News Articles, 1995-1997
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Competing Cultures and the Generation Gap
Latino Community Congress Focuses on Relationships Between Immigrants and Their Children
By Pamela Constable
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, May 25 1996; Page B03
The Washington Post

"Don't hold your children down; hold them up!"

It was a both a sober and impassioned appeal to Latino parents from a well-known District educator, and it set the tone yesterday morning for a two-day Latino Community Congress, being sponsored by the Latino Civil Rights Task Force on the law school campus at American University.

Beatriz Otero, director of a multicultural education center in Columbia Heights, said that many Latino parents, especially new immigrants, have low self-esteem and expectations, which they can pass on to their children. She also said the generation gap can be exacerbated when parents speak only Spanish and their teenagers speak mostly English.

"I see mothers and fathers who are still in the old language and culture, raising kids who are dealing with a new language and culture," said Otero, who spoke at a panel discussion. "The kids get the sense that their parents are inferior, and that's an extremely dangerous message."

Ana Sol Gutierrez, a member of the Montgomery County Board of Education, echoed that theme in opening the fourth annual congress, which is focusing on family themes. Latino newcomers who have not been educated need to become more involved in their children's education, she said, warning that unless the younger generation of Latinos makes more progress, its members face a bleak future in this country.

"Talk to your son as an astronaut, a doctor and engineer. Let him know education can lead anywhere," she urged. "Unfortunately in the Latino community, we are often happy if our kids make it through with a high school diploma. But that's not good enough."

About 150 people attended yesterday's day-long session, which included workshops on Latino women's issues, anti-immigrant legislation, youth leadership and progress by local organizations since the disturbances five years ago in the Latino community of Mount Pleasant.

The Latino task force, based in Adams-Morgan, is a nonprofit advocacy group that was formed in the wake of the disturbances. It promotes immigrant rights, citizenship and grass-roots community involvement in public issues.

Today's segment will include a voter registration drive, a workshop on immigrant rights, and discussions on domestic violence, parental roles in education, after-school and counseling programs for teenagers, home ownership and AIDS. The law school campus is in the 4800 block of Massachusetts Avenue NW.

Several dozen young Latinos who participate in youth groups attended yesterday, and some spoke at the sessions. They talked about the difficulties of growing up in American society without support from parents who work round-the-clock, and who often don't have the time or understanding to cope with their problems.

"There is a huge gap. We don't need to talk more about it; we need to do something concrete," said Omar Zavala, 21. "Young people adapt more easily to American culture, while their parents are still strongly tied to their old roots. They see our dress, our music, and they panic. Differences occur, and the kid ends up on the street, running away or getting pregnant."

But Lori Kaplan, who directs the Latin American Youth Center, in Mount Pleasant [actually in Columbia Heights - D. McIntire], put a more positive spin on the Latino family, which she called the cornerstone of stability and progress for immigrants as they settle into American society. Her agency provides counseling, recreation and job training for Latino teenagers.

"The energy and resilience you need to move away from dependency and into the mainstream, that all emanates from the family," she said. In the 1980s, many families from Central America arrived in this area, facing the stresses of new jobs, immigration problems and long separations from relatives who remained behind.

"Now, they are entering a new phase, with fewer unknowns. They are starting to look at homeownership, stability, making a contribution," Kaplan said. Often there are strains between reunited parents and children. "But if families can remain strong and united, they have the best chance of reaching the American dream."

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