A Rebel flag in the window, a common site in rural West Virginia.

As a native West Virginian, a 2010 Census enumerator and one of those young people who left to pursue opportunities elsewhere , I found the recent post, Shrinking Rust Belt States Seek Hispanics, of particular interest. The basic principle of the article was that an influx of Hispanics could possibly be the answer for pulling small-town, rural USA out of poverty.

And where I´m from, there is poverty.

And there is also quite a bit of racism. And very strong opinions about keeping “America” “American.” You see, many people in these areas needing help are ignorant—not stupid, just uneducated— and in many cases, anyone who is not white or black—even though they don´t like African Americans, they do accept the “American” part—is most likely illegal and/or a terrorist. Sadly, this is the truth.

So while I´d love to see my Wild and Wonderful West Virginia prosper, being realistic, it is going to take a long time. First we must break down the ever-present barriers of ignorance, racism and ethnocentricity, educate our small towns, before we can even begin to consider such an idea: a Hispanic influx.

"Small Town U.S.A."

Many Hispanic marketing professionals have been mining Census data to see what the numbers reveal about the growing Hispanic population in the U.S. Yet only looking for data about Hispanics misses other important parts of the equation—namely, where Hispanic are missing, and where they are sorely needed.

The News-Gazette, a newspaper serving Eastern Illinois, recently ran an Associated Press story discussing the growing problem of what demographers call “natural decrease.” This is when there are more deaths than births in a given geographic area. The article focuses on West Virginia, through the story of a rural area filled with old people, where the few young people leave to pursue opportunities elsewhere, and which reflects a trend across all of the Rust Belt region. One line in the article stands out: A demographer is quoted as saying that, “In some cases, the only thing that can pull an area out (of poverty) is an influx of young Hispanic immigrants or new economic development.”

This is the story that is not being told about the Census, but that needs to be disseminated. While politicians can discuss the details of the immigration debate, including its more controversial elements, the fact remains that some areas of the U.S., where manufacturing and industry have been in decline for quite some time, need young people to come in and revitalize communities. Latino immigrants provide a source of labor for communities where young people have been leaving for years.