Latinos in The Lehigh Valley: The Dynamics and Impact of This Growing and Changing Population

Latinos in the Lehigh Valley
The Dynamics and Impact of this

Growing and Changing Population
September 2005
by
Lillian Escobar-Haskins, MHS
Researcher/Writer
George F. Haskins
Historical Research/Editor
Alegre Research and Demographics

Lancaster, PA
Prepared for:
P.O. Box 21750

Lehigh Valley, PA 18002
610-266-6775
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
LVEDC’s focus and mission as directed by our Board of Directors, members and community
volunteers is to promote, foster and encourage economic development throughout the Lehigh
Valley in order to increase the quality of life of our residents, employers and community. Key to
this mission is the support and redevelopment of our cities and its residents.
The Latino community is the region’s fastest growing population, accounting for nearly 10
percent of the Lehigh Valley’s residents. In order to better understand how we can serve, support
and empower the Latino community, LVEDC partnered with Alegre Research and Demographics
to conduct a study and comprehensive analysis of the Lehigh Valley’s Latino population.
In the course of the study, principle researcher Lillian Escobar-Haskins gathered a tremendous
amount of sociodemographic information, provided a historical background of the Latino
community, conducted surveys and personal interviews with Latino and non-Latino community
leaders, social service agencies, government officials and economic development groups.
LVEDC is deeply grateful to all who participated. Thanks to the honest and constructive survey
answers from our community, the professional research of Lillian Escobar-Haskins and the
financial support secured through the efforts of Representatives Pat Browne and Craig Dally, this
high quality study will be the first step towards identifying critical issues that affect the quality of
life for Latinos in the Lehigh Valley.
We view this study as part a process. In the next phase, we look forward to working with a
task force of Latino leaders to examine the findings of the report. The task force will develop a
strategic plan to address the study’s recommendations, with the ultimate goal of opening doors
of opportunity and increasing the wealth and quality of life of the Lehigh Valley’s Latino
population.
LVEDC Latino Population Study
TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................................... 1
POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS AND FAMILY PROFILES ..................................................................................................... 7
POPULATION GROWTH ..............................................................................................................................................7
LATINO DIVERSITY ...................................................................................................................................................9
NATIVITY AND CITIZENSHIP .................................................................................................................................... 12

RACIAL IDENTIFICATION ......................................................................................................................................... 14
LANGUAGE FLUENCY............................................................................................................................................... 14
AGE...................................................................................................................................................................... 16
HOUSEHOLDS ........................................................................................................................................................ 17
FAMILIES AND STATUS OF CHILDREN UNDER 18 ........................................................................................................ 18
EDUCATION AND THE ECONOMIC FUTURE ....................................................................................................................... 21
EDUCATIONAL STATUS OF THE OVER 25 POPULATION ................................................................................................. 21
STATUS OF THE STUDENT POPULATION..................................................................................................................... 23
POST HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION CHOICES.............................................................................................................. 30
MOVING FORWARD................................................................................................................................................. 33
EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT........................................................................................................................................ 34
A 2005 Perspective on the Allentown School District (ASD) ........................................................................................ 34
ECONOMIC, EMPLOYMENT AND HOUSING STATUS ............................................................................................................ 37
INCOME ................................................................................................................................................................ 37
LATINO-OWNED BUSINESSES .................................................................................................................................. 43

HOMEOWNERSHIP AND RENTAL COSTS ..................................................................................................................... 44
HOME LOANS......................................................................................................................................................... 45
LATINO BUYING POWER................................................................................................................................................ 48

A BRIEF HISTORY OF LATINOS IN THE LEHIGH VALLEY...................................................................................................... 53
SURVEY RESULTS ........................................................................................................................................................ 61
KEY INFORMANT DEMOGRAPHICS ............................................................................................................................. 62

AGENCY/ORGANIZATIONAL RESPONDENTS ................................................................................................................ 63
SURVEY RESPONSE SUMMARIES............................................................................................................................... 64
THE MOST SERIOUS PROBLEMS AFFECTING THE LATINO POPULATION ........................................................................ 64

SERVICES THAT DON'T EXIST OR ARE NOT BEING ADEQUATELY ADDRESSED BY EXISTING SERVICES ............................ 74
INTERNAL OR EXTERNAL IDENTIFIED AS NEGATIVELY AFFECTING THE PROGRESS OF LATINOS IN THE LEHIGH VALLEY..... 82
LATINO COMMUNITY STRENGTHS AND ASSETS........................................................................................................ 85
WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN REGARDING UNDOCUMENTED? ............................................................................................ 87
ORGANIZATIONS PROVIDING SERVICES TO LATINOS ............................................................................................... 89
OTHER COMMENTS .............................................................................................................................................. 92
KEY INFORMANT INTERVIEW SUMMARIES ....................................................................................................................... 93
EDUCATION........................................................................................................................................................... 93
YOUTH.................................................................................................................................................................. 96
HUMAN SERVICES/PUBLIC SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS ................................................................................................. 97
LATINO LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNITY ISSUES .......................................................................................................... 98
BUSINESS, JOBS AND ECONOMIC ISSUES ............................................................................................................... 109
ORIGINS ............................................................................................................................................................. 114
KEY INFORMANT INTERVIEW WITH ASD OFFICIALS ................................................................................................... 116
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................................................ 121
i
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE 1: POPULATION BY RACE AND HISPANIC/LATINO ORIGIN (2000)........................................................................7
TABLE 2: LATINO POPULATION REPRESENTATION AND GROWTH 1980–1990–2000 CENSUS ...............................................8
TABLE 3: PERCENT OF POPULATION IN 1980 AND 2000 ............................................................................................8
TABLE 4: SCHOOL DISTRICT LATINO STUDENT POPULATION GROWTH 1999-00 TO 2004-05 ...............................................8
TABLE 5: LEHIGH VALLEY POPULATION CHANGE 1980-2000 ......................................................................................9
TABLE 6: LATINO SUBGROUP DISTRIBUTION 1990–2000 ........................................................................................ 10
TABLE 7: POPULATION CHANGE BY LATINO ORIGIN .............................................................................................. 11
TABLE 8: GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF SELECTED LATINO POPULATIONS ................................................................ 12
TABLE 9: CITIZENSHIP STATUS AND PLACE OF BIRTH ............................................................................................ 12
TABLE 10: CITIZENSHIP BY AGE AND LATINO ORIGIN ............................................................................................ 13
TABLE 11: LINGUISTIC ISOLATION ................................................................................................................... 15
TABLE 12: HOUSEHOLD TYPES ........................................................................................................................ 17
TABLE 13: NONRELATIVES BY HOUSEHOLD TYPES ................................................................................................ 17
TABLE 14: MARRIED COUPLE AND UNMARRIED PARTNER HSHLDS ............................................................................. 18
TABLE 15: OWN CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS BY EMPLOYMENT STATUS OF PARENTS ...................................................... 19
TABLE 16: LATINO COLLEGE GRADUATES IN LEHIGH VALLEY IN 2000 (18 YRS AND OLDER) ............................................ 22
TABLE 17: AGE BY EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT FOR THE POPULATION 65 YEARS AND OVER ............................................. 23
TABLE 18: ASD AND BASD STUDENT POPULATION FROM 1980 TO 2004 BY RACE/ETHNICITY ............................................ 23
TABLE 19: CENSUS VS. SD LATINO GROWTH 1980-2000 ........................................................................................ 24
TABLE 20: PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOL POPULATION 3 YEARS AND OVER ................................................................ 25
TABLE 21: ENROLLMENT BY % OF LOW-INCOME FAMILIES ...................................................................................... 25
TABLE 22: ENROLLMENT BY PERCENT OF LOW-INCOME FAMILIES: 2003-2004 .............................................................. 26
TABLE 23: 2004 ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE BY SCHOOL DISTRICTS .......................................................................... 27
TABLE 24: HS GRADUATION RATES (SCHOOL YEAR 2001-02).................................................................................. 27
TABLE 25: STUDENT POPULATION AND CLASSROOM TEACHERS BY RACE/ETHNICITY ..................................................... 28
TABLE 26: 2004-05 LATINO PROFESSIONAL AND SUPPORT STAFF ............................................................................. 28
TABLE 27: POST SECONDARY EDUCATION ACTIVITY OF LATINO GRADUATES (2002 AND 2003 COMBINED) .......................... 30
TABLE 28: GRADUATES ENTERING THE MILITARY (2002 AND 2003 COMBINED) ............................................................ 30
TABLE 29: POST-HIGH SCHOOL ACTIVITY OF GRADUATES BY RACE AND GENDER (2002 AND 2003 COMBINED)..................... 32
TABLE 30: ASD PSSA PERCENT OF PROFICIENT AND ADVANCED FOR 2001 AND 2004 ..................................................... 35
TABLE 31: HOUSEHOLD INCOME IN 1999 ........................................................................................................... 37
TABLE 32: MEDIAN EARNINGS IN 1999 BY RACE AND LATINO SUBGROUP- POPULATION 16 YEARS AND OVER WITH EARNINGS . 40
TABLE 33: LATINOS IN MANAGEMENT, PROFESSIONAL AND RELATED OCCUPATIONS ..................................................... 40
TABLE 34: SEX BY OCCUPATION FOR THE EMPLOYED CIVILIAN LATINO POPULATION (16 YRS AND OVER) ........................... 41
TABLE 35:OCCUPATION FOR THE EMPLOYED CIVILIAN POPULATION BY RACE (16 YEARS AND OVER) .................................. 42
TABLE 36: EMPLOYMENT STATUS FOR CIVILIAN POPULATION AGES 20 TO 64 ............................................................... 42
TABLE 37: STATUS IN 1999 BY USUAL HOURS WORKED PER WEEK (16 YEARS AND OVER) ............................................... 42
TABLE 38: EARNINGS IN 1999 FOR THE POPULATION 16 YEARS AND OVER WITH EARNINGS ............................................ 42
TABLE 39: LATINO/HISPANIC-OWNED BUSINESSES IN LEHIGH VALLEY ...................................................................... 43
TABLE 40: OWNERS AND RENTERS: AGE OF HOUSEHOLDER .................................................................................... 44
TABLE 41: MEDIAN VALUE OF OWNER-OCCUPIED HOUSING UNITS ............................................................................ 44
TABLE 42: MEDIAN GROSS RENT ..................................................................................................................... 44
TABLE 43: APPLICATIONS FOR HOME-PURCHASE LOANS FOR 1 TO 4 FAMILY HOMES ...................................................... 45
TABLE 44: REASONS FOR DENIAL OF APPLICATIONS HOME-PURCHASE LOANS, 1 - 4 FAMILY HOMES .................................. 46
TABLE 45: DISPOSITION OF APPLICATIONS FOR HOME-PURCHASE LOANS, 1-4 FAMILY HOMES, BY INCOME ......................... 47
TABLE 46: HISPANIC BUYING POWER BY PLACE OF RESIDENCE: 1990, 2000, 2004 AND 2009 ........................................... 49
TABLE 47: U.S. AVERAGE ANNUAL EXPENDITURES AND ITEM SHARE FOR HISPANIC AND NON-HISPANIC CONSUMERS, 2002 .... 50
TABLE 48: PA-NJ-NY AGGREGATE HISPANIC BUYING POWER AND ESTIMATED EXPENDITURES BY ITEMS 1990–2009............... 50
TABLE 49: MOST SERIOUS PROBLEMS AFFECTING LATINOS BY CITY .......................................................................... 64
TABLE 50: WHAT SERVICES DO LATINOS NEED THAT DON'T EXIST OR ARE NOT BEING ADEQUATELY ADDRESSED? ................ 74
ii
LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE 1: LATINO SUBGROUPS IN THE LEHIGH VALLEY ....................................................................................................... 10
FIGURE 2: LATINO GROWTH BY COUNTY AND SUBGROUP 1990-2000 ..................................................................................... 11
FIGURE 3: YEAR OF ENTRY FOR FOREIGN BORN LATINOS ..................................................................................................... 13
FIGURE 4: LATINO RACE SELF-IDENTIFICATION .................................................................................................................. 14
FIGURE 5: LATINO LANGUAGE FLUENCY BY AGE GROUP AND LATINO SUBGROUP ..................................................................... 15
FIGURE 6: LINGUISTIC ISOLATION OF LATINO HOUSEHOLDS ................................................................................................ 15
FIGURE 7: AGE: YOUTH AND SENIOR POPULATIONS ............................................................................................................ 16
FIGURE 8: MEDIAN AGE ................................................................................................................................................... 16
FIGURE 9: MEDIAN AGE OF LATINO SUBGROUPS ................................................................................................................. 16
FIGURE 10: HOUSEHOLDS BY TYPE, RACE AND LATINO ORIGIN............................................................................................... 18
FIGURE 11: UNDER AGE 18 LIVING STATUS BY HOUSEHOLD TYPE ........................................................................................... 18
FIGURE 12: CHILDREN UNDER 18 IN POVERTY BY FAMILY TYPE ............................................................................................... 19
FIGURE 13: CHILDREN UNDER 18 LIVING BELOW POVERTY LEVEL ........................................................................................... 19
FIGURE 14: EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT BY RACE/ETHNICITY ................................................................................................. 21
FIGURE 15: EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT OF LATINO GROUPS.................................................................................................. 22
FIGURE 16: POST-HIGH SCHOOL ACTIVITY OF URBAN LATINO GRADUATES (2002 AND 2003 COMBINED) .....................................................31
FIGURE 17: INCOME BELOW POVERTY LEVEL IN 1999 ................................................................................................................................37
FIGURE 18: MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD ............................................................................................................................................................37
FIGURE 19: HOUSEHOLD INCOME SOURCES .............................................................................................................................................38
FIGURE 20: AGGREGATE INCOME FOR ALL HOUSEHOLDS BY SOURCE – 1999..............................................................................................38
FIGURE 21: HOUSEHOLDS RECEIVING PUBLIC ASSISTANCE.......................................................................................................................39
FIGURE 22: MEDIAN INCOME IN 1999.......................................................................................................................................................39
FIGURE 23: MEDIAN EARNINGS BY GENDER..............................................................................................................................................39
FIGURE 24: MEDIAN EARNINGS IN 1999 ...................................................................................................................................................39
FIGURE 25: HSHLDS PAYING OVER 50% OF INCOME IN RENT ....................................................................................................................44
FIGURE 26: PERCENT OF HOME PURCHASE LOAN APPS DENIED..................................................................................................................45
FIGURE 27: HOME LOAN DENIALS BY RACE/ETHNICITY..............................................................................................................................46
FIGURE 28: ISSUES IDENTIFIED AS AFFECTING THE PROGRESS OF THE LATINOS IN THE LEHIGH VALLEY.....................................................82
FIGURE 29: STRENGTHS THAT CAN HELP THE LATINO COMMUNITY MOVE FORWARD...................................................................................85
FIGURE 30: WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN WITH UNDOCUMENTED?.....................................................................................................................87
FIGURE 31: RATINGS BY RESPONDENTS OF ORGANIZATIONS' QUALITY AND ABILITY TO ADDRESS THE NEED OF THE LATINO POPULATION ...89
iii
LVEDC Latino Population Study Executive Summary
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In seeking a comprehensive approach to economic development in the Lehigh Valley, the Lehigh Valley Economic
Development Corporation (LVEDC) determined that the socioeconomic status of the sizeable and growing Latino
population in the region should be addressed in their planning. It was with this objective in mind that the LVEDC
commissioned this study. The ultimate goal is to help the organization understand how it can best assist Latino
residents in taking advantage of economic opportunities in the Lehigh Valley. When the LVEDC commissioned this
report they expressed a key concern: “How do you build wealth in the Latino community in the Lehigh Valley?” It is
this question that defined the focus of the study and guided us in the examination of the issues impacting the
socioeconomic status of Latinos in the Lehigh Valley.
The Lehigh Valley as defined in this report refers to the Allentown—Bethlehem—Easton Metropolitan Statistical
Area (ABE MSA) used in the U.S. 2000 Census. The data for the ABE MSA in 2000 included the counties of Carbon,
Lehigh and Northampton. It does not include Warren County, NJ which was added to the ABE MSA in 2003.1
This report presents a quantitative and qualitative analysis of Latino residents in the Lehigh Valley. It includes a
comprehensive demographic profile, an expanded examination of the educational and economic status of Latinos in
the valley and an assessment of Latino entrepreneurship and consumer buying power. It also offers a historical
perspective that traces the Latino community’s evolution from a primarily Mexican, then Puerto Rican population;
to the widely diverse population it is today.
There are analyses of major issues and concerns and a corresponding set of recommendations directly related to
the issues identified. Beyond the recommendations in this report, there is an abundance of information and data
that should be useful to those individuals, systems and organizations that wish to address specific areas of need. It
should also prove helpful to those with the desire and means to create, support and nurture opportunities for
economic success within this population.
The Lehigh Valley has experienced a steady and significant increase in its Latino population that has nearly
tripled in the decades between 1980 and 2000 representing a regional growth of over 251%. The regional
parameters of this study fall within Lehigh and Northampton Counties where, in the 2000 ABE MSA, over 98% of
the Lehigh Valley’s Latino population is concentrated (Lehigh 63%, Northampton 35%, Carbon 2%.) More
specifically, the study looks closely at the cities of Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton where over 82% of the Latino
population resides.
Latino key informants who work and live in the Lehigh Valley describe the large Latino communities in Allentown
and Bethlehem as very distinct and separate populations that generally function independently of each other.
Bethlehem’s Latino community is generally an older, settled, more established community. Allentown has
experienced the more dramatic change and is where the majority of newer Latino arrivals to the Lehigh Valley first
settled. Over the past two decades the Latino population there has grown almost four times as fast as the Latino
population in Bethlehem (392% vs. 119%). Although Latinos in the Lehigh Valley have primarily settled in
Allentown and Bethlehem, a smaller but steadily increasing number of Latinos have been settling in the community
of Easton.
The City of Easton has been home to a small population of Latinos for several decades. Unlike the Latino
communities in Allentown and Bethlehem, which grew rapidly and dramatically and changed the demographics of
those cities over the past three decades, the growth in Easton has been more contained; that is until this past
1
The Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA MSA in 2003 became the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ MSA with the addition of Warren County, NJ.
1
decade. The composition of the Latino community in Easton has been quietly changing but recently there are
indications of a more rapid rate of growth. While Census 2000 documents a Latino population of about 2500 in
Easton, the anecdotal data and the documented growth of Latino students in the school district indicates a Latino
population that is more than twice that number—probably well over 6,000.
It is also essential to note that Latinos have increased in significant numbers in the Lehigh Valley’s suburbs2. In
the last two decades, the number of Latino residents in the suburbs nearly quadrupled from 2,365 in 1980 to 8,977
in 2000. This reflects a significant number of more educated, professional, middle and upper income Latinos who
have been settling in the Lehigh Valley. It also reflects the out-migration of Latinos from the cities as their
economic conditions improve. For the most part, those in the suburbs become an invisible Latino population of
professional and middle class individuals. They are not clustered together and not as visible a community as Latinos
living in urban areas. This tends to foster the perception that Latinos remain a perpetually urban dwelling
population that is not significantly socioeconomically varied.
Two-thirds of the Latino population in the Lehigh Valley is Puerto Rican while the remaining one-third consists of
a diverse group representing numerous other Latino origins. While the Puerto Rican population has continued to
grow, other Latino populations are growing at a faster pace with Mexican and Dominican populations as the second
and third largest Latino populations. As a result, the Latino population in the Lehigh Valley is becoming more
diverse.
One of the myths about Latinos is that they do not want to learn English or attempt to adjust to the American
mainstream. The reality is that Latinos are adjusting, acculturating and assimilating on par with other immigrant
groups, especially with those European groups that came here in the early 20th century. The data for the Lehigh
Valley clearly shows generational differences related to the issue of English language skills. Typically, most second
generation Latinos are bilingual and in most cases English is their primary language.
The lack of English language fluency is a first generation issue. Most second generation Latinos (those born in
the U.S.) are typically bilingual and in many cases English is their primary language. Third generations and beyond
are primarily English dominant and many speak Spanish poorly or not at all. The Lehigh Valley data indicated that
35% of the population under 17 years of age speaks English exclusively compared to 18% of those 18 years and
older.
Clearly the need for bilingual services is tied to addressing the needs of first generation arrivals and their
families. Almost one-quarter of Latino households are linguistically isolated.3 Since the need for services is
disproportionately concentrated among less educated and underemployed first generation families, the data
indicates there is a significant need for bilingual and bicultural staffing in the areas of social services, education,
employment, training, etc.
Latinos will have an undeniable impact on the future of the cities in the Lehigh Valley. The undisputable
indicators are that this growing segment of the community is a young population, 40% of which is under 18 years
old with only 4% over age 65. While Latinos in the Lehigh Valley are an economically diverse population, economic
indicators place Latinos as a group at the bottom rung of the Lehigh Valley socioeconomic scale. While earnings are
the predominant source of income, they have the lowest median household income, indicating that poverty in the
Latino community is concentrated among the working poor.
Many Latinos contend they are entrepreneurial and hardworking individuals who are sometimes stereotyped by
mainstream community members as a group that primarily lives off public assistance. News articles in the Morning
Call over the last three decades support this contention. The reality is that in 2000, the census showed that in 1999
2
Suburb data are defined as the total for the Allentown—Bethlehem—Easton MSA less the sum of data for these cities: Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton.
3
A household in which all members 14 years old and over speaks a non-English language and also speaks English less than ‘‘Very well’’ (have difficulty with English) is ‘‘linguistically
isolated.’’ All the members of a linguistically isolated household are tabulated as linguistically isolated, including members less than 14 years old who may speak only English.
2
Latinos represented 30% of those on public assistance and that public assistance income represented about 1% of
the aggregate income received by all Latino households.
Latino businesses in the area are numerous and primarily consist of small one-person or family businesses with
no paid employees. The 1997 U.S. Economic Census survey of minority and women owned businesses documented
726 Latino-owned businesses in the Lehigh Valley with sales and receipts of almost $77 million dollars. In 1997,
629 of these small businesses documented over $28.4 million dollars in sales and receipts. Another $48.5 million
dollars in sales was documented by 97 Latino-owned businesses providing jobs for 376 employees.
The data indicates that there is a strong entrepreneurial spirit among Latinos. In addition to the identified local
Latino businesses, it is common knowledge that many Latinos make ends meet through an informal network of
sales and services among family members, neighbors and friends that form an underground economy in
neighborhoods. These services can include automobile repair, the sale of traditional foods, seamstress and tailoring
services, home improvement, etc. Some services are performed for pay while others may involve barter, or some
combination of both, making it possible for many low-income individuals to get needed services at affordable
prices.
Latinos in the PA-NJ-NY tri-state area had over $90 billion in disposable income in 2004 and will represent $122
billion by 2009. While at a national level there has been a dramatic upward shift by retail and corporate sectors in
developing campaigns to attract Latino consumers, Lehigh Valley businesses, according to local community
members and key leaders, have yet to effectively tap or target this large and growing consumer base. The retail
and commercial landscape of the Lehigh Valley will undoubtedly benefit from the ability of business to tap into the
significant disposable income of its resident Latino consumers and also that of Latinos from the tri-state area of
Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. Local realtors can readily attest to the growing migration of Latinos from
New York and New Jersey who have purchased homes in the Lehigh Valley, as well as those who have relocated to
rental properties here.
In 2005, the influx of Latinos to the Lehigh Valley has changed demographically with increasing numbers of more
educated and middle class Latinos migrating to the area. According to key informants and magazine and news
articles on the out-migration of Latinos from New York in the first half of this decade, increasing numbers of more
educated and middle class Puerto Ricans and other Latinos have migrated and are still migrating southward from
New York and to a lesser extent from New Jersey. The establishment of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of the
Lehigh Valley and the hundreds of Latino professionals and business owners it attracts to its regular networking
functions validates the existence of this typically “invisible” suburban population. The Lehigh Valley now has a
considerable Latino population living in the suburbs including a significant number of professionals who are both
homegrown and new arrivals. Latinos in the Lehigh Valley in the new millennium are an ethnically, socially,
politically, educationally and economically complex group. Currently, the biggest challenge is bringing these diverse
entities together to address the concerns that affect the progress, as a group and individually, of the Latino
population in the region.
The lack of availability of qualified bilingual (English/Spanish) and bicultural (knowledgeable of Latino and
mainstream cultures) individuals to fill paid professional positions and to serve on key boards and committees is a
common complaint. There are sometimes differing perspectives among Latinos and non-Latinos about this issue.
Non-Latinos complain: We can’t find qualified Latinos ... the same people serve on everything ... give us names.
Latinos complain that they are not being hired despite their qualifications and that the same Latinos are recruited
for boards and committees but they and others are left out of key policy-making positions. The availability, hiring
and compensation of Latino professionals in the Lehigh Valley has been a long-standing issue of debate between
the Latino community and local institutions. While the Latino community has expressed concern and frustration
regarding the lack of representation of Latinos in professional positions in local institutions, agencies, corporations
and other businesses, these same entities argue they have attempted to hire Latinos but are unable to find
qualified individuals.
3
Education emerged as one of the most critical concerns within the Lehigh Valley’s Latino communities. Currently
this population has significantly lower educational levels than any other population group while maintaining the
highest poverty rate in the area. Special attention must be given to the K to 12 Latino student populations as it
represents a significant share of the future workforce. The ability of Latinos who are second, third and fourth
generation residents to break the cycle of poverty depends on how many are educationally prepared to climb the
socioeconomic ladder. In the coming decades the Latino population will predominate in the cities and will be
significant in determining if there will be economic growth or a continuing eroding tax base in the cities. The future
educational and economic status of Latinos in the Lehigh Valley will in large part be impacted by the success or
failure of Latino students in the local school districts. This population in turn will significantly impact the economic
future of Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton and other areas in the Lehigh Valley.
The school districts in the three primary urban areas, while sharing many commonalities in regards to the
backgrounds and academic status of Latino students, are unique and different systems. Latino students experience
very different dynamics in their school districts and local communities. There is little doubt that local school districts
have not kept pace with changing demographics, the dynamic growth of the Latino population and the resulting
cultural, socioeconomic and linguistic needs that must be attended to.
Along with education, the need for business and economic development emerged as one of the top concerns of
Latinos in the area. Regarding the economic needs of the community, four key areas emerged where needs were
not being met: employment, business development, financial counseling, and access to capital for business and
homeownership. There is a need for more jobs and better employment opportunities, especially more fulltime jobs
with benefits. The need for bilingual job skills training and access to education, including ESL classes and training
to prepare them for jobs with livable wages and benefits. Also, there is the need for more jobs for young people,
especially those who are students. More information in Spanish needs to be provided to future business owners and
to existing Latino business owners regarding support services offered by various agencies and institutions. Services
in Spanish to help Latino businesses gain access to capital and network with other businesses should be developed.
Services to small businesses need to be expanded, especially to storefront business. Latinos tend to have a higher
rate of denials to business and home loans. They sometimes cannot meet the guidelines set by mainstream
institutions. Other communities have established loan programs offering more accessibility and opportunity for
approval to Latinos seeking to start or grow their business, buy a home, make home improvements, buy a car etc.
The number of small, successful Latino-owned businesses in the Lehigh Valley is impressive and indicates a
strong entrepreneurial spirit in spite of the lack of economic development assistance or effective support systems.
Support for these businesses and new entrepreneurs could help spur a revitalization of pockets of blight in these
three cities.
Many misconceptions held by both Latinos and non-Latinos emerged. There are segments of the mainstream
non-Latino population that hold fast to common stereotypes about the Latino population and do not have an
understanding of its differences, complexities and contributions to the community-at-large. This is further
complicated by the misconception of some Latinos about other Latinos. Inter-group issues among Latinos exist on
various levels, including national origin, socioeconomic status and level of acculturation or assimilation. A level of
resentment exists among some Latinos who are economically, educationally and professionally advantaged. They
believe that the general, stereotypical view held by the mainstream of the lower socioeconomic and less educated
Latino population places them at a disadvantage economically, professionally, in business and in achieving access
to or integration into the mainstream of the business community.
There is a need for the current Latino leadership to work collaboratively and more effectively so they can make a
greater impact in the community and achieve more long-term results. Despite good intentions, some of the
leadership have worked at cross-purposes. While some collaborate, others function competitively so the divisions
become barriers to achievement and long-term progress. The competitions, which sometimes become public issues,
4
create political landmines other Latinos in the community seek to avoid. A common statement in the mainstream
community is that there are only a few identified Latino leaders, so the same individuals are constantly tapped to
serve on numerous boards, committees and events. The reality is, there is a wealth of untapped Latino talent who
are making contributions in quiet ways, through a specific effort or program, and they stay under the radar.
There is little doubt that the majority of the key individuals who are Latino community advocates are selfless
individuals each seeking to make a difference, often devoting numerous volunteer hours to the betterment of
communities in the Lehigh Valley. This is borne out in the survey results in which the overwhelming majority (64%)
identified their community leadership and potential leaders, the increasing numbers of educated and professional
individuals coming to the area, and the level of community involvement and commitment, as their strongest assets.
Despite their criticism of the current status of community involvement and leadership there is high optimism that
these are the very strengths they possess that will help them move forward.
Among the leadership issues expressed that were common to the three communities were: a lack of political
representation and political influence, a serious lack of representation and leaders in the traditional institutions of
the community (i.e. business, local government and higher education). In Allentown and Bethlehem, Latino
leadership is viewed as being disorganized and prone to inter-group power struggles and therefore unable to speak
in a collective voice in matters concerning the well being of the greater Latino community. Leadership is also
viewed as lacking the ability to negotiate access to, and participation in, the economic mainstream of Lehigh Valley.
Latino groups/agencies are not viewed as working collaboratively and not being effective, leading to a negative
public image. In Easton key informants expressed a lack of an identified leadership. Since there are more
undocumented, Latinos in Easton feel the community is not organized, hence they have no power. There is also a
lack of organized Latino services and inadequate representation of Latinos in social service organizations and on
Easton’s city council.
In assessing local community views regarding the needs and community issues of Latino populations in the
Lehigh Valley, surveys were conducted with key informants possessing a first-hand broad base of knowledge
regarding local Latino populations and service provision organizations. The targeted key informants included service
providers from a variety of sources and perspectives. They included front line workers, administrators and policy
makers; community leaders in official positions—elected, appointed or professional and de facto community
leaders—community leaders by virtue of their role as volunteers, advocates, activists, etc. The organizations
targeted were those focused on the provision of a range of services to individuals and families, including non-profit,
educational and governmental entities. In addition, the results of the surveys were further explored through in-
depth face-to-face and telephone interviews and focus group interviews totaling more than fifty participants.
Overall, the key informant and organization respondents had a high degree of agreement regarding the top
issues of concern. Eleven common areas of concern emerged: Economic/Employment/Income, Education/Youth,
Language/Access to Services, Discrimination, Latino Leadership and Community, Health and Mental Health,
Housing, Crime, Drug and Alcohol Abuse, Immigration/Undocumented and Transportation. In Allentown, concerns
specific to that city emerged which were related to city government services. There was a high degree of similarity
regarding the top ranked issues affecting the Latino population in the three cities with one notable exception.
Discrimination emerged as the second highest issue in Easton, compared to ranking 11th in Allentown and 7th in
Bethlehem. Economic and educational issues were the top two concerns in both Allentown and Bethlehem, while
language and discrimination emerged as the top two in Easton.
Survey respondents were asked to identify the issues they believed were negatively affecting the ability of
Latinos to progress. Seven primary issues emerged from the open-ended responses. The largest percentage of
respondents (46%) to this question identified Latino leadership and Latino community issues as a major barrier to
the progress of the Latino population in the Lehigh Valley. The responses identified three key areas of concern: lack
5
of unity and effective leadership, lack of political clout and issues of competence related to Latino agencies and
their ability to be collaborative.
Discrimination/racism and issues related to cultural barriers and poverty tied as the second highest issue
affecting Latino progress. Among the issues were the negative perception, lack of acceptance and resentment of
Latinos by members of the mainstream community. Of specific concern was that non-Latino community leaders and
officials don’t understand or represent the interests of Latino constituents. Tied with the external issues of
discrimination and cultural barriers were internal community issues related to crime, violence, family support,
parental involvement in schools, youth turning to negative influences and numerous other issues related to the
consequences of poverty.
The language barrier followed as the next highest concern related to the progress of the community. This issue
was viewed from the internal component of the population needing to become more English fluent and the need for
bilingual/bicultural providers of services for populations in need that are currently not fluent in English. Educational
and youth issues, economic and employment concerns and the need for more access to services were among the
identified barriers to progress.
An overall sentiment expressed throughout the course of the study was that their strong commitment to family
and community and their willingness to work hard and persevere were assets that, given the right opportunities
and support, would serve to overcome the numerous issues currently affecting the quality of life in their
communities and would be contributing factors in creating a better future for their children.
The future socioeconomic status of the Latino population in the Lehigh Valley lies in its ability to become self-
empowered and to guide its own direction. It is hoped that, in addition to the recommendations contained in this
study, those individuals, systems and organizations that wish to address specific areas of need and to help create
opportunities for this population will utilize the data contained in this document.
The information in this report may lead others to develop goals and objectives within their own organizations or
agencies in line with their areas of service, expertise or with their internal directives. While this study provides a
comprehensive analysis of the Lehigh Valley’s Latino population and provides much information that can be useful
to many institutions in the area, the recommendations herein have a narrower focus. They relate to the need for
the development of the human and organizational resources within the Latino community that will enhance their
ability to work with the mainstream to devise an ongoing effort to advocate for and develop the services crucial to
this population. There is also the need for the development of a proactive agenda to better integrate Latinos within
the systems—social, economic, educational, political and community—that affect the lives and future of this
population in the Lehigh Valley.
6
LVEDC Latino Population Study Demographics
LEHIGH VALLEY DEMOGRAPHICS:4

POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS AND FAMILY PROFILES
The growing proportion of Hispanics in the U.S. population constitutes one of
the most dramatic demographic shifts in American history.
U.S. News & World Report, “Hispanics' Don't Exist”, May 11 1998
The Lehigh Valley has experienced a steady and significant increase in its Latino5 population which almost tripled
between 1980 and 2000, a regional growth of over 251%. The Lehigh Valley as defined in this report refers to the
Allentown—Bethlehem—Easton, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area (ABE MSA) used in the U.S. 2000 Census and
defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The data for the ABE MSA, which in 2000 included
the counties of Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton, provides a regional perspective. It does not include Warren
County, NJ which was added to the ABE MSA in 2003.6 The focus of the study falls within Lehigh and Northampton
Counties where over 98% of the 2000 ABE MSA Latino population was concentrated (Lehigh 63%, Northampton
35%, Carbon 2%.) More specifically, the study looks closely at the cities of Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton where
over 82% of the Latino population in these three counties resides. According to the 2000 census, Latino
representation in these cities was 24% of the population of Allentown, 18% of Bethlehem and 10% of Easton.
TABLE 1: POPULATION BY RACE AND HISPANIC/LATINO ORIGIN (2000)

LEHIGH NORTHAMPTON ALLENTOWN BETHLEHEM EASTON LEHIGH
Census 2000 SF1 COUNTY COUNTY CITY CITY CITY VALLEY
TOTAL 312,090 100% 267,066 100% 106,632 100% 71,329 100% 26,263 100% 637,958 100%
HISPANIC/LATINO 31,881 10% 17,868 7% 26,058 24% 13,002 18% 2,570 10% 50,607 8%
WHITE 259,811 83% 235,666 88% 68,621 64% 53,408 75% 19,302 74% 552,429 87%
AFRICAN AMERICAN 9,798 3% 6,886 3% 7,284 7% 2,244 3% 3,221 12% 17,017 3%
ASIAN 6,488 2% 3,610 1% 2,375 2% 1,557 2% 436 2% 10,281 2%
TWO OR MORE RACES 3,382 1% 2,416 1% 1,944 2% 887 1% 627 2% 6,157 1%
SOME OTHER RACE 730 .2% 620 .2% 350 .3% 231 .3% 107 .4% 1,467 0.2%
POPULATION GROWTH
During the last two decades, the Latino population
In 2005, taking into account the acknowledged
in Northampton County grew 153% and more than
census undercount and the continued growth of the
tripled in Lehigh County, with a growth of 354%.
Latino population in the first half of this decade,
While the growth indicated by these census figures is
documented by school district student census, the
considerable there is common agreement that the
percentage of Latinos can be conservatively
size and growth of the population was undercounted
estimated to be nearly one-third of the city of
in Census 2000 and the statistical reality is even
Allentown, one-quarter the city of Bethlehem and
more dramatic. For various reasons, which include a
15% of Easton.
distrust of the government’s use of the data, Latinos
tend to underreport members of their households especially if they exceed the numbers allowed by their lease
agreements. Some decide to stay “under the radar” by not participating in the census. In addition, census data
generally does not reflect the undocumented Latino population, which may have settled in the area.
4
The cumulative area data for charts and graphs are based on the ABE MSA Census 2000 data unless otherwise indicated.
5
For the purpose of this document the terms Latino and Hispanic are used interchangeably to refer to this diverse population with a common origin and common language whether
native to the U.S, or foreign born from Latin America or Spain. This is consistent with the use of the terms in the 2000 Census where the terms ‘Spanish,’ ‘Hispanic origin,’ and ‘Latino’
are used interchangeably. Some individuals identify with all three terms while others may identify with only one of these three terms. The use of the terms Hispanic and Latino is
subject to a debate currently taking place throughout the United States without a clear resolution. Some individuals are adamant about the use of one term over the other, while others
strongly prefer to be identified with their specific national origin. There is common agreement that the term Hispanic was brought into use by the U.S. government in the 1970’s for the
purpose of counting a diverse population with a common heritage and language. The term Latino is promoted as one that more reflects the diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds of this
population.
6
The Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA MSA in 2003 became the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ MSA with the addition of Warren County, NJ.
7
In the 1980 U.S. Census, Latino representation in the Lehigh Valley’s urban populations was: Allentown 5%,
Bethlehem 8% and Easton 2%. In Census 2000, those figures grew to 24%, 18% and 10% respectively. This
represented an unprecedented rate of growth between 1980 and 2000 of 392% in Allentown, 119% Bethlehem and
515% in Easton. The increase in Allentown dramatically exceeded the Latino growth rate in Bethlehem. In 1980,
the census-counted Latino population in Bethlehem exceeded Allentown’s by approximately 650 (5,945 vs. 5,294).
In Census 2000, the Latino population in Allentown was more than double that of Bethlehem (26,058 vs. 13,002)
7
TABLE 2: LATINO POPULATION REPRESENTATION AND GROWTH 1980–1990–2000 CENSUS
NORTHAMPTON
ABE MSA LEHIGH COUNTY COUNTY ALLENTOWN BETHLEHEM EASTON SUBURBS*
2000 50,607 8% 31,881 10% 17,868 7% 26,058 24% 13,002 18% 2,570 10% 8,977 2%
1990 26,697 5% 15,001 5% 11,591 5% 11,822 11% 9,113 13% 1,247 5% 4,515 1%
1980 14,022 3% 7,028 3% 7,059 3% 5,294 5% 5,945 8% 418 2% 2,365 1%
GROWTH 1980-2000
1990-00 90% 113% 54% 120% 43% 106% 99%
1980-00 261% 354% 153% 392% 119% 515% 280%
Bethlehem’s Latino community is generally an older,

Latino key informants who work and live in the
settled, more established community. The majority of
Lehigh Valley describe the large Latino
newer Latino arrivals to the Lehigh Valley move into
communities in Allentown and Bethlehem as very
Allentown. Over the past two decades the Latino
distinct and separate populations that generally
population there has grown almost four times as fast as
function independently of each other.
that of Bethlehem (392% vs. 119%). In the last
decade, Allentown’s Latino population grew 120% compared to a 43% increase in Bethlehem. It is important to
note that although the Allentown community is growing at a much faster pace, it does not diminish the impact of
the significant growth experienced within the Latino population in Bethlehem.
TABLE 3: PERCENT OF POPULATION IN 1980 AND 2000
While the Latino population in the Lehigh
AFRICAN
Valley is primarily concentrated in Allentown and WHITE AMERICAN LATINO
Bethlehem, a smaller but steadily increasing 1980 2000 1980 2000 1980 2000
ALLENTOWN 91% 64% 3% 7% 5% 24%
number of Latinos have been settling in the
BETHLEHEM 89% 75% 2% 3% 8% 18%
community of Easton. In 1980, Latinos accounted
EASTON 89% 74% 8% 12% 2% 10%
for less than 2% of the population of Easton; LEHIGH VALLEY 95% 87% 1% 3% 3% 8%
however, by the year 2000, according to census
figures, they had grown to almost 10% of the city’s population. Considering the likelihood of undercount and trend
of growth, we can assume that in 2000 the population was actually higher than 10% and that the rate of increase
of the Latino population in Easton has continued into the current decade.
In predicting the growth rate within this decade, school TABLE 4: SCHOOL DISTRICT LATINO STUDENT
district figures offer a glimpse into the continued upsurge of POPULATION GROWTH 1999-00 TO 2004-05
this population. The data indicates that the Latino population ALLENTOWN BETHLEHEM EASTON
continues to increase at a significant rate this decade. It also 36% 22% 100%
Sources: Bethlehem Area, Allentown and Easton School Districts
shows that Easton’s Latino population is growing at a much
faster rate than that of Allentown’s or Bethlehem’s. Easton data shows that the student population doubled in the
first half of this decade. This is a clear indicator that Census 2000 figures for Easton can no longer gauge the
current situation or the projected growth of the Latino population there.
7
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD's) Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R), http://socds.huduser.org/
8
It is essential to note that Latinos have also increased in

In the last two decades, the number of
significant numbers in the Lehigh Valley’s suburbs8. This reflects
Latinos in the suburbs almost quadrupled
a significant number of more educated, professional, middle and
from 2,365 in 1980 to 8,977 in 2000.
upper income Latinos settling in the Lehigh Valley. It also reflects
the out-migration of Latinos from the cities as their economic conditions improve. For the most part, those in the
suburbs become an invisible Latino population of professional and middle class individuals. They are not clustered
together and not as visible a community as Latinos living in urban areas. This tends to foster the perception that
Latinos remain a perpetually urban dwelling population. While you will find Latinos in these cities with diverse
income levels, a large percentage of low-income Latinos do settle in the cities because of the proximity to needed
services and transportation. This clustering is often dictated by the availability of housing both in regards to
affordability and the willingness of landlords to rent to Latinos.
TABLE 5: LEHIGH VALLEY POPULATION CHANGE 1980-2000

