >>PEGGY: HOW DO INSPIRE THEM?
>> >>NORMA SANDOVAL: I TAKE MY CHILDREN WITH ME AND SAY YOU NEED TO DO IT FOR THE CHILDREN
AROUND YOU. WE ARE THEIR VOICE AND WE NEED TO DO IT AS
A RESPONSIBILITY FOR OUR FUTURE GENERATION. >> >>PEGGY: THANK YOU BOTH FOR TALKING TO
US. WE ARE OUT OF TIME, HOWEVER YOU CAN JOIN IN
ON THIS CONVERSATION TOMORROW NIGHT AT 7:00ハP.M. AT THE KPBS SCREENING OF PBS NEED TO KNOW
ELECTION SPECIAL, AMERICAN BY THE NUMBERS. YOU CAN GET ALL THE NUMBERS DETAILS ON OUR
WEBSITE AT KPBS.ORG.