The data indicates that there is an out- 1990- 1980-
WHITE 1980 1990 2000 2000 2000
migration of Whites from the cities who Allentown 94,508 86,648 68,621 -21% -27%
are settling in the suburbs and more Bethlehem 62,430 59,154 53,408 -10% -14%
Easton 23,221 22,102 19,302 -13% -17%
rural areas. Locals are viewing this as a
Suburbs3 345,762 381,610 411,098 8% 19%
case of “White flight”. LV TOTAL 525,921 549,514 552,429 1% 5%
AFRICAN AMERICAN
In contrast to the significant and continued
Allentown 3,047 4,882 7,284 49% 139%
Latino growth between 1980 and 1990, the Bethlehem 1,465 1,887 2,244 19% 53%
White population decreased by -27% in Easton 2,081 2,437 3,221 32% 55%
Suburbs3 1,134 2,347 4,268 82% 276%
Allentown, -14% in Bethlehem and -17% in
LV TOTAL 7,727 11,553 17,017 47% 120%
Easton. Despite the significant reduction of
LATINO
the White population in the cities, the White
Allentown 5,294 11,822 26,058 120% 392%
population actually grew by 5% in the Bethlehem 5,945 9,113 13,002 43% 119%
Lehigh Valley. The Lehigh Valley Latino Easton 418 1,247 2,570 106% 515%
Suburbs3 2,365 4,515 8,977 99% 280%
population grew 261% and the African
LV TOTAL 14,022 26,697 50,607 90% 261%
American population grew 120%. The data
Source: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD's) Office of Policy Development
and Research (PD&R), http://socds.huduser.org/
indicates that there is an out-migration of
Whites from the cities who are settling in the suburbs and more rural areas. Locals view this as a case of “White
flight”. Between 1980 and 2000, the White population in the suburbs increased by 19% in contrast to a combined
loss of -22% in the three cities.
LATINO DIVERSITY
Two-thirds of the Latino population in the Lehigh Valley is Puerto
While the Puerto Rican population
Rican while the remaining one-third consists of a diverse group
still predominates, Latino residents
representing numerous other Latino origins. The 2000 Census
in the Lehigh Valley comprise an
documents the Puerto Rican population at 67%. Although uncounted
increasingly diverse population.
segments of the Latino population may likely impact this percentage,
all anecdotal information indicates that the Puerto Rican population in the area still predominates at well over 65%.
While the Puerto Rican population has continued to grow, other Latino populations are growing at a faster pace
with Mexican and Dominican populations as the second and third largest Latino populations. As a result, the Latino
population in the Lehigh Valley is becoming more diverse. Almost certainly the increase among the various Latino
subgroups is understated considering the number of Latinos not identifying their subgroup. In the 1990 Census,
2,615 (8%) Latinos did not identify their specific nationality, while in the 2000 Census 6,773 (14%) did not
8
Suburb data are defined as the total for the ABE MSA less the sum of data for these cities: Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton.
9
designate their Latino origin. These 6,773 Latinos whose origin is not identified can significantly elevate the
number and representation percentage of some subgroups. Trends, cultural realities and anecdotal data would
indicate that the Latinos whose origins are not identified would primarily be those of Dominican and Mexican origin,
followed by Central and South American populations.
LEHIGH VALLEY - 2000 Venezuelan

Other South 4% Argentinean
Cuban
Dominican American 4%
1%
4% 6% Chilean
Mexican 11%
Other Latino Colombian
7%
14% 36%
Peruvian
Puerto Rican 17%
67% South
American
5% Ecuadorian
22%
Central Costa Rican

American Other Central
6% Nicaraguan
2% American
7%
5%
Guatemalan Panamanian
28% 11%
Salvadoran
LEHIGH VALLEY - 1990 17%
Honduran
Dominican 26%
Cuban
3% 2%
Mexican Other Latino - 8%
6%
South American
Puerto Rican 6%
72%
Central
American FIGURE 1: LATINO SUBGROUPS
3%
IN THE LEHIGH VALLEY
Census 2000 SF1

Census 1990 STF3
When isolating the Lehigh Valley’s urban areas, where the overwhelming majority of Latinos are concentrated,
the predominant Latino subgroup is Puerto Rican, comprising almost three-fourths of the Latino population. Both
statistical and anecdotal data indicates that Allentown has a more diverse Latino population than Bethlehem.
Easton, which in more recent years has begun to experience significant growth in its Latino population, is much
more diverse than either Allentown or Bethlehem with Puerto Ricans comprising less than half of the Latino
population and with a much higher percentage of Mexicans (24%).
TABLE 6: LATINO SUBGROUP DISTRIBUTION 1990–2000

ALLENTOWN CITY BETHLEHEM CITY EASTON CITY SUBURBS
Census 2000 SF1 / 1990 SF3 1990 2000 1990 2000 1990 2000 1990 2000
TOTAL LATINOS 11,822 26,058 9,113 13,002 1,247 2,570 4,515 8,977
PUERTO RICAN 78% 68% 82% 78% 50% 44% 46% 51%
DOMINICAN 4% 7% 2% 2% 0% 1% 2% 3%
SOUTH AMERICAN 6% 5% 2% 3% 19% 7% 7% 8%
MEXICAN 3% 4% 4% 6% 5% 24% 15% 13%
CENTRAL AMERICAN 2% 2% 2% 1% 13% 6% 4% 4%
CUBAN 1% 1% 1% 1% 3% 2% 5% 4%
OTHER LATINO 5% 14% 6% 10% 10% 16% 19% 17%
10
In the past decade, as the Puerto Rican FIGURE 2: LATINO GROWTH BY COUNTY AND
SUBGROUP 1990–2000
population continued to grow, other Latino
Northampton County
populations were growing at a faster pace.
44% Lehigh County
For most Latino populations, Lehigh County Puerto Rican
95%
had a higher growth rate. Dominicans grew 166%
Mexican
by over 250% in Lehigh County. In 118
%
Northampton County, the largest Dominican 66%
Republic 251%
percentage of growth was among those of
125%
Mexican origin with an increase of 166% Cuban
2%
Central 9%
As shown in Table 7, when the growth of American 99%
these populations is viewed specific to their South 64%
areas of concentration in the cities of American 70%
126%
Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton, the Other
Latino 291%
growth rates are even more dramatic. Census 2000 SF1 /Census 1990 SF3
TABLE 7: POPULATION CHANGE BY LATINO ORIGIN

ALLENTOWN Change BETHLEHEM Change EASTON Change SUBURBS Change
Census 1990 STF 3 1990- 1990- 1990- 1990-

Census 2000 SF1 1990 2000 2000 1990 2000 2000 1990 2000 2000 1990 2000 2000
TOTAL LATINOS 11,822 26,058 120% 9,113 13,002 43% 1,247 2,570 106% 4,515 8,977 99%
PUERTO RICAN 9,236 17,682 91% 7,492 10,096 35% 618 1,127 82% 2,096 4,623 121%
MEXICAN 361 1,033 186% 385 728 89% 62 622 903% 690 1,162 68%
DOMINICAN 472 1,729 266% 141 231 64% 0 35 - 104 226 117%
CUBAN 149 237 59% 119 118 -1% 35 45 29% 236 355 50%
CENTRAL AMERICAN 240 498 108% 224 180 -20% 166 145 -13% 191 354 85%
SOUTH AMERICAN 724 1,185 64% 180 340 89% 238 185 -22% 328 741 126%
OTHER LATINO 640 3,694 477% 572 1,309 129% 128 411 221% 870 1,427 64%
SPANIARD 36 31 1 89
NOT IDENTIFIED 3,658 1,278 410 1338
In the 2000 Census 6,773 Latinos in the Lehigh Valley While containing a more recent and much
did not identify their Latino origin —3,658 in Allentown, smaller Latino population, Easton has the most
1,278 in Bethlehem, 410 in Easton and 1,138 in the diverse Latino population of the three cities with
suburbs. This could significantly increase (double or the Mexican population in the area growing
triple) the numbers indicated for specific Latino groups. almost ten-fold from only 62 in 1990 to over
600 in 2000. In 2000, Puerto Ricans comprised
68% and 78% of the Allentown and Bethlehem Latino populations respectively. Meanwhile, in Easton, Puerto Ricans
were 44% of the population and Latinos of Mexican origin were 24%. From 1990 to 2000 there appeared to be a
shift in the Central American population. They had become more concentrated in Allentown, increasing by 108%,
while showing a decrease of –20% in Bethlehem and –13% in Easton.
11
The Latino population living in the suburbs is 51% Puerto Rican followed by 13% Mexican and 8% South
American. All other identified Latino subgroups comprise 11%. Another 17% are Latinos whose subgroup is not
determined. Anecdotal data suggests that what is reflected in this data is that many of the Puerto Ricans and
Mexicans, the Latino populations who have been in the area the longest in significant numbers, have moved to the
suburbs as their economic conditions improved. Others have come and settled directly into the suburbs. Puerto
Ricans and Dominicans with the lowest median incomes among Latino subgroups have the highest percentages of
individuals residing in the cities. The percentages of Latino subgroups living in cities: Dominican 90%, Puerto Rican
86%, Central and South American 70%, Mexican 67% and Cubans 53%. More than half (57%) of the small
number of Spaniards in the area lives in the suburbs. It is interesting to note that 79% of those not identifying
their group live in the cities. A comparison of income with the percent of Latinos living in the suburbs (Table 8)
demonstrates a relationship between higher household incomes and higher percentages of the specific population
living in the suburbs.
TABLE 8: GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF SELECTED LATINO POPULATIONS

LV MEDIAN
LEHIGH LEHIGH NORTHAMPTO NOT HOUSEHOLD
Census 2000 SF1/SF 4 VALLEY COUNTY N COUNTY ALLENTOWN BETHLEHEM EASTON URBAN URBAN INCOME
TOTAL LATINO 50,607 63% 35% 51% 26% 5% 82% 18% $26,895
PUERTO RICAN 33,528 63% 36% 53% 30% 3% 86% 14% $24,067
MEXICAN 3,545 44% 52% 29% 21% 18% 67% 33% $39,205
SOUTH AMERICAN 2,451 64% 35% 48% 14% 8% 70% 30% $38,730
DOMINICAN 2,221 87% 12% 78% 10% 2% 90% 10% $27,827
CENTRAL AMERICAN 1,177 60% 37% 42% 15% 12% 70% 30% $38,393
CUBAN 755 55% 39% 31% 16% 6% 53% 47% $46,111
SPANIARD 157 43% 50% 23% 20% 1% 43% 57% $43,098
OTHER LATINO 6,773 68% 30% 54% 19% 6% 79% 21% $34,886
NATIVITY AND CITIZENSHIP
TABLE 9: CITIZENSHIP STATUS AND PLACE OF BIRTH

The 2000 Census reports that Census 2000 SF4 ALLENTOWN BETHLEHEM EASTON SUBURBS
the Latino population in the Nativity Status
cities of Allentown and Total: 25,970 13,028 2,512 8,893
Native 85% 93% 62% 83%
Bethlehem are overwhelmingly
Foreign born 15% 7% 38% 17%
native U.S. citizens—85% and
Citizenship Status of Foreign Born
93% respectively.
Foreign born: 4,013 956 965 1,552
Naturalized citizen 31% 29% 12% 57%
Easton, which is where Latinos have
Not a citizen 69% 71% 88% 43%
settled more recently in significant
numbers, has a 38% foreign-born Place of Birth of Native Latinos
Latino population reflecting the Native: 21,957 12,072 1,547 7,341

Born in PA 36% 38% 35% 44%
diversity of the more recent arrivals
Born other U.S. state 26% 23% 40% 36%
within the last decade.
Puerto Rico 38% 40% 25% 19%
Included among the native population % Born in US State 52% 56% 46% 55%
are Puerto Ricans who are U.S. natives, whether born on the mainland or in Puerto Rico. Of the Latino native
population, 36% are Pennsylvania natives, 26% were born in another U.S. state and 38% were born in Puerto Rico.
12
More importantly in terms of services, acculturation and language is that 55%

ORIGINS OF LATINOS IN THE
of Latinos in the Lehigh Valley were born in a U.S. state and are second, third, LEHIGH VALLEY (Census 2000)
Born in a U.S. state 55%
fourth generation and beyond. Forty-four percent are first generation Latinos of
Born in P.R. 29%
which 29% were born in Puerto Rico and 15% were foreign-born. One percent Foreign-born 15%
were born on another U.S. Island Area or were born abroad of American
parent(s).
FIGURE 3: YEAR OF ENTRY FOR
Almost half of the Latino immigrants in the FOREIGN BORN LATINOS
Lehigh Valley counted in the 2000 Census Census 2000 SF4 PCT45
arrived in the U.S. within the last decade and Before 1969
almost 80% within the last twenty years. 11%
1970 to 1979 1990 to
The majority of those immigrating to the U.S. are
10% March 2000
individuals over 18 years of age. The literature and 49%
anecdotal data indicate that most immigrants are
economically motivated—leaving home and family to
1980 to 1989
seek opportunity and work to better conditions for
30%
themselves and those they left behind.
There are significant differences in When the citizenship status of non-Puerto Rican Latinos is viewed by
nativity by age within Latino age it indicates that over 85% of the Dominican, Central American and
subgroups with much higher South American populations over 18 years of age are foreign born and
numbers of U.S. natives among approximately 35% are naturalized citizens. However, by contrast,
those under 18 years of age. 64% of Dominicans and South Americans and 75% of those from
Central America who are under 18 years of TABLE 10: CITIZENSHIP BY AGE AND LATINO ORIGIN*
TOTAL CENTRAL SOUTH
age are primarily second-generation LATINO** MEXICAN CUBAN DOMINICAN AMERICAN AMERICAN
Census 2000 SF4
children who are native-born U.S. citizens. Total: 50,403 3,745 569 2,295 1,235 2,328
Under 18 years: 20,006 1,294 200 737 340 609
This reflects the most recent emerging
Native 95% 81% 95% 64% 75% 64%
populations. Cubans and Mexicans have Foreign born: 5% 19% 5% 36% 25% 36%
higher nativity rates with over half the over Naturalized citizen 1% 1% 0% 8% 12% 5%
Not a citizen 4% 18% 5% 28% 13% 31%

age 18 population being native-born
18 years and over: 30,397 2,451 369 1,558 895 1,719
American citizens. Ninety-five percent of
Native 79% 51% 52% 15% 11% 14%
Cubans younger than 18 years of age are Foreign born: 21% 49% 48% 85% 89% 86%
U.S. natives reflecting a settled community Naturalized citizen 8% 8% 38% 34% 36% 37%
Not a citizen 13% 40% 10% 51% 53% 49%
with limited migration and growth.
*Puerto Ricans are excluded since they are U.S. citizens
**All Latinos including Puerto Rican, Spaniard and those Latinos who did not identify their subgroup.
Mexicans, who represent the first Latino
population to settle in the area in significant numbers, have an under 18 population that is 81% native-born U.S.
citizens. While having a long history in the area, the population is continuing to grow and in more recent years
there has been an increase in migration of this population. Mexicans are among the first documented Latinos in the
area, arriving early in the first half of the century, to work at Bethlehem Steel. Puerto Ricans began arriving in the
late 1940’s and in much larger numbers over the next decades. For many decades, the number of Mexicans in the
Lehigh Valley remained relatively small with limited growth in comparison to the Puerto Rican population. The
reason for this was primarily one of geography. Mexicans were mostly concentrated in the West and Southwest part
of the nation, while Puerto Ricans had mostly migrated to the Northeast, primarily New York City, in close proximity
to Pennsylvania. In recent decades, there has been a significant shift in the U.S. Latino population with increasing
numbers of Latinos of Mexican origin migrating to the Northeast in some cases moving into neighborhoods that had
been primarily Puerto Rican. This shift has also resulted in a significant increase in the Pennsylvania and Lehigh
Valley Mexican population in the last decade.
13
RACIAL IDENTIFICATION
According to a study by the Public Policy Institute of California, the responses to the 2000 Census suggest that
many Latinos feel the list of standard racial categories does not reflect their racial identity. “To a greater extent
than non-Latinos, Latinos opt out of the standard racial categories, either by categorizing themselves as “some
9
other race” or, to a lesser extent, by failing to answer the race questions at all.”
Latinos comprise a racially diverse and complex group FIGURE 4:

Lehigh Valley - Census 2000 SF1
that defies identification with the limiting racial choices LATINO RACE SELF-IDENTIFICATION
on census forms. As a result, almost half the Latinos in the Two or more races
7.3%
U.S. who answered the race question commonly selected
White - 40.2%
“other” or selected two or more races on the U.S. census.
Racial self-identification often varies based on Latino Some other

race - 47.8%
national origin. Historical realities in numerous Latino countries Black or African
American - 3.6%
impacted the degree of intermarriage occurring among the
European, indigenous and African populations. In addition, American Indian and
Native Hawaiian and
Asian Alaska Native 0.7%
political realities and institutional racism have also led to the Pacific Islander - 0.1%
0.2%
selection of a specific racial category regardless of actual racial
background. In the Lehigh Valley, over 55% of Latinos identified themselves racially as “other” or multiracial
(being of two or more races). Forty percent identified themselves racially as White. While Latinos often face many
of the same hardships that European immigrants faced in settling in a new place, the racial diversity and the
continued rapid growth in significant numbers impact the perspective of the mainstream community about this
population. Regardless of racial identification, the important factor in developing services and responding to
community need is an understanding of the cultural commonalities of Latinos, as well as the differences among the
various Latino groups.
LANGUAGE FLUENCY
One of the myths confronting Latinos is that they do not want to learn English and
do not want to adjust to the American mainstream. The reality is that Latinos are
adjusting, acculturating and assimilating on par with other immigrant groups,
especially with those European groups that came here in the early 20th century.
A major difference between Latinos and other immigrant groups is the proximity of Latin American nations to the
United States. Also, Latinos migrating today and in recent decades are confronting a very different economic and
employment reality. A March 2004 Business Week Online editorial entitled Hispanic Nation: Myth and Reality
addresses this very issue:
Immigration has always been one of the primary drivers of economic growth in America. Today, Hispanics are
the latest immigrant group remaking the face of the U.S. with their huge numbers, their Spanish language and
their dynamic culture. They are energizing an aging population; supporting a housing boom, supplying scarce
labor to many industries and making the marketplace pay attention to their growing billions in disposable income.
Hispanics are typical of other immigrant groups before them in their willingness to risk much in search of a better
life ... It is true that this wave of immigrants differs from previous ones, not only because it is bigger but also
because it is largely across a common border — Mexico — and involves millions of illegal immigrants. The
continuous inflow of people keeps ties to Spanish culture and language. And the need for illegals to live furtively
makes their assimilation more difficult ... the data shows that Hispanics are learning English as fast as any other
immigrant group. The big difference is that they are retaining their Spanish longer — which is a plus ... The ability
9
Sonya M. Tafoya, “Latinos and Racial Identification in California”, California Counts: Population Trends And Profiles, Volume 4 Number 4 • May 2003, Public Policy Institute of
California, http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/CC_503STCC.pdf
14
of the U.S. to absorb the foreign-born and weave them into the fabric of American society is one of its major
competitive strengths. Each immigrant wave has taught the nation something new, making it more flexible,
innovative and stronger. Despite the alarms, this wave is likely to be no different. And that's a good thing. 10
Only 7% of those under 18 years of age are not English fluent

The data for the Lehigh Valley compared to 19% of 18 to 64 year olds and 34% of those over 65. The
clearly shows generational lack of English language fluency is a first generation issue.11 Most
differences related to the issue of second generation Latinos (which are those born in the U.S.) are
English language skills. Typically, typically bilingual and in many cases, English is their primary language.
most second generation Latinos are Third generations and beyond are primarily English dominant and many
bilingual and in most cases English speak Spanish poorly or not at all. The Lehigh Valley data indicated that
is their primary language. 35% of the population under 17 years of age speaks English-only
compared to 18% of those 18 years and older.
English language fluency also varies by Latino subgroup. The newer immigrants with higher numbers of first
generation individuals reflect less English language fluency. Clearly the need for bilingual services is tied to
addressing the needs of the first generation arrivals and their families. Almost one-quarter of Latino households are
linguistically isolated.12 Since the need for services is disproportionately concentrated among the less educated and
underemployed first generation families, the data indicates there is a significant need for bilingual and bicultural
individuals in the areas of social services, education, training, employment, etc.
FIGURE 5: LATINO LANGUAGE FLUENCY BY AGE GROUP AND LATINO SUBGROUP
8% 13%
18% 17% 14%
21% Speak only
35% English
43%
48%
Speak English
48% 60% "well" or
63% 58% “very well"
64%
66%
31% Speak English
57% "not well"
17% 46% Speak English

16%
17% 16% 22% "not at all"
14%
17% 10% 16%
9%
1% 6% 5% 3% 6% 6% 6% Census 2000 SF4
5 to 17 yrs 18 to 64 yrs 65 yrs & over PUERTO MEXICAN DOMINICAN CUBAN CENTRAL SOUTH
RICAN AMERICAN AMERICAN
The 2000 Census documented that 15% of Latinos 5 years and FIGURE 6: LINGUISTIC ISOLATION
older in the Lehigh Valley were not English fluent and that 23% of OF LATINO HOUSEHOLDS
Census 2000 SF4 PCT 38
the households were linguistically isolated. This data indicates that
Not Linguistically
many English fluent children are living in households where the linguistically isolated
adults are not English fluent. isolated 23%
77%
TABLE 11: LINGUISTIC ISOLATION
PUERTO CENTRAL SOUTH
Census 2000 SF4 - ABE MSA RICAN MEXICAN DOMINICAN CUBAN AMERICAN AMERICAN
Latino Households 10,070 1,011 709 182 373 730
Linguistically isolated 22% 26% 37% 16% 22% 32%
10
http://businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_11/b3874140_mz029.htm
11
First generation Latinos refers to those born in Puerto Rico or foreign-born that migrated to the United States. The second generation refers to U.S. born children of those who
migrated and the third-plus generations are those born in the United States of U.S.-born parents.
12
A household in which all members 14 years old and over speaks a non-English language and also speaks English less than ‘‘Very well’’ (have difficulty with English) is ‘‘linguistically
isolated.’’ All the members of a linguistically isolated household are tabulated as linguistically isolated, including members under 14 years old who may speak only English.
15
AGE
Latinos will have an undeniable impact on the future of the cities of the Lehigh Valley.
The undisputable indicators are that this growing segment of the community is a young
population, 40% of which is under 18 years old with only 4% over age 65 and in 2000
represented 24%, 18% and 10% of Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton respectively.
FIGURE 7: AGE: YOUTH AND SENIOR POPULATIONS

Census 2000 SF1
Under 18 years 65 yrs and over

40%
36%
28%
21%
18%
4% 5% 4%
LATINO WHITE AFRICAN ASIAN

AMERICAN
There are differences in median age between the various Latino groups with the Puerto Rican population, which
is the largest, having the youngest median age. Cubans and South Americans have significantly higher median
ages of 34 and 33 respectively. The White population has a median age significantly higher than any Latino
population and reflects a population with lower percentages of children and much higher percentages of seniors.
FIGURE 8: MEDIAN AGE

Census 2000 SF2
41
31
28
23

AMERICAN
FIGURE 9: MEDIAN AGE OF LATINO SUBGROUPS

Census 2000 SF2
34
33
27 29
26
22
PUERTO MEXICAN CUBAN DOMINICAN CENTRAL SOUTH

16
HOUSEHOLDS
The U.S. Census Bureau defines a family as a group of two people or more, one of whom is the householder, who
are related by birth, marriage or adoption and who reside together. All such people including related subfamily
members are considered members of one family. A nonfamily household consists of a householder living alone (a
one-person household) or where the householder shares the home exclusively with people to whom he/she is not
related.
The data indicated that Latinos have larger family households Latinos have the highest percentage of
with the lowest percentage of three-person family households and family households and the lowest
the largest percentage of households with three or more persons. percentage of nonfamily households,
Due to the acknowledged undercount it is likely that the number of especially one-person households.
persons in Latino households is underestimated.
Latinos have the highest percentage of non-relatives living in family households. The largest percentage of these
are unmarried partners living together in unmarried-partner households.13 This data impacts the percentage of
families categorized as single-parent families. While legally unmarried, the number of Latino families headed by a
couple increases when unmarried couples living together are considered.
TABLE 12: HOUSEHOLD TYPES

Census 2000 SF1 AFRICAN TABLE 13: NONRELATIVES BY HOUSEHOLD TYPES
TOTAL LATINO WHITE ASIAN
- ABE MSA AMERICAN AFRICAN
LATINO WHITE ASIAN
Total Census 2000 SF1 - ABE MSA AMERICAN
247,148 14,377 222,107 6,088 3,022
Households: Total: 3,739 22,258 1,523 405
Family
68.6% 78.0% 68.0% 68.4% 76.6% In family households: 67% 35% 58% 26%
Households:
2-person 29.8% 16.9% 31.1% 19.4% 19.9% Roomer or boarder 5% 3% 5% 4%
3-person 16.3% 20.0% 16.0% 18.6% 19.0% Housemate or

8% 4% 5% 7%
roommate
4-person 14.1% 19.5% 13.6% 15.2% 22.2%
Unmarried partner 37% 19% 31% 7%
5-person 5.7% 12.1% 5.2% 9.1% 8.3%
Foster child 5% 2% 8% 1%
6-person 1.8% 5.8% 1.5% 3.5% 4.5%
7-or-more 0.9% 3.8% 0.6% 2.6% 2.7% Other nonrelatives 12% 7% 8% 7%
Nonfamily In nonfamily
31.4% 22.0% 32.0% 31.6% 23.4% 33% 65% 42% 74%
Households households:
1-person 26.0% 16.4% 26.7% 25.6% 17.9% Roomer or boarder 4% 5% 6% 10%
2-person 4.5% 4.4% 4.5% 4.6% 4.2% Housemate or
8% 19% 12% 41%
roommate
3-person 0.5% 0.6% 0.5% 0.9% 0.7%
Unmarried partner 14% 33% 16% 14%
4-person 0.2% 0.4% 0.2% 0.3% 0.4%
Foster child 0% 0% 1% 1%
5-person 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1%
6-person 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.1% Other nonrelatives 6% 8% 7% 8%
7-or-more 0.0% 0.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
13
An unmarried-partner household is a household other than a ‘‘married-couple household’’ that includes a householder and an ‘‘unmarried partner.’’ An ‘‘unmarried partner’’ can be of
the same sex or of the opposite sex of the householder.
17
FAMILIES AND STATUS OF CHILDREN UNDER 18
FIGURE 10: HOUSEHOLDS BY TYPE, RACE AND LATINO ORIGIN

Census 2000 reported 42% of Latino
households were headed by married- 16% 18%
27% 26% 1-person households
couples14, single females headed 28% 6% 5% Nonfamily households
and 9% were headed by single 5% 6%
5%
5% Female householder,
males.15 28% 9%
no husband present
3% 26%
9% Male householder,
According to the Census, Latino families 7%
no wife present
67%
(36%) and African American families 56% Married-couple family
42%
(40%) have significantly higher 34%
percentages of single-female headed
households than White (13%) or Asian
Latino White African Asian
families (7%). American
It is important to consider the percentage of male and female householders that have partners and live in
unmarried partner households. These unions are sometimes long-term relationships and may be viewed as
common-law marriages. If these unions were considered, the percentage of households with male-female couple-
headed families would be Latino 54%, White 61%, African-American 43% and Asian 69%.
TABLE 14: MARRIED COUPLE AND UNMARRIED PARTNER HSHLDS

AFRICAN
Allentown—Bethlehem—Easton, PA MSA LATINO WHITE AMERICAN ASIAN
Total: 14,377 222,107 5,619 3,000

Married-couple family 42% 56% 34% 67%
Unmarried-partner: Males-Female 12% 5% 9% 2%
Unmarried-partner: Same Sex 1% 0.4% 1% 0.4%
FIGURE 11: UNDER AGE 18 LIVING STATUS BY HOUSEHOLD TYPE
3% 2% 3% 2%
3% 1% 4% 4% 1% 3% 2% 5% 3%
3% 4% 2%
4% 2% 4% 3% 5% 4% 6%
6% 6% 6% 5% 3%
12% 4% 5% Nonrelatives
10% 2%
5% 17% 23% 21% 17%
Other relatives
36% 40% 37%
6% 7% 4% 8%
Grandchild
43%
10%
Female hshldr, no
8%
8% husband present
77% 6% 86%
63%
Male householder,
61% 63% 62%
no wife present
44% 40% 42%
33% In married-couple
family
Census 2000
PUERTO MEXICAN CUBAN DOMINICAN CENTRAL SOUTH SF1 P28-SF2 PCT19
AMERICAN RICAN AMERICAN AMERICAN
14
A married couple, as defined by the 2000 U.S. Census, is a husband and wife enumerated as members of the same household.
15
Single-female householders and single-male householders refer to householders without a spouse in the household regardless of actual marital status.
18
The 2000 Census indicated that in the ABE MSA, 44% of Latino and 33% of African American children under 18
lived in a married couple household compared to 77% White and 86% Asian children. Thirty-six percent of Latino
and 43% of African American children are reported to live in single-parent households compared to 12% White and
6% Asian children. (Figure 11)
While exact data for children living in households

FIGURE 12: CHILDREN UNDER 18 IN
with couples who are unmarried is not available, POVERTY BY FAMILY TYPE
the data does indicate that 12% Latino, 5% White, Female householder, no husband present:
9% African American and 12% Asian households Male householder, no wife present:
are unmarried-partner households. Among Latinos In married-couple family:
and African Americans the majority of these are
unmarried partner households with children. 14%
6%
FIGURE 13: CHILDREN UNDER 18 LIVING 54%
BELOW POVERTY LEVEL 67%
Census 2000 SF3
77%
37% 36%
10% 79%
9%
E
36% 9%
10% 25%
7% 14%

AMERICAN
AMERICAN
TABLE 15: OWN CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS BY EMPLOYMENT STATUS OF PARENTS

Census 2000 SF4 AFRICAN PUERTO CENTRAL SOUTH
ABE MSA WHITE AMERICAN ASIAN LATINO RICAN MEXICAN DOMINICAN CUBAN AMERICAN AMERICAN
CHILDREN UNDER 18 113,963 4,857 2,883 18,347 12,709 1,105 701 190 332 578
Living with two parents: 81% 37% 92% 48% 45% 66% 47% 49% 60% 56%
Both parents in labor force 67% 71% 62% 52% 54% 50% 44% 83% 44% 74%
Father only in labor force 29% 22% 30% 30% 26% 43% 42% 6% 47% 22%
Mother only in labor force 3% 4% 2% 9% 10% 2% 9% 0% 2% 4%
Neither parent in labor force 2% 3% 6% 9% 10% 5% 5% 11% 7% 0%
Living with one parent: 19% 63% 8% 52% 55% 34% 53% 51% 40% 44%
Living with father: 29% 15% 38% 20% 20% 29% 13% 21% 8% 48%
In labor force 90% 80% 80% 86% 86% 86% 88% 100% 100% 98%
Living with mother: 71% 85% 62% 80% 80% 71% 87% 79% 92% 52%
In labor force 83% 71% 73% 62% 61% 65% 59% 76% 67% 73%
The majority of children The feminization of poverty is a revolving door related to low income, lower
living in poverty are living in levels of education and the difficulties of supporting a family on one income in a
female-headed single-parent society where increasingly it takes two incomes to support a family. According
households. (Figure 12) to the Council on Contemporary Families (CCF)16, “Women who become single
mothers are especially likely to have inadequate wages, both because of pre-
existing disadvantages such as low educational attainment and work experience and because the shortage of
publicly subsidized child care makes it difficult for them to work full time.” In addition, populations at the lower end
of the socioeconomic scale are more likely to have fewer marriages and more single-parent households. The CCF
16
Founded in 1996, with a membership consisting of national noted family researchers, mental health and social work practitioners and clinicians, The Council on Contemporary Families
(CCF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing the national conversation about what contemporary families need and how these needs can best be met.
19
goes on to state “Nonmarriage is often a result of poverty and economic insecurity rather than the other way
around.”17 They found that:
Unemployment, low wages and poverty discourage family formation and erode family stability, making it less
likely that individuals will marry in the first place and more likely that their marriages will deteriorate. These
economic factors have long-term as well as short-term effects, contributing to changes in social norms regarding
marriage and family formation and exacerbating distrust between men and women. These long-term effects help
explain why African-Americans marry at much lower rates than other groups within the U.S. population. Poverty is
a cause as well as a consequence of non-marriage and of marital disruption.18
The impact of economic opportunity leading to economic stability has an impact on families and children that
goes beyond merely providing financially. It breaks the cycle of poverty and for the most part insures a better
future instead of another generation of individuals living in poverty.
17
Stephanie Coontz and Nancy Folbre, “Marriage, Poverty and Public Policy” A Discussion Paper from the Council on Contemporary Families, Prepared for the Fifth Annual CCF
Conference, April 26-28, 2002, http://www.contemporaryfamilies.org/briefing.html#_ednref19.
18
Stephanie Coontz and Nancy Folbre,
20
LVEDC Latino Population Study Education
EDUCATION AND THE ECONOMIC FUTURE

“The lack of a skilled and educated workforce is undermining the state’s ability to attract high-
paying knowledge jobs and cultivate entrepreneurialism. Pennsylvania’s less-educated
workers struggle to compete in today’s economy ... Without greater training and education,
Pennsylvania’s less-skilled, frequently more urban workers face an uphill battle to get ahead
... The widening social and economic gap between Pennsylvania’s older communities [cities,
boroughs and older townships] and their suburbs has negative implications for the overall
health of its regions.”
Back to Prosperity: A Competitive Agenda For Renewing Pennsylvania
The Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy
The building of wealth within a community and a population contains

In the Lehigh Valley, the future
two key components: education and economic development. Latinos
economic health of the urban
areas (the areas’ older now represent a significant percentage of the population in the Lehigh
communities) is directly Valley’s cities and their rate of growth indicates they will become the
connected to the socioeconomic largest ethnic group in the region in the coming decades. The
progress of the Latino community. educational status of Latinos in the region is key, therefore, to the
economic health and progress of the community as a whole. Currently
this population has significantly lower educational levels than any other population group while maintaining the
highest poverty rate in the area. Special attention must be given to the K to 12 Latino student populations as it
represents a significant share of the future workforce. The ability of Latinos who are second, third and fourth
generation residents to break the cycle of poverty depends on how many are educationally prepared to climb the
socioeconomic ladder.
EDUCATIONAL STATUS OF THE OVER 25 POPULATION
Among the population between 25 and 64 FIGURE 14: EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT BY RACE/ETHNICITY
years of age in the Lehigh Valley, Latinos PERSONS 25 YEARS TO 64 YEARS
have significantly lower educational levels

than other groups. Forty percent of Latinos 9%
4% 3%
5% Graduate or
10% 5%
in the area do not have high school 34%
professional degree
16%
7%
Bachelor's degree
diplomas compared to 10% of Whites, 15% 16%
of Asians and 22% of African Americans.

9%
22% Associate degree
18% 21% 31% Some college,

Effective education and training no degree
High school
are immediate and critical issues 35%
5%
graduate/GED
12%
for the Latino population. 38%
24% 9th to 12th grade,
13% no diploma
Less than 9th grade
Only 8% of Latinos between 25 and 64 19%
10% 16%
8%
years of age have bachelor degrees or 2% 3% 5%
WHITE AFRICAN ASIAN LATINO Census 2000 SF 4 PCT 65
higher compared to 25% of Whites, 51% of AMERICAN
Asians and 14% of African Americans.
The educational attainment of those between 25 and 64 years of age varies among the diverse Latino
populations here. The Dominican population has the highest percentage without high school diplomas (53%)
followed by Puerto Ricans (42%), Central Americans (37%), Mexicans (33%), South Americans (25%) and Cubans
(20%). Cubans have the highest percentage of college graduates (42%) followed by South Americans (19%),
Mexicans (13%), Central Americans (12%), Dominicans (6%) and Puerto Ricans (5%).
21
While Puerto Ricans have the lowest percentage of college graduates within their group, they have the highest in
terms of actual numbers. In 2000 Puerto Ricans represented 52% of Latino college graduates in the Lehigh Valley.
While Census 2000 documents 1,648 Latinos with a college degree or higher, the actual number in 2005 may be
significantly higher.
TABLE 16: LATINO COLLEGE GRADUATES IN LEHIGH VALLEY IN 2000 (18 YRS AND OLDER)
PUERTO CENTRAL SOUTH
RICAN MEXICAN DOMINICAN CUBAN AMERICAN AMERICAN TOTAL
858 230 77 123 75 285 1,648
(52%) (14%) (5%) (7%) (5%) (17%) (100%)
According to an article in the New York City publication, “City

Both second source data (news and
Limits”, “... many [Allentown Latino] residents think it's the
magazine articles) and primary source
middle class and the educated who are really pouring into town,
anecdotal data indicates that in recent
years there has been a continued influx especially since the September 2001 terrorist attacks on New
of Latinos to the area with higher York City. "Pretty much everyone I talk to who are
economic and educational levels. professionals—professors, people who work for nonprofits—have
come here in the last two or three years," says Nestor
Velasquez, vice president of Allentown's Spanish radio station, WHOL and who works in an advertising agency
owned by his wife, Wanda ... In addition to New Yorkers, Latinos with income and education are coming to
Allentown directly from places like Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and elsewhere in Latin America.
Nonprofessionals with entrepreneurial dreams and grubstakes are also arriving. Some are from Mexico, as well as
Central and South America. Even more are Caribbean: "All of a sudden about two or three years ago, the
Dominicans started helping each other, opening little businesses like barber shops and bakeries and bodegas," says
Velasquez.”19
One successful Latino realtor with over 20 years experience in the Lehigh Valley, supports the view that in recent
years more educated and professional Latinos have migrated to the area looking to buy homes or to rent initially
with the idea of buying a house after settling in. He states that a significant percentage of those clients have
migrated from New York.
FIGURE 15: EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT OF LATINO GROUPS

PERSONS 25 YEARS TO 64 YEARS
2% 3% 2%
3% 4% 5% 8%
5% 10% 5% 17% 7% Graduate or
3% 11% professional degree
6% 14%
14%
6% Bachelor's degree
21%
17%
28%
Associate degree
23% 22%
33% Some college,
5% 28% no degree
31%
High school
28% 28% Graduate/ GED
31%
9th to 12th grade,
26% 12%
no diploma
17%
Less than 9th grade
14%
8%
25% 25%
16% 16% 11% 11% Census 2000 SF 4 PCT 65
PUERTO MEXICAN DOMINICAN CUBAN CENTRAL SOUTH

19
Debbie Nathan, "Adios, Nueva York: as New York gets unbearably pricey, tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans are heading for the hinterlands to find el sueno americano. But it's not so
easy to leave the old city behind.” City Limits, September 1, 2004.
22
Fifty-three percent of the Latino population over 65 years of age have less than ninth grade educations.
Educational levels are significantly higher for Whites (17%) and African American (18%) seniors, while 31% of
Asian seniors have less than ninth grade educations.
TABLE 17: AGE BY EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT FOR THE POPULATION 65 YEARS AND OVER
Census 2000 SF 4 AFRICAN PUERTO CENTRAL SOUTH
ABE MSA WHITE AMERICAN ASIAN LATINO RICAN MEXICAN DOMINICAN CUBAN AMERICAN AMERICAN
65 years and over: 98,851 743 317 1,747 1,129 141 24 45 74 129
Less than 9th grade 17% 18% 31% 53% 62% 45% 46% 0% 50% 36%
9th to 12th grade, no diploma 24% 37% 22% 19% 22% 10% 54% 62% 22% 5%
High school graduate/GED 37% 29% 16% 13% 9% 30% 0% 0% 20% 20%
Some college, no degree 9% 7% 9% 8% 5% 9% 0% 11% 8% 28%
Associate degree 2% 1% 0% 1% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Bachelor's degree 6% 3% 10% 3% 0% 0% 0% 27% 0% 7%
Graduate or professional degree 4% 4% 12% 2% 1% 6% 0% 0% 0% 4%
STATUS OF THE STUDENT POPULATION

The most dramatic population shift has been experienced by the
The changes in the demographic
Allentown School District (ASD) where the Latino population now
make-up of the student populations
represents the majority of the student population. In 1980, Latinos in
in the three key Lehigh Valley
the ASD numbered 1,419 and represented 10% of the student body.
cities have been dramatic.
White students represented the overwhelming majority with 12,346,
accounting for 83% of the student body. By 2004-05, having grown six-fold, approximately 9,500 Latinos comprise
over 54% of the student body. Whites, having decreased by 62% to fewer than 4,700 students now represent just
27% of the school district. The ASD’s African American population also shows significant growth, increasing 203%
from less than 1,000 in 1980 to over 3,000 in 2004.
TABLE 18: ASD AND BASD STUDENT POPULATION FROM 1980 TO 2004 BY RACE/ETHNICITY
Sources: 1980, 1990, 2000 Census and
20 % CHANGE
Bethlehem Area, Allentown School Districts 1980 1990 2000 2004 1980 TO 2004
ALLENTOWN SCHOOL DISTRICT (ASD)
WHITE 12,346 83.0% 8,565 63.9% 6,575 40.5% 4,679 26.7% -62%
LATINO 1,419 9.5% 3,352 25.0% 6,946 42.8% 9,478 54.1% 568%
BLACK 991 6.7% 1,229 9.2% 2,299 14.2% 3,004 17.1% 203%
ASIAN 100 0.7% 240 1.8% 397 2.4% 331 1.9% 231%
OTHER 22 0.1% 10 0.1% 26 0.2% 29 0.2% 32%
DISTRICT TOTAL 14,878 13,396 16,243 17,521
BETHLEHEM AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT (BASD)

WHITE 10,688 83.8% 9,121 74.6% 9,463 66.8% 8,986 60.0% -16%
LATINO 1,487 11.7% 2,330 19.1% 3,634 25.7% 4,446 29.7% 199%
BLACK 442 3.5% 561 4.6% 793 5.6% 1,183 7.9% 168%
ASIAN 104 0.8% 201 1.6% 242 1.7% 349 2.3% 236%
OTHER 27 0.2% 7 0.1% 34 0.2% 20 0.1% -26%

DISTRICT TOTAL 12,748 12,220 14,166 14,984
20
HUD State of the Cities Data Systems (SOCDS); http://socds.huduser.org/Census/Census_java.html
23
While not as dramatic as Allentown, the Bethlehem Area School District (BASD) has also experienced a
significant demographic student population shift within the last two and a half decades. Although the White student
population is still the majority in the BASD, the number of White students has diminished 16%; from 10,688
(representing 83% of the student population in 1980) to 8,986, or 60% of the student body in 2004. The number
of Latino students tripled; from 1,487 in 1980 to
4,446 in 2004, an increase of 199%. Their student TABLE 19: CENSUS VS. SD LATINO GROWTH 1980-2000
body representation grew from 12% in 1980 to CENSUS VS. SCHOOL
DISTRICT DATA ALLENTOWN BETHLEHEM EASTON
30% in 2004. During the same period, the African
Census 1980-2000 392% 119% 515%
American student population grew from 4% to 8%.
School District 1980-2000 389% 144% N/A
Comparing the student population growth in
School District 1990-2000 107% 56% N/A
Allentown and Bethlehem from 1990 to 2000 to the
School District 2000-2004 36% 22% 100%
increase from 2000 to 2004 indicates the growth
N/A = Not available; Sources: 1980, 1990, 2000 Census 21 and Bethlehem Area, Allentown
trend continues into this decade and will be and Easton School Districts
comparable to the rate of growth that took place in

the 1990s. In Easton, while data for subgroups was not available prior to 2000, the available data, from 2000 to
2004 indicates a dramatic growth within Easton’s Latino population thus far in this decade that is outdistancing the
percentage of growth in Allentown and Bethlehem. This trend suggests that it is likely the Easton School District
will experience the kind of dramatic growth that has and is occurring in Bethlehem and Allentown. Preparing now
for a significant demographic shift in their student population will help the Easton School District avoid some of the
issues and pitfalls that confronted the other school districts which were not prepared for and in some respects
failed to respond to, the rapid demographic change they experienced.
The future educational and economic status of Latinos in the

In the coming decades the Latino
Lehigh Valley will in large part be impacted by the success or
population will predominate in the cities
failure of Latino students in the local school districts. This
and will be significant in determining if
population in turn will significantly impact the economic future of
there will be economic growth or a
Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton and other areas in the Lehigh
continuing eroding tax base in the cities.
Valley.
A 2003 study by Roberto Suro, Pew Hispanic Center and Jeffrey S. Passel, Urban Institute, brings into
perspective the impact of Latino youth on this nation’s economy.
The rise of the second generation will have immediate consequences for the nation’s schools. The number of
second-generation Latinos aged 5 to 19 years old is projected to more than double from 2000 to 2020, growing
from 4.4 million to 9 million people. About one-in-seven of the new students enrolling in U.S. schools over these
20 years will be a second-generation Latino. Second generation growth will be felt just as powerfully in the
economy. The non-Hispanic labor force has effectively stopped growing as the number of workers reaching
retirement age or passing away is in rough balance with the number of new entrants. Thus from 2000 to 2020 the
non-Hispanic labor force is projected to increase by 9 percent. Meanwhile, the Latino labor force is projected to
increase by 77 percent through a combination of immigration and native-born youth reaching working age.22
21
HUD State of the Cities Data Systems (SOCDS); http://socds.huduser.org/Census/Census_java.html
22
Roberto Suro and Jeffrey S. Passel, "The Rise of the Second Generation: Changing Patterns in Hispanic Population Growth," Pew Hispanic Center, October 2003,
http://www.pewhispanic.org/site/docs/pdf/PHC%20Projections%20final.pdf.
24
TABLE 20: PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOL POPULATION 3 YEARS AND OVER (2000 CENSUS)
Allentown city Bethlehem city Easton city LEHIGH VALLEY (ABE MSA)
AMERICAN
AMERICAN
AMERICAN
AMERICAN
AFRICAN
AFRICAN
AFRICAN
AFRICAN
LATINO
LATINO
LATINO
LATINO
WHITE
WHITE
WHITE
WHITE
ASIAN
ASIAN
ASIAN
ASIAN
Census 2000 SF4
School Population 8,960 14,222 2,337 894 4,745 13,764 771 704 935 5,377 1,161 0 17,866 130,623 5,795 3,608
Nursery school, preschool 36% 47% 11% 5% 25% 64% 4% 7% 11% 46% 33% 10% 11% 80% 4% 5%
Kindergarten 34% 47% 9% 11% 35% 56% 3% 6% 0% 60% 32% 8% 12% 80% 4% 5%
Grades 1 to 4 38% 44% 11% 7% 34% 54% 5% 7% 17% 59% 17% 7% 13% 79% 4% 4%
Grades 5 to 8 44% 41% 9% 5% 35% 58% 4% 3% 15% 62% 16% 7% 14% 79% 4% 4%
Grades 9 to 12 37% 51% 8% 5% 33% 58% 4% 5% 17% 60% 19% 4% 12% 82% 3% 3%
K to 12 TOTAL 39% 45% 9% 6% 34% 57% 4% 5% 15% 60% 18% 6% 13% 80% 4% 4%
College undergraduate 11% 76% 6% 7% 8% 82% 3% 7% 6% 82% 7% 5% 6% 86% 3% 5%
Graduate or professional
11% 65% 1% 23% 7% 73% 2% 18% 9% 63% 14% 14% 4% 84% 2% 10%
school
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education:
Today’s labor market, because of technological advances, has created a demand for a highly skilled labor force.
A minimum requirement for entry into this changing labor market is a high school diploma.
Many potential problems face young adults who withdraw from school prior to graduation. Historically,
compared with high school graduates, relatively more dropouts are unemployed and those dropouts who do find
employment earn far less money than high school graduates. This earning gap is significant when applied over an
individual’s working lifetime. Also, jobs available to dropouts generally tend to be unstable and have limited
opportunities for advancement.23
The literature abounds with studies and other documentation of the In meeting the challenges of
relationship between low educational levels and poverty. The most improving school performance and
significant is the impact of the concentration of poverty on school dropout rates, we must address the
performance. In his analysis of Title 1 in the year 2000, Michael J. concentration of poverty.
Puma states,
“Research has shown that the conditions of poverty can severely reduce access to the educational supports
and experiences that children need to be successful in school ... poverty — at both the individual and the school
level — is strongly associated with decreased school performance. Poor children achieve at a lower level, are twice
as likely to be retained in grade and are one-third less likely to attend college than their more advantaged peers
(Children's Defense Fund, 1998). The picture for minority children is even worse ... there is an equally ominous
gap in achievement between students who attend high- and low-poverty schools. [The] data support the premise
that school-level poverty can be an even more important factor in predicting school achievement than a student's
individual economic conditions ... the 1986 National Assessment of Chapter I (Kennedy, Birman, & Demaline,
1986) concluded that the "achievement scores of all students — not just poor students — decline as the
proportion of poor students in a school increases."24
TABLE 21: ENROLLMENT BY % OF LOW-INCOME FAMILIES

1993-1994 2003-2004
ALLENTOWN CITY SD 52% 71%
BETHLEHEM AREA SD 31% 37%
EASTON AREA SD 19% 23%
23
http://www.pde.state.pa.us/k12statistics/lib/k12statistics/00-01part1.pdf
24
Puma, M. J. (2000). Exploring new directions: Title I in the year 2000. Alexandria, VA: Nation School Boards Association.
25
The Allentown School District has had a significant rise in the

Schools and districts where low-income
number of students from low-income families with an overall low-
Latino populations predominate must
income student enrollment of 71%. The BASD shows an overall
find ways to overcome the multiple
low-income enrollment of 37%, a figure that can be deceiving
factors affecting academic success and
because BASD confronts the same issues related to academic
which have led to this population being
achievement as Allentown. When the concentration of low-income
the lowest in academic achievement and
populations within specific schools is examined, BASD has
highest in dropout rates.
double-digit percentages of low-income students in the majority
of its schools, to a high of 79%.
TABLE 22: ENROLLMENT BY PERCENT OF LOW-INCOME FAMILIES: 2003-2004

BETHLEHEM ENROLL LOW ENROLL LOW ENROLL LOW
AREA SD MENT INCOME ALLENTOWN SD MENT INCOME EASTON SD MENT INCOME
Elementary Schools Elementary Schools Elementary Schools

Marvine 304 79% Central 653 87% March 264 59%
Donegan 471 74% Cleveland 705 85% Cheston 492 47%
Fountain Hill 662 60% Hiram W Dodd 217 81% Paxinosa 497 46%
Freemansburg 349 54% Jackson 505 75% Palmer 770 22%
Lincoln 374 53% Jefferson 273 75% Forks 424 10%
William Penn 256 41% Lehigh Park 619 73% Tracy 620 5%
Clearview 402 40% McKinley 332 72%
Thomas Jefferson 334 40% Mosser 453 71%
Calypso 259 31% Muhlenberg 365 69%
James Buchanan 324 26% Ritter 686 56%
Governor Wolf 426 20% Roosevelt 615 56%
Spring Garden 554 12% Sheridan 243 37%
Farmersville 580 7% Union Terrace 498 37%
Miller Heights 447 6% Washington 537 31%
Asa Packer 345 5%
Hanover 291 3%
Middle Schools Middle Schools Middle Schools

Broughal 630 75% South Mountain 1,026 76% Easton Area 1331 26%
Northeast 781 51% Trexler 897 75% Shawnee 1376 21%
East Hills 1,342 23% Francis D Raub 1,077 60%
Nitschmann 887 22% Harrison-Morton 1,194 59%
High Schools High Schools High Schools

Liberty 2,627 32% Louis E Dieruff 1,670 42% Easton Area 2440 9%
Freedom 1,797 19% William Allen 2,731 42%
There is little doubt that local school In 2004, Latino students in the Allentown School District and
districts have not kept pace with in the Bethlehem Area School District had the lowest
changing demographics, the dynamic proficiency rates in reading and math compared to White,
growth of the Latino population and African American and Asian students. In Easton, Latino
the resulting cultural, socioeconomic students had the lowest proficiency in reading and the second
and linguistic needs that must be lowest in math with 26% proficiency—slightly higher than
attended to. African American students at 22% proficiency but less than half
the proficiency of White and Asian students.
26
In Easton, Latino and African American students did not meet the federal No Child Left Behind AYP25 targets.
Latinos were the only group not to meet AYP reading targets in both BASD and ASD. BASD was the only school
district of the three where Latinos met the math AYP, although theirs was still the lowest level of proficiency.
TABLE 23: 2004 ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE BY SCHOOL DISTRICTS (⌦DID NOT MEET AYP TARGET)
Source: PA Department BETHLEHEM AREA SD ALLENTOWN CITY SD EASTON AREA SD
of Education: Academic
Achievement Reports— READING MATH READING MATH READING MATH
http://paayp.com
AYP20 Targets 45% 35% 45% 35% 45% 35%
Percent Proficient Percent Proficient Percent Proficient
Latino ⌦40.4% 35.2% ⌦32.3% ⌦29.8% ⌦34.1% ⌦25.8%

White 75.7% 69.6% 62.6% 54.0% 65.9% 54.9%
African American 57.5% 40.5% 40.4% ⌦31.1% ⌦40.1% ⌦22.2%
Asian/PI 77.2% 81.6% 60.9% 61.6% 64.1% 67.9%
In addition to the lowest proficiency, Latino students have the lowest graduation rates based on a four-year
follow through of students. In Allentown, less than half of Latinos entering ninth grade graduate high school. High
schools in Bethlehem and Easton have higher Latino graduation rates, from 62% to 68%.
TABLE 24: HS GRADUATION RATES (SCHOOL YEAR 2001-02)

Source: PA Department of ALLENTOWN CITY SD BETHLEHEM AREA SD EASTON SD
Education—
http://www.paprofiles.org/profil WILLIAM LOUIS E FREEDOM LIBERTY
EASTON HS
es/county.asp ALLEN SHS DIERUFF HS HS HS
Latino 46.4% 47.5% 67.8% 62.1% 65.0%

White 79.8% 75.8% 88.4% 89.9% 87.3%
African American 57.0% 65.9% 81.8% 80.0% 75.7%

Asian 71.4% 76.9% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
English Language
47.5% 39.1% 68.4% 44.4% 38.5%
Learners
The benefits of equity representation Although a long way from being representative of their Latino
in staffing, the need for Latino student body, the 2001 Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE)
teachers who can bridge cultural data indicated that the BASD had been more successful than ASD in
and linguistic gaps with Latino recruiting Latino teachers. According to the PDE, in 2001, BASD had
students and parents and serve as 50 Latino classroom teachers and ASD had 22 Latino classroom
role models, has been an issue that teachers. Using the 2000 student population, figures conservatively
has been advocated for more than indicated a Latino classroom teacher to Latino student ratio of 1:73 in
two decades in the Lehigh Valley. the BASD and 1:316 in the ASD in 2001. The 2004-05 data shows that
in the past three years ASD doubled their number of Latino teachers.
In the current school year Allentown has 50 classroom teachers—with a current Latino teacher to Latino student
ratio of 1:190. In 2005, BASD has 46 Latino classroom teachers for a ratio of 1:97.
25
Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as part of the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) makes schools accountable to students, their parents, teachers and the community. The
purpose of AYP is to ensure that all students have reading and math skills that prepare them for the future. This law states that all students must reach the Proficient level or above in
Reading and Mathematics by 2014. AYP targets measure whether a school or district is making sufficient annual progress towards the goal of 100% proficiency.
27
TABLE 25: STUDENT POPULATION AND CLASSROOM TEACHERS BY RACE/ETHNICITY

ALLENTOWN SCHOOL DISTRICT (ASD) BETHLEHEM AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT (BASD) EASTON SCHOOL DISTRICT (ESD)
STUDENT POPULATION
CLASSROOM STUDENT POPULATION3
CLASSROOM STUDENT POPULATION
CLASSROOM
TEACHERS TEACHERS TEACHERS
2004-05 1999-00 2001-02 2004-05 1999-00 2001-02 2004-05 1999-00 2001-02
WHITE 4,679 27% 6,575 40% 804 94% 8,986 60% 9,463 67% 890 94% 6889 67% 6189 76% 521 97%
LATINO 9,478 54% 6,946 43% 22 3% 4,446 30% 3,634 26% 50 5% 1297 13% 649 8% 1 0.2%
AFRICAN
3,004 17% 2,299 14% 25 3% 1,183 8% 793 6% 7 1% 1713 17% 1116 14% 15 3%
AMERICAN
DISTRICT
17,521 16,243 854 14,615 13,890 951 10216 8105 537
TOTAL
Sources: Pennsylvania Department of Education, Allentown SD, Bethlehem Area SD. and Easton SD
TABLE 26: 2004-05 LATINO PROFESSIONAL AND SUPPORT STAFF

BETHLEHEM AREA SD ALLENTOWN SD
N % N %
LATINO STUDENTS 4,446 29.7% 9,478 54.1%
Teachers 46 5.0% 50 4.5%

Counselors 9 19.2% 2 5.1%
Administrators 7 12.5% 4 6.5%
Secretaries 11 12.0% 17 13.6%
Paraprofessionals 31 26.0% 23 14.1%
Morning Call archives abound with numerous articles related to Latino educational issues and concerns, including
the following examples from as far back as 1986, which directly addressed this issue:
Aug 16, 1986 — The Morning Call. ASD OFFICIALS LARGELY WHITE, AS MINORITY ENROLLMENT
CLIMBS ASD CHARGED WITH RACIAL IMBALANCE - Minorities accounted for one in four students in the
Allentown School District last year, according to a district survey. But the proportion of minority teachers and
administrators has not kept pace and there are no minority school directors. Minorities also made up more than
half of the student body in our elementary schools last year, according to the Civil Rights Survey, which is
conducted annually by the district. While the minority enrollment, which includes blacks, Hispanics, Asians and
American Indians, accounted for 26.9 percent of the 13,000 students, only 2 percent of the district's 799 teachers
were minorities.
Aug 20, 1986—Morning Call - The Allentown schools superintendent said yesterday the district must employ
more minority teachers, administrators and counselors and agreed to work more closely with the Allentown
Human Relations Commission to attract minorities to those jobs ... School Board President Willard Clewell said
yesterday that he still does not believe minority imbalance is a major problem in the school district. But he agreed
to cooperate in an effort to develop a minority recruitment plan.
Today, nearly 20 years later, the issue of Latino staffing is still at the forefront of concerns relating to the quality
of education for Latino students. Institutions claim that they cannot find qualified professionals with the necessary
credentials, while Latino educators and other professionals, parents and community leaders insist that not enough
is being done to recruit and hire Latino teachers, counselors and other professional staff.
This year the Allentown School District has once again set forth to tackle this issue. A May 20, 2005 news article
26
in the Morning Call reported that a diversity task force formed by the ASD had developed a plan to “at least
double the number of black and Latino teachers, administrators and other staff to 16 percent of the work force in
six years.” The announcement indicated that they plan to take an aggressive approach to recruitment by hiring a
26
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b1-5reportmay20,0,7660840.story
28
person whose responsibility would be to focus on the recruitment and hiring of minorities and who would address
issues of credentialing, especially with out-of–state applicants. According to the news article, some minorities were
pleased with the plan, while others were skeptical due to the history of the ASD, saying that “the district had
previously gone in circles” and they had urged the district to hire more minorities without any results. “We are kind
of apprehensive ... [hesitant] to believe there's real commitment to this because we have seen this before, but we
have to give them the benefit of the doubt.’' Erlinda Agrón, the only Latino School board member, stated: “now the
challenge is for the district to figure out how we can come up with the money to support this initiative.”
The article states, “There was some disagreement among task force members on whether the minimum goal of
16 percent minority representation by 2011 was appropriate. Some thought it was too ambitious. Others, pointing
out that the effort is overdue and that black and Latino students make up more than 70 percent of the student
population, thought it was not ambitious enough.”
29
POST HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION CHOICES

Most Latinos graduating high school are going on to community and four-
The majority of Latinos in the
year colleges. A smaller percentage goes on to some other postsecondary
Lehigh Valley who graduate
education. More Latino females in the Lehigh Valley go on to college than
high school go on to
Latino males—68% vs. 57% respectively. ASD has the lowest percentage of
postsecondary education.
Latino students who continue on to college—40% of Latino males and 56% of
Latino females. In the BASD 63% of Latino male and 68% of Latino female graduates go to college. In Easton, 64%
of the males and 71% of the female Latino graduates attend college. Overall, more Latinos attend community
colleges than four-year colleges. Although, in comparing ASD and BASD, the two school districts representing 82%
of Latino high school graduates in the Lehigh Valley, the percentage of Latino graduates from BASD going on to
four-year colleges is twice that of ASD males: 12% ASD vs. 25% BASD and females: 12% ASD vs. 27% BASD.
TABLE 27: POST SECONDARY EDUCATION ACTIVITY OF LATINO GRADUATES (2002 AND 2003 COMBINED)27
Northampton
Lehigh Co. School Districts TOTAL
Source: PA Dept of Education- Allentown School Districts Bethlehem Easton Area Excluding BASD LATINO
Division of Data Services City SD (Excluding ASD) Area SD SD And Easton SD GRADUATES
M F M F M F M F M F M F
NUMBER OF GRADUATES 207 287 45 46 183 196 36 27 17 16 488 572
4 Yr College 12% 12% 27% 46% 25% 27% 31% 30% 41% 56% 20% 22%
2 Yr/Community College 28% 44% 18% 28% 38% 41% 33% 41% 41% 25% 32% 41%
Other Post Secondary Ed 8% 7% 9% 2% 2% 3% 3% 4% 0% 0% 5% 5%
TOTAL 48% 63% 54% 76% 65% 71% 67% 74% 82% 81% 57% 68%
Graduation and choosing to go on to higher education is only a first step. The pitfall of low retention
rates among Latino students who make it to colleges and universities must be addressed.
TABLE 28: GRADUATES ENTERING THE MILITARY (2002 AND 2003 COMBINED)
AFRICAN
LATINO WHITE AMERICAN
Source: PA Dept of Education-Division of Data Services M F M F M F
Allentown City School District (ASD) 12% 3% 7% 1% 11% 3%
Lehigh Co. School Districts (Excluding ASD) 13% 0% 4% 1% 11% 5%
Bethlehem Area SD 6% 1% 5% 1% 7% 2%
Easton Area SD 8% 0% 6% 2% 4% 0%
Northampton School Districts Excluding BASD and Easton SD 6% 6% 6% 1% 8% 9%
Latino male high school graduates have the highest percentage of

Being disproportionately poor, more
those selecting the military as an option following graduation. Among
Latino and African-American males
female graduates, African-American females have the highest
view the military as a path to a
percentage of those entering the military followed by Latina females.
future—exchanging military service
Considering the current world situation, a national debate has arisen
for the promise of skills training and
around the issue of recruitment practices and the realities
educational benefits.
confronting the disproportionately poor in selecting the military as an
option to limited workforce or educational opportunities. Currently, one of the most controversial debates at the
national level concerns the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, signed into law by President George W. Bush on
January 8, 2002. NCLB is designed to impact the level of achievement of students in school and how schools and
states are to be held accountable to students, parents and educational communities. However, the NCLB Act
harbors a proviso granting military recruiters access to high school students’ names, addresses and phone
numbers. Any school failing to comply with this proviso is subject to the relinquishment of federal funding.
27
Please note that where the addition of percentages is off by a percent, this is a consequence of rounding.
30
FIGURE 16: POST-HIGH SCHOOL ACTIVITY OF URBAN LATINO GRADUATES (2002 AND 2003 COMBINED)
ASD - Latino Males (207) BASD - Latino Males (183) Easton SD - Latino Males (36)
Unemployed/
Unemployed/ Unemployed/
4 Yr College Unknown
Unknown Unknown
12% 10%
12% 25% 4 Yr College
4 Yr College
Workforce 25% 31%
2 Year/ 19%
Workforce Community
28% College Military
28% Military 8%
6%
2 Year/ Other Post
Other Post Community Secondary Ed 2 Year/
Other Post Secondary Ed 3% Community College
Military College
Secondary Ed 2% 33%
12% 38%
8%
ASD - Latino Female (287) BASD - Latino Female (196) Easton SD - Latino Female (27)
Unemployed/ Unemployed/ Unemployed/

Unknown 4 Yr College Unknown Unknown
4 Yr College 4 Yr College
9% 12% 8% 25%
Workforce 27% 31%
16%
Workforce
20% Military - 1%
Military
Homemaker - 4% 8%
Military - 3% Other Post
2 Year/ Other Post
Community Secondary Ed - 3%
Homemaker - 4% Secondary Ed
College 3% 2 Year/ Community College
Other Post 45% 2 Year/ Community College
33%
Secondary Ed - 7% 41%
Source: PA Dept of Education-Division of Data Services
The primary concern is that, while the law allows students and parents to opt-out of making their contact
information accessible to recruiters, there is no guarantee they are being made aware of this option or even aware
that the school is giving this information to recruiters unless the school district is very diligent about informing
students and parents about the proviso and their right to opt-out.
NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT (PUBLIC LAW 107-110, SEC. 9528)28
SEC. 9528. ARMED FORCES RECRUITERS ACCESS TO STUDENTS AND STUDENT RECRUITING INFORMATION.
(a) POLICY-
(1) ACCESS TO STUDENT RECRUITING INFORMATION- Notwithstanding section 444(a)(5)(B) of the General Education
Provisions Act and except as provided in paragraph (2), each local educational agency receiving assistance under this Act
shall provide, on a request made by military recruiters or an institution of higher education, access to secondary school
students names, addresses and telephone listings.
(2) CONSENT- A secondary school student or the parent of the student may request that the student's name, address
and telephone listing described in paragraph (1) not be released without prior written parental consent and the local
educational agency or private school shall notify parents of the option to make a request and shall comply with any request.
(3) SAME ACCESS TO STUDENTS- Each local educational agency receiving assistance under this Act shall provide military
recruiters the same access to secondary school students as is provided generally to post secondary educational institutions
or to prospective employers of those students.
28
http://www.defenselink.mil/prhome/docs/no_child_act.pdf
31
TABLE 29: POST-HIGH SCHOOL ACTIVITY OF GRADUATES BY RACE AND GENDER (2002 AND 2003 COMBINED)
Source: PA Dept of Education-Division

LATINO WHITE AFRICAN AMERICAN
of Data Services MALES FEMALES MALES FEMALES MALES FEMALES
ALLENTOWN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT (ASD) 2001-02 and 2002-03 (Total Graduates 1,445)
NUMBER AND % OF
207 (14%) 287 (20%) 380 (26%) 371 (26%) 63 (4%) 92 (6%)
GRADUATING CLASS
4 Yr College 24 12% 35 12% 137 36% 163 44% 10 16% 24 26%
2 Yr/Community College 58 28% 127 44% 89 23% 129 35% 20 32% 44 48%
Other Post Secondary Ed 17 8% 20 7% 14 4% 16 4% 5 8% 3 3%
Workforce 59 29% 57 20% 91 24% 38 10% 18 29% 13 14%
Military 24 12% 10 3% 28 7% 5 1% 7 11% 3 3%
Homemaker 0 0% 11 4% 0 0% 5 1% 0 0% 2 2%
Unemployed/Unknown 25 12% 27 9% 21 6% 15 4% 3 5% 3 3%
LEHIGH CO. SCHOOL DISTRICTS (Excluding ASD) 2001-02 and 2002-03 (Total Grads 4,382)
NUMBER AND % OF
45 (1%) 46 (1%) 2076 (47%) 1942 (44%) 35 (1%) 43 (1%)
GRADUATING CLASS
4 Yr College 12 27% 21 46% 1126 54% 1237 64% 12 34% 19 44%
Workforce 10 22% 7 15% 242 12% 130 7% 5 14% 2 5%
Military 6 13% 0 0% 83 4% 12 1% 4 11% 2 5%
Homemaker 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 1 0% 0 0% 0 0%
BETHLEHEM AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT (BASD) 2001-03 (Total Graduates 1869)

NUMBER AND % OF
183 (10%) 196(11%) 677(36%) 683 (37%) 45 (2%) 45 (2%)
GRADUATING CLASS
4 Yr College 45 25% 53 27% 305 45% 374 55% 18 40% 18 40%
Workforce 35 19% 31 16% 86 13% 38 6% 5 11% 3 7%
Military 11 6% 2 1% 34 5% 4 1% 3 7% 1 2%
Homemaker 0 0% 8 4% 0 0% 6 1% 0 0% 0 0%
EASTON AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT 2001-03 (Total Graduates 1000)

NUMBER AND % OF
36 (4%) 27 (3%) 420 (42%) 395 (40%) 55 (6%) 50 (5%)
GRADUATING CLASS
4 Yr College 11 31% 8 30% 182 43% 198 50% 17 31% 18 36%
Workforce 0 0% 0 0% 24 6% 8 2% 0 0% 0 0%
Military 3 8% 0 0% 26 6% 7 2% 2 4% 0 0%
Homemaker 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 1 0% 0 0% 0 0%
NORTHAMPTON SCHOOL DISTRICTS EXCLUDING BASD AND EASTONSD 2001-03 (Total Graduates 2712)
NUMBER AND % OF
17 (1%) 16 (1%) 1308 (48%) 1320 (49%) 13 (0.5%) 11 (0.4%)
GRADUATING CLASS
4 Yr College 7 41% 9 56% 501 38% 674 51% 6 46% 7 64%
Workforce 2 12% 1 6% 160 12% 95 7% 3 23% 0 0%
Military 1 6% 1 6% 76 6% 18 1% 1 8% 1 9%
Homemaker 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 3 0% 0 0% 0 0%
32
MOVING FORWARD
Community leaders and educators have serious concerns that without significant improvement in the educational
status of Latinos more young people will be lost to the streets and that they may seek validation through negative
activities such as gang involvement. There have been indications of some gang activity in the local urban areas but
educators and community leaders interviewed see it currently as an issue at a crossroads. They believe that there
are many more gang wannabees, who merely adopt the outward appearance and attitude, than those actually
involved in any serious criminal gang activities. However, they do believe the risk is there.
All entities involved in this issue acknowledge that the problems are multifaceted and the impact of poverty,
cultural differences and language place certain areas and populations at a disadvantage. Many Latinos believe that
the “deficit model mentality” among some educators have contributed to the problems. According to the deficit
model:
“Many educators acknowledge that the reasons for the historical academic underachievement of Latino students could
be inappropriate cognitive, cultural and linguistic teaching methods. However, they do not believe that their own teaching
methods or tools cause students' problems; rather, it is the students who are not "regular" and who have "special" needs
... These assumptions have absolved teachers from the need to critically analyze whether their teaching methods are
equally effective with all student populations ... even the most pedagogically advanced strategies are ineffective in the
hands of educators who believe that ethnic, racial and linguistic minority students are at best culturally disadvantaged
and in need of fixing, or, at worst, culturally or genetically inferior and consequently beyond help. Explanations for the
academic failure of Latinos (described as historical, pervasive and disproportionate) have traditionally relied on such a
deficit-based model.”29
In regards to evaluating and addressing factors leading to the academic failure of Latino children, Latino
professionals, educators and community leaders believe the answers are there but that their voices have not
always been heeded. Certainly, numerous efforts have taken place at the community level by Latinos and non-
Latinos who advocate for and make enhanced educational opportunities available to Latino youth in an effort to
give these young people alternatives—from after-school activities to mentoring, internships, scholarships, business-
school partnerships and many other local initiatives. There is no question these efforts have made significant
differences in the lives of many of these Latino students.
The larger question becomes whether or not there can be a more comprehensive, collaborative and coordinated
effort among schools, community organizations, churches, the business community, Latino educators and
professionals with the goal of making a substantive positive impact on the educational status of Latinos in the area.
29
Enrique T Trueba and Lilia I Bartolome, The Education of Latino Students: Is School Reform Enough? ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education New York NY. ERIC Identifier:
ED410367, Publication Date: 1997-07-00
33
EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT
A 2005 PERSPECTIVE ON THE ALLENTOWN SCHOOL DISTRICT (ASD)

In December 2000 Allentown was declared academically distressed by the state. Allentown was named one of the
state's 12 worst academically distressed school systems. Districts are considered distressed when more than half of
its fifth, eighth and eleventh-graders score in the lowest 25 percent on the Pennsylvania System of School
Assessment test.
The state's third-largest school system, ASD was facing a possible state takeover and privatization. It had three
years to turn the scores around or face having its elected school board replaced by the state. To raise the scores,
the district had to come up with an improvement plan with the help of a locally formed School District
Empowerment Team and a state-appointed Academic Advisory Team. Once the plan was approved, Allentown
would receive about $1.7 million a year in state grants to help implement the changes. If the school failed to
improve its grades in three years, a state Board of Control would strip the elected school board of most of its power
and assume control.
Over 60 community members volunteered to serve and by the end of that same month an empowerment team
was in place and was given a deadline of May 2, 2001 to deliver a School District Improvement Plan to Harrisburg.
A Latino, Luis Ramos, a manager at the Pennsylvania Power & Light Company, chaired the Empowerment Team.
The deadline was met and in July 2001 Secretary of Education Charles B. Zogby approved the Allentown School
District Improvement Plan, a comprehensive education reform initiative. Upon approval of the plan, the ASD was
informed it would stay on the distressed list for 3 years. Removal from the list was contingent upon the district’s
improved performance over those 3 years.
That same month ASD superintendent Diane Scott announced that she remained firm on the decision she made
in 2000 to retire in two years.
It is important to note that in 2002 the Allentown School District hired a new superintendent, Dr. Karen S.
Angello, who was provided with a four-year performance-based contract at this most critical time for the district. In
May 2002, the Morning Call described Dr. Angello as “an educational consultant to the Massachusetts Department
of Education and several school districts in the areas of accountability and instructional effectiveness. She served
eight years as superintendent in two urban school districts. She has also been a reading specialist and special
needs teacher. She has a doctorate in administration, curriculum and supervision in education. She also has a
master's degree in special education.” They also noted “Angello was also the only candidate to have read the 110-
page Empowerment Plan, the strategy for getting Allentown off the distressed list.”30 She was taking over a district
described in the local press as “Lehigh Valley's most troubled school system.” She had only two years to improve
the district’s academic performance enough to get it off the state's list of academically distressed school districts.
Diane Scott who was retiring after 10 years as superintendent welcomed Dr. Angello and in a written statement
said, “You are taking over the leadership of a district that faces many challenges, has few resources and constantly
changing faces ...”
Two years later, Dr. Angello hired Dr. C. Russell Mayo as Allentown's first deputy superintendent (previously
there had been a position of assistant superintendent) to assist with the work of moving the school district forward.
In this new decade, significant changes have occurred in the ASD and, although everyone involved in the district
will admit that they have a long way to go, one of the highlights of the changes that have occurred was the
30
Superintendent hopefuls sized up ** 3 finalists meet parents, teachers, others from Allentown community. [FIFTH Edition] Ron Devlin Of The Morning Call. Morning Call. Allentown,
Pa.: May 16, 2002. Pg. B.1
34
announcement last November that the Allentown School District had been removed from the list of academically
distressed school districts.
According to the Morning Call:
Standing at the 50-yard line, Angello read a proclamation officially removing Allentown from the list of the 12
worst performing school districts in Pennsylvania.
The attentive crowd of 7,000 erupted in applause as Angello, reading from a state Department of Education
letter, declared Friday a "day of celebration" in honor of academic success.
It was, after three agonizing years under the threat of a state takeover of the schools, a collective sigh of relief
and an affirmation that the district's reform initiative had produced concrete results.
Three years ago more than 50 percent of students tested could not reach the minimum level in the
Pennsylvania System of School Assessments. Now, nearly two of three Allentown students scored above the basic
level of proficient or advanced.31
For certain, unprecedented demographic change TABLE 30: ASD PSSA PERCENT OF PROFICIENT AND
and the rapid increase in percentage of students ADVANCED FOR 2001 AND 2004
MATH READING
from low-income families over the last two decades
SCHOOL (% LATINO STUDENTS) 2001 2004 2001 2004
presented a challenge to the Allentown School
TARGET SCORE — 35% — 45%
District to which they did not or could not respond
DISTRICT AVERAGE 27.1% 38.7% 36.5 44.2%
quickly enough. Over the last two decades many Elementary Schools (57.6%)
conflicts occurred regarding the district’s obligation Central (65.4%) 5.5% 18.1% 9.7% 18.9%
Cleveland* (63.4%) 8.6% 53.0% 6.9% 45.9%
to adjust to meet the needs of their changing
Hiram Dodd (53.0%) 41.0% 76.2% 52.4% 69.7%
student population and their ability to meet the Jackson (63.8%) 45.9% 53.8% 38.8% 46.2%
challenge. Jefferson (53.5%) 28.7% 48.1% 32.8% 46.2%

Lehigh Parkway (31.6%) 44.0% 100.0% 44.0% 89.3%
McKinley (68.8%) 16.0% 44.6% 16.0% 27.7%
The impact of the changes implemented over the
Mosser (71.3%) 23.0% 48.5% 21.3% 33.9%
past four years appear to be significant-to-dramatic Muhlenberg (28.8%) 58.5% 86.9% 68.4% 84.8%
in most of ASD’s elementary and middle schools Ritter (39.5%) 30.7% 77.0% 52.3% 61.8%
Roosevelt (66.3%) 15.0% 55.1% 20.5% 32.9%
while in a few schools the change has been
Sheridan (63.9%) 40.4% 41.9% 34.7% 34.6%
marginal. At the high school level, the story is very
Union Terrace (48.1%) 41.9% 64.3% 54.3% 61.2%
different and little to no progress is evident. Only Washington (69.3%) 14.9% 45.4% 17.9% 33.9%
time will tell if the progress of student performance Middle Schools (53.8%)
Harrison Morton (56.7) 23.6% 36.2% 39.2% 44.6%
at the elementary and middle school levels will have Francis D Raub (56.6%) 24.0% 51.8% 35.9% 50.6%
a carry-over effect in coming years in student South Mountain (52.6%) 28.7% 29.9% 38.7% 43.9%
Trexler (50.2%) 16.8% 30.5% 32.8% 45.5%
performance at the high school level. High Schools (49.1%)
Louis E Dieruff (52.3%) 27.6% 25.0% 40.8% 42.9%
In addition to the PSSA scores, another measure William Allen (47.4%) 24.3% 26.2% 42.0% 40.9%
*As a feeder school that does not include Grade 5. Cleveland’s score for 2004 is equal to the
of progress is being set in place by the Diversity District Average for Grade 5.
Task Force established by the School District and facilitated by Deputy Superintendent Mayo—the need for the ASD
to more culturally and racially reflect the community it serves. According to school district data provided by the
superintendent’s office, the effort to diversify is underway. PDE data shows that in 2001-02 ASD had 22 Latino
classroom teachers and over the last 3 years that number more than doubled to 50 Latino classroom teachers in
2004-05. The proposed diversity plan—set forth by a team comprised of educators, some school board directors
and community members—is based on the following vision of the Allentown School District set forth by the board
and ASD educators:
31
Allentown cheers improving academics ** On Friday, a "great day,' school district taken off state's 12-worst list. [SECOND Edition]
Ron Devlin Of The Morning Call. Morning Call. Allentown, Pa.: Nov 6, 2004. Pg. B.3
35
[We] will place the welfare of children first, providing the opportunity for each child to be an accomplished
learner. We will respect each child’s uniqueness and recognize it as a strength. We will foster a lifelong love of
learning, enabling our children to become competent adult citizens living and working in a global society. We
pledge to provide a safe, supportive environment for learning.
The diversity plan sets forth the following goal and objectives:
Goal of the plan
The goal of this plan is to foster an inclusive, supportive, open, challenging and innovative work environment
that enables employees to be positive, to be creative and to reach their full potential as respected and valued
individuals while contributing to the ASD mission.
Objective One: Organizational Assessment
By June 30, 2011, ASD will create an organizational climate that stimulates employee creativity, acceptance of
diversity and a supportive work environment.
Objective 2: Developing ASD’s Workforce
By June 30, 2011, ASD will increase the diversity of its fulltime work force in a manner consistent with the
demographics of the school district to a minimum of 16% within each employee group.
In addition,
“The committee recommended that the district hire a fulltime person, such as an assistant director of human
resources, to focus time, attention and resources on the achievement of this plan.”
While some are celebrating the changes they are seeing, several decades of conflict, disappointments and broken
promises have others expressing a “wait and see” attitude. According to Dr. Angello about the ASD, “it's not where
it needs to be but we've made great strides. We have a long way to go but I think we're going in the right
direction.” Both Dr. Angello and Dr. Mayo explain that they understand the frustrations and, in their outreach to
community partners, they have encountered both those who say, “Wow. We're glad to see some motion in the right
direction. What can we do to help?" and others who say “Nothing's worked in the past, so why should we believe
it'll work now?” They indicate that they welcome both perspectives and try to include a diversity of viewpoints in
their efforts.
(Excerpts of the interview with Superintendent Karen Angello and Deputy Superintendent Russell Mayo have
been included in the Key Informant Interview Summaries chapter.)
36
LVEDC Latino Population Study Economic, Employment And Housing
ECONOMIC, EMPLOYMENT AND HOUSING STATUS

Key Economic Highlights of Latinos in the Lehigh Valley
Latinos are socioeconomically diverse but experience the highest level of poverty.
Latino poverty is concentrated in households of “the working poor” with the lowest median earnings
of any group. In 1999, earnings represented 88.2% of the aggregate income for all Latino
households, while public assistance accounted for only 1% of all income sources supporting Latino
households. 32
In 1997, 726 Latino-owned businesses in the Lehigh Valley had sales and receipts of almost 77
million dollars.
INCOME
While Latinos in the Lehigh Valley are an economically
FIGURE 17: INCOME BELOW POVERTY
diverse population, economic indicators place Latinos, as a LEVEL IN 1999
group, at the bottom rung of the Lehigh Valley
(Individuals)
socioeconomic scale. Thirty-eight percent of Latino
31%
households have incomes of less than $20,000 compared to
25%
19% White, 30% African American and 16% Asian
households (Table 30). In 2000, 31% of Latinos, 25% of
11%
African Americans, 11% of Asians and 6% of Whites in the
6%
Lehigh Valley were living below the poverty level.
Twenty-one percent of Lehigh Valley Latino households LATINO WHITE AFRICAN ASIAN
AMERICAN
would be considered economically middle class or higher with
household incomes of $50,000 or more.33 By comparison,
45% of Whites, 31% of African Americans and 56% of Asians had incomes of $50,000 or higher. Eight percent of
Latino households had higher end incomes of $75,000 or more compared to 22% White, 13% African American and
39% Asian households.
TABLE 31: HOUSEHOLD INCOME IN 1999

AFRICAN
FIGURE 18: MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD Census 2000 SF4 LATINO WHITE AMERICAN ASIAN
TOTAL HOUSEHOLDS 14,360 221,816 5,455 3,198
$60,466 Less than $20,000 38% 19% 30% 16%

$20,000 to $29,999 17% 13% 14% 10%
$44,808 $30,000 to $39,999 14% 13% 13% 9%
$34,868 $40,000 to $49,999 10% 11% 11% 9%
$26,895 $50,000 to $59,999 5% 10% 10% 6%
$60,000 to $74,999 8% 12% 9% 12%
$75,000 to $99,999 5% 11% 8% 14%
$100,000 to $149,999 2% 8% 4% 15%
$150,000 or more 1% 3% 1% 10%
AMERICAN
32
Aggregate household income is the sum of the income of all households in a given geographic area
33
“For the 2000 census only 40% of American households earned in excess of $50,000 per year, the household income that the federal government classifies as middle class. This
equates to 26 million households (11 million between $60,000 to $74,999, 10 million between $50,000 and $59,999 and 5 million between $45,000 and $49,999)” Linda P Morton,
"Segmenting social classes: the middle class. (Segmenting Publics)(Editorial)", Public Relations Quarterly, September 22, 2004.
37
Having the lowest median household Household income sources in 1999 (Figure 20) indicate that
income with earnings as the predominant Latino and African American households subsist primarily on
source of income indicates that poverty in earnings consisting of wage or salary income and net income
the Latino community is concentrated from “self-employment”. In 1999, eighty-four percent of Latino
among the working poor. households had income from wages, salary, or self-employment
income. White households had more diverse sources of income
with significantly higher percentages of social security income, retirement income and interest, dividends or net
rental income. In viewing the aggregate income for households by their sources (Figure 21), earnings (wages,
salary, or self-employment income) represented 88% of the aggregate income for Latino households, 79% for
White, 90% for African American and 94% for Asian households in the Lehigh Valley.
FIGURE 19: HOUSEHOLD

INCOME SOURCES
PERCENT OF HOUSEHOLDS
RECEIVING INCOME IN 1999
FROM INDICATED SOURCE
Census 2000 SF4 PCT94-102
LATINO WHITE AFRICAN AMERICAN

Earnings 84% 77% 86%
Interest, dividends, or net rental income 9% 48% 12%
Social Security income 15% 33% 16%
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 12% 3% 4%
Public assistance income 12% 1% 7%
Retirement income 7% 22% 10%
Other types of income 18% 13% 15%
FIGURE 20: AGGREGATE INCOME

FOR ALL HOUSEHOLDS BY
SOURCE – 1999
Census 2000 SF4 PCT94-102
AFRICAN
LATINO WHITE ASIAN
AMERICAN
Wage or salary income 85.1% 74.1% 88.0% 85.4%
Self-employment income 3.1% 4.7% 1.7% 9.0%
Interest, dividends, or net rental income 0.8% 6.3% 0.6% 3.6%
Social Security income 3.4% 7.3% 3.7% 0.4%
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 2.0% 0.4% 0.7% 0.2%
Public assistance income 1.1% 0.1% 0.8% 0.1%
Retirement income 2.2% 5.4% 2.6% 0.5%
Other types of income 2.3% 1.7% 1.8% 0.8%
38
Many Latinos contend they are entrepreneurial and hardworking

In 1999, 12% of Latino households
individuals who are sometimes stereotyped by mainstream
received some public assistance. It
community members as primarily living off public assistance.
represented 1% of the aggregate income
supporting Latino households. News articles in the Morning Call, over the last three decades
support this contention and have also included stereotypic
statements by public officials. The reality is that in 2000, the census showed that in 1999 Latinos represented 30%
of those on public assistance and that this represented about 1% of the aggregate income received by all Latino
households. The median income (from all sources) in 1999 showed a gender gap among all races in median income
and (Figure 23) showed much lower levels of income for Latino individuals within their gender. Latino men have the
lowest median income compared to White, African American and Asian men but higher than all women in these
race categories. Latina women had the lowest median income of all groups.
FIGURE 21: HOUSEHOLDS RECEIVING

PUBLIC ASSISTANCE FIGURE 22: MEDIAN INCOME IN 1999
Census 2000 SF 4
LEHIGH VALLEY - CENSUS 2000
African Asian Other

American 1% 2%
7% Latino
30%
AFRICAN
LATINO WHITE ASIAN
AMERICAN
White
Male $17,780 $30,773 $22,233 $37,060
60%
Female $11,470 $15,801 $15,928 $16,838
This data indicates a dramatic In 2000, Latinos, as a group, had the lowest median income (income
economic gender gap in the Lehigh from all sources—including earnings) and the lowest median earnings
Valley resulting in Latinas being the (Figure 25). When earnings are considered for those who worked full-
hardest hit economically. time year-round in 1999, the economic gender gap in earnings is
evident with females within their race/ethnic group. Latino men had significantly lower median full-time earnings
than any other group within their gender and lower than Asian and White females. Latinas had the lowest earnings
of any other full time workers (Figure 24).
FIGURE 23: MEDIAN EARNINGS BY GENDER

Worked full time, year-round in 1999 FIGURE 24: MEDIAN EARNINGS IN 1999
Census 2000 SF3 PCT74
Population 16 years and over with earnings
Male Female $57,018
$39,177 $26,186
$25,791
$31,441 $21,599
$25,841 $26,895 $25,417 $27,880
$16,566
$20,492
LATINO WHITE AFRICAN ASIAN LATINO WHITE AFRICAN ASIAN

AMERICAN AMERICAN
39
A breakdown of median earnings (Table 32 - earnings from all employment including full-time, part-time and
seasonal) by race and Latino subgroups shows Latinos as a group with significantly lower earnings by gender and
some differences among Latinos by subgroup and gender. Cubans, who represent only 1% of the Latino population
in the area, have a higher percentage of professionals (45% are college graduates). This is reflected in the higher
median earnings of both Cuban men and women who have the highest median earnings among all Latinas. South
American populations (of which Columbians, Ecuadorians, Peruvian and Chileans represent the largest percentage)
also have a higher percentage of educated individuals coming to the area (19% have college degrees). South
American males have the highest median earnings among the Latino males but South American women have the
lowest median earnings among Latinas. Thirteen percent of Mexicans and 12% of Central Americans have college
degrees and have the next highest median earnings. Puerto Ricans and Dominicans have the lowest median income
among Latinos in the Lehigh Valley reflecting a higher percentage of lower socioeconomic individuals. In 2000 only
6% of Dominicans and 5% of Puerto Ricans in the Lehigh Valley were college graduates.
TABLE 32: MEDIAN EARNINGS IN 1999 BY RACE AND LATINO SUBGROUP- POPULATION 16 YEARS AND OVER WITH EARNINGS
AFRICAN PUERTO CENTRAL SOUTH
WHITE ASIAN LATINO MEXICAN DOMINICAN CUBAN
AMERICAN RICAN AMERICAN AMERICAN
Total $ 25,791 $ 21,599 $ 26,186 $ 16,566 $ 16,145 $ 17,424 $16,242 $23,698 $ 17,397 $ 20,200
Male $ 32,443 $ 24,708 $ 38,228 $ 19,831 $ 19,109 $ 22,173 $17,181 $23,802 $ 20,185 $ 24,828
Female $ 19,402 $ 19,487 $ 19,863 $ 13,706 $ 13,422 $ 14,282 $14,697 $22,292 $ 17,003 $ 12,650
While the Latino community has expressed concern regarding the

The availability, hiring and
lack of adequate representation of Latinos in professional positions
compensation of Latino professionals
in local institutions, agencies, corporations and other businesses,
in the Lehigh Valley has been an issue
these same entities argue they have attempted to hire Latinos but
of debate between the Latino
are unable to find qualified individuals in the area.
community and local organizations,
businesses and institutions. In 2000, the Census documented a total of 2,731 Latinos in
management and professional positions (Table 33). There were 1,085 in management, business and financial
operations and 1,646 in other professional positions. The highest percentage of professional Latino males were in
technical fields (30%), healthcare practitioners—mostly physicians and technologists (12%) and community and
social services (10%). The highest numbers of Latina professionals were employed in education (17%), in
community and social services (15%) and in healthcare as practitioners—mostly as registered nurses and
technologists (15%). Table 34 provides a more detailed view of Latinos in all occupations.
TABLE 33: LATINOS IN MANAGEMENT, PROFESSIONAL AND RELATED OCCUPATIONS

MALE FEMALE
1,143 1,588
1. Management, business and financial operations 430 38% 655 41%
2. Professional and related 713 62% 933 59%
2.1. Computer and mathematical 116 10% 41 3%
2.2. Architecture and engineering 164 14% 56 4%
2.3. Life, physical and social science 73 6% 22 1%
2.4. Community and social services 109 10% 241 15%
2.5. Education, training and library 65 6% 271 17%
2.5.1. Postsecondary teachers 26 2% 22 1%
2.5.2. Teachers, primary, secondary and special education: 19 2% 115 7%
2.5.2.1. Teachers, preschool, kindergarten, elementary and middle School 5 0% 91 6%
2.5.2.2. Teachers, secondary school 14 1% 16 1%
2.6. Arts, design, entertainment, sports and media 44 4% 47 3%
2.7. Healthcare practitioners and technical 141 12% 237 15%
2.7.1. Health diagnosing and treating practitioners and technical: 111 10% 128 8%
2.7.1.1. Physicians and surgeons 52 5% 8 1%
2.7.1.2. Registered nurses 6 1% 113 7%
2.7.2. Health technologists and technicians 30 3% 109 7%
40
In 2005, anecdotal data from local key informant interviews indicates the number of Latino professionals has
notably increased since the 2000 Census figures shown in Tables 33 and 34. According to key informants and
magazine and news articles on the out-migration of Latinos from New York in the first half of this decade,
increasing numbers of more educated and middle class Puerto Ricans and other Latinos have migrated and are still
migrating southward from New York and in lesser numbers from New Jersey. Table 35 shows occupations by race
and ethnicity by the major occupational categories.
TABLE 34: SEX BY OCCUPATION FOR THE EMPLOYED CIVILIAN LATINO POPULATION (16 YRS AND OVER)
Allentown—Bethlehem—Easton, PA MSA Census 2000 SF4 MALE FEMALE
TOTAL 9,271 7,940
1. Management, professional and related: 1,143 12.3% 1,588 20.0%
1.1. Management, business and financial operations: 430 4.6% 655 8.2%
2. Professional and related: 713 7.7% 933 11.8%
2.1. Computer and mathematical 116 1.3% 41 0.5%
2.2. Architecture and engineering 164 1.8% 56 0.7%
2.3. Life, physical and social science 73 0.8% 22 0.3%
2.4. Community and social services 109 1.2% 241 3.0%
2.5. Legal 1 0.0% 18 0.2%
2.5.1. Lawyers 0 0.0% 0 0.0%
2.5.2. Judges, magistrates and other judicial workers 0 0.0% 0 0.0%
2.5.3. Legal support workers 1 0.0% 18 0.2%
2.6. Education, training and library 65 0.7% 271 3.4%
2.6.1. Postsecondary teachers 26 0.3% 22 0.3%
2.6.2. Teachers, primary, secondary and special education: 19 0.2% 115 1.4%
2.6.3. Teachers, preschool, kindergarten, elementary and middle
5 0.1% 91 1.1%
school
2.6.4. Teachers, secondary school 14 0.2% 16 0.2%
2.7. Arts, design, entertainment, sports and media 44 0.5% 47 0.6%
2.8. Healthcare practitioners and technical 141 1.5% 237 3.0%
2.8.1. Health diagnosing and treating practitioners and technical: 111 1.2% 128 1.6%
2.8.2. Physicians and surgeons 52 0.6% 8 0.1%
2.8.3. Registered nurses 6 0.1% 113 1.4%
2.8.4. Health technologists and technicians 30 0.3% 109 1.4%
3. Service 1,668 18.0% 1,869 23.5%
3.1. Healthcare support: 127 1.4% 378 4.8%
3.2. Protective service: 181 2.0% 68 0.9%
3.2.1. Fire fighting and prevention workers, including supervisors 11 0.1% 0 0.0%
3.2.2. Law enforcement workers, including supervisors 50 0.5% 10 0.1%
3.3. Food preparation and serving related: 632 6.8% 440 5.5%
3.3.1. Cooks and food preparation workers 327 3.5% 122 1.5%
3.3.2. Waiters and waitresses 9 0.1% 131 1.6%
3.3.3. Food and beverage serving workers, except waiters and
102 1.1% 86 1.1%
waitresses
3.4. Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance 665 7.2% 607 7.6%
3.5. Personal care and service: 63 0.7% 376 4.7%
4. Sales and office: 1,337 14.4% 2,476 31.2%
4.1. Sales and related: 573 6.2% 778 9.8%
4.2. Office and administrative support: 764 8.2% 1,698 21.4%
5. Farming, fishing and forestry: 56 0.6% 42 0.5%
6. Construction, extraction and maintenance: 1,348 14.5% 44 0.6%
6.1. Construction and extraction: 799 8.6% 30 0.4%
6.2. Installation, maintenance and repair: 549 5.9% 14 0.2%
6.2.1. Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers and 204 2.2% 0 0.0%
repairers
6.2.2. Electrical equipment mechanics and other installation,
345 3.7% 14 0.2%
maintenance and repair workers, including supervisors
7. Production, transportation and material moving: 3,719 40.1% 1,921 24.2%
7.1. Production: 2,183 23.5% 1,555 19.6%
7.2. Transportation and material moving: 1,536 16.6% 366 4.6%
7.2.1. Bus drivers 60 0.6% 17 0.2%
7.2.2. Driver/sales workers and truck drivers 408 4.4% 22 0.3%
7.2.3. Material moving workers: 983 10.6% 320 4.0%
7.2.4. Laborers and material movers, hand 696 7.5% 295 3.7%
7.2.5. Other material moving workers, except laborers 287 3.1% 25 0.3%
41
Tables 35 to 38 the give additional detailed information on income and employment.
TABLE 35:OCCUPATION FOR THE EMPLOYED CIVILIAN POPULATION BY RACE (16 YRS AND OVER)
LATINO WHITE NH AFRICAN AMERICAN ASIAN
ABE MSA
Census 2000 SF4 MALE FEMALE MALE FEMALE MALE FEMALE MALE FEMALE
OCCUPATIONS 9,271 7,940 145,199 127,066 3,576 3,368 2,871 2,266
Management, professional and related 12.3% 20.0% 30.8% 34.8% 15.8% 22.9% 63.7% 43.7%
Service 18.0% 23.5% 10.0% 17.3% 18.4% 29.2% 8.5% 14.5%
Sales and office 14.4% 31.2% 18.2% 38.2% 17.4% 36.9% 8.1% 19.2%
Farming, fishing and forestry 0.6% 0.5% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.0% 0.0% 0.5%
Construction, extraction, maintenance 14.5% 0.6% 16.9% 0.4% 14.3% 0.3% 3.7% 1.2%
Production, transportation, material moving 40.1% 24.2% 23.9% 9.1% 33.9% 10.7% 16.1% 20.8%
TABLE 36: EMPLOYMENT STATUS FOR CIVILIAN POPULATION AGES 20 TO 64

Census 2000 SF4 ABE
MSA WHITE AMERICAN ASIAN LATINO RICAN MEXICAN DOMINICAN CUBAN AMERICAN AMERICAN
MALE 158,586 4,689 3,434 13,007 8,165 1,201 773 146 429 738
In labor force34: 87% 77% 83% 72% 72% 81% 74% 90% 77% 81%
Employed 97% 93% 97% 91% 90% 96% 84% 95% 94% 95%
Unemployed 3% 7% 3% 9% 10% 4% 16% 5% 6% 5%
FEMALE 162,515 4,429 3,586 13,680 9,261 985 703 142 355 795
In labor force: 74% 75% 62% 61% 60% 62% 59% 81% 79% 58%
Employed 97% 94% 97% 87% 87% 88% 87% 100% 94% 90%
Unemployed 3% 6% 3% 13% 13% 12% 13% 0% 6% 10%
TABLE 37: STATUS IN 1999 BY USUAL HOURS WORKED PER WEEK (16 YEARS AND OVER)
Census 2000 SF4 ABE MSA WHITE AMERICAN ASIAN LATINO RICAN MEXICAN DOMINICAN CUBAN AMERICAN AMERICAN
448,272 11,042 8,015 32,296 21,214 2,597 1,632 384 923 1,786
3,89
MALE 212,842 5,690 2 15,721 9,893 1,411 844 209 528 855
Worked in 1999: 76% 78% 83% 75% 73% 83% 80% 81% 80% 85%
Usually worked 35 hrs or
86% 85% 85% 88% 88% 93% 88% 84% 92% 88%
more per week35
Did not work in 1999 24% 22% 17% 25% 27% 17% 20% 19% 20% 15%
4,12
FEMALE 235,430 5,352 3 16,575 11,321 1,186 788 175 395 931
Worked in 1999: 61% 73% 64% 63% 61% 61% 72% 87% 71% 64%
Usually worked 35 hrs or
68% 77% 68% 74% 75% 72% 82% 80% 83% 70%
more per week
Did not work in 1999 39% 27% 36% 37% 39% 39% 28% 13% 29% 36%
TABLE 38: EARNINGS IN 1999 FOR THE POPULATION 16 YEARS AND OVER WITH EARNINGS
Census 2000 SF4 - ABE MSA WHITE AMERICAN ASIAN LATINO RICAN MEXICAN DOMINICAN CUBAN AMERICAN AMERICAN
MALE:
Less than $20,000 27% 39% 29% 50% 53% 44% 59% 35% 50% 36%
$20,000 to $29,999 17% 22% 13% 23% 23% 26% 22% 25% 21% 29%
$30,000 to $39,999 18% 17% 10% 13% 12% 17% 10% 4% 12% 15%
$40,000 to $54,999 18% 13% 9% 8% 8% 7% 3% 21% 7% 9%
$55,000 to $74,999 10% 6% 15% 3% 2% 3% 4% 1% 7% 7%
$75,000 or more 10% 3% 24% 2% 1% 4% 3% 14% 3% 4%
FEMALE:
Less than $20,000 51% 51% 50% 70% 71% 72% 70% 43% 57% 65%
$20,000 to $29,999 22% 24% 20% 18% 18% 14% 22% 17% 33% 21%
$30,000 to $39,999 13% 13% 10% 6% 6% 7% 4% 18% 4% 7%
$40,000 to $54,999 9% 8% 7% 4% 4% 5% 0% 22% 0% 6%
$55,000 to $74,999 4% 3% 7% 1% 1% 1% 2% 0% 3% 1%
$75,000 or more 2% 2% 6% 1% 1% 2% 2% 0% 3% 0%
34
Not in labor force: All people 16 years old and over who are not classified as members of the labor force. This category consists mainly of students, individuals taking care of home or
family, retired workers, seasonal workers enumerated in an off-season who were not looking for work, institutionalized people and people doing only incidental unpaid family work
(fewer than 15 hours during the reference week).
35
Of all those that worked in 1999 what percentage usually worked 35 hours or more.
42
LATINO-OWNED BUSINESSES
Latino businesses in the area are numerous and primarily

The 1997 U.S. Economic Census survey of
consist of small one-person or family businesses with no paid
minority and women owned businesses
employees. In 1997, 629 of these small businesses documented
documented 726 Latino-owned businesses
over $28.4 million dollars in sales and receipts. Another $48.5
in the Lehigh Valley with sales and
million dollars in sales was documented by 97 Latino-owned
receipts of almost $77 million dollars.
businesses providing jobs for 376 employees.
TABLE 39: LATINO/HISPANIC-OWNED BUSINESSES IN LEHIGH VALLEY36

All firms Firms with paid employees37
1997 Economic Census: Surveys of Minority- and Sales & Sales &
Women-Owned Businesses Firms Receipts Firms Receipts Payroll
http://www.census.gov/epcd/mwb97/metro/M0240.html (N) ($1,000) (N) ($1,000) Employees ($1,000)
TOTAL LATINO/HISPANIC38 726 $76,966 97 $48,526 376 $7,566
Puerto Rican 240 $18,595 29 $7,431 38 $499
Hispanic Latin American 163 40,418 10 D 20 to 99 D
Mexican, Mexican American, Chicano 90 D 8 D 0 to 19 D
Cuban 60 D 3 D 0 to 19 D
Spaniard 45 D 5 D 20 to 99 D
Other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino 127 $7,750 43 $5,729 200 $1,377
HISPANIC BUSINESSES BY MAJOR INDUSTRY GROUP
ALL INDUSTRIES 726 $76,966 97 $48,526 376 $7,566

Construction industries/ subdividers/ developers 92 $2,760 19 $1,372 11 $251
Manufacturing 9 D 0 0 0 0
Transportation, communications, & utilities 19 D 4 D 0 to 19 D
Wholesale trade 23 D 9 D 100 to 249 D
Retail trade 170 $10,559 8 D 20 to 99 D
Finance, insurance and real estate industries (ex sub &

dev) 12 D 0 0 0 0
Service industries (excluding membership org & private

171 $8,527 25 $5,678 116 $3,014
households)
Industries not classified 230 $21,338 31 D 100 to 249 D

D: Data not provided by source. Withheld to avoid disclosure; data are included in higher-level totals.
The data indicates that there is a strong entrepreneurial spirit among Latinos. In addition to the identified local
Latino businesses, it is common knowledge that many Latinos make ends meet through an informal network of
sales and services among family members, neighbors and friends that form an underground economy in
neighborhoods. These services can include automobile repair, the sale of traditional foods, seamstress and tailoring
services, home improvement, etc. Some are done for pay while others may barter, or a combination of both,
making it possible for many low-income individuals to get needed services at affordable prices.
36
All firms operating during 1997, except those classified as agricultural, are represented. The lists of all firms (or universe) are compiled from a combination of business tax returns
and data collected on other economic census reports. The Census Bureau obtains electronic files from the IRS for all companies filing Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 1040,
Schedule C (individual proprietorship or self-employed person); 1065 (partnership); or any one of the 1120 corporation tax forms; and 941 (Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return).
For businesses filing those forms, the IRS provided the Census Bureau with the following information: Name and address of the firm; employer identification number of the firm; Social
Security numbers (SSN's) of the owners for filers of Form 1040 Schedule C and electronic filers of Forms 1065 and 1120S (subchapter S corporations); principal industrial activity code;
dollar receipts; annual payroll; and legal form of organization.
37
Firms with paid employees include all firms that file payroll taxes.
38
Hispanic-owned businesses are those where the sole proprietor identified his or her origin as Cuban, "Mexican, Mexican Am., Chicano", Puerto Rican, Spaniard, Hispanic Latin
American, or Other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino on the 1997 or 1992 survey questionnaire; or, in the case of firms with multiple owners, where 51 percent or more of stock interest, claims
or rights were held by Hispanics so determined.
43
HOMEOWNERSHIP AND RENTAL COSTS
TABLE 40: OWNERS AND RENTERS: AGE OF HOUSEHOLDER

HISPANIC AFRICAN
Census 2000 SF1 H16 -LATINO WHITE AMERICAN ASIAN There are a higher percentage of
Total occupied housing units: 14,377 222,107 6,088 3,022 younger homeowners among
Owner occupied: 34% 75% 38% 56% Latinos. Twenty-seven percent of
Under 24 years 3% 1% 1% 1%
34 years and under 24% 11% 15% 16%
Latino homeowners are 34 years
35 to 54 years 56% 45% 58% 62% and younger compared to 12%
55 years and over 20% 44% 28% 22% White, 16% African American and
Renter occupied: 66% 25% 62% 44%
17% Asian.
Under 24 years 16% 9% 12% 12%
34 years and under 47% 32% 42% 57%
35 to 54 years 39% 34% 41% 34% In the Lehigh Valley, almost two-thirds
55 years and over 14% 34% 17% 9% of Latinos and African Americans are
TABLE 41: MEDIAN VALUE OF OWNER-OCCUPIED HOUSING UNITS renters while 75 percent of Whites and
LEHIGH NORTHAMPTON ALLENTOWN BETHLEHEM EASTON
ABE MSA 56% of Asians are homeowners. In
Census 2000 SF3 COUNTY COUNTY CITY CITY CITY
addition to the issues of a higher level of
WHITE $116,000 $120,900 $79,800 $99,800 $76,900 $114,600
poverty and of the working poor impacting
AFRICAN AMERICAN $68,600 $88,300 $63,900 $82,000 $76,700 $79,300
ASIAN $143,400 $173,900 $79,200 $78,300 $77,900 $152,000 the higher rate of renting vs. buying, is
LATINO $69,000 $88,200 $63,300 $73,200 $73,500 $75,200 the factor that the Latino population is a
younger population (median age: 23 yrs
TABLE 42: MEDIAN GROSS RENT
Lehigh Northampton Allentown Bethlehem Easton compared to 41 yrs for Whites) with a
County County City City
ABE MSA
City
Census 2000 SF3
higher number of young families.
WHITE $ 600 $ 588 $ 551 $ 600 $ 555 $ 581
AFRICAN AMERICAN $ 588 $ 569 $ 559 $ 640 $ 545 $ 578 These younger families are reflected in
ASIAN $ 670 $ 577 $ 646 $ 616 $ 536 $ 654
the markedly higher percentage of younger
LATINO $ 520 $ 487 $ 509 $ 481 $ 577 $ 511
homeowners among Latinos. Twenty-seven
MEDIAN GROSS RENT AS A % OF HSHLD INCOME IN 1999
percent of Latino homeowners are 34 years
WHITE 25% 25% 26% 25% 26% 25%
AFRICAN AMERICAN 27% 25% 28% 24% 24% 26% or younger compared to 12% White, 16%
ASIAN 17% 25% 18% 24% 17% 18% African American and 17% Asian.
LATINO 28% 28% 28% 29% 24% 28%
More than half of the household income goes to pay rent in over
FIGURE 25: HSHLDS PAYING OVER
one-fifth of Latino (22%) and African American (21%) households.
50% OF INCOME IN RENT
Part of the issue of the Latino undercount is related to housing Census 2000 SF2 HCT39
affordability. With lower income levels, Latinos families may double 22% 21%
up (sometimes even triple up) or have single family or non-family
15%
members live with them to help contribute to meet rent payments. 12%
They often hide the fact that there are additional people in the
household for fear of eviction. They underreport numbers on the
census out of concern that their landlords will discover the
information if they reveal the true number of occupants. AMERICAN
44
HOME LOANS
TABLE 43: APPLICATIONS FOR HOME-PURCHASE LOANS FOR 1 TO 4 FAMILY HOMES

MSA: Allentown— CONVENTIONAL FHA, FSA/RHS and VA Total Apps Received
Bethlehem—Easton
Apps Rec'd Apps Denied Apps Rec'd Apps Denied
4 YR AGGREGATE FOR MSA %FHA, FSA/
YEARS 2000 TO 2003 POP. N % N % N % N % N % Conv RHS, & VA
WHITE 87% 36,897 72% 3,743 10% 5,835 68% 314 5% 42,732 86% 14%
HISPANIC 8% 2,742 5% 506 18% 1,362 16% 129 9% 4,104 67% 33%
AFRICAN AMERICAN 3% 1,167 2% 260 22% 340 4% 38 11% 1,507 77% 23%
ASIAN 2% 886 2% 67 8% 51 1% 5 10% 937 95% 5%
OTHER RACE 1,442 3% 167 12% 260 3% 20 8% 1,702 85% 15%
RACE NOT AVAILABLE 8,253 16% 1,884 23% 731 9% 87 12% 8,984 92% 8%
TOTAL APPLICATIONS 51,387 100% 6,627 13% 8,579 100% 593 7% 59,966 86% 14%
Source: Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, www.ffiec.gov/hmda_rpt/agg_welcome.htm
The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) was enacted by Congress in 1975 and is implemented by the Federal
Reserve Board's Regulation C. This regulation provides the public loan data that can be used to assist:
in determining whether financial institutions are serving the housing needs of their communities;
public officials in distributing public-sector investments so as to attract private investment to areas where
it is needed;
in identifying possible discriminatory lending patterns.
The FFIEC sends copies of individual bank disclosure statements and aggregate tables to a central data
depository in each Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), such as a public library or a planning commission office,
where the information is made available to the public. In the ABE MSA, the depository is the City of Allentown, 435
Hamilton Street, Room 510, Allentown, PA 18101, 610-437-7539.
The data in this section reflects the

aggregate data for the years 2000, FIGURE 26: PERCENT OF HOME PURCHASE LOAN APPS DENIED
AGGREGATE FOR YEARS 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
2001, 2002 and 2003 related to home
CONVENTIONAL HOME-PURCHASE LOANS
loans for 1 to 4 family homes submitted
FHA, FSA/RHS and VA HOME-PURCHASE LOANS
under the HMDA by 224 financial
institutions who have a home or branch 22% 23%
office in the Lehigh Valley (Allentown— 18%

Bethlehem—Easton, MSA).
11% 12% 12%
10% 9% 10%
In the largest percentage of home 8% 8%
loan application denials the 5%
race/ethnicity was not identified.
WHITE LATINO AFRICAN AMERICAN ASIAN OTHER RACE RACE NOT AVAILABLE
From 2000 to 2004, Latinos in the
Lehigh Valley represented 5% of the
total of all applications received for conventional loans and 16% of all the FHA, VA and the FSA/RHS home loan
applications received. African Americans appeared to have the highest rate of denial of conventional and
FHA, FSA/RHS and VA loan applications followed by Latinos. The rate of denial for Latinos was nearly double that of
Whites and double for African Americans.
Among conventional loan applications, the data of 16% or 8,253 (more than double the combined total of the
African American and Latino applications of 3,909) did not identify the race of the applicant. Among FHA, FSA/RHS
and VA home loan applications, 731 (9%) did not identify the applicant’s race. This high rate of “Race Not
Available” applications and the disproportionately high percentage of denials in this category may significantly
45
impact the accuracy of the data regarding the number of Latino home loan applications submitted and the actual
percentage of Latino application denials. The omission of “Race” also defeats the expressed purpose of the Home
Mortgage Disclosure Act.
FIGURE 27: HOME LOAN DENIALS BY RACE/ETHNICITY
HISPANIC WHITE AFRICAN AMERICAN ASIAN OTHER RACE RACE NOT AVAILABLE
1%
53% 6% 3% 15%
FHA, FSA/RHS and VA DENIALS 22%
1%
CONVENTIONAL LOAN DENIALS 8% 56% 4% 3% 28%
2% 2%
APPLICATIONS RECEIVED 5% 72% 3% 16%
APPLICATIONS RECEIVED (100%) CONVENTIONAL LOAN DENIALS (100%) FHA, FSA/RHS and VA DENIALS (100%)
HISPANIC 5% 8% 22%
WHITE 72% 56% 53%
AFRICAN AMERICAN 2% 4% 6%
ASIAN 2% 1% 1%
OTHER RACE 3% 3% 3%
RACE NOT AVAILABLE 16% 28% 15%
For all race groups, credit history was identified as the primary reason for denial. The second highest identified
reason for Whites and the third highest for African Americans and Latinos was debt-to-income ratio. Collateral was
the second highest for African Americans and Latinos and third highest for Whites. Approximately, one-fifth of the
applications had “other” as the reason for denial.
TABLE 44: REASONS FOR DENIAL OF APPLICATIONS HOME-PURCHASE LOANS, 1 - 4 FAMILY HOMES
Mortgage
Debt-to- Credit App. Insufficient Employment Unverifiable Insurance
Number Credit History Income Ratio Collateral Incomplete Cash History Information Denied Other
CONVENTIONAL
WHITE 3993 35% 17% 12% 6% 5% 4% 3% 1% 17%
HISPANIC 564 31% 15% 17% 6% 4% 3% 3% 1% 19%
BLACK 261 29% 10% 15% 3% 7% 3% 10% 1% 21%
ASIAN 77 29% 12% 9% 10% 5% 3% 12% 1% 19%
OTHER RACE 185 22% 16% 15% 8% 5% 3% 5% 1% 25%
RACE NOT AVAILABLE 1482 33% 13% 12% 8% 5% 3% 3% 1% 23%
FHA
WHITE 2212 38% 18% 11% 6% 6% 4% 3% 1% 15%
HISPANIC 355 33% 18% 17% 7% 4% 5% 3% 1% 13%
BLACK 125 29% 14% 18% 2% 8% 1% 6% 2% 21%
ASIAN 41 32% 10% 5% 15% 7% 0% 10% 0% 22%
OTHER RACE 82 22% 17% 16% 7% 7% 6% 5% 1% 18%
RACE NOT AVAILABLE 840 38% 12% 10% 9% 4% 2% 4% 1% 21%
The following table is the disposition of applications by income and race/ethnicity. Once again in reviewing this
data we must consider the high number of “Race Not Available” applications and denials.
46
TABLE 45: DISPOSITION OF APPLICATIONS FOR HOME-PURCHASE LOANS, 1-4 FAMILY HOMES, BY INCOME
2000 -2003 CONVENTIONAL FHA, FSA/RHS, & VA
Apps. % Denied Apps. Apps. Apps. % Denied
ABE MSA Apps. Rec'd Denied by Group Rec'd Rec'd Denied by Group
LESS THAN 50%
4,765 1391 29% 1,384 145 10%
OF MSA MEDIAN
WHITE 59% 2824 737 26% 49% 675 56 8%
HISPANIC 15% 732 169 23% 38% 521 64 12%
BLACK 3% 146 57 39% 4% 50 7 14%
ASIAN 1% 35 1 3% 1% 10 2 20%
OTHER RACE 3% 125 28 22% 2% 29 2 7%
RACE NOT AVAILABLE 19% 903 399 44% 7% 99 14 14%

50-79% OF MSA
10,593 1,965 19% 3,111 237 8%
MEDIAN
WHITE 69% 7303 1077 15% 67% 2085 131 6%
HISPANIC 8% 827 149 18% 17% 533 45 8%
BLACK 3% 294 84 29% 5% 142 14 10%
ASIAN 1% 93 9 10% 1% 20 1 5%
OTHER RACE 3% 272 46 17% 3% 79 13 16%

80-99% OF MSA
6696 900 13% 1625 81 5%
MEDIAN
WHITE 47% 4932 519 11% 75% 1212 50 4%
HISPANIC 3% 347 62 18% 10% 162 12 7%
BLACK 1% 143 25 17% 3% 50 6 12%
ASIAN 1% 82 11 13% 1% 9 1 11%
OTHER RACE 3% 168 27 16% 4% 64 4 6%

100-119% OF
6336 683 11% 1104 56 5%
MSA MEDIAN
WHITE 72% 4818 454 9% 78% 862 36 4%
HISPANIC 3% 216 34 16% 7% 76 5 7%
BLACK 2% 161 31 19% 4% 39 7 18%
ASIAN 1% 91 6 7% 1% 6 0 0%
OTHER RACE 3% 168 12 7% 4% 42 1 2%

120% OR MORE
20806 1364 7% 1229 56 5%
OF MSA MEDIAN
WHITE 76% 15764 821 5% 76% 938 34 4%
HISPANIC 2% 421 52 12% 4% 55 2 4%
BLACK 2% 378 60 16% 5% 56 4 7%
ASIAN 3% 522 36 7% 0% 4 1 25%

OTHER RACE 3% 669 49 7% 3% 41 0 0%
Source: Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, www.ffiec.gov/hmda_rpt/agg_welcome.htm
47
LVEDC Latino Population Study Latino Buying Power
LATINO BUYING POWER

The immense buying power of the nation’s Hispanic consumers is reshaping the retail
and commercial landscape of the United States … In 2009, Hispanics will account for 9
percent of all U.S. buying power. In sheer dollar power, Hispanics’ economic clout will
rise from $222 billion in 1990, to $504 billion in 2000, to $686 billion in 2004 and to
$992 billion in 2009. Jeffery M. Humphreys, Selig Center for Economic Growth, The University of Georgia
Newspapers, magazines, periodicals, corporate newsletters, are filled with stories of the changing U.S. market
and the need to target the Latino consumer. It is all about getting a piece of the Hispanic market that represented
$686 billion consumer dollars in 2004 and is estimated to exceed $1 trillion dollars before the end of the decade.
The need to “effectively” reach this market is such that the Hispanic Advertising Agencies Foundation was created
as the first institution designed to conduct and support market research and to create opportunities for people
looking to pursue Hispanic marketing as a career. Launched on April 14, 2005, “The Hispanic Advertising Agencies
Foundation (HAAF) will serve as an independent not-for-profit organization and will have a two-fold agenda. First it
will aim to support, conduct, fund and distribute market research related to Hispanic consumers and advertising.
Second it will strive to offer educational opportunities, materials and scholarships to those seeking to pursue a
career in Hispanic advertising.”39 The following excerpts reflect the changing market targeting the Latino consumer:
Anyone involved in retail has to be cognizant of this ethnic group ... Hispanic purchasing power is increasing at greater
than twice the national rate and is currently estimated at anywhere from $400 billion to $542 billion per year and
spending is estimated to reach $1 trillion by 2010. If you take their buying power as a group and compare it against
world trade, U.S. Hispanics would rank 11th among world leaders in gross product consumption. Source: "Catering to
Hispanic Consumers” (Cover Story) Gourmet Retailer, February 1, 2002.
The Hispanic market is emerging as a growing demographic and the financial services industry is taking notice. The
Hispanic Market Monitor, produced by SYNERGISTICS Research Corp. in Atlanta and released on March 1, examines
the attitudes and financial services profile of Hispanics. The survey found that this market offers a major opportunity
for financial institutions. Source: Investment News, March 28, 2005.
Two compelling facts have led chain drug retailers to invigorate their efforts in targeting the Hispanic population,
particularly in the area of beauty sales. The first ... Hispanic buying power is expected to exceed $1 trillion by 2008.
The second ... study after study shows that Hispanic women use more beauty products than any other ethnic group ...
chains [such] as Rite Aid Corp., Walgreen Co. and CVS Corp. have been using a variety of merchandising techniques
geared to attract Hispanic shoppers to their beauty aisles ... Source: "Hispanic, A Force To Be Catered To.
(Cosmetics)", Chain Drug Review, March 28, 2005.
The First American Corporation today announced the launch of the MSN Latino Personal Finance Center, a premier
Spanish language Internet destination offering an unparalleled collection of financial education and planning resources
for the U.S. Hispanic market. Accessible under the "Finanzas" area of the MSN Latino site
(http://www.msnlatino.com/), the MSN Latino Personal Finance Center provides resources for Hispanics about major
economic decisions consumers face, including financial planning, insurance, banking, credit management, investing,
home buying and more. Source: PR Newswire, March 23, 2005.
“BellSouth launches new Hispanic ad campaign in major Southeast markets”. Source: M2 Presswire, March 22, 2005.
39
"Hispanic Advertising Foundation Launched; First-ever foundation designed to conduct and support market research and to create opportunities for people looking to pursue Hispanic
marketing as a career.", PR Newswire, April 14, 2005.
48
Latinos in the PA-NJ-NY tri-state While at a national level there has been a dramatic upward shift by
area had over $90 billion in retail and corporate sectors in developing campaigns to attract Latino
disposable income in 2004 and will consumers, Lehigh Valley businesses, according to local community
represent $122 billion by 2009. members and key leaders, have yet to effectively tap or target this large
and growing consumer base. The retail and commercial landscape of the Lehigh Valley will undoubtedly benefit
from the ability of business to tap into the significant disposable income of its resident Latino consumers and also
that of Latinos from the tri-state area of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. Local realtors can readily attest
to the growing migration of Latinos from New York and New Jersey who have purchased homes in the Lehigh
Valley, as well as relocated to rental properties here.
TABLE 46: HISPANIC BUYING POWER BY PLACE OF RESIDENCE: 1990, 2000, 2004 AND 2009
Rounded to nearest thousand 1990 2000 2004 2009
United States 221,931,351,000 503,922,340,000 686,338,007,000 992,314,889,000
Pennsylvania 2,153,352,000 5,292,543,000 7,426,006,000 10,839,367,000
New Jersey 9,112,335,000 19,136,211,000 26,072,216,000 36,372,589,000
New York 23,776,296,000 45,203,572,000 56,645,054,000 75,326,609,000
Total PA-NJ-NY 35,041,983,000 69,632,326,000 90,143,276,000 122,538,565,000
Source: Selig Center for Economic Growth, Terry College of Business, The University of Georgia, May 2004.
The University of Georgia’s Selig Center for Economic Growth, in their comprehensive analysis of the buying
power of minority populations, The Multicultural Economy: Minority Buying Power in 2004, defines buying power as
“the total personal income of residents that is available, after taxes, for spending on goods and services ... the
disposable personal income of the residents of a specified geographic area.” They also find that “there are no
40
geographically precise surveys of annual expenditures and income of the nation’s major racial and ethnic groups.”
For the Lehigh Valley it is important not only to acknowledge the close to $1 billion of disposable income among
Latino Lehigh Valley residents but also to recognize that the mobility and continuing growth of this population gives
the region access to the more than $90 billion dollars of combined PA-NJ-NY Latino buying power. The following charts
document where Latino dollars are being spent in the nation, the tri-state region and in Pennsylvania. Nationally, for
the most part, Latino spending by item is fairly comparable to non-Latino spending. Although, compared to non-
Latinos, Latinos spend higher percentages of their income on:
• Housing: rent and mortgage, interest, property taxes, maintenance and repairs, utilities and furnishings
• Transportation: vehicle and gasoline purchases, finance charges, maintenance, registration fees and public
transportation
• Food: at home and away from home
• Apparel and services: clothing items, footwear, jewelry and laundry services
The chart on PA-NJ-NY Aggregate Hispanic Buying Power and Estimated Expenditures by Items 1990 – 2009
documents the dramatic growth from 1990 to 2004 and the projection to 2009 of Latino expenditures regionally in
various items such as housing—from $724 million to $2.5 billion and projected to $3.7 billion; transportation—from
$420 million to $1.4 billion to $2.1 billion, food at home—$226 million to $780 million to $1.1 billion; apparel and
services from $129 million to $446 million to $650 million; food away from home—from $125 million to $431 million
to $629 million; entertainment $88 million to $304 million to $444 million and health care from $84 million to $290
million to $423 million.
40
Jeffery M. Humphreys, “The multicultural economy 2004: America’s minority buying power” Georgia Business and Economic Conditions, volume 64, number 3, Third Quarter
2004.
49
TABLE 47: U.S. AVERAGE ANNUAL EXPENDITURES AND ITEM SHARE FOR
HISPANIC AND NON-HISPANIC CONSUMERS, 2002
41
AVERAGE SPENDING PER CONSUMER UNIT
ITEMS SORTED BY HISPANIC SPENDING HISPANIC NON-HISPANIC
TOTAL ANNUAL EXPENDITURES $ 34,742 100.0% $ 41,295 100.0%
HOUSING $ 11,841 34.1% $ 13,431 32.5%
TRANSPORTATION $ 6,769 19.5% $ 7,861 19.0%
FOOD AT HOME $ 3,643 10.5% $ 3,047 7.4%
PERSONAL INSURANCE & PENSIONS $ 2,827 8.1% $ 4,009 9.7%
APPAREL & SERVICES $ 2,097 6.0% $ 1,716 4.2%
FOOD AWAY FROM HOME $ 2,023 5.8% $ 2,302 5.6%
ENTERTAINMENT $ 1,409 4.1% $ 2,148 5.2%
HEALTH CARE $ 1,366 3.9% $ 2,452 5.9%
MISCELLANEOUS $ 628 1.8% $ 809 2.0%
CASH CONTRIBUTIONS $ 612 1.8% $ 1,346 3.3%
PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS & SERVICES $ 492 1.4% $ 529 1.3%
EDUCATION $ 488 1.4% $ 779.0 1.9%
ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES $ 301 0.9% $ 383.0 0.9%
TOBACCO PRODUCTS & SMOKING SUPPLIES $ 186 0.5% $ 334.0 0.8%
READING $ 60 0.2% $ 147.0 0.4%

Businesses welcoming Latino consumers and catering to Latinos will tap into the
most rapidly growing consumer base in the region, in the state and in the nation.
TABLE 48: PA-NJ-NY AGGREGATE HISPANIC BUYING POWER AND ESTIMATED* EXPENDITURES BY ITEMS 1990–2009
(MILLIONS OF DOLLARS)
ITEMS SORTED BY HIGHEST TO LOWEST SPENDING PENNSYLVANIA PA-NY-NJ
1990 2004 2009 1990 2004 2009
TOTAL ANNUAL EXPENDITURES $ 2,153 $ 7,426 $ 10,839 $ 35,042 $ 90,143 $ 122,539
HOUSING $ 734 $ 2,532 $ 3,696 $ 11,949 $ 30,739 $ 41,786
TRANSPORTATION $ 420 $ 1,448 $ 2,114 $ 6,833 $ 17,578 $ 23,895
FOOD AT HOME $ 226 $ 780 $ 1,138 $ 3,679 $ 9,465 $ 12,867
PERSONAL INSURANCE & PENSIONS $ 174 $ 602 $ 878 $ 2,838 $ 7,302 $ 9,926
APPAREL & SERVICES $ 129 $ 446 $ 650 $ 2,103 $ 5,409 $ 7,352
FOOD AWAY FROM HOME $ 125 $ 431 $ 629 $ 2,032 $ 5,228 $ 7,107
ENTERTAINMENT $ 88 $ 304 $ 444 $ 1,437 $ 3,696 $ 5,024
HEALTH CARE $ 84 $ 290 $ 423 $ 1,367 $ 3,516 $ 4,779
MISCELLANEOUS $ 39 $ 134 $ 195 $ 631 $ 1,623 $ 2,206
CASH CONTRIBUTIONS $ 39 $ 134 $ 195 $ 631 $ 1,623 $ 2,206
PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS & SERVICES $ 30 $ 104 $ 152 $ 491 $ 1,262 $ 1,716
EDUCATION $ 30 $ 104 $ 152 $ 491 $ 1,262 $ 1,716
ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES $ 19 $ 67 $ 98 $ 315 $ 811 $ 1,103
TOBACCO PRODUCTS & SMOKING SUPPLIES $ 11 $ 37 $ 54 $ 175 $ 451 $ 613
READING $ 4 $ 15 $ 22 $ 70 $ 180 $ 245
*Estimates based on National Data of Latino Spending from the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2002.
41
Consumer unit. A consumer unit is defined as members of a household related by blood, marriage, adoption, or some other legal arrangement; a single person living alone or
sharing a household with others, but who is financially independent; or two or more persons living together who share responsibility for at least 2 out of 3 major types of
expenses— food, housing and other expenses. Students living in university- sponsored housing also are included in the sample as separate consumer units.
50
Certainly, the Latino boom brings a welcome According to a cover story in Business Week magazine,
charge to the economy at a time when others’ Hispanics, who surpassed African Americans in 2003 to
population growth has slowed to a crawl. become the country’s largest minority group, have a birth
Without a steady supply of new workers and rate so high as to rival that which created the “baby boomer”
consumers, a graying U.S. might see a long- generation. Ironically, as baby boomers age and leave the
term slowdown … workforce, it is Latinos who are replacing them at an

- Henry Cisneros, former U.S. secretary of Housing and Urban Development impressive rate. In the past decade Latinos made up half of
all new workers in the U.S. and within two generations it is estimated that 1 of every 4 workers in the U.S. will be
Latino.42 These kinds of numbers and the soaring buying power of Latinos cannot be ignored, although at local
levels there has been some instinctive community resistance to the changing demographic.
For some local communities across the country, the influx of Latinos has been seen as an undesirable,
unwelcome change. What is most often unappreciated is the jolt to these local economies and the new
opportunities for economic expansion this newer, younger and growing consumer group represents. It is no longer
a question of are we ready to accept what is shaping up to be one of the largest demographic swings in our history,
but how fast we can adjust to it and take advantage of the opportunities it presents.
Behind the scenes, some of the largest companies in the country are revamping their short and long-term
marketing strategies, product lines and hiring practices to accommodate this fastest growing consumer group.
Some are ahead of the curve, such as financial powerhouse Merrill Lynch & Co. In 2003 their 350-person Hispanic
unit based in Houston doubled its annual financial goal by generating $1 billion in new business nationwide. Quick
to respond to such results, the unit hired an additional 100 mostly bilingual financial advisors in 2004.
Proctor & Gamble Co., which has directed its marketing efforts to Latino consumers for decades, recognized the
increasing buying power of Hispanics and set up a 65-person marketing team in 2000 for the sole purpose of
reaching more Hispanic consumers. In 2003 the company increased its Hispanic marketing budget by 28% to $90
million dollars and has seen sales soar for those products where marketing has targeted Hispanic consumers.43
Buying power means nothing if it’s not being used to buy yours goods, so when Kroger Co., the nation’s No. 1
grocery chain, started losing a big chunk of their business to local merchants in a neighborhood that became 85%
Latino, it spent nearly $2 million dollars converting that supermarket into an all-Latino 59,000–sq.-ft.
“supermercado”. The chain also expanded its private-label line of packaged and canned Latino foods from standard
fare rice and beans to 105 different items.
According to researchers, while Latino household income is currently at least 10% below the national average,
Latinos spend well above average on many products such as shoes, clothing, personal care items and food. Taking
into consideration many Latino households include extended families such as grandparents, aunts and uncles, the
above-average expenditures per Latino household make sense.
The dynamic growth pattern of Latino buying power suggests strong new opportunities for local businesses and
services across the board. The indicators clearly support this, including the fact that Latinos are a demographic
growing at a faster pace than any other; that nearly 40% of Latino heads of households controlling the family’s
spending are 45 years old or younger, that three of every five dollars earned by Latinos will be in the hands of this
younger segment of the population; and that Latino buying power in Pennsylvania has more than doubled in the
last decade and is on pace to more than double again between 2000-2010. From a business perspective this level
of buying power is difficult to ignore.
42
“Hispanic Nation”, Brian Grow, Business Week, March 14, 2004, p.58
43
“Hispanics' buying power soars, report finds.” The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Florida) (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News); 11/20/2004
51
52
LVEDC Latino Population Study Survey Results
A BRIEF HISTORY OF LATINOS IN THE LEHIGH VALLEY

Latinos represent the largest minority population in the United States. Although represented as a single entity in
terms of population, they are made up of many different subcultures, including Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans,
Dominicans and Central and South Americans.
To varying degrees all of these Latino groups reside here in the Lehigh Valley, reflecting the growing diversity within
Latino communities in the northeast sector of the country and representing a continuation of the history of the Lehigh
Valley as a region where immigrants from around the world have settled looking for opportunities to do better.
By most accounts, the first significant group of Spanish-speaking residents in the Lehigh Valley was Mexican.
They arrived here in early 1923, the result of a massive recruitment effort in Mexico by Bethlehem Steel to shore
up a labor shortage. In less than two months, from April 6 to May 30 the company hired enough workers to fill a
train of passenger cars, over 900 in all and mostly single men, although some wives and children accompanied
their husbands and fathers. They were brought to Bethlehem and were put to work at some of the most
undesirable jobs in the mills and in the dangerous and extremely hot Coke Works.
Mexicans in Bethlehem were a noticeable and somewhat unwanted presence. Many of their Eastern European,
Mediterranean and Irish co-workers, immigrants who preceded them, saw them as threats to their job security and
were suspicious the Mexicans had come to take their jobs or to work for lower wages. From the outset the
Mexicans were treated badly by their white coworkers, by foremen at the mill and by people in the community. On
the few occasions they were mentioned in newspaper articles they were usually being vilified as a group for the
behavior of a few individuals.
Before leaving Mexico, Bethlehem Steel promised each worker a minimum of a one-year contract, but even by
1923 standards Bethlehem Steel’s wages were below the poverty level. The Mexicans had no way of knowing that
when signing on in Mexico. The wages they were offered would have gone far in their country. This was not the
case in Bethlehem. So, before the year was up, as many as one hundred men decided to return to Mexico. Many
were homesick; weary of the discrimination they faced on and off the job and of the low wages preventing them
from sending enough of their earnings home to families in need. While still others came to try their luck, the
number of those leaving, especially after the onset of The Depression, outpaced any new arrivals. Eventually those
who permanently remained in the Valley represented a core community of about 50 families.44
It should be mentioned that a much smaller Spanish cultural presence preceded the Mexicans. Spaniards from
Spain and Cuba had also come to the Lehigh Valley to labor in the mills, but, since they came individually or in
small family groups, they didn’t constitute as large a community as the Mexican who were literally brought in by
the trainload. Although a smaller group, there are accounts that during the Spanish Civil War in the thirties, the
Spanish Bethlehemites were a large enough community for a group to gather at Saucon Park with their national
flag and sing Spanish war songs.
The common denominator among the Spaniards and the Mexicans and beyond that, among most of the
immigrants who left their homelands, was their willingness to seek opportunity at great risk and sacrifice. José
Carril, one of the Spaniards who came to Bethlehem via Cuba worked for Bethlehem Steel at their Open Hearth
Furnace operation. His daughter Anita remembered that he had no eyebrows. The intense heat had burned them
off.45 Yet many of these men worked through to retirement in the mills. These first arrivals were hardly welcomed
into a land of milk and honey. Those who endured at personal sacrifice did so to afford better opportunities for their
children and grandchildren.
The second significant group of Spanish speaking residents arriving in the Lehigh Valley was Puerto Rican and
they arrived in much greater numbers. While the Mexicans and the first wave of Puerto Ricans came to the region
more than twenty-five years apart and under completely different circumstances, the underlying reasons for the
transition are remarkably similar.
In 1898, following the Spanish-American War, Puerto Rico became a territory of the United States, in essence a
U.S. colony. Nearly two decades passed before U.S. citizenship was granted to Puerto Ricans in 1917 and some
suspect the designation was merely a device designed to legalize the recruitment of Puerto Ricans into the U.S.
44
Frank Whelan, “How the Hispanics Came to the Valley”, The Morning Call, Allentown, Pa., December 4, 1988, p. B.03.
45
Grethe Goodwin, “From Lovefeasts to Fiestas”, Sun Inn Preservation Association, 1982
53
Armed Forces in World War I. Although probably unforeseen, the designation of citizenship would be a contributing
factor to the mass migration of Puerto Ricans to the mainland U.S. that would begin some thirty years later.
The Great Depression of the 1930’s left the island reeling in unemployment and poverty, leading to great
numbers of agrarian workers leaving the countryside for the cities in search of work that didn’t exist. At the height
of the depression, unemployment in Puerto Rico reached a staggering sixty-five percent.
World War II brought some minor relief to the unemployment problem as Puerto Ricans once again joined U.S.
forces. It was evident, however, that with the end of the war, returning soldiers would once again face the problem
of finding work to support their families, which was complicated further by the baby boom phenomena which
created an explosion of mouths to feed.
The response was the implementation of Operation Bootstrap (1948–68), a federal government program
designed to spur economic development and alleviate the rampant unemployment on the island in a largely two-
pronged effort.
The economic development effort included attracting new industry to the island by offering generous incentives
including subsidized start-up costs, a twelve-year tax exemption and a huge labor pool grateful for the opportunity
to work and willing to work for low wages. The government also committed to constructing a modern transportation
system of roads and highways to make the island even more attractive and accessible to business and commerce.
All this would take some time, of course, so while these new companies were relocating, building their facilities,
training new workers and while new roads and highways were being built, the Operation Bootstrap program
stepped up its efforts to relieve more pressure on the local economy with a second prong effort. They aggressively
accelerated the attack on unemployment by encouraging large numbers of islanders to leave their homeland with
the promise of immediate opportunities for jobs in the U.S., albeit, some of the most undesirable jobs in U.S.
foundries, textile factories and service industries and again, at low wages. Regardless of the circumstances, for
many Puerto Ricans, the opportunity for steady wages was difficult to resist.
The result was a steady stream of Puerto Ricans arriving in the United States in the years following World War II.
Due to their unique status as U.S. citizens, they moved about freely with no passport or visa restrictions. Travel
between Puerto Rico and the United States was as unrestricted as travel between neighboring states.
By the mid-1960’s, while the Operation Bootstrap program fell short of its initial promises, the mass migration of
the populace to metropolitan centers in the United States, especially in the Northeast was such that within twenty
years fully one-third of the population had left Puerto Rico. The majority settled in New York City but they also
fanned out to the nearby urban areas of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Those states experienced significant and
rapid growth in their Latino populations as a result.
The answer to the question, if asked, as to why so many Puerto Ricans reside in the United States, is that the
displacement and relocation of Puerto Ricans from their homeland to the mainland was planned and encouraged by
a program designed, supported and facilitated by the U.S. government.
Upon their arrival in the United States, however, Puerto Ricans like the Mexicans before them encountered
language and cultural obstacles, resistance to the changing demographics, hostility and discrimination. It was no
different in the Lehigh Valley.
Puerto Ricans had a distinct advantage in they could quickly set up support systems wherever they settled.
Without the red tape of obtaining passports or visas before being allowed to move about the country, Puerto
Ricans, in a chain migration pattern, often followed family members and/or friends to a destination.
It was commonplace that some of the earliest Puerto Ricans to get established here consisted of families and
friends from the same towns and villages back home. In Bethlehem, some of the first to arrive were from the
villages of Patillas and Corozal who, once they secured jobs in the steel mills or textile industry, were followed to
Bethlehem by relatives and friends.46 Many of the first to secure jobs were unskilled agrarian laborers with little
formal education that began at the lowest rung of jobs available. One such worker was Nemesio Sanchez who had
been a farm worker following the harvest like so many others before him. He, his wife Angela and nine month old
daughter Iris moved to Bethlehem in 1950 where he secured a job at Bethlehem Steel. He remained at the steel
mill until his retirement in 1970. Today, his daughter Iris M. Cintron is a respected long-standing member of the
46
Peter J. Antonsen, “History of the Puerto Rican Community in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania” Council of Spanish Speaking Organizations of the Lehigh Valley, Inc., 1997, p. 29.
54
community who serves as supervisor of Minority Affairs/Governmental Programs and Grants with the Bethlehem
Area School District.47
In the decade-an-a-half following World War II, jobs in the steel mill and blue-collar factory jobs in the textile
industry were plentiful in Bethlehem. Puerto Ricans who secured those jobs kept their eyes open for job openings
and vacancies for friends and relatives.
Travel to and from Puerto Rico was relatively easy and affordable. One-way airfare between Puerto Rico and New
York or Newark was low-cost during the Operation Bootstrap years. Even as late as 1970, a ticket was still under
fifty dollars. Unlike the European immigrants who preceded them and remained detached from their homelands
because of distance and expense, Puerto Ricans were only hours away from immersion back into their culture,
customs and language. The first generation to settle here, the older breadwinners who were born and raised on the
island, found little need to hurry to acculturate as they had jobs that didn’t require them to speak English and they
could manage as things were. Their children who were born and partially raised in Puerto Rico were less attached
to Puerto Rico but lived in homes where Spanish was the primary language and had some difficulty learning a
language that wasn’t reinforced at home. Regardless, out of necessity, most became bilingual. The children,
however, who were born and raised here often thought of Spanish as their second language and in a natural
process, became bilingual and bicultural.
In Allentown the experience was much different for the early arrivals than for those in Bethlehem. Allentown’s
farmers began recruiting Puerto Rican farm workers in the late 1940’s, some traveling to Puerto Rico to hire groups
of workers to bring in their crops. Some arranged to pay the worker’s airfare and later deducted the cost from their
wages. When reports circulated about how productive the Puerto Ricans had been, the state’s Employment Office
took control of the recruitment and transportation of Puerto Rican farm workers, supplying them to farmers across
the state that applied for seasonal help.48
So, unlike the Bethlehem steelworkers, most of the first group of Puerto Ricans coming to Allentown continued
doing the kind of work they had been used to at home and many returned to Puerto Rico when the harvest season
was over. The farmers looked forward to bringing them back each season and had nothing but good things to say
about their productivity as workers and their pleasant demeanor. But the situation in Puerto Rico remained tough
for farm workers who began thinking of Allentown as a more desirable alternative, especially the single men who
didn’t have families to provide for. Some had already struck up relationships in Allentown with local girls they found
difficult to leave behind after the harvest. So they began to stay after the harvest season ended, seeking
employment in local textile mills, poultry processing plants that for many turned into fulltime employment. Some
employers had unwritten policies not to hire Puerto Ricans so some of the more desirable jobs with good pay and
benefits were not available to them. Those who had difficulty finding fulltime jobs took what jobs they could. When
all else failed, seasonal farm work basically assured them of steady employment if only for a period of a few
months.
By the early 1950’s Allentown had a small population of permanent Puerto Rican residents, mostly single men
living in the blighted downtown section of the city where rents were affordable. As they were alone, away from
home and faced communication problems with locals, there were inevitable clashes with residents and police who
were less tolerant of Puerto Ricans as permanent residents.
Those who married and had children faced their own set of difficulties when attempting to rent homes and were
denied by landlords, or at school where Puerto Rican children and their parents were chided and sometimes
ridiculed for being different and not being able to “spic” English very well.
Early on, the churches in Allentown may have been the only sources of comfort and assistance to Latino
residents and to the migrant workers who were in the Lehigh Valley for the season. Before there were community
or social service agencies in the area set up specifically to assist Latinos, the churches would advocate on behalf of
their Latino parishioners. One suggested offering “citizenship” and American history classes to help Latinos
assimilate. Another pointed out the unfair housing practices and substandard housing conditions Latinos were
subjected to, many times at higher rents than better housing units that seemed available to whites only.49
47
Ibid, p.30
48
Anna Adams, “Hidden From History”, The Lehigh County Historical Society, 2000, p.11.
49
Ibid, p.15
55
Before long there were enough Puerto Rican residents in Allentown for newspapers and other community entities
to begin to refer to the growing Latino population as the “Puerto Rican problem”. The stigma of Puerto Ricans as
problematic was reinforced in a series of articles in 1958 in The Morning Call. Realizing that they were perceived as
a community within a community and were basically on their own, Allentown’s Puerto Ricans united to form the
Puerto Rican Civic Association, a dues paying membership association that obtained a charter from the Lehigh
Valley County Court. Part of its mission was to further the well being of Puerto Ricans in the Lehigh Valley. The
membership roll grew to about 200 members with each paying dues of one dollar per month.
Years earlier, Mexicans in Bethlehem had formed their own association, The Aztec Society. With their assistance,
Bethlehem’s Puerto Ricans established the Puerto Rican Beneficial Society (PRBS) in 1952. In both cases the
organizers were mostly steelworkers. While the Mexican group was not inclined to participate in social action, the
goal of the PRBS was to help resolve problems the community was experiencing. Puerto Ricans in Bethlehem in the
1950’s were finding it difficult to secure decent housing and some believed, other than Bethlehem Steel, employers
in the area discriminated against Latino applicants.50
A few years later, around the same time The Morning Call was running its series on the Puerto Rican problem in
Allentown, Puerto Ricans in Bethlehem were getting mixed messages in their community. The Bethlehem Globe
Times ran a story about Puerto Ricans that was very positive. It pointed out how in a relatively short time they had
become homeowners of tidy homes, some living in mixed neighborhoods and how their economic situation had
improved since first arriving in the area. Bethlehem police, on the other hand, arrested Puerto Ricans on little to no
provocation. In two instances in 1958, suspicious of what they considered to be unusual behavior, they arrested a
group of Puerto Ricans for simply congregating in a group on the street. Another group of Puerto Rican men waiting
at a trolley stop on their way to work the night shift at Bethlehem Steel were arrested and had to secure the
services of a lawyer before being released uncharged. In both cases, merely being in a group and speaking Spanish
seemed enough to arouse suspicion of some kind of wrongdoing.
In addition to functioning as meeting places to discuss issues and to devise plans of action to overcome some of
these problems, the Puerto Rican Civic Association and the Puerto Rican Beneficial Society served as social clubs
where members and their families could meet and socialize without being harassed. They also served as unifying
forces in their communities and took on the role of actively seeking to address some of the more difficult problems
faced by Puerto Ricans in the workplace, particularly at Bethlehem Steel where they would be assigned to some of
the worst jobs with little opportunity for promotion. Within a few years of its establishment, the PRBS had become
the voice of the Puerto Rican worker and of the Puerto Rican community in Bethlehem. In many respects it was the
community. By 1956 more than ninety percent of Bethlehem’s Puerto Rican community were members of the
PRBS.51 In the 1960’s and into the 1970’s the efforts of the PRBS for better treatment of Puerto Rican steelworkers
and a fair process for training and promotion contributed to industry-wide reforms.
The PRBS were tenacious advocates whose commitment spilled over into other community social issues and led
to the development of the Council of Spanish Speaking Organizations of the Lehigh Valley. In 1968, Jesus Ortiz,
president of the PRBS, Father George J. Jani, of Holy Infancy Church and Miguel Marrero, a steelworker and
member of PRBS met and discussed the establishment of a council of Latino organizations. They later met with
representatives of the PA Department of Public Assistance and other state officials to secure funding.
Finally, in 1970, after a steering committee was established consisting of community leaders which included
Miguel Marrero, Miguel Rodriguez, Juan Rodriguez, Humberto Burgos, Juan Rivera, Regino Cora and Rafael Lopez,
the PRBS contributed $500 and Holy Infancy Church $150 to open an office at 128 West Fourth Street to provide
assistance to members of the community. With limited funds, Luis Huertas donated his time to keep the office open
and help people in finding jobs, in need of legal aid, or interacting with the Department of Public Assistance. The
office also helped to establish a low-cost medical clinic operated by Dr. Silvano Hernandez that offered services in
Spanish.
Later that year delegates from a coalition of organizations, the PRBS, The First Spanish Baptist Church, the Holy
Infancy Hispanic Rectory, The Mexican Aztec Society and newly established La Voz Hispana newspaper incorporated
as a non-profit Council of Hispanic Organizations of the Lehigh Valley, Inc. Within a year its services had expanded
and the operating budget totaled $40,000 with funds secured from the PA Department of Community Affairs (DCA)
50
Antonsen, p. 44.
51
Ibid, p. 47
56
and three to one matching funds from the federal Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW). Lehigh
University, the landlord at 128 West Fourth Street, donated additional space in the building at no cost.
In 1972 the council amended its name to the Council of Spanish Speaking Organizations of the Lehigh Valley,
Inc., informally known as Concilio. Miguel Marrero served as its first executive director. He would also be one of the
first Latinos to run for political office, campaigning for a Bethlehem City Council seat in 1971. He lost in the primary
but his purpose to send a message that Latinos were in Bethlehem to stay was served.
Concilio, along with the churches and the PRBS made the transition to life in Bethlehem a lot easier for new
arrivals to the area and for established residents who were in need of services.
In Allentown, in 1960 the Puerto Rican community was still feeling the sting of bigotry and discrimination. Many
landlords continued to refuse to rent to them and city agencies made no attempt to hire Spanish-speaking
personnel to effectively service this growing demographic. The school system was also less than responsive to the
change. School aged children who did not speak English were left with no alternative but to catch-as-catch-can in
the classroom. Their parents too were unable to communicate with teachers and left with no choice unless they
brought someone with them to school that could translate. Some of the children who had excelled in Puerto Rico
were failing and were discouraged in Allentown’s schools. One ray of light occurred when the principal of the Horne
School, John McHugh, responded to the sudden enrollment in 1961 of a large group of children from Puerto Rico by
obtaining permission to hire a teacher from Puerto Rico, Ramonita Sanabria. Her presence in Horne made all the
difference in keeping the children in school and keeping their parents informed and involved.52 Unfortunately the
school district made no further attempt at that time to bring other Spanish-speaking teachers into schools with
children who had yet to learn English.
In 1963 the Allentown Human Relations Commission (AHRC) was formed and met monthly in response to an
increasing number of complaints from Latinos and African Americans about unfair practices and discrimination by
employers and landlords. There were also complaints about conditions in the schools where their concerns centered
on the mistreatment of their children by teachers and other students because of language, cultural differences and
race. From the very beginning the commission was sensitive enough to the concerns of the Latino community to
include a Latino presence on the board, at first in the form of Lillian Suarez who was active in the community for
years and although Pennsylvania Dutch, had married Francisco Suarez in 1949 and was thereafter witness to and
subjected to, the same kind of discrimination other Latinos faced in the Lehigh Valley. To its credit, for most of its
tenure, at least one Spanish-speaking commissioner served on the board. In 1971 it hired a fulltime Spanish-
speaking staff member, Juan Pizarro, to handle day-to-day complaints and small problems that helped to alleviate
tensions. Pizarro also helped facilitate AHRC workshops and assisted Latinos in the process of buying homes.
As in Bethlehem, the churches played a central role in some of the more significant changes in the Latino
community in Allentown. This was true in 1965 with the arrival of Father John Bisek at Sacred Heart Church. Father
Bisek, who spoke Spanish, chaired Sacred Heart’s Spanish Action Committee and quickly assessed the basic needs
of the community and helped organize volunteers who were willing to help others find jobs, decent housing and
provide transportation services for those having difficulty getting around. Initially volunteers operated out of their
homes. The demand was such, however, that services needed to be centralized.
In 1969 an abandoned building caught the eye of Father Bisek and two volunteers, Sam McGovern and Jesus
Ramos. The building was a former laundry at 226 North Second Street. It was cleared of debris and converted to
an extremely modest one-room office with a table, chair, telephone and one paid staff person. It was christened
Casa Guadalupe and under the direction of Sister Vincent Paul it aggressively expanded it services to address
education, health and employment needs and become the first multi-service social service office to operate within
the Latino community.
A fire destroyed the building in 1976 and was a catalyst for change. In addition to relocating to 143 Linden Street
where it remains today, it was decided that Casa Guadalupe become independent, removed from the Catholic
Church, which cleared the way for it to become a United Way agency, eligible for state and local funding. The new
sources of funding helped Casa expand its services, some of which enabled them to provide daily hot meals to
senior citizens, a service that continues to this day. What started as a an attempt to provide the most basic of
services to a community in need resulted in a multi-service agency that developed programs to assist women,
infants, children, adults and seniors.
52
Adams, p. 20
57
Casa Guadalupe’s ties to the Catholic Church ruptured in 1994 when Casa’s board decided to align itself with
Lehigh Valley Hospital by opening a perinatal clinic at its facility and allowing the distribution of materials on
abortion, sterilization and birth control.53 The church withdrew its funding but the board stood fast.
Another community-based organization that began offering its services in 1976, the Hispanic American
Organization (HAO) had an immediate and lasting effect on the community. Under the leadership of Lupe Pearce,
who had been an elementary school teacher in Chile, HAO’s focus was on the education of children and on
education and employment services for adults. Mrs. Pearce saw HAO’s purpose as helping others become
productive, successful and self-sufficient.
Mrs. Pearce began HAO with fifty dollars and a telephone in a small office with no furniture. Once again, the
church, this time the First Presbyterian Church, played a role in helping to get the community organization going
with donations of funds.
Within ten years HAO had a staff of eight and was serving an average of 50 people a day, assisting residents of
Allentown’s Hispanic community in obtaining job skills training, finding employment and locating decent affordable
housing. Employment counselors were helping clients identify skills, write resumes and prepare for job interviews.
GED classes and English lessons were being offered.
Ironically, the office that once had no furniture now had a furniture bank where those in need could get help
furnishing empty apartments.
HAO was now receiving a sizeable donation from The United Way and additional funding from the city of
Allentown, from Lehigh County, the state Department of Public Assistance, the Private Industry Council and from
local churches.54
Today as it approaches its thirtieth anniversary, HAO has a staff of more than 40 and an annual budget
surpassing $2 million dollars. It has an impressive track record of success stories for people it has helped over the
years. However, it is currently in the fifth year of one of its more ambitious projects, the Roberto Clemente Charter
School.
Getting the school up and running was an exercise in tenacity. HAO’s education committee responded to
numerous questions and concerns from Allentown’s School Board. After facing many challenges and forced delays,
HAO finally won the approval of the school board and the charter school opened in September of 2000. One of the
school’s unique features is its bilingual staff that is available to communicate with students and their parents who
do not speak English.
In many ways, given its humble beginnings, HAO has been its own most successful client, taking itself from a
$50 dollar stake to a $2 million dollar operation in thirty years. The added dividend of making a difference in the
lives of so many of its clients has been a good return on such a small investment.
The emergence of Concilio in Bethlehem and Casa Guadalupe and HAO in Allentown were natural responses to
the growth of the Latino population and the influx in the 1970’s and 1980’s of a second wave of Puerto Ricans who
were leaving the bigger cities like New York in search of better opportunities elsewhere. A new trend of Central and
South Americans, many of whom were undocumented, were moving northeast and were also finding their way to
the Lehigh Valley. The timing may not have been good. The country was undergoing a shift from an industrial-
based economy to a service-oriented economy. The steel mills, foundries, factories and textile industry that had
supported so many of the earlier groups of Latinos in the Lehigh Valley were shutting down or relocating.
While the largest Latino group in the area continued to be Puerto Rican at two thirds of the total Latino
population, Puerto Ricans as a percentage of the total number of Latinos in the Lehigh Valley had begun to shrink
as these new groups moved in. Mexicans and Dominicans rank second and third in terms of size. In fact, in some
areas such as in Easton, the Latino demographics have shifted from a predominantly Puerto Rican population to a
more diverse Latino community with a significant percentage of Mexicans. Easton’s Latino population numbers are
small in comparison to Allentown and Bethlehem, but the trend there is clear.
With the closing of the factories and steel mill many Latinos were left jobless and where they were proficient at
their former jobs, the new economy left them unprepared and in some cases unqualified for jobs in the service
sector where language and technical skills were required. Unlike jobs in factories that could be mastered over a
53
Adams, p. 22
54 th
Ron Devlin, “Hispanic Group Marks 10 Year”, The Morning Call, May 11, 1986.
58
short period, jobs in the service sector might entail the use of computers and other advanced training, while often
paying less than the blue-collar jobs many were used to.
The scenario in the big cities like New York was the same, but the cost-of-living forced many to take their
chances elsewhere. The Lehigh Valley’s first wave of Mexicans and Puerto Ricans, in spite of the obstacles, had
managed to latch on to jobs that allowed them to provide for their families and see many of their children go on to
college or move into white-collar jobs. It would be more difficult for the newer arrivals as the economics changed.
Unlike the first wave that was brought here to fill a labor shortage, the second wave arrived at a time when jobs
were scarce.
Some of the new immigrants were leaving their homelands because of undesirable and sometimes life-
threatening conditions. Political unrest caused many to leave Latin America in the 1980’s in places like Guatemala
where over one million people fled the country between 1960 and 1996 as the government was overthrown several
times over.
Ecuadorians were subjected to severe poverty with no hope of relief as a few prosperous families and individuals
controlled the country’s wealth. As a result, more than half the people in the country were living at, or below, the
poverty level.
In Columbia, a 40-year insurgent attempt to overthrow the government funded in part by the drug cartel has
caused widespread violence in the countryside and more recently in some of the larger cities. The instability in the
countryside and neighboring regions has caused a steady stream of immigrants to make their way north.
Under the circumstances, many are undocumented and once here, try to remain under the radar to avoid
detection and deportation for obvious reasons.
Mexicans seeking work are avoiding communities in the west and southwest already saturated with those looking
for jobs. The northeast has become the new destination where Mexicans have already moved into what had been
long-established Puerto Rican neighborhoods in New York.
Cubans also arrived in two waves. The first, of course, came as a result of the revolution in the late 1950’s. That
group was unique as many were educated, businessmen, intellectuals, etc. The majority eventually made their way
to Florida, as Miami became the second home for Cuban exiles. A second wave came in the early 1980’s in what
was called the Mariel Boatlift. Some accused Fidel Castro of dumping his undesirables here but after a period of
detainment and screening the majority were released and were assisted in their transition to the United States by
sponsorships. A great many were relocated in Central Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley, but after a while the
vast majority also made their way to Florida.
Also in the 1980’s Dominicans started arriving in the Lehigh Valley and parts of New Jersey having come through
New York. The economy in the Dominican Republic had been changing. It had long been an exporter of sugar,
coffee and tobacco. However, like the changes taking place in the Lehigh Valley, the service sector was becoming
the new economy in the Dominican Republic with the rise in tourism and free trade zones. Dominicans at home
suffered from severe income inequality with the poorest half of the population receiving less than one-fifth of the
gross national product. The richest 10 percent, on the other hand, reaped 40 percent of the national income. With
the land of opportunity only a few hundred miles away many working-class Dominicans made their way to New
York, staying with relatives before venturing out to other destinations where relatives or friends could help give
them a start. Although some Dominicans were undocumented many were better prepared than some of those
fleeing Latin America. Many had family members here for support, were equipped with an entrepreneurial spirit and
some even had savings, prepared to open small businesses and stores.
Regardless of the challenges facing Latinos in the Lehigh Valley, they have the ability to affect change such as
what was accomplished by the three community-based organizations that were established and succeeded because
of the determination of a few individuals.
That same kind of determination led to the election of Nancy Matos-Gonzalez as District Justice of South
Bethlehem in 1991. Regardless of the fact that Latinos have maintained a presence in Bethlehem since at least
1923, Ms. Matos-Gonzalez was the first Puerto Rican to hold elective office in Bethlehem and remains the first and
only Latino District Justice in the state. It would take another twelve years before another Latino, Ismael Arcelay,
would win a seat on Bethlehem’s city council, another first. The odds did not deter either from mounting campaigns
and making history. Ismael was a graduate of Delhi State University with an A.A.S. in Architectural Engineering and
a B.A. in Computer Science.
59
In Allentown in 1994, Martin Velazquez, III, the son of a Puerto Rican migrant worker and a local Pennsylvania
Dutch girl who married in the 1950’s, became the first person of Puerto Rican heritage to win a seat on Allentown’s
city council. Martin graduated from William Allen High School in 1976 and was born and raised in Allentown. Julio
Guridy, who was born in the Dominican Republic and became the first Spanish-speaking city councilman, followed
him eight years later. Velazquez spoke little Spanish. Julio Guridy earned his Bachelor's Degree in Sociology, with a
minor in Criminal Justice Administration, from East Stroudsburg University. He earned his Master's Degree in
Sociology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
In a school district with 18,000 students, the majority of which are Latinos and African Americans, Erlinda Agrón,
in January 2005, was appointed to Allentown’s school board filling a spot left open due to a resignation. Erlinda,
who was born in El Salvador, is a graduate of Moravian College where she earned her undergraduate degree in
1997 and her M.B.A. in 2000. She became the first Latino individual and only minority on the nine-member board.
Part of her mission, she said, would be to “be a voice for the large number of Latinos."55
Clearly, progress in terms of equal representation for Latinos in the political and social fabric of the Lehigh Valley
has been extremely sluggish. There has been a history of resistance to include Latinos in the Lehigh Valley’s public
service institutions. There are indications that the status quo in this regard is breaking down. Some of the police
and fire departments slow to move minorities into their ranks have been subjected to multi-million dollar lawsuits.
Others face lawsuits for civil rights abuses.
The cities with the most diverse communities, Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton have police and fire departments
that have yet to reflect the communities they serve.
The same could be said for the number of minority teachers in the Lehigh Valley’s school districts with large
numbers, in some cases the majority of students, who are African American and Latino. There are signs there is
movement to accommodate the need for more minority staff, in particular, in the Allentown School District, but this
is a work in progress.
The number of small, successful Latino-owned businesses is impressive and indicates a strong entrepreneurial
spirit in spite of the lack of economic development assistance or effective support systems. Support for these
businesses and new entrepreneurs could help spur a revitalization of pockets of blight in these three cities.
In 2005, the influx of Latinos to the Lehigh Valley has changed demographically with increasing numbers of more
educated and middle class Latinos migrating to the area. The establishment of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
of the Lehigh Valley and the hundreds of Latino professionals and business owners that it attracts to its regular
networking functions validates the existence of this typically “invisible” population. The Lehigh Valley now has a
considerable Latino population living in the suburbs, with a significant number of professionals that are both
homegrown and new arrivals. Latinos in the Lehigh Valley in the new millennium are an ethnically, socially,
politically, educationally and economically complex group. Currently, the biggest challenge is bringing these diverse
entities together to address the concerns that affect the progress, as a group and individually, of the Latino
population in the region.
55
Jose Cardenas, The Morning Call, Allentown, Pa., Jan 11, 2005. pg. B.1
60
SURVEY RESULTS
In assessing local community views regarding the needs and community issues of Latino populations in the
Lehigh Valley, surveys were conducted with key informants and service provision organizations. The targeted key
informants included service providers from a variety of sources and perspectives, from front line workers to
administrators and policy makers; and community leaders in official positions—elected, appointed or professional;
and de facto community leaders—community leaders by virtue of their role as volunteers, advocates, activists, etc.
The organizations targeted were those focused on the provision of a range of services to individuals and families,
including non-profit, educational and governmental entities.
This chapter summarizes the results of the surveys conducted. Survey target populations include:
Key Informants: Professionals, Official and De Facto Leaders and Key Community Members,
Organizations, Institutions and Agencies providing services to local communities
METHODOLOGY
Survey lists were compiled targeting key informant individuals in the community with a first-hand broad base of
knowledge regarding local Latino populations and its issues and concerns and/or the provision of services in the
Lehigh Valley. The key informant survey instrument was provided both in English and in Spanish. While the
respondent demographic data was primarily collected through structured questions with alternative answers,
information regarding issues of concern was elicited utilizing a number of open-ended questions to allow
independent feedback based on local experience, not guided by a predetermined list. The same structure was
utilized in the organizational/agency survey.
Surveys were made available in hard copy and were also available online, accessible via the Internet. The online
survey was provided in two versions—in a PDF format that could be printed, completed and mailed or faxed and an
interactive version that could be completed and submitted online. Surveys were distributed by postal mail, by email
or both to over 400 individuals and 216 local public and private organizations. The response rate was 10% for the
organizational survey and 15% for the individual key informant survey. A total of 81 surveys were completed and
submitted. Twenty-two organizations and 59 individual key informants responded to the survey. Among the
individual respondents 13 completed the Spanish language survey and 46 the English language surveys. Forty-one
percent of the organizations, 80% of English language and 85% of Spanish language survey respondents
completed and submitted the online version of the survey.
Since the target survey groups were specific and limited in size, the respondents represent a statistically valid
and reliable sample. In addition, the results of the surveys were further explored through in-depth face-to-face and
telephone interviews with an additional thirty selected key informants and focus group interviews totaling over fifty
participants.
61
KEY INFORMANT DEMOGRAPHICS
The key informants participating in the survey were diverse in age, gender and education. Eighty-eight percent
of the respondents were Latino representing numerous Latino nationalities and backgrounds. Puerto Ricans who
represent more than 60% of the Latino population represented 58% of the Latino respondents. Respondents also
had a high degree of interaction within the community on a professional, volunteer and personal level and indicated
high degrees of knowledge of Allentown, Bethlehem and, to a lesser degree, Easton. Sixty-eight percent of the
respondents indicated an extensive or good knowledge of the Allentown and the Bethlehem Latino communities,
34% indicated an extensive or good knowledge of the Easton community. The following charts provide a detailed
view of the key informant respondent demographics.
I am filling out this survey as a: Highest Grade Completed Spanish Language Fluency
Professional/Service Provider 44% Graduate degree 41% Excellent 59%
Community Member 49% Bachelor's degree 31% Very Good 5%
Key Community Leader 19% Associate degree 10% Good 7%
Other: 5% Some college 12% Fair 20%
Age High School graduate 5% Poor 2%
18yrs 2% Less than 9th grade 2% None 5%
20-29 17% Primary Occupational Status English Language Fluency

30-39 32% Employed 86% Excellent 64%
40-49 41% Student 3% Very Good 12%
50-59 7% Unemployed 2% Good 14%
60-69 2% Self-employed/Business Owner 8% Fair 7%
Gender
City where employed or otherwise Knowledge of Latino
Male 49% interact with the Latino population Community
Female 49% Allentown 66% Allentown:
Race/Ethnicity Bethlehem 68% Extensive 27%
Latino/Hispanic 88% Easton 36% Good 41%
White 10% Other 12% Fair 15%
African American 2% City of Residence Limited 5%
Allentown 32% None 7%

If Latino/Hispanic, specify
ethnic/national origin: Bethlehem 32% Bethlehem:
Puerto Rican 58% Easton 10% Extensive 37%
Dominican 8% Other 24% Good 31%
Mexican 3% Fair 7%
Type of Interaction with Latino
Cuban 3% Community Limited 10%
Ecuadorian 3% Professional/Service provider 71% None 10%
Other: 20% Personal 54% Easton:

Chilean Volunteer with Latino org. 44% Extensive 15%
Venezuelan
Guatemalan Good 19%
Volunteer working directly with
36%
Honduran Latino community Fair 14%
Colombian
Community leader 32% Limited 32%
Spanish
El Salvador Other: 19% None 15%
Peruvian
Puerto Rican and Peruvian Frequency of Interaction with the
Dominican Father/Colombian Mother Latino Community
American/Puerto Rican Constantly 59%
Born in USA
Often 25%
Occasionally 14%
Rarely 2%
62
AGENCY/ORGANIZATIONAL RESPONDENTS
Twenty-three local organizations (20 agencies with Knowledge of Agency Responses to number of
Latino Community professional/paraprofessional
staff, 3 volunteer organizations) responded to the bilingual/bicultural staff (Number of
Allentown: agencies giving same response)
organizational survey. Thirty-six percent of the Extensive 29%
0 or No Response (4)
organizations responding each had a client base of over Good 24% 1 (4)
Fair 24%
70% Latino. Another 23% had client bases of 20% to 3 (2)
Limited 24%
4 (3)
39% Latino. None 0%
Bethlehem: 5 (2)
Extensive 24%
The responding organizations included some 6
Good 24%
agencies specifically focused on serving the Latino 10
Fair 24%
Limited 18% 12
population and one that did not typically provide direct
None 12% More than 20 (2)
service but funded organizations providing direct Easton:
services to Latinos. Twelve of the 20 agencies with Extensive 0%
Percent of Percent of
Good 13%
staff employed 3 or more staff persons who were Client Base Responding
Fair 50% that is Latino Organizations
bilingual and bicultural (knowledgeable of Latino Limited 31%
1-9% 9%
None 6%
culture). 10-19% 9%
20-39% 23%
The responding organizations indicated a 53% and 48% good to extensive
40-70% 9%
knowledge of the Allentown and Bethlehem Latino communities respectively. Over 70% 36%
None of the responding agencies indicated an extensive knowledge of the Easton
Latino community and only 13% indicated a good knowledge of Easton’s Latino Community.
Does your organization/agency

provide services specifically targeting AGENCY/ORGANIZATIONAL RESPONDENTS
the Latino population?
Yes 37% Bethlehem Area School District, Bethlehem
Bethlehem School District-Northeast Middle School, Bethlehem
No 42%
Career Link Lehigh Valley, Allentown
Other: 21% Casa Guadalupe, Allentown
Comments/Notes for "Other": Community Action Development Corporation, Allentown
We fund programs that provide services
Community Commitment, Inc., Allentown
We do not target the Latino population, but
because we have bilingual staff, we see that
Council of Spanish Speaking Orgs of the Lehigh Valley, Bethlehem
population for social services. We do target Easton Area Neighborhood Centers, Inc., Easton
that population for Latino partnership
Healing Works, Allentown
activities
It depends on what side of town you’re on. Hispanic American Organization, Allentown
South vs. North Beth. I-LEAD, Inc., Allentown
We contract with Children and Youth Kutztown University Preparatory Academy, Kutztown
services
Kutztown University, Kutztown
Northampton County Drug & Alcohol Program, Bethlehem
Northampton County Early Intervention, Bethlehem
Northwestern Human Services, Bethlehem
Pa Statewide Latino Coalition - Northeast Region, Allentown
Puerto Rican Cultural Alliance, Allentown
Social Security Administration, Easton
South Bethlehem Neighborhood Center, Bethlehem
The Bertrum Group LLC, Allentown
United Way Of The Greater Lehigh Valley, Bethlehem
Youth Advocate Programs, Inc., Allentown
63
SURVEY RESPONSE SUMMARIES

The following are summaries of responses to the survey questions separated by the key informant responses of
individuals and the organization/agency respondents. Some questions were included on both surveys and others
were included on only one of the surveys. Rather than provide a predetermined list that might have influenced the
responses elicited, most questions were designed to be open-ended. Categories were created reflecting the issues
indicated in the responses. Actual survey responses follow the summary of results for each question. Responses to
the open-ended questions have been left unmodified except for instances of glaring grammatical and spelling
errors. In the listing of actual survey responses, identical or very similar responses were grouped and the number
of respondents giving that response is indicated in parenthesis. Responses given by a very small percentage of the
respondents were grouped under the heading “Miscellaneous”.
THE MOST SERIOUS PROBLEMS AFFECTING THE LATINO POPULATION

Survey respondents were asked in an open-ended question to identify what they believed to be the five most
serious problems affecting Latinos in the cities of Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton. The chart below reflects the
percentage of respondents to the question, under each survey group, that identified that issue among their top five
problems.
TABLE 49: MOST SERIOUS PROBLEMS AFFECTING LATINOS BY CITY

ALLENTOWN BETHLEHEM EASTON
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES
1. Economic/Employment/Income 65% 1. Economic/Employment/Income 69% 1. Language/Access to Services 50%
2. Education/Youth 61% 2. Education/Youth 65% 2. Discrimination 36%
3. Language/Access to Services 59% 3. Language/Access to Services 51% 3. Economic/Employment/Income 31%
4. Latino Leadership/Community 33% 4. Health/Mental Health 33% 4. Education/Youth 31%
5. Health/Mental Health 24% 5. Latino Leadership/Community 31% 5. Housing 19%
6. Housing 24% 6. Housing 31% 6. Health/Mental Health 19%
7. Crime 20% 7. Discrimination 18% 7. Latino Leadership/Community 17%
8. City Government Services 16% 8. Crime 14% 8. Immigration/Undocumented 17%
9. Drugs/alcohol abuse 16% 9. Drugs/alcohol abuse 14% 9. Transportation 14%
10. Immigration/Undocumented 12% 10. Immigration/Undocumented 8% 10. Drugs/alcohol abuse 12%
11. Discrimination 12% 11. Transportation 8% 11. Crime 10%
12. Transportation 10%
ORGANIZATION RESPONSES
1. Education/Youth 88% 1. Language/Access to Services 60% 1. Language/Access to Services 100%
2. Economic/Employment/Income 81% 2. Economic/Employment/Income 53% 2. Economic/Employment/Income 62%
3. Language/Access to Services 69% 3. Education/Youth 53% 3. Immigration/Undocumented 31%
4. Health/Mental Health 25% 4. Health/Mental Health 27% 4. Education/Youth 23%
5. Housing 25% 5. Transportation 27% 5. Transportation 23%
6. Crime 25% 6. Housing 20% 6. Health/Mental Health 15%
7. Transportation 25% 7. Drugs/alcohol abuse 13% 7. Latino Leadership/Community 15%
8. Drugs/alcohol abuse 13% 8. Latino Leadership/Community 7% 8. Housing 8%
9. Discrimination 13% 9. Discrimination 7% 9. Drugs/alcohol abuse 8%
10. Latino Leadership/Community 6% 10. Crime 7%
11. Immigration/Undocumented 6% 11. Immigration/Undocumented 7%
64
Overall, the key informant and organization respondents had a high degree of agreement regarding the top
issues of concern. Eleven common areas of concern emerged: Economic/Employment/Income, Education/Youth,
Language/Access to Services, Discrimination, Latino Leadership and Community, Health/Mental Health, Housing,
Crime, Drugs/Alcohol Abuse, Immigration/Undocumented and Transportation. In Allentown concerns specific to that
city emerged which was related to city government services. There was a high degree of similarity regarding the
top ranked issues affecting the Latino population in the three cities with one notable exception. Discrimination
emerged as the second highest issue in Easton, compared to being 11th in Allentown and 7th in Bethlehem.
Economic and educational issues were the top two concerns in both Allentown and Bethlehem, while language and
discrimination emerged as the top two in Easton.
ECONOMIC/EMPLOYMENT/INCOME
Among the key informants, this was the number one issue in Allentown (65%) and Bethlehem (69%) and third in
Easton (31%). For the organizations, it emerged as the second highest issue in all three cities. The issues of
concern which emerged in this area were underemployment and unemployment, the lack of good paying jobs and
job opportunities, the availability of jobs with good benefits, few inner city jobs, fewer labor/unskilled entry level
jobs, underutilized skills, urban poverty, the need for economic development, the practice of predatory lending and
the lack of access to economic opportunities and capital to establish businesses.
EDUCATION/YOUTH
Education and issues affecting youth emerged as the next highest concern. Among the key informants it ranked 2nd in
Allentown (61%) and Bethlehem (65%) and 4th in Easton (31%). The organizations placed it 1st in Allentown (88%), 3rd
in Bethlehem (53%) and 4th in Easton (23%). Most of the areas of concern were viewed similarly in the three cities while
some concerns were specific to a particular city. Among the issues that were viewed as common problems were: the low
educational levels within the Latino population, the limited number of Latinos completing higher education, high drop-out
rates, educational opportunities for Latino students viewed as being inferior or of poor quality, inability of schools to
effectively serve their Latino students linguistically and/or culturally, insufficient support in terms of supporting and
encouraging Latino students to complete high school and continue on to college, self-destructive traits in the younger
Latino population (out-of-wedlock births, embracing thug life, believing academic achievement to be "white"), that school
district practices and policies work against Latinos (Allentown/Bethlehem). Other common problems noted was the need
to build self-esteem among youth and their families, that there is a lack of recreation activities that effectively reach
Latino youth and that teens have no after school activities or jobs, increasing juvenile crime and gang involvement. In
addition, the following comments were specific to Allentown: the schools are awful, causing Latino students to drop out—
Latinos are not represented in the school staff even though 70% of students are Latino; challenged education system;
the school district does not pay much attention to students that are at risk—a lot of Latino students are way below
standards; there needs to be active participation in determining the hiring of Latino advocates/administrators/teachers
and staff in local school district.
LANGUAGE/ACCESS TO SERVICES
Both the key informants (50%) and the organizations (100%) placed this as the primary concern for Latinos in
Easton and it was among the top three issues for all three communities. Key informants placed this as the third
highest concern in Allentown (59%) and Bethlehem (51%). The primary issue related to the language barrier was
the obstacles encountered when attempting to access needed services. Also cited was the lack of availability of
adequate bilingual/bicultural professionals to meet service needs. In addition to language, lack of cultural
understanding was viewed as another obstacle. The need for bilingual staff in city hall, the police department and
generally in public services; health, mental health and other human service agencies. Regarding access to services,
there is generally a lack of knowledge among community members about available services. Specific to Easton: My
general knowledge of Easton is that there is an increasing amount of Mexican families moving to Easton. There are
65
a great number of them that suffer because they don't have the basic needs, like proper housing and good
nutrition.
DISCRIMINATION
Discrimination was identified by key informants as the number two concern in Easton (36%) compared to 7th in
Bethlehem (18%) and 11th in Allentown (12%). In Easton: key informants indicated that there was discrimination
and racism, in particular, a large Mexican community that is discriminated against and who felt that Latinos have to
combat stereotypes as they relate to undocumented Latino immigrants. Northampton County District Attorney John
Morganelli was specifically cited as targeting Latinos and was viewed as persecuting immigrants and affecting their
ability to get employment. Allentown and Bethlehem both cited discrimination and negative media coverage; and
that the judicial system was prejudiced against Latinos. Allentown comments included unequal application of codes
and licensing requirements of businesses and of homeowners. Bethlehem comments pointed to segregated
neighborhoods and Latinos being isolated into less desirable housing and areas of the city.
LATINO LEADERSHIP/COMMUNITY
Key informant respondents placed Latino Leadership and Community issues as the 4th most serious problem in
Allentown (33%), 5th in Bethlehem (31%) and 7th in Easton (17%). This issue was also identified by the
organizations but by only 6% in Allentown (10th), 7% in Bethlehem (8th), while it was identified by 15% as a major
issue in Easton (7th). Among the issues common to the three communities were: a lack of political representation
and political influence, serious lack of representation and leaders in the traditional institutions of the community
(i.e. business, local government and higher education). In Allentown and Bethlehem: Latino leadership is viewed as
being disorganized and prone to inter-group power struggles and therefore unable to speak in a collective voice in
matters concerning the well being of the greater Latino community. It is also viewed as lacking the ability to
negotiate access to and participation in the economic mainstream of Lehigh Valley. Latino groups/agencies are not
viewed as working collaboratively and not being effective, leading to a negative public image. In Easton: lacks an
identified leadership; and since there are more undocumented, they are not organized, hence no power. There is
also a lack of organized Latino services and inadequate representation of Latinos in social service organizations and
on City Council.
HEALTH/MENTAL HEALTH
Among the key informants/organizations the need for health and mental health services placed 4th by both in
Bethlehem, 5th and 4th respectively in Allentown and 6th by both respondent groups in Easton. The key issues in the
area of health and mental health concerns were access to quality health care, especially concerning HIV/AIDS, the
need for mental health services, especially as it relates to families in stress and the lack of health insurance,
especially with so many Latinos in jobs that provide no health insurance benefits.
HOUSING
The lack of affordable and decent housing were primary housing issues in all three communities. In Easton
housing was 5th among the most serious concerns identified by key informant respondents but 8th among the issues
named by organizations. In Allentown (6th/5th) and Bethlehem (6th), where housing was among the most serious
problems listed, respondents indicated there were no tenant protection services or agency to protect renters. In
Bethlehem, respondents listed the need for quality affordable housing outside the control of the Bethlehem Housing
Authority and that Latinos lacked the knowledge of available programs to assist in buying a house.
66
CRIME
In Allentown concern about crime placed 7th and 6th, while placing 8th and 10th in Bethlehem. In Easton key
informant respondents placed it 11th. The concerns mentioned were increasing crime, concern for safe
neighborhoods and of primary concern, the increase in gang activity and violence and that more teens were turning
to gangs due to a lack of positive alternatives. Crime did not appear at all among the concerns identified by
respondent organizations.
CITY GOVERNMENT SERVICES
Specific to Allentown, this issue ranked 8th among key informant respondents. There was criticism of the city
administration, the cutting back of services, the lack of bilingual staff in city hall and police department, the failure
to perform street cleaning in some primarily Latino neighborhoods and unequal/unfair application and enforcement
of the law.
IMMIGRATION/UNDOCUMENTED
Issues related to immigration and the undocumented in Easton was listed 8th by key informants and 3rd by the
organizations; while the key informants and organizations identified it as 10thand 11th in both Allentown and
Bethlehem. Issues of concern are combating negative stereotypes of undocumented immigrants and finding ways
to provide undocumented immigrants assistance (healthcare, overcrowded housing, not enough food, legal
assistance related to documentation).
DRUGS/ALCOHOL ABUSE
Drug and alcohol abuse was listed 9th/10th in Allentown, 9th/7th in Bethlehem and 10th/9th in Easton. The primary
issues were addiction, teenage substance abuse and drug dealing.
TRANSPORTATION
Both the key informant respondents and respondent organizations identified transportation as a concern for all
three cities. Organizations placed it 5th in Bethlehem and Easton and 7th in Allentown. The key informants placed it
9th/11th/12th in Easton/Bethlehem/Allentown. The primary issue was the need for more public transportation to
provide access to services and employment to the population most in need.
67
What would you identify as the five most serious problems affecting Latinos in Allentown?
ECONOMIC/EMPLOYMENT/INCOME ___________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Low wages Jobs/salaries

Employment/Unemployment (12) Poverty (4) Unemployment
Lack of employment (2) Urban poverty related issues (i.e. drugs, Poverty Issues
Lack of good paying jobs teenage pregnancy & inadequate Poverty
housing).
Lack of job opportunities Too much unemployment affecting our
Economic community
Few inner city jobs
Economic development (2) Underutilized skills
Limited job opportunities
Career planning Availability of jobs with good benefits
Underemployment and unemployment
Lack of access to high-paying jobs (related ORGANIZATION RESPONSES Predatory lending
to lack of education) Employment (2) Socio economic status - financial issues
Unemployment/low pay jobs Higher level of unemployment for Hispanic
Not enough jobs or resources to get ahead community
Low income Jobs
EDUCATION/YOUTH ___________________________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Limited number in community that has

Education (12) completed higher education.
Youth Education (Dropout, College, etc.)
Education (2)
Lack of Education (2)
Self-destructive traits in the younger Drop-out rates
Educational Advancement Opportunities Latino population (out of wedlock births, Access to computer technology for youth
Education System (Schools) thug life, believing academic achievement
to be "white")
Youth recreation opportunities
A challenged education system
Wrong values by the younger generation
School district — youth and student
Lack of a good school system academic services
Drop out rate and lack of support from Education: for children, parents and single
School involvement: At times students
school system adults. For children educate them that
take home information that is not looked
they can do better. For example, a child
Education: the schools are awful, causing at. The info may stay in the child's book
who wants to be a mechanic (nothing
Latino students to drop out. Latinos are bag. Homework: This may be a problem
wrong with that) can do better by being a
not represented in the schools even due to language. Also education has
mechanical engineer. Build their self-
though 70% of students are Latino. changed so much that a parent may not
esteem that they can go to the best
even understand the work in order to help
School district practices and policies work colleges. Stress not settling for less and
out the child. Lack of Culture
against Latinos challenge them. For parents, educate
understanding: Sometimes a student is
The school district does not pay much them that they are not alone. United we
behaving the way they were taught and
attention to students that are at risk. A lot can all help. Educate them that they can
teachers don't understand the child's
of Latino students are way below make it here, even with obstacles. To
culture: Latino students look down or
standards. continue to set a good example to all
away when scolded (acceptable in the
family members. For single adults-there
Poor quality of education in the schools that Latino culture). In the Anglo culture it is
are many people who held very important
serve Hispanics viewed as disrespect.
positions or professions in their home
Educational racism: insufficient support in country. They come here to think they Latino youth are dropping out of high
the public schools, both linguistic and in can't achieve this due to the language school
terms of supporting and encouraging barrier. Educate them to know that More pregnant teens
Latino students to complete HS and everyone wins (family and the
continue on to college
Lack of good public education.
community) if they can go for it. Further
Inferior Educational Opportunities the awareness of programs out there to School related issues
help. Teens have no after school activities or
Poor educational quality
jobs, hence more juvenile crime
Active participation in determining the
hiring of Latino
High school drop out rate
advocates/administrators/teachers and The school system
staff in local school district.
LANGUAGE/ACCESS TO SERVICES ____________________________________________________________________________

KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Services racism: unequal access to social
ORGANIZATION RESPONSE
Language barrier (13) services due to poor outreach and even
poorer translations Language barrier
Interpreters
Services unavailable to them in the Language issues
Lack of knowledge about community community
resources (2)
Mastery of English for adults and students
Shortage of public services with bilingual Need for bilingual/bicultural stuff at
Access to programs and services, including personnel and programs (library, health, agencies that provide human needs
ESL classes. education). services
Many resources in the community are not Few agencies that serve the needs of the
offered in Spanish.
Language
community (2)
Need for bilingual/bicultural staff at health
Lack of bilingual/bicultural run
The agencies are not "User friendly" and business/services
and human service agencies. this is not only for the Latinos but also for
Lack of human services geared toward and the community in general. Sometimes in
The need for recruiting Latinos professional
for Latinos the same building they do not know where More agencies that offer help at non-
agencies are located for certain services regular hours
Not enough promotion of services for
Hispanics or what services local or state Communication: At times it's a language
governments offer or what agency barrier; other times it's the constant
Lack of extensive bilingual services
administers it. changing of phone numbers.
especially in health and mental health
Lack of motivation to learn English Culture understanding in the Social System
Reachable Health Care
Interpreters
68
LATINO LEADERSHIP/COMMUNITY ____________________________________________________________________________

KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Lack of self-esteem of the community Poor communication and involvement in
Ability to exercise collective voice in (they see that there are problems—they the community
matters regarding the well being of the get together to talk about them but they Lack of Latino role models
larger Latino community. lose interest and there is no conclusion.
(EVERYTHING STAYS THE SAME) Negative public image.
Inter-group power struggles Ability to negotiate access to and
Lack of representation in public and
Leadership political organizations participation in economic mainstream of
Latino community needs to come together. Lehigh Valley.
Serious lack of representation & leaders in
There are many groups of Latinos, but the traditional institutions of the Failure to self-police Latino neighborhoods
they are all working towards individual community (i.e. Business, local
goals instead of working towards a ORGANIZATION RESPONSES
government & higher education).
common goal. Lack of effective representation with the
Political under-representation
elected officials.
The leaders want to maintain control and
not allow anybody else access except Political Influence
through them (That way they can say Inadequate representation in city council of
later that the person owes them a favor Latinos to address their concerns
and have control over them) Disorganization
HEALTH/MENTAL HEALTH _____________________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Depression

Health access Disproportionate health services
Health care
Health care (2) HIV/AIDS
Too many people with no health insurance
Health services Many Latinos have no access to full time
jobs with benefits and hence have no
Healthcare
Health services-mental health
health insurance. HIV/HEPC/Lack of adequate health care
Family in stress
Lack of medical insurance
Mental health problems
HOUSING ______________________________________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Lack of good housing (also related to Affordable housing outside of distressed
Housing (9) education plus safety concerns) areas
Lack of affordable housing ORGANIZATION RESPONSES
Decent housing
Classism: no tenant protection services or Housing
agency to protect renters
Not enough decent housing
CRIME ______________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES The violence is growing and many
Crime (6) teenagers are dropping out of school.
Crime
Gangs, Drugs and Violence
Gang involvement
Rise in gang violence
More gangs
Hostile neighborhoods
Criminality
CITY GOVERNMENT SERVICES ________________________________________________________________________________

KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES The cleaning in downtown Allentown needs people who rent but if you are owner of
Bad administration by the Mayor. to improve; especially on Seventh St, house you are exempt. For example, if
Gordon St., Liberty St. where so many you rent and somebody complains that
City is cutting back on services because of Hispanics live. you make too much noise, you can be
lack of funding. placed on a list that would allow landlords
The creation of many laws that are not
Government assistance enforced. People take things as a joke not to rent to you. Without using any kind
Lack of bilingual city hall staff because they know that nothing is going of noise meter to know if this is true. It is
to happen such as the $100 fine for at the discretion of the police whether or
Lack of bilingual police staff not you are making too much noise.
littering. (NOBODY IS EVER FINED) or the
Police cannot be trusted
law on quality of life that only affects
DRUGS/ALCOHOL ABUSE _____________________________________________________________________________________

Drugs (7)
Addiction
Teenage Drug and Alcohol Abuse
Drugs
IMMIGRATION/UNDOCUMENTED ______________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Combating negative stereotypes of ORGANIZATION RESPONSES
Immigration (2) undocumented immigrants.
Undocumented population
Documentation Finding ways to provide undocumented
immigrants assistance (healthcare,
Undocumented citizenship)
69
DISCRIMINATION _____________________________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES The perception and reality of the waste in

Discrimination (2) the streets as it related to crime.
Supposedly concentrated in the areas that Lack of sensitivity to the Latinos Over-
Judicial system prejudice to Latinos are primarily Latino and African American. Representation in the Juvenile Justice
Racism: unequal application of codes and Generalizations are made and instead of System
licensing requirements of businesses and attacking the problem they attack the race Racism
homeowners because it is easier. Although they are
Media coverage is always negative having the same problems in different
parts of the city including graffiti.
TRANSPORTATION ____________________________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Transportation - Services would be

ORGANIZATION RESPONSE
Transportation welcome in communities where Latinos
naturally gather. Transportation (2)
Transportation, fluent, timely
Lack of good and reliable public Transportation — provided in communities
Poor transportation transportation in which Latinos naturally gather
Accessibility to services—transportation
MISCELLANEOUS ______________________________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Transitioning from one culture to another

Disinformation (i.e. new language, schools, etc.).
Mixed cultural influences with regards to
Transient community
Hispanics tend to move a great deal.
Overcrowded work & career - difficulty in adapting to Transient: relocation of families does not
the American expectation of career help the education of the children.
Poor parenting development. Welcome Center (for Latinos and Anglos)
Little to no parent involvement in the lives Predatory lending. that allow newcomers to know the
of children dynamics here in the LV.
To eventually establish consular offices of
Lack of support. the Mexican and Dominican governments,
Misunderstanding of culture because these groups are growing and
need services provided near the city.
What would you identify as the five most serious problems affecting Latinos in Bethlehem?
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Lack of good paying jobs the American expectation of career
Employment/Unemployment (11) Lack of job opportunities development
Economic Development (2) Unemployment/low pay jobs ORGANIZATION RESPONSES

Poverty (2) Predatory lending Employment (2)
Low wages/Low Income (3) Urban poverty related issues (i.e. drugs, Jobs
Economic teenage pregnancy & inadequate
Jobs/salaries
housing).
Access to capital to establish businesses Not enough Latinos working
Underemployment and unemployment
Few jobs available for those with less Higher level of unemployment for Hispanic
education Career Planning
community
Lack of access to economic opportunities Limited job opportunities
Poverty
Lack of access to high-paying jobs (related Not enough jobs or resources to get ahead
Predatory lending
to lack of education) Mixed cultural influences with regards to
Fewer labor/unskilled entry level jobs, work & career - difficulty in adapting to
EDUCATION/YOUTH ___________________________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES believe academic achievement to be ORGANIZATION RESPONSES

Education (12) "white") Education (3)
Education System (Schools) Teen pregnancy, Lack of education/knowledge
Access to education, dropout rate Tracking in schools Lack of good public education
Educational Advancement Opportunities Wrong values by the younger generation Apathy on the student’s part and no goals
Active participation in determining the Youth Education (Dropout, College, etc.) set for success.
hiring of Latino Racism: insufficient support in the public Youth dropping out of high school
advocates/administrators/teachers and schools, both linguistic and in terms of School involvement: At times students take
staff in local school district. supporting and encouraging Latino home information that is not looked at.
Education students to complete HS and continue on Homework may be a problem due to
to college language. Also education has changed so
Lack of after-school activities for students
Drop out rate much that a parent may not even
Lack of education understand the work in order to help the
The standards are higher within Latino
Inferior educational opportunities students. There are Latino organizations child. Lack of Cultural understanding:
Poor quality of education in the schools that that work very hard for students to Sometimes a student is behaving the way
serve Hispanics improve. Schools are better in Bethlehem. they were taught and teachers don't
understand the child's culture: Latino
Public education Limited number of community members students look down or away when scolded
School district practices and policies work that have completed higher education. (acceptable in the Latino culture). In the
against Latinos Anglo culture it is viewed as disrespect
Self-destructive traits in the younger Latino
population (out of wedlock births, thug life,
70

KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Not enough promotion of services for Availability of adequate bi-lingual/bi-
Language Barrier (11) Hispanics cultural professionals to meet the service
Need for bilingual/bicultural staff at health need (Direct delivery of services).
Access to programs and services, including Availability of bi-lingual/bi-cultural
ESL classes. and human service agencies.
individuals to participate in service
Lack of bilingual city hall staff Lack of motivation to learn English planning (Serving on Boards, Task forces,
Lack of bilingual police staff Limited English skills etc)
Lack of bilingual service providers Lack of human services geared toward and Communication: At times it's a language
for Latinos. barrier; other times it's the constant
Interpreters
changing of phone numbers.
Unequal access to social services due to
Shortage of public services with bilingual poor outreach and even poorer Need for bilingual/bicultural stuff at
personnel and programs (library, health, translations agencies that provide human needs
education).
services
Lack of enough agencies that provide ORGANIZATION RESPONSES
Access to community based services
counseling services and advocacy for Lack of bilingual/bicultural run
Latinos business/services
Accessibility to services
Lack of knowledge regarding community Lack of knowledge about services
services
Language barrier (5)
Interpreters
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Access to good health care especially HIV/AIDS

Lack of medical/health insurance (4) behavioral health care.
Health Care (2) Mental Health problems
Mental health services
Healthcare
HIV epidemic
Reachable Health Care
HIV/HEPC/Lack of adequate health care
Health access
Disproportionate health services
Too many with no health insurance
Health-prevention of HIV
Family in Stress
Medical insurance

KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Political Influence Serious lack of representation & leaders in
Ability to exercise collective voice in Political under-representation the traditional institutions of the
matters regarding the well being of the community (i.e. business, local
Positive Hispanic role models for our youth. government & higher educational
larger Latino community.
Lack of political representation at all levels institutions).
Ability to negotiate access to and
participation in economic mainstream of Lack of representation in public and
Lehigh Valley. political organizations
Leadership
Latinos have very little power in city wide
Few community advocates decision making
Lack of political representation Negative public image.
Lack of trust in their own Latino leaders There is a great number of Puerto Rican in
and no political connection (not all go Bethlehem and they work united with
vote) other groups. The community leaders are
more effective than in Allentown.
Inter-group Power Struggle
HOUSING ______________________________________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Lack of knowledge of available programs to
Housing (10) assist in buying a house.
Classism: no tenant protection services or
Housing (2)
Lack of affordable housing. (2)
even agency to protect renters Decent housing
Quality affordable housing outside of the
Bethlehem Housing Authority control.

DISCRIMINATION _____________________________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Racism: Morganelli and his anti-immigrant

Discrimination (2) rhetoric and skewed application of the law
Media coverage is always negative
Racism
Racism (2)
Segregated neighborhoods Isolated into certain housing areas
Judicial system prejudice to Latinos
CRIME _________________________________________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Gangs, Drugs and Violence ORGANIZATION RESPONSES Criminality
Crime (3) Gangs-growth of Latin kings in Bethlehem-
Street gang penetration into our poor recruiting youth
communities. Minor crime in their environment.
DRUGS/ALCOHOL ABUSE ______________________________________________________________________________________

KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Drugs/alcohol abuse ORGANIZATION RESPONSES
Drugs (3) Teenage Drug and Alcohol Abuse Drugs
Drugs/Addiction Drug dealing in poor neighbors. Addiction
71
IMMIGRATION/UNDOCUMENTED _____________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Undocumented ORGANIZATION RESPONSES

Combating negative stereotypes of Finding ways to provide undocumented Undocumented population
undocumented immigrants. immigrants assistance (healthcare,
Immigration citizenship).
TRANSPORTATION ____________________________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Transportation - Services would be

Transportation welcome in communities where Latinos
naturally gather. Transportation (3)
Transportation challenges
Lack of good and reliable public
transportation
MISCELLANEOUS ______________________________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Little to no parent involvement in their ORGANIZATION RESPONSES

We have good administration by the Mayor children's lives which would help to Despair
and the city council. eliminate or reduce the gang violence
Frustration
Transitioning from one culture to another Misunderstanding of Culture
Transient community
(i.e. new language, schools, etc.). Trash and dumping of garbage along our
alley and back streets. Transient: relocation of families does not
Community development help the education of the children.
Failure to self-police Latino neighborhoods. To eventually establish consular offices of
the Mexican and Dominican governments, Underutilized skills
Police overall can be trusted. because these groups are growing and
Help with energy bills need services provided near the city.
Poor parenting
What would you identify as the five most serious problems affecting Latinos in Easton?
LANGUAGE/ACCESS TO SERVICES ___________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Racism: unequal access to social services Availability of bi-lingual/bi-cultural
Language Barrier (6) due to poor outreach and even poorer individuals to participate in service
translations planning (Serving on Boards, Task forces,
Limited English skills (3) etc)
My general knowledge of Easton is that
Interpreters there is an increasing amount of Mexican Access to community based services
Lack of Access to Bilingual Services families moving to Easton. There are a Accessibility to services
Lack of bilingual city hall staff great number of them that suffer because
they don't have the basic needs, like Lack of knowledge about services
Lack of bilingual police staff
proper housing and good nutrition. Lack of bilingual/bicultural run
Public Assistance in Spanish business/services
Lack of knowledge regarding community Cultural
services (2) Language barrier (4)
Communication: At times it's a language
Need for bilingual/bicultural staff at health Need for bilingual/bicultural stuff at barrier; other times it's the constant
and human service agencies. agencies that provide human needs changing of phone numbers.
No access to social service organizations services
that address their needs and concerns Interpreters
Advertisements of Latino Support Groups Availability of adequate bi-lingual/bi-
within the Church and the Community cultural professionals to meet the service
need (Direct delivery of services).
DISCRIMINATION _____________________________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Morganelli Combating negative stereotypes of

Discrimination (4) Morganelli is a racist and doesn't let us undocumented immigrants.
Racism (2) work Persecution from district attorney's office,
They control us as if we were criminals especially immigrants
Discrimination against a very large Mexican
community Racism: Morganelli and his anti-immigrant Stereotyping
Persecution of undocumented aliens by rhetoric and skewed application of the law
district attorney
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Poverty Employment

Employment (6) Lack of access to high-paying jobs (related Higher level of unemployment for Hispanic
Economic to lack of education) community
Lack of job opportunities ORGANIZATION RESPONSES
Underutilized skills
Lack of jobs above minimum wage Jobs (2)
Predatory lending
Underemployment and unemployment Much poverty
Unemployment Unemployment
72
EDUCATION/YOUTH ___________________________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Self-destructive traits in the younger Latino much that a parent may not even
Education (7) population (out of wedlock births, thug understand the work in order to help out
life, believing academic achievement to be the child. Lack of Culture understanding:
Educational Advancement Opportunities "white") Sometimes a student is behaving the way
Lack of education they were taught and teachers don't
ORGANIZATION RESPONSES understand the child's culture: Latino
Little education
Education students look down or away when scolded
Insufficient support in the public schools, (acceptable in the Latino culture). In the
both linguistic and in terms of supporting Lack of education/knowledge
Anglo culture it is viewed as disrespect
and encouraging Latino students to School involvement: At times students
complete HS and continue on to college take home information that is not looked
Inferior educational opportunities and at. Homework may be a problem due to
wrong values by the younger generation language. Also education has changed so
HOUSING _____________________________________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES ORGANIZATION RESPONSES

Housing (7) Decent housing
Lack of affordable housing
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Reachable Health Care ORGANIZATION RESPONSES

Health Care Family in Stress Bad health care
Health Services (2) Access to good health care especially HIV/HEPC/Lack of adequate health care
Health access behavioral health care.
Mental Health problems

KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Lack of political representation ORGANIZATION RESPONSES
Failure to self-police Latino neighborhoods. Leadership Latinos have no voice,
Inadequate representation in social service Political under-representation Since there are more undocumented, they
organizations and city council of Latinos are not organized, hence no power
No real leaders in community
Lack of organized Latino services
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES I believe that most Latinos in Easton are
Immigration not citizens, this makes them fearful and
powerless Undocumented (3)
Not having proper identification
Undocumented: invisible population Citizenship
Undocumented because of the low numbers, many
Unreported immigration undocumented Mexicans, poverty
Finding ways to provide undocumented (overcrowded housing, not enough food or
immigrants assistance (healthcare, health insurance)
citizenship).
TRANSPORTATION _____________________________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Transportation to areas where work is
Lack of good and reliable public available
transportation Transportation - Services would be
Transportation (3)
More Public Transportation welcome in communities where Latinos

naturally gather.
Transportation
DRUGS/ALCOHOL ABUSE ________________________________________________________________________________________________

Drugs (4)
Drugs
Drugs/alcohol abuse
CRIME _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Crime Growing gang violence
Gangs Violence
MISCELLANEOUS ______________________________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES I have little knowledge of how the

I am not sure. government works in this city and how
Latino groups help the Latino population. Frustration
I do not know. (2)
Despair
Misunderstanding of Culture
Unable to answer
Transient community
Poor parenting
I don't know the situation in Easton
Transitioning from one culture to another
Not sure (i.e. new language, schools, etc.)
Not as familiar with Easton
73
SERVICES THAT DON'T EXIST OR ARE NOT BEING

ADEQUATELY ADDRESSED BY EXISTING SERVICES
Survey respondents were asked, in an open-ended question, to identify what services Latinos need that they
believe do not exist or that are not being adequately addressed by existing services in the cities of Allentown,
Bethlehem and Easton. The chart below reflects the percentage of the combined responses of the key informants
and organizational respondents to the question.
TABLE 50: WHAT SERVICES DO LATINOS NEED THAT DON'T EXIST OR ARE NOT BEING ADEQUATELY
ADDRESSED BY EXISTING SERVICES?
ALLENTOWN BETHLEHEM EASTON
Language/Access to Services 63% Language/Access to Services 94% Language/Access to Services 85%
Education/Youth 57% Education/Youth 47% Health/Mental Health 31%
Health/Mental Health 50% Health/Mental Health 40% Economic/Employment/Income 26%
Economic/Employment/Income 30% Economic/Employment/Income 32% Education/Youth 23%
Latino Leadership/Community 15% Latino Leadership/Community 13% Immigration/Undocumented 21%
Transportation 9% Housing 11% Latino Leadership/Community 15%
Housing 7% Transportation 9% Transportation 13%
Immigration/Undocumented 6% Immigration/Undocumented 8%
LANGUAGE/ACCESS TO SERVICES
The need to address language barriers and provide better access to services was the top issue identified as not
being adequately addressed in all three cities. These included: the need for more bilingual staffing in all public
services including city hall, the police and fire departments, emergency services (especially 911) and the offices of
local elected state officials; and more bilingual/bicultural professionals and staff in the local health and human
service agencies such as: the Office of Pubic Assistance, homeless shelters, shelters for the protection of women,
programs for senior citizens, etc. Bilingual staffing was seen as needed across the board in economic, educational
and human service systems. “There are lots of services available, but many are insufficiently able to work with
clients in Spanish (i.e. hospitals that pull in janitors and receptionists to interpret, domestic violence and school
posters in incomprehensible Spanish, schools that offer no interpreters for parent-teacher conferences, limited
language-skills at 911 call center...)”
In addition, in Easton, respondents indicated a need for a local Latino Center to address human services for the
Latino population there. In Bethlehem: “BASD has done a great job about it, but the Bethlehem Police and City of
Bethlehem in general needs to wake up!” In Allentown: “Bilingual, bicultural staff across the board! School District
and Police are falling behind big time (especially ASD-completely blind about this issue!) in reflecting the
demographics of city.”
Respondents expressed a need for better access to community-based services and to better educate the
community about the system, the services available and to provide information in Spanish regarding services. In
addition, services for the community should be more effectively publicized so the information reaches those in
need. Respondents listed the necessity for professional Spanish language translators and interpreters, English
literacy training and library services in Spanish.
74
EDUCATION/YOUTH
In Allentown and Bethlehem, education was second highest on the list of areas where needs are not being met and
in Easton it placed fourth. The following summarizes some of the gaps and needs submitted by respondents:
STUDENTS/SCHOOL SYSTEM: Better educational opportunities and more services to improve academic success
in the K-12 grades including bilingual education opportunities, a dropout prevention program, a better effort to
combat student apathy and the need for more Latinos in the school system at all levels (administrators, teachers,
assistants, etc.). A better understanding of student cultural differences: “Sometimes a student is behaving the way
they were taught and teachers don't understand the child's culture: Latino students look down or away when
scolded (acceptable in the Latino culture). In the Anglo culture it is viewed as disrespect.” Have teacher in-services
geared to the understanding of Latino culture, customs and discipline. Conduct an in-depth assessment of English
language skills at the primary school level and set higher expectations related to development of those skills in
elementary and high school. More outreach from institutions of higher education in the region for the purposes of
preparing and recruiting local Latino students for college.
YOUTH-AT-RISK: Positive role models and life skills services for at risk youth; recreational and enrichment
programs after school; activities or jobs to keep youth off the streets and address the rise in gang violence among
youth—ways in which youth can avoid being recruited; positive role models and life skills services for at risk youth
and safe places for the youth
PARENTS: More educational services that include Latino parents and interpreters for parent-teacher conferences.
Understanding the language and educational limitations of parents: “At times students take home information that
is not looked at. Homework may be a problem due to language ... a parent may not even understand the work in
order to help out the child.” “To have the community understand the importance of being involved in the education
of their children.” Provide more information regarding higher education for Latino families and their children.
HEALTH/MENTAL HEALTH
Health/Mental Health services ranked 2nd in Easton and 3rd in Allentown and Bethlehem in the listing of services
needed or not being adequately addressed. There was concern over the quality of health services available for
Latinos. Among the areas needing attention identified by respondents were: the need for interpreting services,
bilingual/bicultural staff and trained bilingual health care providers, (i.e., doctors, nurses) at health facilities; more
drug and alcohol services needed; more adequate health care related to HIV HEPC; the need to have programs that
can provide medical services for those that don't have health insurance through their jobs (charity care and patient
assistance is not enough); the lack of a federally qualified health center in this area; the need for bilingual
personnel at all times in the hospitals. In addition, bilingual, Latino-focused mental health services are needed to
provide family therapy and counseling to families in a culturally competent manner.
ECONOMIC/EMPLOYMENT/INCOME
In regards to the economic necessities of the community three key areas emerged where needs were not being
met:
EMPLOYMENT ISSUES: More jobs and better employment opportunities are needed, especially full time jobs with
benefits and bilingual job skills training. “Services to enable community members to gain access to the programs
and services that would enable them to access education and training in order to actively participate in gainful
employment. The first step would be to insure that ESL services are provided that enable Latino clients to develop
language proficiency adequate to meaningful participation or delivering such services concurrently with more
specific training objectives.” The need for more jobs for the youth: “We need more jobs that caters students. Young
people need jobs to help them go through college and to learn new skills and leadership. [We need] programs that
allow young people to help others at the same time that they get an income.”
75
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT: More information in Spanish to future business owners and to existing Latino business
owners regarding support services offered by various agencies and Lehigh University. Services in Spanish to help
Latino businesses gain access to capital and to network with other businesses. Suggested: Economic Development
(Business Development) Full-Service Hispanic Center
FINANCIAL COUNSELING: Access to financial assistance and financial counseling: “They need to know that they
work hard and have their money work for them. This is for their retirement and finances their children education
...” education on financial services (i.e. agencies that provide loans at high interest rates) that get people in trouble
rather than help them. There is also the need to address predatory lending in the area.
LATINO LEADERSHIP/COMMUNITY
Fifth in Allentown and Bethlehem and sixth in Easton among the issues not being addressed was the lack of an
effective leadership and the need for leadership training and development. The need for community empowerment
and political representation were among the common concerns in this area. Respondents indicated: a need for
more Latino advocates, a lack of trained leadership, lack of political leadership and the need to have more Latinos
involved in the political system and that they understand the needs of the community; Latinos are not involved in
the decision making process; there is a need to educate the Latino community about the system; opportunities are
needed for community leadership training & development in order to seed the community with role models and
influencers. In Easton: Latinos have no voice; pressure [needed] from Latino community in the LV to stop racial
persecution; and since there are more undocumented, they are not organized, hence no power. In Bethlehem, we
need more Hispanic representation in the government. We have a voice but we need to be stronger. Latinos have
very little power in citywide decision-making.
IMMIGRATION/UNDOCUMENTED
Easton ranked this issue 5th and Allentown and Bethlehem both had it as 8th. Immigration rights assistance (legal
and paralegal); programs that will help immigrants live, work and reside in the US legally; staff with better
awareness on immigration issues so they can better support population; legal assistance to help undocumented
become legal and assistance for new families arriving in Easton.
TRANSPORTATION
Transportation issues placed 6th and 7th among the services needed. Respondents indicated the need for better
public transportation. In addition, the creation of a business that would transport people to work in areas where
there is a need for transportation and where public transportation is non-existent.
HOUSING
Housing emerged as a top unmet need in Bethlehem (6th) and Allentown (7th). Responses indicated a need for
more affordable housing, housing that is in good condition, fair/decent landlords and assistance to increase
homeownership among Latinos. While it was indicated as a need in Easton it did not emerge among their most
critical unmet needs.
76
What services do Latinos need that don't exist or that are not being adequately addressed by existing
services in Allentown?
LANGUAGE/ACCESS TO SERVICES ____________________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES domestic violence and school posters in Bilingual under Health/Mental Health
Bilingual Personnel in agencies that provide incomprehensible Spanish, schools that Category (6)
public services and emergency services. offer no interpreters for parent-teacher Bilingual under Economic Category (3)
conferences, limited language-skills at 911
Library services in Spanish call center...). Bilingual under Education Category (6)
Interpreters State Elected Officials lack of bilingual staff ORGANIZATION RESPONSES (6)
It is my opinion that there are a lot of Advocacy when contacting Governmental
services for the community that need to
Bilingual services in all public services
Agencies [such as Children & Youth]
be more effectively publicized so that the English literacy training
information reaches the community and Spanish-speaking Police Officers
More translator services at public offices
those in need Bilingual staff in city hall who can properly
Interpreters
To have bilingual personnel at all times in direct constituents
the government and non governmental Bi-lingual, bi-cultural staff across the
Need for bilingual/bicultural stuff at
agencies that provide human needs
entities that provide services to the board! School District and Police falling
services
community such as the Office of Pubic behind big time (especially ASD-
Assistance, homeless shelters, shelters for completely blind about this issue!) Bilingual health care providers
the protection of women, programs for Reflecting the demographics of city.
senior citizens, etc. More bilingual services providers including
There are lots of services available, but police
many are insufficiently able to work with Need for bilingual/bicultural staff at human
clients in Spanish (i.e. hospitals that pull service agencies
in janitors and receptionists to interpret,
EDUCATION/YOUTH ___________________________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Educational concerns over their children- ORGANIZATION RESPONSES
Resources or organizations providing not adequately addressed Education
financial assistance to students Free English classes Help the school district with program with
To have the community understand the In-depth assessment of English language parents and children
importance of being involved in the skills at the primary school level and It's hard to say, schools are doing a lot.
education of their children higher expectations related to Hire more Latino teachers who can teach
To improve the relationship with the school development of those skills in elementary content area. Have teacher in-services
district and to ensure that Latino parents & high school. geared to the understanding of Latino
receive the attention they need in their More educational services that include culture, customs and discipline
language Latino parents Lack of adequate information regarding
Better bilingual education opportunities Organizations or people that discuss higher education for Latino families and
Activities to keep youth off the streets The recruitment of youth into gangs and ways their children
schools need to hire more Latinos in which to avoid the recruitment More advanced and fully funded ESL
There is a lack of Multicultural Teachers in Outreach from the institutions of higher (English as a second language) programs.
the school districts education in the region for the purposes of More remedial group for learning English
preparing & recruiting local Latino (Children and adults)
There is no Dropout Prevention Program students for college
They need a school system that not only Public Education - Accommodation of
Positive role models and life skills services English Language Acquisition
try to meet standards, but that try to help for at risk youth
the students not just memorize but gain a Safe places/activities for the youth.
desire to learn in order for them to help Public education/Bicultural- bilingual staff-
faculty School related issues
their community
Recreational and enrichment after school Services to improve academic success in
Better support system to reduce drop out the k-12 grades
rate programs
Youth activities or jobs for youth
Bilingual education
Education, education, education is the key!
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Mental health clinic including treatment for To have bilingual personnel at all times in
There is no federally qualified health center drug /alcohol dependency tailored to the hospitals
in this area Latinos Mental Health - Family Focus Interventions
Access to better health care Mental Health Services A few organizations are attempting but
More access to health care there are concerns of unethical behaviors.
Adequate health services —HIV/AIDS
Need for bilingual/bicultural staff at health ORGANIZATION RESPONSES
Family Therapy and counseling for families
agencies Health care
Inadequate health services
Bilingual mental health services Culture focused health care
Interpreting services in healthcare
More bilingual health providers Drug and alcohol treatment
There is the need for Trained Bilingual
Health Care providers, i.e., doctors, nurses
ECONOMIC/EMPLOYMENT/INCOME____________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Allentown needs jobs and the Mayor to stop first step would be to insure that ESL
Education on financial services (i.e. firing people. services are provided that enable Latino
agencies that provide loans at high interest Economic Development (Business clients to develop language proficiency
rates) that get people in trouble rather Development) Full-Service Hispanic Center adequate to meaningful participation or
than help them delivering such services concurrently with
Employment more specific training objectives.
Access to financial assistance Services to enable community members to Financial counseling. They need to know
Services in Spanish to help Latino gain access to the programs and services that they work hard and have their money
businesses gain access to capital and to that would enable them to access work for them. This is for their retirement
network with other businesses education and training in order to actively and finances their children education. Job
participate in gainful employment. The training
77
Employment Training in their language ORGANIZATION RESPONSES Job placement

More full time jobs with benefits Employment Job skills training
Employment opportunities
Assistance seeking employment

KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Opportunities for community leadership To have more Latinos involved in the
There is a lack of trained leadership training & development in order to seed the political system and that they understand
community with role models and the needs of the community
Community empowerment activities influencers ORGANIZATION RESPONSES
Educating our community about the system Lack of political leadership Political representation
Hispanic Advocates
HOUSING ______________________________________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Latinos need stable homes. They need ORGANIZATION RESPONSES
Adequate housing home ownership programs that will help Good landlords and housing
them feel that they own a piece of this land
Affordable housing and create stability for their children.
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES More assistance for undocumented ORGANIZATION RESPONSES
Immigration Services individuals to help gain resident status Immigration services
TRANSPORTATION ________________________________________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Transportation - Services would be welcome ORGANIZATION RESPONSES
Better Public Transportation in communities where Latinos naturally Transportation (3)
gather
MISCELLANEOUS ______________________________________________________________________________________________

There are no good newspapers reporting Places and services for seniors in the
local NEWS in Spanish afternoon and evening.
Advocacy/legal aid services that assist Police services
residents more broadly The Circle of Care (El Circulo de Soporte),
Services for Seniors in the Afternoon which empower the family to utilize the
Support services for Latino seniors natural resource in their neighborhood.
Services for the Latino elders Welfare issues
services in Bethlehem?
LANGUAGE/ACCESS TO SERVICES ___________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES More attention to the grants that are Bilingual under Education Category (4)
Library services in Spanish available to provide services to the Latino
community ORGANIZATION RESPONSES
To have bilingual personnel at all times in
the hospitals and in the government and Educating our community about the system Language barrier (5)
non governmental entities that provide Need for bilingual/bicultural staff at health Need for bilingual/bicultural stuff at
services to the community such as the and human service agencies. agencies that provide human needs
Office of Pubic Assistance, homeless services
Interpreters
shelters, shelters for the protection of Interpreters
women, programs for senior citizens, etc. More bilingual services providers including
police Lack of bilingual/bicultural run
Professional Spanish-speaking translator business/services
Free English classes
Spanish-speaking Police Officers Availability of adequate bi-lingual/bi-
Information regarding available services in
cultural professionals to meet the service
Bilingual staff in city hall who can properly the community
direct constituents need (Direct delivery of services)
An expansion of the Council for Spanish
Availability of bi-lingual/bi-cultural
State Elected Officials lack bilingual staff Speaking Organizations
individuals to participate in service
Police Bilingual staff More Latinos in the police and fire planning (Serving on Boards, Task forces,
Bi-lingual, bi-cultural staff across the departments etc)
board! BASD has done a great job about it, There are lots of services available, but
but the Bethlehem Police and City of
Lack of knowledge about services
many are insufficiently able to work with
Bethlehem in general needs to wake up! clients in Spanish (i.e. hospitals that pull in
Communication: At times it's a language
barrier, other times it's the constant
More Latino faces among those that are janitors and receptionists to interpret),
changing of phone numbers
providing services to the community Domestic violence and school posters in
More collaboration with respect to the incomprehensible Spanish
Accessibility to services
services that are provided to the Limited language-skills at 911 call center
Access to community based services
community.
Bilingual under Health/Mental Health
More communication among the agencies Category (6)
to avoid duplication of services
Bilingual under Economic Category (3)
78
EDUCATION/YOUTH ___________________________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES More Latinos in the school system at all Lack of good public education
Education, education, education is the key! levels (administrators, teachers, assistants, Lack of education/knowledge
etc.)
Education (High School and College) Apathy on the part of students and no
Schools that offer no interpreters for parent- goals set for success.
In-depth assessment of English language teacher conferences
skills at the primary school level and higher Youth dropping out of high school
expectations related to development of Education/Bicultural- bilingual staff-faculty
those skills in elementary & high school. Addressing the rise in gang violence among take home information that is not looked
Outreach from the institutions of higher youth—ways in which youth can avoid at. Homework may be a problem due to
education in the region for the purposes of being recruited—in other words if parents language. Also education has changed so
preparing & recruiting local Latino students are more involved and encourage their much that a parent may not even
for college. children to stay in school, they are more understand the work in order to help out
likely to stay in school and go towards a the child. Lack of Cultural understanding:
Better educational opportunities college path Sometimes a student is behaving the way
Bilingual education There is a lack of Multicultural Teachers in they were taught and teachers don't
More educational services that include the school districts understand the child's culture: Latino
Latino parents There is no Dropout Prevention Program students look down or away when scolded
Education is good, but we want it to be (acceptable in the Latino culture). In the
Positive role models and life skills services Anglo culture it is viewed as disrespect
excellent for our Hispanic and non-Hispanic for at risk youth
students.
Recreational and enrichment after school
programs Education (3)
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Family Focus Interventions A few More Spanish speaking staff are needed in
Medical assistance for people that work and organizations are attempting but there are our group homes and on our treatment
doesn't have insurance (charity care and concerns of unethical behaviors. teams.
patient assistance is not enough) Family Therapy and counseling for families
There is no federally qualified health center Mental Health Services (2)
Medical insurance
in this area. Mental health services in Spanish including
Access to better health care drug and alcohol treatment
Healthcare
Bilingual mental health services A different way of dealing with the HIV/Aids
Too many with no health insurance
More bilingual health providers epidemic Addiction
Interpreting services in healthcare Adequate health services HIV/HEPC/Lack of adequate health care
Inadequate health services — HIV/AIDS There is the need for Trained Bilingual
Health Care providers, i.e., doctors, nurses
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES business owners regarding support services

Employment (2) offered by various agencies and Lehigh
University Employment (3)
Economic Development (Business
Jobs/salaries
Development) Full-Service Hispanic Center Services to enable community members to
gain access to the programs and services Not enough Latinos working
We have jobs, but we need more jobs that that would enable them to access education
cater students. Young people need jobs and training in order to actively participate
Poverty
to help them go through college and to in gainful employment. The first step would Underutilized skills
learn new skills and leadership. Programs be to insure that ESL services are provided
that allow young people to help others at
Predatory lending
that enable Latino clients to develop
the same time that they get an income. language proficiency adequate to
Higher level of unemployment for Hispanic
community
Job training meaningful participation or delivering such
More and better full time jobs, services concurrently with more specific
training objectives.
More information in Spanish to future
business owners and to existing Latino

KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Lack Of Political Leadership — Not Involved In this city, we need more Hispanic
Hispanic Advocates In The Decision Making Process representation in the government. We
More advocates have a voice but we need to be stronger.
Opportunities for community leadership
training & development in order to seed the There is a lack of trained leadership ORGANIZATION RESPONSES
community with role models and Latinos have very little power in city wide
influencers. decision making
HOUSING ______________________________________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Adequate housing Decent housing
Housing
Affordable housing
Housing (2)
79
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Immigration Services
More assistance for undocumented Services that help or address the needs of
Undocumented population
individuals to help gain resident status undocumented Latino
TRANSPORTATION ____________________________________________________________________________________________

Transportation - Services would be Transportation (4)
welcome in communities where Latinos
naturally gather
MISCELLANEOUS _________________________________________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Support services for seniors including Frustration

Advocacy/legal aid services that assist entertainment venues Despair
residents more broadly Child care for Latino parents that is not costly Transient community
There are no good newspapers reporting ORGANIZATION RESPONSES Transient: relocation of families does not
local NEWS in Spanish Racism help the education of the children.
Services for the Latino elders Drugs Criminality
services in Easton?

KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Information in Spanish regarding services Availability of adequate bi-lingual/bi-
Help for Latinos provided by others cultural professionals to meet the service
Bi-lingual, bi-cultural staff across the need (Direct delivery of services)
More help for Latinos in their language such
as services in Spanish, especially for board! Especially in the areas where the Access to community based services
immigrants Latinos concentrates. Availability of bi-lingual/bi-cultural
More agencies that provide services specific No Latino social service organizations individuals to participate in service planning
to Latinos There are lots of services available, but (Serving on Boards, Task forces, etc)
Provide government services in Spanish many are insufficiently able to work with Need for bilingual/bicultural stuff at
clients in Spanish (i.e. hospitals that pull in agencies that provide human needs
Someone that can help us janitors and receptionists to interpret, services
Professional Spanish-speaking translator domestic violence and school posters in Interpreters
Spanish-speaking Police Officers incomprehensible Spanish, schools that
offer no interpreters for parent-teacher Lack of bilingual/bicultural run
Bilingual staff in city hall who can properly
conferences, limited language-skills at 911 business/services
direct constituents Communication: At times it's a language
call center...)
State Elected Officials lack of bilingual staff
Bilingual under Health/Mental Health barrier; other times it's the constant
Police Bilingual Category (3) changing of phone numbers.
Need for bilingual/bicultural staff at human Accessibility to services
service agencies. ORGANIZATION RESPONSES
Interpreters Language barrier (3)
A social service/human services agency Language

that would provide services mainly to Lack of knowledge about services
Latinos
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Medical assistance for people that work Mental Health Family Focus Interventions
Doctors and doesn't have insurance (charity care A few organizations are attempting but
and patient assistance is not enough) there are concerns of unethical behaviors
Medical services for those that don't have
health insurance through their jobs Access to better health care There is the need for Trained Bilingual
Need for bilingual/bicultural staff at health Health Care providers, i.e., doctors, nurses.
More drug and alcohol services
agencies
There is no federally qualified health center ORGANIZATION RESPONSES
in this area. Interpreting services in healthcare
Bad health care
HIV/HEPC/Lack of adequate health care
EDUCATION/YOUTH ___________________________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES There is a lack of Multicultural Teachers in much that a parent may not even
More education available the school districts understand the work in order to help out
the child. Lack of Culture understanding:
Better educational opportunities ORGANIZATION RESPONSES
Sometimes a student is behaving the way
Bilingual education Education they were taught and teachers don't
Positive role models and life skills services Lack of education/knowledge understand the child's culture: Latino
for at risk youth students look down or away when scolded
(acceptable in the Latino culture). In the
There is no Dropout Prevention Program take home information that is not looked
Anglo culture it is viewed as disrespect
at. Homework may be a problem due to
language. Also education has changed so
80

KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES There is a lack of trained leadership
More presence of Latinos
Hispanic Advocates
Latinos have no voice,
Pressure from Latino community in the LV
to stop racial persecution
Since there are more undocumented, they
are not organized, hence no power
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Staff with better awareness on immigration the city will be a better place to live for
Immigration rights assistance (legal and issues so they can better support everybody.
paralegal) population
Programs that will help the Mexican live We need to address the needs of the new
work and reside in the US legally. families that are arriving to this city. They Undocumented population (3)
need our help; they don't need to be Citizenship
blamed for all the bad things that happen
in this city. Help these people, please, so
ECONOMIC/EMPLOYMENT/INCOME____________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES ORGANIZATION RESPONSES Underutilized skills
Better jobs Employment (4) Much poverty
Job training Higher level of unemployment for Hispanic Predatory lending
community
TRANSPORTATION _____________________________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Creation of a business that would transport
Transportation - Services would be people to work in areas where there is a
welcome in communities where Latinos need for transportation and where public Transportation (3)
naturally gather transportation is non existent
MISCELLANEOUS ______________________________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Transient: relocation of families does not

I don't know much about the Easton help the education of the children.
community
Drugs
Frustration
Unable to answer
Decent housing
Despair
There are no good newspapers reporting
Transient community
local NEWS in Spanish
81
INTERNAL OR EXTERNAL IDENTIFIED AS NEGATIVELY

AFFECTING THE PROGRESS OF LATINOS IN THE LEHIGH VALLEY
FIGURE 28: ISSUES IDENTIFIED AS AFFECTING THE PROGRESS OF THE

LATINOS IN THE LEHIGH VALLEY
(Percent of Respondents Identifying Issue)
LATINO LEADERSHIP/COMMUNITY 46%
CULTURAL AND POVERTY RELATED 26%
DISCRIMINATION/RACISM 26%
LANGUAGE BARRIERS 20%
EDUCATIONAL/YOUTH ISSUES 16%
ECONOMIC/EMPLOYMENT 12%
SERVICES 8%
In an open-ended question, survey respondents were asked to identify the issues they believed were negatively
affecting the ability of Latinos to progress. Seven primary issues emerged from the open-ended responses. The
largest percentage of respondents (46%) to this question identified Latino leadership and Latino community issues
as a major barrier to the progress of the Latino population in the Lehigh Valley. The responses identified three key
areas of concern: lack of unity and effective leadership, lack of political clout and issues of competence related to
Latino agencies and their ability to be collaborative.
Discrimination/racism and issues related to cultural barriers and poverty tied as the second highest issue
affecting Latino progress. Among the issues were the negative perception, lack of acceptance and resentment of
Latinos by members of mainstream community. Of specific concern was that non-Latino community leaders and
officials don’t understand or represent the interests of Latino constituents. Tied with the external issues of
discrimination and cultural barriers were internal community issues related to crime, violence, family support,
parental involvement in schools, youth turning to negative influences and numerous other issues related to the
consequences of poverty.
The language barrier followed as the next highest concern related to the progress of the community. This issue
was viewed from the internal component of the population needing to become more English fluent and the need for
bilingual/bicultural providers of services for populations in need that are currently not fluent in English. Educational
and youth issues, economic and employment concerns and the need for more access to services were 5th, 6th and
7th among the identified barriers to progress. The following are the grouped responses to the barriers identified.
82
What internal or external issues do you believe negatively affect the progress of the Latino community?
In reviewing the responses below please note that these are the individual views of respondents. In some cases, the reader may view some as
discriminatory, erroneous, or out of context of the larger reality. What is important, in the case where you may believe that a particular view is not
correct, is that it provides information on the perceptions held by some community members, which may need to be addressed.
LATINO LEADERSHIP/COMMUNITY ___________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES the fight for power and control by Organization competing instead of
LACK OF UNITY AND EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP gatekeepers who use their business, complementing others.
organization and their financial advantage Lack of support for each other’s programs
Infighting between organizations as well as against the average middle-income leaders.
between PR community, assimilated and within the Latino agencies.
unassimilated immigrant communities There are too few of us that seek to help Many of the organization's compete among
unselfishly. I came from Puerto Rico two each other instead of unite and cooperate.
Infighting among the different Latino years ago and I have noticed that the
groups. I have seen it firsthand. I would people who try to help Latinos have some Poor accountability for organizational and
very much like to help, but because I am personal agenda (be it political or personal shortcomings
Mexican, my Spanish is not as good as it business). Very few people help from the Many of the organizations in the area are
should be, my politics are different and I heart. led by non-competent people who are
feel sometimes that my services are not
Ignorant religious leaders interested in getting a paycheck and do not
wanted because of this.
excel as leaders. They should be getting
The infighting for credit among self- Lack of Latino role models grants and put the money to work. Many
appointed-leaders. -Need for guidance -lack Leaders within the Latino community are in of the organizations don't have a liability
of organizational skills tremendous demand to serve on numerous system in place and therefore their
Inter-group Power Struggle boards in the community—Very stretched! directors are held responsible for their
performance.
Puerto Ricans tend to look out for LACK OF POLITICAL CLOUT
themselves and not for the other Latino ORGANIZATION RESPONSES
groups.
Lack of political leadership
Lack of political involvement. (2) The lack of correlation among themselves
In my opinion, Latinos do not unite, as they [Latinos]
should. The separation by countries or Politics
cultures prevents us from resolving Too many "Leaders” trying to keep the
A belief by the overall community that we power for themselves without allowing any
problems. (The Puerto Ricans on one side, are not equal players.
the Mexicans on another, the Dominican is other persons to come and help the
on their side and so it goes.)
Local Government does not see the Latinos community.
as major players in the area although we Financial institutions are giving an
Ability for leaders to work together as a compose over 35% of the population in
unified group. advantage to those looking for political
Allentown alone. In turn, Latinos do not control and power and in effect make
Latinos fighting against other Latinos. One use their "number" power to execute them believe they are the gatekeepers of
country is better than another. change all Latino opportunities.
Many of the Latino leaders have their own Lack of voter registration and turn out. Most leaders are Puerto Rican and focus on
agenda and put their objectives and goals needs of the Puerto Rican population
above those of the community. AGENCIES LACK
which excludes South Americans,
COLLABORATION/COMPETENCE
The gatekeepers or those that wish to be Dominicans, undocumented
gatekeepers and demand that they be the Competition for same dollars from funders.
The organizations do not work together
Release of executive director (one)
only representatives or voice of the entire mishandled by Casa board, resulted in
Latino community of the Lehigh valley. especially when requesting funding, there
negative backlash
Many prefer to leave the community in the seems to be "personal agendas" in each
dark in order to maintain control organization from the part of the Exec Competition
Directors/and/or board. Too many Politics
There is a lack of communication among "chismes" [rumors] that dilute the energy
Latinos. A lack of unity and focus as it and time that should be used providing
relates to working together toward the services to the community. I also think
same objective and the same cause. that the Latino agencies, except HAO are
The surge of ambitious individuals who not knowledgeable in funding sources and
want to advance their individual thirst of how to apply to them.
power before the community needs. And
CULTURAL AND POVERTY RELATED _______________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Many communities are overcrowded which That they lack a sense of ownership. They
Realization that we are in control of our cause a lot of chaos; in addition many need to own a home, own a job and own a
destiny. I notice that some in our officers discriminate on those who are degree, things of value to any human
community simply assume that if you are victims of the chaos as well as the police being. They need to be recognized for the
born poor then you are relegated to a life department becoming part of the chaos. good they do and not the bad that others
of poverty. Mobility/housing (ownership) do. Latino children deserve the right to a
loving home and nurturing environment.
Cultural traditions at times impede Latinos The lack of understanding about our culture
from moving forward. and the integration into the community. Crime
Lack of motivation to succeed We are afraid of the way we are treated ORGANIZATION RESPONSES
Poor Parental involvement and it affects our ability to progress.
Rapid growth in population
Latinos who have emigrated from Puerto Family Support
Violence
Rico (specifically) are very challenging to Latinos not being open-minded to absorb
employ because they are too transient. and utilize the information and resources
Gangs
They tend to leave jobs quickly and change that are presented to them which would Family support
residences frequently. This leaves them allow them to move forward and progress. Violence and women below radar screens
with few options for good employment. Due to a lack of education, there is
I believe that the youth of this community disorganization, disinformation and each
receives mixed messages from within their one looks out for their own interests. No
extended families and neighbors. There one wants to contribute a grain of sand so
seems to exist a misguided work ethic and that their children will be the ones to
view of education's importance. benefit from the changes.
83
DISCRIMINATION/RACISM ____________________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES In the city of Easton there is much
Discrimination (3) discrimination toward the Hispanic
community. Media; the Morning Call usually reports
Racism (4) negative things that happen in Puerto Rico
Misunderstanding or lack of acceptance of
and rarely report on good things. They
Negative perceptions about Latino population (prejudice)
Latinos/Hispanics don't report on Mexico’s crime rate or
Single most poignant issue is the Cuba. Not everyone is Puerto Rican.
The stigma and perception of Anglos generalized resistance on the part of many
toward Latinos long time Lehigh Valley residents who view
There continues to be resentment by the
community at large in terms of language
The racism that is created due to lack of Latinos and their growing numbers as a
accommodation. I still hear many people
knowledge threat to the "good old days" and not as a
complain that their relatives were forced
Bad media vibrant invitation to participate in a more
to learn English.
inclusive multicultural society.
The inability of city council and other Racism/cultural differences which create
community leaders to understand the Leadership opportunities and good paying
distance between neighbors/communities.
language and culture of the Latino jobs are only distributed among the Anglo
population. community Lack of understanding of the Latino
community dynamics—the lack of interest
LANGUAGE BARRIERS ________________________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Language barriers Language Barrier for

Language barriers many within our community. Not having
proper language skills prevents many Communication issues
Lack of Spanish-speaking from seeking opportunities outside of their Lack of bilingual/bicultural health care
professionals comfort zone. providers
Lack of communication (language) It is difficult to find qualified Spanish Language Barrier and Cultural
Language barriers that hold them speaking staff for our programs.
back
English proficiency
Insufficient numbers of bilingual
Knowledge of the language (English)
Some language barriers professionals to deliver services poverty
Lack of the English language
Need for more cultural awareness
EDUCATIONAL/YOUTH ISSUES _______________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Lack of educational opportunities that may Stereotyping that causes the educator to feel
Lack of education (3) be bilingual they really know all there is to know about a
specific student.
Lack of funding for schools ORGANIZATION RESPONSES
The established system in Allentown School
The city needs to give more funds Lack of education District is holding the Latinos from developing
for after-school activities with their full potential. Some Latino leaders have
something to do than stay home.
Education
served the School District for personal gain and
The educational system to an extent
Mobility (moving up location) of
the Latino students had suffered of years of
population within the community. Kids
- high drop out rates abandonment.
often change schools several times within
the school year.
SERVICES _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES We need an agency that can help and distribution of funds for programs that
Programs tend to be reactive rather counsel Latinos when they have questions specifically impact the community. I believe
than prevention focused. Providers about the community and services. there is a great need for more interest and
are not providing services that are Reluctance of local community to fund support from the government entities. The
culturally sensitive. Spanish- programs after grants expire community and religious organizations do what
speaking staff does not mean they can.
Lack of adequate/affordable housing and
culturally sensitive practices. home buyers programs
We need more programs and The government does not represent us
outreach effectively, especially as it concerns the
ECONOMIC/EMPLOYMENT ____________________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Lack of jobs

Not enough companies that hire I think there should be more job
Lack of decent jobs to make a living cost
workers full time opportunity given to the Latino community
Socioeconomic problems exist instead of being first laid-off. Job training (skill development)
Employment for Latinos

Lack of job opportunities
Need for more marketable skills
MISCELLANEOUS ____________________________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES not limit one's possibilities. Hard work Drug
Medical Assistance and patience will result in a good The Lehigh Valley's reputation in general
outcome. One can't always play the "race negatively impacts on the areas ability to grow
D/A Rehab-inpatient-long-term card" when things don't go as planned. and progress and therefore affects the Latino
Drug use/abuse HIV/AIDS is population
growing, ORGANIZATION RESPONSES
Alcoholism Drugs
What I call a "cultural agenda". Environmental issues
Being Hispanic does not and should HIV/AIDS
84
LATINO COMMUNITY STRENGTHS AND ASSETS
FIGURE 29: STRENGTHS THAT CAN HELP THE LATINO COMMUNITY MOVE FORWARD
POTENTIAL/EMERGING/CURRENT
64%
LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNITY
INVOLVEMENT
STRONG SENSE OF FAMILY AND 32%

COMMUNITY
HARD WORKING, HAVING

28%
AMBITION AND ABILITY TO
PERSEVERE
When respondents were asked in an open-ended question to identify what strengths the Latino community has
that can help it move forward, there were three clear areas of strengths. The overwhelming majority (64%)
identified the community leadership and potential leaders, the increasing numbers of educated and professional
individuals and the level of community involvement and commitment as their strongest asset. Despite the criticism
of the communities’ current status of community involvement and leadership in their community, there is high
optimism that this is the very strength they possess that can help them move forward.
In addition, their strong commitment to family and community and their willingness to work hard and persevere
were assets that indicated that, given the right opportunities and support, they could overcome the numerous
issues affecting the quality of life in their communities and create a better future for their children.
Following are the responses to this question group by the categories that emerged from the responses provided.
85
What strengths do you believe the Latino community has which can help it move forward?
POTENTIAL/EMERGING/CURRENT LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT ___________________________

KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES socioeconomic...) an interest in moving
A growing number of professionals within forward (as seen in this and other surveys)
our community who can lead the call for Channel 69 en Español I believe that the Latino community is
doing a good job of partnering and
change. Strong professionals within the health and
coordinating their efforts both with local
Attempts by individuals in our Latino human service field -Hispanic Chamber of
and none local constituents
community to make a difference thru Commerce and Faith Communities
individual efforts and volunteering with Some good leaders would like to see
Educated professionals are moving to the
region and our youth know how to
local agencies. Some individuals attend movement. They are dedicated, caring and
differentiate for elements of integrity and
Bethlehem City Councils meetings to voice committed to the community.
social honesty in our leaders.
their opinions. Many Latinos have different levels of
Brilliant, strong Latino leaders and allies education but unfortunately here they have
Every year we have more leaders willing
to jump in and do some good. Sometimes
Strong leaders, role models and family no value or credibility.
they don't know where to focus their
pride and unity Starting to develop a good cadre of local efforts but they are there.
Committed professionals but they need to leaders and organizations, which can point
to success.
The building in the self esteem where they
come together are realizing that they can make a
The opportunity to get organized politically The size of the community, yet to find the different and do not need to wait for the
and demand changes political power. New community in the area approval of any group to help the
Young community with a lot of energy community.
Fighters
This community has all the resources Hard workers/professionals
Latinos interested in change. necessary to move ahead. We have
Latino politicians. doctors, lawyers and business owners.
A key strength is the drive and collective
mind set to improve the quality of life that
Professional Latinos who want to There is no reason why we can't organize
and their voice in community affairs
contribute. a board or committee of professionals that
could dedicate themselves to representing Caring people
Little by little there are more bilingual all Latinos.
Latino professionals living in the area that
The ambition to improve their community
can be recruited to offer services to the Passionate beliefs and resiliency As a white person who has just recently
community. Educated individuals in the community been introduced into the Latino
community, I can say the major strength I
Moving forward the middle class The valuation for leaders with integrity,
have seen is the protective nature to
community will become a force to be appreciation for the truth and honesty.
everyone else in the community. I deal
reckoned with. Latino leaders have some influence in the with banks, mortgage brokers & real
Population/large group for election and community, local and state but don't know estate agents all the time. The one
voting how to use it. constant I have seen in Latino
The makeup of the population is changing We make up a significant percentage of the professionals in these industries is the
in the Valley to be predominantly Latino population. Becoming politically organized willingness to walk away from a deal if it is
There are many talented and empowered will bring more resources to our not in the best interests of their Latino
individuals (pioneers) eager to help lead community. clients. Which is a rare & commendable
quality in today's world.
some change. To make progress a good leader is needed.
The diversity of people who are willing to If they united, they could do much more. The energy being put into finding a solution
rather than just fighting the prejudice is
work to help their community not for self- The strength of coming together as one and
interest. admirable.
have the power to change a community.
The Latino community has a good giving Unity. Everyone gets along when it's
The Latino community has maintained so
heart. It is a strong and loving community. much of their ethnicity that there is a
"party time". We should also use this
We share our values and even our food. sense of "belonging" and a responsibility
strength at all times, in work and at play.
We love life and we love to serve others to help others to move forward.
Personalismo, family, dedication and
and this sentiment is what we need in order commitment are all strengths that could be
New professionals are migrating to the
to help others and ourselves. region and providing their expertise to
expanded to address the needs of the
I believe that we, more or less, have a improve the services.
larger collective Latino community as
good idea of the problems that affect us. opposed to being focused on more narrow Strong professionals in the health and
The Latino community in Allentown is not sub-group allegiances. human service field.
segregated and Latinos for the most part Good networking skills
(Puerto Rican, Mexican, Dominican, etc.)
live in the same place and confront the
Hispanic Chamber Of Commerce
same problems. Channel 69 News Spanish Editions. HOLA
Local Radio Station. Both have given
Many newcomers bringing lots of energy a
information to and about the Latino
few strong leaders coming up through the
community.
ranks diversity (racial, national, political,
STRONG SENSE OF FAMILY AND COMMUNITY _______________________________________________________________

KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES many that have had all types of
A good Family Structure personal/business issues placed before
them yet they continue to function and Their sense of family
Family-oriented succeed. This can also be the influence of Family oriented
A strong sense of family and community. our local church's and/or religious
upbringing.
Family relationships
Strong family ties that are common to the
Latino culture and seem to carry across Family bonding
Family oriented community
generations, which could lead to a desire to Individuals and families who aspire to the
Family values, belief in god
build a better community. American dream. Strong family ethic
Family oriented Strong family bonds Strong family values
Strong family bond Strong family ties. Strong appreciation of culture
Caring long time residents The sense of family that is common among Unity
Bilingual Caring People all Latino groups. The family is the tie that Friendly family oriented values ethics
Dedication to family and support systems binds.
For those that work outside the home, the
work ethic is second to none. I have seen
86
HARD WORKING, HAVING AMBITION AND ABILITY TO PERSERVERE ________________________________________

KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES They like to work and will work in whatever
ORGANIZATION RESPONSES (8)
An immigrant-driven desire & ambition for job is available, under whatever
a better life than the previous generation. circumstance, in any position. Creativity
Hard workers Willingness to work and/or opening their Work ethic

own businesses Strong work ethic
Energy
Working together in order to bring a better Desire to succeed
Desire for training, education and better living for their family.
paying jobs Desire to succeed in education and career
The Latino community is very hardworking
Adaptability
Hard workers and we persevere. and full of desire to prosper. Hopefully,
Latinos come to this country for the some good leadership with some good Ganas [motivation]
purpose of bettering themselves planning can make a difference in our Motivation to succeed
economically. We are very hard workers community.
and this helps us a lot in this country. Wish to improve educational,
Willingness to support Latino businesses communication skills (including reading and
They have perseverance. writing) and remarkable strengths and
broad interest to exceed any barrier.
MISCELLANEOUS ______________________________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Our Culture

A lot of pride in the good that Latinos do Richness of culture, values, arts
Bilingual
around them Global thinkers, bilingual and resourceful
A fairly good school system in Bethlehem
Richness of culture, values, arts.
Wonderful churches that have good
Faith communities
but it still needs some work programs in place
Common denominator of culture, language Strong faith in God.
The fact that there has been a large Latino
and upbringing. community here for some time.
Being bilingual can be an asset in trying to
More Employment Opportunities
Its own diverse culture, an example is the secure employment
Spanish language unites many
Latino/Hispanic cultures.
WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN REGARDING UNDOCUMENTED?
FIGURE 30: WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN WITH UNDOCUMENTED?

PROVIDE BASIC HUMAN

29%
SERVICES AND
INFORMATION
24%
ADVOCACY/LEGISLATIVE
22%
LEGAL
Due to the local anecdotal data regarding a growing population of undocumented Latino immigrants in the area,
respondents were asked in an open-ended question what should happen regarding this population. The majority of
the responses fell into three key categories. The highest number of respondents indicated a need to provide basic
human services to this population and to orient them as to the system and available services for individuals and
families. Secondly, was the need for advocacy and to address legislative issues related to this population.
Additionally, 22% of respondent indicated the need to provide legal services to this population. The following is a
summary of the responses to this question.
87
What do you believe needs to happen in the Lehigh Valley regarding undocumented Latinos?
(Key Informant Survey Only)
PROVIDE BASIC HUMAN SERVICES AND INFORMATION _____________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES We need to reach them so that we can help Same as elsewhere in the state, we need to
An agency or program should be them. ensure that undocumented Latinos receive
established to provide information to Properly informing them of their rights and critical services (medical, legal) and they
immigrants regarding their rights, their services available to them are not exploited. Undocumented students
children rights, etc. are especially at risk. They usually fall
Social service organizations that create through the cracks and either don't finish
More communication so that the services for them or the birth of social school or don't get the opportunity to
undocumented become more informed service organizations that specifically cater complete college.
about their surroundings. For example, to the needs of undocumented Latinos.
regarding companies that are taking Certainly criminal activity amongst the
Someone has to reach out to them and undocumented needs to be acknowledged
advantage of the undocumented. help them to get the appropriate papers so in a legal process. However,
Build on the partnership that has been that they can become legal residents with undocumented families who own a home,
established with the Mexican Consulate to permission to work. pay taxes and the children attend school or
bring other consulates to offer services in We should have a point of contact where who are born in the United States need be
the Valley on a rotating basis so people they can feel safe in seeking help. We cared for since they are contributing citizen
don't have to travel to Philadelphia or NY should counsel them regarding what to this nation. Community services.
Enrich their knowledge in regard to services they can access.
documentation and services in the We need to help them.
community for undocumented Latinos
We should be provided access to medical
Programs to help them navigate the and dental attention.
system. More dissemination of information
about services available in their language. Undocumented Latinos must be served:
education, health, etc.
ADVOCACY/LEGISLATIVE _____________________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES accounts, etc. Ultimately this is a federal There needs to be a more just immigration
A coalition to combat the persecution from issue and we need a guest worker policy. Also, the process that regulates the
Morganelli's office program. status of immigrants should be more
Advocate immigration reform and a means efficient and quick.
Need more legal and political advocacy
need to educate the local population by which undocumented immigrant workers T he justice department has to be more
can achieve legal status, support immigrant sensitive of the undocumented reality.
Need the support of all the Latino workers in both practical terms and in
Organizations to ensure fair process and They should be provided with legal
terms of keeping the strengths of the documentation especially if they have been
the approval of equal education and pay. immigrant community in the public eye. in the area for more than 1 year. Parents
We need to gather the support of local Amnesty of children born in the US should be
Government officials by educating them on provided with automatic residency instead
the needs of our community and explore The ideal thing would be to create a
program that would help with legal status of fear and separation of the family.
how they can help us advocate for their
residency. in the USA. Undocumented Latinos
contribute a great deal to the economy of
Stop their persecution in Northampton this country and are not considered for
County and figure out a way to give them anything by the government.
identity papers so they can open bank
Make the process easier.
LEGAL ________________________________________________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES They need assistance to help them become There should be legal services to help those
Access to education and legal status legal Services from CBOs. persons to find themselves in danger of
They should become documented. being deported. As long as they’re working
Make it easier for them to become citizens. and contributing to the community— not
The undocumented are not here to commit They need to start the process for those taking advantage of the system.
crimes, they are working. Reward them. documentation.
We need to assist them in getting their
More assistance to acquire proper What I believe needs to happen in the documentation so that they can become
documentation Lehigh Valley regarding undocumented tax-paying citizens.
Ease the path to citizenship. Latinos is special programs which can
provide help to receive legitimate
They have to become documented. documents.
MISCELLANEOUS _____________________________________________________________________
KEY INFORMANT RESPONSES Nothing, I don’t see it as a problem. We deserve to have peace of mind. There are
It appears useful to more openly and already have laws on the books to deal with many legal citizens who are criminals, who
clearly address the concerns of the local troublemakers. For the working have more rights criminals, who will have
community regarding the value added undocumented Latino I don’t see a problem more rights.
nature of the resource that undocumented unless they are being taken advantage of They should at least be given temporary
Latinos represent. due to their undocumented status. work permits
They need to be given a fair chance to Nothing. I don’t see many undocumented My opinion is very strong regarding illegal
prove their case. Families don't work if Latinos causing problems but instead are aliens of any country's origin: there is no
they are not united. We don't fix the very hard working. I worry more about valid reason for any individual to live in this
problem by sending people back and some of the documented individuals that country without agreeing to adhere to its
dividing families. We don't want people to turn to crime as a way of life. laws. In every case, the immigration laws
come to kill our people, we want people The immigration laws are tougher every should be enforced here in the Lehigh
here that come to work and honestly have day and in my opinion, these people are Valley.
the American Dream. Anybody that don't usually the ones that work the hardest and Need to have employers step up to sponsor
want to work and have the American are less compensated. It would be good to individuals.
Dream for their family and is willing to kill a give them some way of permitting them to
member of somebody else's family; they work legally, even if it does not mean Provide credit.
should leave. giving them permanent residence. They
88
ORGANIZATIONS PROVIDING SERVICES TO LATINOS

Respondents were asked to rate four Latino organizations providing services to Latinos in the area that have
identified office locations and staff. Three were the long established Hispanic/Latino social service centers that
receive public and private monies to provide a variety of services focused primarily on improving the quality of life
for the lower socioeconomic Latino population. These organizations, Casa Guadalupe, Hispanic American
Organization (HAO) and the Council of Spanish Speaking Organizations (CSSOLV), have served the community for
more than three decades. The fourth, the recently established Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of the Lehigh Valley
(HCCLV), founded in September 2003, has a significantly different focus. Their stated purpose is to advance the
commercial, industrial and professional interest of Hispanics in the Lehigh Valley. While this organization is fairly
recent and is primarily a volunteer driven organization, its high visibility and economic focus, makes it relevant as a
key organization in this study.
FIGURE 31: RATINGS BY RESPONDENTS OF ORGANIZATIONS' QUALITY

AND ABILITY TO ADDRESS THE NEED OF THE LATINO POPULATION
KEY INFORMANTS
Excellent Very Good Good Fair Poor Don't Know
2%
Casa Guadalupe 10% 33% 17% 12% 26%
Council of Spanish-
Speaking Organizations 9% 22% 17% 9% 7% 36%
of the Lehigh Valley
2%
Hispanic American 14% 29% 16% 10% 29%
Organization
Hispanic Chamber of
Commerce of the 5% 10% 17% 24% 10% 33%
Lehigh Valley
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
ORGANIZATION RESPONDENTS
Excellent Very Good Good Fair Poor Don't Know
Casa Guadalupe 5% 26% 37% 5% 26%
Council of Spanish-
Speaking Organizations 10% 20% 35% 10% 25%
of the Lehigh Valley
Hispanic American 16% 37% 26% 21%

Organization
Hispanic Chamber of
Commerce of the 11% 5% 16% 16% 11% 42%
Lehigh Valley
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
89
The percentage of key informants that ranked these organizations as good to excellent were:
Good to Excellent Don’t Know

Casa Guadalupe 60% 26%
HAO 59% 29%
CSSOLV 48% 36%
HCCLV 32% 33%
The percentage of agency and organizational respondents that ranked these organizations as good to excellent were:
Good to Excellent Don’t Know

HAO 79% 21%
Casa Guadalupe 68% 26%
CSSOLV 65% 25%
HCCLV 32% 42%
There were a significant number of respondents that indicated that they did not know enough about the
organizations to rate them. This information indicates the need to examine the level of outreach and visibility
within these organizations in providing access. It is important to note that this would be expected for the HCCLV
since they have only been in existence less than two years.
In an open-ended question, respondents were also asked to identify any other organizations they viewed as
having programs or services key in addressing the needs of the Latino population in the area. Key informants
identified numerous organizations, although only one or two respondents listed more than a few. At the top of the
list of the key informants (21%) was the CACLV. The largest percentage (24%) of organizations identified the
Latino Leadership Alliance. Latino Leadership Alliance, South Bethlehem Neighborhood Center and Latinos for a
Healthy Community were the only agencies to be identified by both respondent groups.
OTHER ORGANIZATIONS IN THE LEHIGH VALLEY PERCEIVED AS HAVING PROGRAMS OR SERVICES

KEY IN ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF THE LATINO POPULATION IN THE AREA
(Only organizations identified by more than one respondent were included in chart)
KEY INFORMANTS ORGANIZATION RESPONDENTS

Community Action Committee of the LV 21%
Latino Leadership Alliance 23%
South Bethlehem Neighborhood Center 14%
Puerto Rican Cultural Alliance 14%
Catholic Agency 10%
South Bethlehem Neighborhood Center 9%
Latinos for a Healthy Community 10%
Latinos for a Healthy community 9%
El Puente/The Bridge - Easton 7%
Alliance for Building Communities 5%
Easton Area Neighborhood Center 5%
Latino Leadership Alliance 5%
Marvine Family Center 5%
COMMENTS AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS IDENTIFIED:

KEY INFORMANTS
Community Action of the Lehigh Valley South Bethlehem Neighborhood Center
Very good (2) Very effective
Very effective GOOD
Very effective: they offer energy assistance (aid to pay utility Very good,
bills), transitional housing, shelters, food bank, weatherization Provide good service is information. Regarding those services,
programs, home buyer education (in both languages), it must be said that they can be improved
workforce development
South Side Neighborhood Center-very effective, food pantry,
They offer an excellent start your business course. rental payment assistance, after school programs
Housing programs, programs are very effective.
90
Catholic Agency delivering services, but they are traditionally under funded and
Effective in helping undocumented individuals understaffed and consequently do not reach the number of
Good for immigrants Latino clients in need of services.
Grupo de Apoyo e Integración Hispanoamericano — good
Latinos for a Healthy Community
outreach with immigrants
Effective in addressing Latinos in need of D& A services
Hogar Crea-very good,
Very Effective
Hope House
New in the LV I-LEAD
El Puente LVCMHC
I only know of "El Puente" located in Easton. This organization Mount Sinai Church. Our programs are directed to children and
was formed recently (at the beginning of this year) for the the youth of Allentown and Bethlehem. We have After School
purpose of helping the Latino community in Easton. program and are planning to join efforts with Head Start to help
El Puente because they always help and they don't charge us. the younger children.
El Puente that is headed by Monica but no one helps with Neighborhood Housing Services,
funding Northeast Ministry in Bethlehem, provide good services but they
Alliance for Building Communities can be improved through more access.
Creation of affordable housing, very effective, homeownership Northeast neighborhood center — good
program, affordable rental units and housing for seniors, very Northwestern (ICM)
effective although they could do more if people knew more about Pennsylvania Statewide Latino Coalition - excellent
them Primerica Citigroup offers free financial needs analysis in which
Latino Leadership Alliance it gives them a roadmap of where they are and where do they
A forum for different organizations to talk and share what is need to be.
happening in the Lehigh Valley Project Easton is a very good organization that helps the
Dedicates itself to finding ways to improve the lives of Latinos Hispanic community and other diverse groups. I worked for
in the Lehigh valley. The committees to discuss it have to have them for a short period of time and they addressed people's
issues that affect our Latino community, such as health educational needs. Working on GEDs and learning English.
education and leadership. Puerto Rican Cultural Alliance - excellent
Adult Literacy Center-good, Roberto Clemente Charter School is an alternative to at-risk
APS for Jobs students. They feel the sense of worth, they can identify with
Bethlehem School District - after school programs that mostly peers' issues.
serve Latino children work very well for our children. These Schools
help parents so that they do not have to pay childcare after The City of Allentown has provides some programs in the past
school. The Puerto Rican Day Parade Organization brings a sense of
Boys Club/Girls Club—very good pride to the local community
Cedar Point Family Services (New Directions) Turning Point. Very effective services.
Circle of Care is a new initiative that attempts to unconditionally Unity House
help Latino students in the Allentown School District. Valley Counseling Project of Easton
City Limits Assembly of God - Pastor Jimmy is making a Weed and Seed has been great
difference in Allentown. Pennsylvania Career-Link (the unemployment office): Because
Community Development Assoc of the Lehigh Valley of the demographics of the cities' population, this organization is
Community Services for Children-very good, servicing a large number of Latinos. Its programs are not
CRR Group Homes helping that community lift itself up because they don't address
CUNA-I have heard about CUNA that works for the benefit of the the fundamental work ethic issues that the Latino population
community in Allentown struggles with. The services only address unemployment
DeSales University has a Hispanic Initiative Program. As an benefits and job search skills - neither of which improves their
alumnus of DeSales, as well as someone who actively supports employability.
this program, I believe it is an effective tool to show Latino Lehigh Valley Community Mental Health Their service is fair to
teenagers there is a world beyond their own and they can poor in my opinion.
achieve anything. Lehigh Valley Mental Health — POOR
Do not exclude churches that are responding to community Latino Leadership Alliance —too soon to tell!
issues. In Easton there are no organizations only the local people and
Generally, I think that the Literacy Providers, specifically ABLE the stores. The people that have been living here longer help
funded programs with which I am familiar throughout the the more recent arrivals.
Lehigh Valley including the Allentown Literacy Council, LCCC,
NACC and the Project of Easton, Inc., etc. do a good job of
ORGANIZATIONS
Latino Leadership Alliance Allentown Puerto Rican Parade Committee - annual events and
LV annual scholarship drive - very good parade, excellent
Focus on education and scholarships for Latino students Bethlehem Puerto Rican coalition, annual parade and fair, very
(rating=excellent) good
Good (2) Community Action Committee of the Lehigh valley — good!
Brings a focus to agencies to meet and disseminate new Easton Area Neighborhood Center
related to the community Hispanic American League of Artists — focus on arts and art
education for Latino youth (rating=very good)
Puerto Rican Cultural Alliance
Excellent
Hospitals and clinics
New Directions Treatment Services provides HIV/AIDS services
Very Good
to many Latinos and have a grant specific to serving this
Improves the self-esteem of the Latinos in the area. population.
South Bethlehem Neighborhood Center - very good Pennsylvania Statewide Latino Coalition- Very Good
Puerto Rican Beneficial Society - Bethlehem - Rebuilding
I have found working with Latinos for a Healthy Community to Reputation
be a worthwhile investment. Second harvest food bank — very good
Latinos for a Healthy community — very effective The Circle of Care
Adult Literacy Services — excellent
91
OTHER COMMENTS
Respondents were given the opportunity to make any other comments they wanted to contribute.
Additional comments or suggestions related to services for Latinos or the Latino community in general.

Interested individuals should reach out to Higher Education There needs to be a movement to unify all Latinos in the area. This
Institutions for consultation, research, etc. -Higher Education could be done through Latino committees that can share their
Institutions need to reach out to community organizations. -Very history, heritage, current struggles and action plans to help one and
interested in results and plans for the future. another.
Education is the key aspect keeping the Latino community and the We are a community that is divided by countries not by culture, I
lowest levels of the socioeconomic scale. Somehow, we need to feel that we need to come together and learn from one another
understand that learning English is a necessity. So much whether you are Puerto Rican, Dominican, Mexican, Salvadorian or
information is available in English and many of them are not as we Colombian we need to work as one community and help each other
are. Also, we need to promote (English and Spanish) and what in our struggles.
opportunities, programs are available. Each community has the same need — the need for more Latinos in
The school districts of Bethlehem, Allentown and Easton should work political leadership positions.
better with Latino students. Preparation for higher education is very We must move to recognize the common goals of our community
important. They should educate the parents regarding how they can and put aside the personal favoritism that compensate wrongdoers
help. and let them avoid proper justice.
I personally think that providing a quality education at the public Don't concentrate so much on the negative, i.e. what we don't have
school level is key to empowering a new generation of Latinos to because ... Concentrate on what we do have and how we can
continue to lead the community in the future. This includes insuring improve to obtain more (educationally, financially, culturally, etc.)
that there are more Latino teachers, staff, administrators and board
members to serve as advocates "within" Lehigh Valley educational Having this kind of survey and more ones like this in the future can
systems. Efforts should also be continued, expanded and intensified help in learning more about the services need for Latinos.
to provide existing personnel with the training to enable them to If you are a Latino, always remember who you are. Never look
serve Latinos more effectively and facilitate their reaching their down on another Latino. Remember who you are and that you once
hitherto untapped potential/capacity. where in his or her shoes. Thank you for this opportunity to express
Just that it is frustrating to feel that we have come so far and yet my ideas.
cannot find a bilingual psychologist to test children and adults to More jobs available, better and safe living. Receive help in having
diagnosis the difference between learning issues and language documents to have a better job as well as purchasing a dream
issues. We should be much further along given the age of the local home.
population in terms of its existence in the Valley. With all the changes coming to Bethlehem City I want to see more
If the Latino community is to make a mark in the 21st Century. opportunities for families to purchase there own homes and start
Addressing creatively education, health care and immigration issues there own businesses. Owning a home provides stabilization to our
may be the beginning of its survival into the future. neighborhoods and owning a small business makes your self-reliant
Competence in more than one language is strength, though it can and/or community reliant on each other.
be perceived as a weakness here in the Valley. Having resources Education regarding drugs and services available should be better
available in GOOD Spanish and GOOD English is a boon to everyone disseminated
and should be encouraged, as should the value of Help those persons with financial problems
bilingualism/biculturalism.
That they are given the confidence to express themselves. So they
As a community, we would benefit from collaborations in regard to can interact more and address their concerns in their language
attracting and maintaining bilingual/bicultural staff within the "Spanish not only English"
community.
The illegal immigrants should not have to be afraid to receive
Many agencies compete for the same grant to provide the same services. There should be legislation that protects them especially in
services. This leads them to compete with each other. If they united the area is of access to health and education and regarding
efforts they would be much more successful and would provide employment rights.
better services
There is only one Latino agency in Easton but they need funding.
Too many "leaders", too many people replicating services or doing
the same, a general meeting of all of them to strategize requests for
funding, to plan on a common agenda and a common strategic plan
to resolve issues and needs.
The Latino organizations and the organization that provide services
they have to be more united in order to deal with the services and
issues of our population. In a way to make an integration with the
community not to perpetuate the segregation.
Lack of trust of police Communication is a key. Teacher conferences in the Middle
Police brutality School should be held in the afternoon as well as the evening.
Another possibility can be that the conferences be held in a
A discrimination at workplace community center that is less threatening to parents.
Discrimination in schools In my opinion the Latino community does not yet understand the
The dropout rates tremendous political & economic power they hold in the LV. i.e.
A lack of English speaking services across the board (police, fire in the upcoming Mayoral election in Allentown the Latino
departments, schools, health providers, courts, attorneys, community should have a concise message which they can
prisons, juvenile proceedings) present to each candidate. If the Latino population can get out
the vote, they will sway the election.
All schools are different. Some schools have more Latino
students than others. Some get Title one services while others Sometimes we offer the services and the parents do not comply
do not. Some students don't fall in to the "help' category with this. This put their children behind later on. Agency tried
because of the school they attend. Unfortunately, they may get to reach them without success.
"lost." Fortunately, there are some administrators and staff that The lack of maintaining Latinos professional in Allentown.
do understand and don't allow the students to be lost. The University is a state institution with great bureaucracy and
Every school should have a liaison that is to be paid to political ramifications. The Latinos are able to provide limited
communicate with the families of the children at risk. The visits services to our community unless the particular offices
can be made in the evening. This will narrow the gap. incorporate in their mission community out-reach programs.
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LVEDC Latino Population Study Interview Summaries
AN EXPANDED PERSPECTIVE ON ISSUES

Interviews were conducted with 24 Latino and 6 Non-Latino key community informants consisting of service
providers, professionals and official and de facto community leaders. The Latino subgroups represented among the
Latino key informants were Chilean, Salvadoran, Dominican, Cuban, Guatemalan, Mexican and Puerto Rican.
Twenty-four were individual interviews conducted either face-to-face or by telephone. The interviews ranged from
45 minutes to two hours in length and some individuals were interviewed more than once. In addition, group
interviews were conducted with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Latino Leadership Alliance and local Latino
educators. The following is a summary of the pertinent information resulting from these interviews. The key points
were summarized and grouped into relevant categories. These categories were not predetermined, but emerged
from the interview results. Also contained in this chapter is a summary of key excerpts from a face-to-face
interview with Superintendent Karen Angello and Deputy Superintendent Russell Mayo of the Allentown School
District.
KEY INFORMANT INTERVIEW SUMMARIES

EDUCATION
I would argue that the huge disparity between the performance of White and Latino students has a lot to do with the fact
that you have income differences, family instruction differences and language differences, only some of which the schools
are in a position to be able to address adequately. When you put all of those problems within one school district, that school
district really struggles to keep the white kids from moving out and also to serve the kids that need the most attention. It's
a tough spot. The problem is that the schools that serve Latino kids are overwhelmed by the poverty that comes with it. So,
you have all the money in the suburbs, training kids who are already coming from nuclear families, where the families
recognize the importance of education, they have access, they can get the kids to after school programs and all that stuff.
Whereas all the lower-income and minority kids [don’t have these advantages] we then act as if the schools are failing. The
schools aren't failing, it’s the society that allows our educational system to be funded the way it is and to lock inequity into
our society. Our educational system, how we fund it, is the primary force driving inequity in our society. They don't have the
same money per student; they're not able to teach. And it's not Allentown School District's fault. It's not fair to blame them.
It's the system where Allentown has 67% of their kids on free and reduced lunch and in East Penn School District 6% are on
free or reduced lunch. It's just not fair. How do you fix that? You change the laws related to zoning and how we pay for
public education, how we pay for municipal services and all those different kind of things. It's all in the Brookings Report.
BETHLEHEM AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT

In the Bethlehem School District, those of us who work here know that we consistently and constantly struggle with the
achievement of the Latino students. I think that the Bethlehem School District makes a conscious effort to help our kids, to
see them move forward. I know that there are a good number of Latinos who work here in the system as opposed to
Allentown. We do consciously try to attract more Latino staff, because we think it's important. So those of us who work in
the system know we are always on the lookout and trying to help along the achievement of our students. Yet, our latest
PSSA scores when it comes to Latinos are not totally attractive although we had moved forward. Still, as we analyzed, we
saw that in the math area, for example, we had more than 50% of our population and I'm talking exclusively about the
Latinos, scoring at basic or below, which is a scary feeling because we know that they should be scoring better. So
something is not being done correctly. Everybody says, "Well, it lies with the teacher" and maybe it does, but there's a
whole gamut of variables and we try very consciously to work on that. But when you're hit with a statistic like that and
those are the improved scores, it is very alarming.
I also think that we have to look at the realities under which a lot of our kids are living and a lot of the stressors that they
are dealing with every day. We have the old proverb "it takes a village," and I think that we've got to peel back and look at
what experiences our kids are having, what experiences are they coming to our schools with and how those experiences are
contributing to their school failure. If you look at domestic issues and we could sit here forever talking about what's
happening in our homes - financial issues, separation, different types of abuse, whether there are drug issues, the issue of
HIV and other health related issues, how do those issues impact those kids? What message are those issues sending to
those kids? If I'm living in a situation at home where it's very stressful and I'm dealing with drug abuse or alcohol abuse or
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whatever, my dad's in jail, my uncle's in jail — that stresses failure. If that person they see at school could signify to them
success, that's one message amongst all these negative messages they are getting. So they step out their front door,
whether it is South Bethlehem, the projects, or what have you and what do they see? They see the violence; they see the
drugs, those types of things. That's again sending a signal to them, failure, failure, failure! So those are the experiences, for
the most part, that they are arriving at our doorsteps with. So they're coming into schools having experienced failure at
home, failure in the community, now what's the expectation at school? Well, they're going to get a lot of positive messages
from teachers and other people that you can be successful and now they've got to try to grasp on to some of those
successful messages that they are getting along with all the negatives that they are surrounded with and try to pull
themselves up that way. But a lot of times those kids come to school with those negative attitudes and expectations and
they misbehave on purpose. It's almost a self-fulfilling prophecy. They don't challenge themselves academically because
there's this fear in the back of their minds that “if I try and don’t succeed, it's only going to reinforce what I should have
already known.” So it takes kids with a lot of self esteem to say, "Hey, look it, I'm going to give it a shot and maybe I won't
be successful, but I'm going to give it a shot." They have to have enough confidence in themselves to do that. A lot of our
kids lack that confidence because of their surroundings in their homes, their surroundings in their community. So I would
think that some of the things that we need to address are these particular factors. We could address what we're doing in our
schools and we're doing a lot of positive things at our schools. We're opening our schools earlier in the morning and keeping
them open later at night, including Saturdays, but they are going back to that world, that home, that community and they
are being bombarded by those messages again: the issues in the home, things in the neighborhood and then you get the
media and the entertainment industry and what they are flooding our kids with, it's very difficult. I have not come across
many parents who do not want to help and they will do whatever you ask them to do. So we go in and we find out what
their experiences are and they allow us to put the supports in there — not do it for them, but show them, “this is how you
can help yourself,” and walk them through it.
I think the Bethlehem School District in general is doing a whole gamut of things to help their students be better achievers.
Standards being one of them, our after school interventions, our academic interventions for kids who typically don't get it
during the school day. We had these interventions that took place after school, before school, in the summer, on Saturdays
— that makes a difference. I think Latino staffing makes a difference. I don’t think it's the only variable, but it truly is a big
one. I absolutely believe that when kids see people that look like them that does make a difference. I think that lends itself
to higher expectations that our young children can see someone from their culture and say, "I can be that person." I believe
the more people they see in those positions, the more they are going to believe, “I can be that person, that teacher, that
doctor, that lawyer, that administrator.” I've seen the students that come to the community college; I can tell you that they
have a strong sense of being Hispanic or being Latino. They have their own culture, with their music, with their food and
they really have this strong sense of a culture. And they do know the staff at the school district. They name the people. "I
used to work with this one, I used to work with Ms. Ortiz or Vasquez." Because of that, they are in the community college.
Because someone pushed them, or someone put out financially for them, or someone called the right person so that they
could get into college.
ALLENTOWN SCHOOL DISTRICT

The district has a diversity plan. One of the recommendations that the task force presented to the school district is that they
are going to have to hire somebody who is going to exclusively deal with the issue of recruitment and retention of minorities
in the school district. The district says they won't have the money for it. Well I don't care if you have to go and tap into the
general fund, but this is a matter of urgency. Every time I bring up something to the school district, it has been "well we
don't have the resources, we don't have the money, we don't have the time." If we focus on not having, then we're never
going to achieve it. If we focus on what we can do and what we need and take a step, even if it's a small step, we're going
to get there. I think the problem is that in Allentown we haven't had a person who would be responsible for the hiring. We
need to have an Office of Equity. That office can deal with creating partnerships with community organizations." This is
already something that exists in Bethlehem. Jose Rosado from East Hills Middle School has put together this group called
CAPERS. The idea of this group is that from within the school district you're going to start developing the kids that are going
to go into education, into the police department, fire department, into government and health. Because education, health,
safety, crime, etc. are the areas where we need representation of minorities. We have a lot of children in the school district
whom neither of their parents have been to college, completed college or have graduated and so a college education is not a
way of life, it's not something that they grew up with.
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I know that in Allentown under Diane Scott, it was a school-based, diffused control. Whatever worked in your school, so
when you responded to a community, it was at your school level and the principals had a lot of autonomy. When Karen
Angelo came in, it became centralized. I mean the minute you start to centralize a lot and that transition is always a bit
chaotic, there are some feelings that the control is being taken away. One of the benefits, though, is that they move
towards a more consistent curriculum throughout [the district]. There's not only a migration in and out of the school district,
there's a migration from school to school within the district. And if schools have a different curriculum and you're in a
different place, that child falls behind that year because they had no continuity of service, because it was disconnected.
Currently, we have the first Latino woman on the Allentown school board, who is the only minority at the present time. I
know there is a need for communication, for parental involvement, also for the district to reach out to the community. I
wish, really, that we had a uniform policy in the Allentown School District. I'm a mentor also for the Aspires Mentoring
Program and I am a mentor for a young woman who had difficulties, that's the reason why she was put in the program. She
was sent to Communities in Schools, which is a program for students having problems, whether it's attendance, academics,
etc. Through the Communities in Schools they go to school half a day and they find them jobs. They learn job skills and are
also in smaller classrooms. They have tutoring and they also find them mentors, to have this extra support, in order to
provide them with role models they possibly don't have at home. So this young woman at the beginning of the year didn't
want to go to school. She missed a week and a half. She was telling me "No, everything's fine, everything's great" when I
would pick her up on the weekends but her mom told me that she wasn't going to school. So when I sat down with her and
asked what was happening, she told me she didn't want to go to school because she didn't have new clothes. It was an
issue. "I'm not going to look good, or the kids are going to make fun of me because I'm not wearing the right outfits, or
what's in fashion right now and I don’t want to go to school." Peer pressure is a big factor. So I finally persuaded her to go
back to school and she started attending. My own son, 16 years old, has same issue. "Well, I don't have any outfits to wear.
Everything I wear, they've already seen." So the issue of the uniforms is a big issue because that way the focus is not on
what I'm wearing or how I look, but the focus is on what I'm going to learn today. The homework that I need to do. The
things that I need to do. And that, I think, contributes to the discipline. Although those may seem like not important factors,
but they are factors that have to do with the discipline. Without discipline, you cannot make the kids learn.
PARENT INVOLVEMENT
Let me tell you what happens with this community and I always come back to this; Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. We are at
a very low level: our needs are for housing, transportation, to provide food and shelter for our families. So if I have three
children, I have two jobs earning minimum wage, probably no transportation, probably not even a babysitter. But I kind of
like take turns if I’m lucky and I’m not a single parent, which is another challenge that we have in our community. I may
not know the language; I may be concerned about how I'm going to get to work that day, or who's going to watch my
children that day so I can go to work. We also have the situation where many parents split their schedules. One works
during the day and one works during the evening, leaving one parent home taking care of three kids, two kids, one kid and
maybe a baby. So how do I make it to this school? I have no transportation, I don't speak the language and I may not even
care, because at this point it's not important to me to make it to the School District.
Another thing that we have is mobility. People come to the valley and then they'll leave. So we have this community ever-
changing. So sometimes when we start it, we lose and have to start all over again. That's what happens with the school
district also and why the scores are so low in many of the core subjects like reading and math.
In Allentown's defense, for the first time they are beginning to do some things they didn't do in the past, things that
Bethlehem isn't doing. But they have a lot of catching up to do; especially in terms of having staff that mirrors the
community.
HIGHER EDUCATION
Many Latino students will stay one semester, two semesters and then will not finish. Some of the problems are not having
enough financial aid and [not being] prepared for higher education. They don't know what expectations are in higher
education and how to manage their time. What we do at Northampton is we tend to be more supportive of Hispanic
students and guide them through, because the counseling department has three Hispanic counselors out of the six
counselors we have. So we try to have more contact with them, to provide more services, to be more proactive. But despite
that, students tend to drop out. Transportation is a big issue. They don't have enough money to have a car, or they have to
rely on public transportation, which is not always convenient or available. Community College is in the process of acquiring a
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building in South Bethlehem. Right now the Community College is located on the outskirts of Bethlehem, so when they say
it's hard for them to come to Northampton, they probably take three buses to get over there from South Bethlehem, which
has a great portion of our community, although there are many Latinos living in all sectors of Bethlehem. As they acquire
that building on the South Side and move those programs over there, people will have easier access to the facility, it may
become better to be able to work with people. Some of them are adult students, including single mothers, who have
children and then they cannot manage the daycare, working and also going to school. The other issue is that they are not
really well prepared for the education. Not to do the work, they want to do the work, but not enough preparation for the
expectations, to know that they will have to study more, go to a learning center and manage the time, prioritize and things
like that.
The school systems need to do a better job of preparing Latino students for higher education. That and the community too.
Not only are the schools the problem. You have to do that. Some of them are the first generation to go to college. So their
family support and understanding is not there. Since they are the first in the family to go to college, they and their family
don't understand what the process is. Filling out the financial aid forms, getting the papers in on time, spending more time
at home doing the homework. Getting more money for extra books or materials, things like that. Typically students who are
older, non-traditional, they do very well because they already have their support system established.
Bethlehem students tend to go to Northampton because it's cheaper. Students who are from Allentown have to pay twice
the tuition that Bethlehem students pay. Most of the kids from the Allentown area that go to community college are going to
Lehigh-Carbon. I would say the bulk of our graduating seniors that are Latino stay within the state colleges: Kutztown, East
Stroudsburg and we have a large number that go to the community college. We always have a nice group that go on to
Penn State, either the local campus or University Park, but by and large they stay within that system, probably because of
the price.
We are also seeing a very dangerous trend, which is institutions that were willing to allocate scholarship money for students
of color are afraid of federal regulations because they can be accused of reverse discrimination. So that's a luxury that we
cannot afford. Something I would love to see addressed is how we are going to manage to really support these scholarships.
So it's going to get harder and harder for our kids to go to higher education.
YOUTH
BETHLEHEM
Gang activity in Bethlehem is moving in and is increasing. Real gangs are just starting to move in, I'd say, in the last few
years. What we have more of is “wannabes” mimicking gang activity, or gang involvement. But that's when they get into
the drugs, the violence, the vandalism and those types of things. They aspire to be a gang member, so that's going entirely
contrary to what we're trying to get them to do in school — aspire to go to college. We have a lot of youth programs,
recreational, athletic programs and arts programs. I think in the community we do a very good job of engaging those kids
from the age of 5 until about 13, 14 and 15 year-round. Basketball, baseball, peewee wrestling, the Banana Factory, The
Boys/Girls Club, there's a ton of programs from the age of 5 to the age of 14 or 15 where we keep kids engaged, but then
there's a drop-off, because now kids 14 and 15 lose interest. They aren't as athletically talented, or they gain other
interests, moving toward the gangs, getting involved in drugs. So the drop-off is about the age of 14, 15, maybe 16, where
these kids lose interest in these activities, or they outgrow the Boys Club or outgrow some of these organizations and that's
where void starts to come in and the streets take over.
I wanted to point out that in 11 of our Title 1 schools, which are our highest poverty buildings and two of those are middle
schools, we have an entire gamut of after-school programs funded through the 21st Century Community Learning centers
and those activities keep kids engaged from 3 to 6 o'clock, often at night. I'm thinking, God, if it wouldn't be because we
have that, we would have an onslaught of kids that would be home alone or otherwise idle, or on the streets. Those
activities go from academic programs to recreational programs to enrichment programs, full cycle from theater and drama
to web making, doing academics and playing sports. Many of our schools at 4 or 5 o'clock look like they are in full session.
So that holds that group of kids together, but as mentioned, there is a drop-off at a certain age. Our other two middle
schools and of course our high schools don't have those types of programs. They still have the athletics and stuff like that,
but I also find that even though there is in our community a conscious effort to have athletics and athletics for Latinos,
because I know the South Side Little League, the Saints, there are organizations where primarily the participants are Latino
students and many of the coaches are Latino, some can’t participate because they may have to stay home taking care of a
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baby sister or baby brother. It's not always that our parents don't work, they work 1st, 2nd, 3rd shift and school for some
has to end at three, because who is going to take care of the elementary school kids that are coming home?
There's a big effort. But if you went to the High School Football team, you would not find many of our kids engaged. None
on the basketball team. Soccer, which is a big Latino sport, none. Well part of that problem is the money, there's no money
for our kids after the season ends in middle school to continue play, whereas all other groups have the $300 or $400 to fund
themselves. We have some teams that are pretty much Latina. We have one at Freedom and maybe two at Liberty that play
and it's because once the season's over, they're not playing anymore. There's no access to money for them to play. It costs
$400 and a parent who can drive them, if another parent can't, to tournaments that are going to be all weekend and they're
going to have to pay for the hotel and food.
The students who make the teams are the cream of the crop - if they have not attended the Lehigh camp every summer, it
goes against them and we do try to get scholarships from Lehigh. I really think that a lot of our coaches need to be a lot
more sensitive and that's where the whole issue of having more Latinos on the staff comes in. Because I know that if we
have people in the high school and there happens to be someone who plays volleyball that person at Freedom can say "hey,
I heard from so and so that you're a good player, go out for the team" and encourage the kids to do that. I don't see
everybody going out of their way to do that for our kids. I also know that at one time I said to one of our high school
principals, "Why is it that 30% of this school is Latino and when I look at your cheerleading squad they all happen to be
blonde and blue-eyed? That is not a representation of your school." And he looked at me and said "You know what, you're
right. It's not. That's going to change." and I said "Yeah, right." The following year it changed. The cheerleading squad
changed, the majorette squad changed, but it was still very difficult for the reasons that have been pointed out for the
teams and even the bands to change. I think it really takes someone who can take the bull by the horns and say "If your
high school is 30% Latino then we have the right to see 30% of all these clubs and musical organizations and sports
organizations [populated by Latino students], 30% of our kids also participating and whatever it takes to have them do that,
because I think research bears out that kids who are involved in activities like that are more likely to go to college and
succeed than those who aren't.
We just recently hired a Recreation Coordinator, because they did a study on our youth. Not Latinos, just youth that roam
the streets of Bethlehem because there's no resources for them. In that study it was identified that we need a recreation
coordinator that must be bilingual to engage the percentage of the community which is most of them — 90% of them were
Latino. What happened was, despite that critical component, they hired somebody that's not bilingual.
HUMAN SERVICES/PUBLIC SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS

In Human Services, over the fourteen years I have been in the area and working basically with the low-income Latino
population, I think that the issues are still the same. There is this one primary issue and it is that no matter how much the
population grows, I still continue to battle in the county on issues of hiring bilingual, bicultural workers that would service
our Latino population more effectively. And I keep hitting wall after wall after wall. We need bilingual workers. The need for
bilingual workers is crucial. In the county the caseload was so heavy with Latino families and yet they could not
communicate. People would come into the lobby and say "I can't understand my worker" or "He can't understand me" or “I
have to get my child to come translate for me and sometimes I don't want to say things to my child to translate. Things that
I don't think it's appropriate for my child to translate"
The reason they are not addressing this issue is, I think, that many of the people working in the system are in total denial
that the population has changed in the area. This was predominately a Dutch, German-Dutch and a lot of Polish families. So
I think there is a lot of denial that the numbers are so high. Also, they don’t think our community contributes to the area
and all of us are here to suck dry every system. I also think that it's not a priority to them, because it's not anything that
directly affects them. So to them it's like "Well, we're filling the position with workers, that's all that matters." But what are
you doing? You're putting a Band-Aid [on the problem] because you're not getting to the core of the issues and you're not
really helping people effectively. And those are the constant obstacles that are out there for our community when they go to
get services. Not only in the county, but a lot of the other offices, like Social Security or the Unemployment office. They
have tons of obstacles here that they are trying to navigate and there is movement going on within the valley. Pockets of
groups that have risen up of Latino professionals that are saying, "This is not acceptable and let's do something about it."
But it's a huge problem, as opposed to what some of us can do. It's like you're constantly hitting at it with a little mallet,
trying to get through the wall. So it's going to require a lot of energy and a lot of time from those of us that are Hispanic
and are professionals. We can't give up; we've got to keep at it.
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A lot of the agencies don't have bilingual workers. And they have an attitude about it too. It’s like, "Why don't you know
English? How long have you been here?" Incredible, their attitude about it. It's really horrible.
I attended this Family and Child Summit at Meridian and all the organizations that provided prevention services, outreach to
prevent kids from getting into drugs, to prevent pregnancy, all these prevention services’ funding is being cut because they
don't have a way to substantiate what they do, or to measure what they do. So the funding is being cut, so as to that the
reason mainly is because nobody's advocating, there's no joint effort of groups to advocate for their funding. It goes to a
lack of representation in the political arena, because we don't have leadership in politics. We need to participate and many
here that I talk to say "Why should I vote? My vote doesn't count." So they tend to withdraw themselves from the political
process. Nothing they're going to say is going to fix that.
The other issue is government. Government in regards to Lehigh and Northampton County. They need to do a better job
hiring more Hispanics in the Police Department, Fire Department and in the local back offices of the government — there's
hardly anybody. Because of that, the services do not reach them as much, or they have to go to too many groups to get
services compared to the mainstream community.
One other issue is that no one is really covering the criminal justice system. A higher and higher percentage of minorities
are the ones in the system, because once you're in the system, then they've got you. So it's more than Police, it's the
courts, probation and parole. Nobody's able to look at that, to advocate for that, to even get a handle of what's really going
on.
BETHLEHEM
Funding for social programs is being cut back. A lot of the funding has been cut back. We have a lot of domestic violence
and substance abuse. I work in substance abuse; my organization is part of a substance abuse program. We see very young
kids these days try to use heroin. Before, it was thirty years old, forty. I've seen it in kids 14, 15, 16 years old. Another
difficulty is that it is getting very difficult to find intervention out there, such as for children in pain and give support rather
than [waiting] until something happens and it's out of control. The prevention is not there and it's not just children, it's
across the board.
LATINO LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNITY ISSUES

Like every other Hispanic community, Hispanics here want change. They want to have more opportunities; they want to be
part of the mainstream. The problem in this area is that to become part of the mainstream you have to be involved in the
mainstream and you have to be involved in many community organizations. You have to volunteer, which is not something
many of us are used to yet. And you have to volunteer to affect those changes. You have to get involved in the political
arena, which doesn’t pay much and those people who are capable, who have the necessary background to do these things,
are getting paid a lot more money doing something else. So you’re in a Catch-22 then: either you become a public servant
and you might not make a lot of money, or you do the business work, work hard and make some money for you and your
family and forget about what else is going on in the community, because you're concentrating on working and making
money. In order for us to make major changes, we have to be involved in community organizations and the problem we
have is we don't have a lot of people in leadership positions, so we need to develop them to fill leadership roles. Luckily we
have I-LEAD that is working with the Weed and Seed program. They're developing some people. Another is the Leadership
Alliance; we have a leadership development committee. Some people, because of the lack of enough leaders, the ones who
are doing the work get burnt out, because they're too bogged down with their particular leadership role. It gets complicated
and aggravating because the mainstream community, many times say they want Hispanic leaders and they don't see any,
they don't have any and there's no representation there. It gets really stressful for the community to work together and it
creates a variety of problems, not having the right people at the table to make the right decisions for everybody.
The existing leadership must be open to nurturing, to developing and mentoring others. I'm always trying to recruit people
and get them involved. So one aspect is that the existing leadership must be more open and must be willing to develop new
leadership, because what I've found is "I have control and I don't want to give it up because I want to get the credit, I want
my name in the paper, I want..." So it's just that aspect. And on the other hand we have those that feel that "I've nothing
to give, I'm not prepared, I don't have any experience, maybe I'm not going to do a good job and therefore...” or they feel
that there's nothing in it for them, so they don't get involved.
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On this question of unity, I know that every community struggles with this – unity in the Latino community. That may be
part of the problem — that we’re all supposed to be thinking the same way, following the same rules. I don’t know that
that’s necessarily a good thing. I think that that puts us in a position to have people ... try to control everything. Unity
should be about collaborating around common issues and being able to put aside differences for the common good. Unity
for me is the ability to disagree and not be enemies.
One of the things also is that those who are in leadership really need to understand that we need to learn to do something
simple: agree to disagree. This is what happens - if you don't agree with me you're not my friend or I can't work with you.
No. We may not agree on this particular issue or incident or program or whatever, but there are plenty of other things that
we agree on that we can work on together. That's what we don't have.
The Latino community is not perceived as an important force. In other words, "Oh, Latinos are just there to go on welfare
and be a problem for us and clean our floors, do our wash and cook for us, whatever." But not really professionals. People
sometimes say, "Well there are no Latino professionals." There are and there is such an influx right now from New York and
New Jersey. I'm seeing more and more people coming in here saying, "I'm from New York and I want to start a business
here. I want to buy a house here and by the way, where do I register to vote?" My hope is that this influx that we're
experiencing is going to lift the existing community and make it a priority to get involved.
We are going to be having a Cinco de Mayo celebration this year. Last year with the Hispanic Chamber we had a Cinco de
Mayo celebration and we had over 300 people. When I organized the Small Business Resource Mixer at the Crown Plaza last
year in September, we again had over 300 people. And pretty much Latinos. It's so awesome to see, because they show up
when there's a reason. And the value that the Hispanic Chamber has is networking. They show up because they want to
meet other Latinos. They want to talk to us like, "What are you doing, where are you going, what opportunities are in the
valley?" So they attend.
One of the things that we definitely need is mentoring. We need to get all these people we have in all these companies, all
this Middle Class, going to the schools. Successful Latinos have been going to Roberto Clemente as part of a mentoring
program for probably eight, ten weeks; on average two people every week talk to the kids. In the beginning they were very
disrespectful and now you see them — they sit there and they listen because of who I'm bringing there, it's basically they
are seeing themselves. I'm bringing Latino men, Latino women that are successful, but because they stayed in school, today
they have opportunities. There have only been a handful of people involved in that effort compared to the community at
large.
We need more of the Weed and Seed training that we had. It had taken from the community about 25 people who before
weren't involved and you should see them now. To see these new people coming in is like "Great, I can take the people
from the Leadership class and put them on boards.” I have already three people that I am putting on the board of the
YWCA.
[In Bethlehem, although it’s not organized, there is a loose network when it comes to Latino Professionals in Bethlehem.]
We have the leadership who is educated, who knows each other, who networks if something is happening. In our
community, the educated ones, or the ones who are doing a little better, are well organized. The leadership is lagging at the
low-income level, in those communities, in the centers. How do we get them involved? I don't know what it is, but somehow
we have to work at bringing the community to fight battles. There was a time when Cedar Crest College had the leadership
program and they would have 10 or 12, I believe it was a year long process. I remember speaking at a number of their
group meetings. It was Cedar Crest College in Allentown and they were trying to get leaders from the Lehigh Valley. I'm in
two leadership programs now, one being more school-based and the other community-based. There is absolutely nothing in
there about sensitivity toward cultures.
Bethlehem has things locked in an undercurrent kind of way. So it looks like things are going so much better and everything
is really nice and calm. I think what happens in Bethlehem is that people are kept in their place, so to speak and if you
make any kind of noise in Bethlehem, you're going to get hurt, politically, so to speak. Whereas in Allentown, you're allowed
to make noise, you're allowed to raise things and bring them up to the front. The leadership in Allentown has been more
successful and a lot more together than the leadership in Bethlehem in engaging the battle, striving to move forward as a
community. So the dynamics look different for each community, Bethlehem looks like it's really moving forward and doing
well and Allentown looks like it’s struggling. But I think that the dynamics are different and that each has their specific
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problems that show up in different ways. Non-Latino leaders in Allentown are ready to accept a Latino and to negotiate with
him at a leadership level whereas in Bethlehem it's still rare.
I think the perception is that Bethlehem is probably more successful. But I think that one of the things is that the population
has longer time in place. There's a significant population that is much more established and anchored in Bethlehem,
whereas Allentown has a tendency to have a higher transience rate, with more of the back-and-forth to Puerto Rico.
There’s a lot of intercommunity movement and when you move from Allentown to Bethlehem, honestly, because this
happened to me and I'm an adult, it's like going into a different world. It's like literally you have to re-learn the culture,
you've got to re-learn— it's different. And Easton is very different as well.
While I was working at Community Services for Children, I learned that the communities are very different. Bethlehem is
much more stable. Families that live in Bethlehem are more stable and have more families around them. The families that I
was working with in Allentown, they're very transient.
The similarity between Allentown and Bethlehem is the Latino that is on the move, looking for a better lifestyle, whether
you're upper middle class, or lower class, living off the system, something similar we have is we are looking for a better
lifestyle. We're looking for opportunities. So as we come out and see Allentown and Bethlehem, they're similar until you step
into them. Allentown, it's a much larger city, although we're both third-class cities. But in Allentown there seems to be a lot
of disarray with economic development, right in its core in downtown Allentown, which is that a lot of factories have moved
out and nothing has been done. It's caused a lot of decay, because the people with money move away, move out and then
renters populate that [area.] That's where you have a lot of the low-income and it's an eyesore when you go into the city. I
think that most of the money, the people with the property taxes and the upper-middle class, they move out, but still within
the city limits. You go out to 25th street in Allentown and it's way out there near Dorney Park, but it's still the city of
Allentown. But if you look at the center of Bethlehem, there is quaintness to it. We do have the eyesore with Bethlehem
Steel, but when you look at that, it's contained. You can tell that it was a factory and it's being redeveloped. But
immediately around it and if you look out the window you can see it, there's development and there are businesses that are
thriving. And past leaders have been able to make Bethlehem a tourist destination. So there's quaintness when you come to
Bethlehem. I would encourage you to stroll in the city. Something you can do in Bethlehem is you can stroll and you're
going to love it. I can't say the same for Allentown and I hate to compare them, but those are two realities and those are
two differences that a Latino who comes here, he sees them immediately. Poverty is more concentrated in the city of
Allentown and it's more dispersed in Bethlehem. It's visible, but it's smaller.
Allentown and Bethlehem are two very distinct and two very separate communities and I think it all has to do with how the
communities began. I told you that the Spanish Council and the Puerto Rican Beneficial Society were the thread that held
this community together. Because the Spanish Council had delegates from all the other Latino organizations, like the
churches, the Puerto Rican Club, the Bilingual Teachers, everybody knew what everybody else was doing because their
delegates would come back and tell them. So it maintained that cohesiveness within the community that Allentown never
had. They have other issues. They have issues of greater poverty; they have a more diverse Latino Community. Their
schools and their Police force were less responsive to the needs of the community than they were here in Bethlehem. And a
lot of stuff takes place in Allentown that just simply does not happen here in Bethlehem. So the Bethlehem Latino
community is kind of its own entity and the Allentown Latino community is its own entity too. Even to the point that they
each have their own parade. Well, we support theirs and I volunteered for both organizations just to try to lend some
assistance and some of their people have come to Bethlehem to our event. There's no feud. It’s just that each community
has developed separately and distinctly.
In Allentown, from within the Latino community there isn’t a whole lot of trust. That is lacking. Trust in leadership. We don’t
have a whole lot of leadership, but the few leaders we have we don’t trust. That’s the problem. The leaders don’t trust each
other and the community doesn’t trust the leaders. We have a lot more Latinos here in Allentown and in Allentown we’re
getting to have a little more power. We have a mayor now who is more open to supporting our issues than the previous
mayor. In Bethlehem they don’t look at the Latino community that much. They do their thing and they try to ignore them.
In Bethlehem, most of the Latinos are Puerto Rican, very few Dominicans, very few Mexicans and a few other South
Americans. But [in Allentown] it’s more mixed. Although we still have more Puerto Ricans, we have more Dominicans, more
Salvadorans, more Ecuadorians, more Peruvians and Mexicans. The different Latino groups just subsist without really
working together. Puerto Ricans do their thing, Mexicans do their thing and so on.
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The need for leadership development is an issue that keeps coming up. That might raise the issue of what I call "The King of
the Hill" effect. Did you ever hear of the kids’ game? You try to get on the top and you try to keep everyone else from
getting you off. I see that so much in the Latino community. And it happens in the African-American community as well. It's
a problem. And I'll tell you, to knock other people down in order to build themselves up, that is unhealthy, that's terribly
unhealthy. Now maybe it happens in the White community too, but the White people are in power. They can do that.
Minorities can't afford to be slashing each other and cutting each other off at the legs and it happens all the time. There are
the distinctions between professionals and working class people. You know, this one’s not acceptable because he's
Dominican, he's not Puerto Rican and the other is not acceptable because he doesn't speak Spanish. I mean you hear that
kind of stuff all the time. Someone else comes in "You haven't done a good job, I'm taking over." I watch it and I'm amazed
by it, I'm sickened by it and I figure I'm not acceptable because I'm white. Why would you offend an ally? Someone who's
spent their entire career fighting your battles for and with you?
I think that we need to empower our leaders. I think that we have a lot of people with great leadership skills, but they've
been overshadowed or underestimated. They have a lot of potential to have a lot of power and they have a lot to say. Just
last night someone told me "Your name's being said everywhere, for good, like you're the to-go girl." And that was kind of
surprising to me because I've been here for almost nine years and now I'm hearing this. I feel like I've been very active for
the last nine years, I haven't stopped. However now, in the last couple of years especially, I think that more people have
paid attention to what I am doing — that I'm really following through and moving and bringing people with me, which
makes a big difference. I think that I've been doing this all along. I think that the dynamic that I was seeing in the Latino
community was that the same people were out there and others were not given a chance to be part of or to be there. I feel
that is the key. Many of us don't have the skills, but we're afraid and we're easily overshadowed by leaders with more
power. And if we learn how to deal with our own issues, it's going to be easier for us to step up and let our voice be heard.
And we need that. We need to support the current leadership and we need to develop new leaders.
EASTON
We recognize that the city of Easton is long overdue when it comes to Latino population. With the growth of the Latino
population in Easton, there are certainly areas of concern. We have the many Latinos that have been here for years, for 20
years or so and have never felt part of their community. Therefore they don't vote, they don't seek community resources, or
they don't know what's out there for them, although they are legal [residents]. So we're just looking to help them, to
educate them, give them the information that they need. One of the things that we are trying to do is bridge that gap
through ESL, or English as a Second Language. Not only that, but through the school, many times Latino children are not
placed correctly. Parents don't come into the school to do what they should do to advocate for their children because they
feel intimidated, don't know the language or the big terms. My interest is to sit there through those meetings and actually
tell the parents, "You know what, you don't have to do this. You have rights too.”
We were both in the West Ward area yesterday. Without giving a name to a certain establishment, we found out the
landlord redid his lease, in writing and tried to have this person sign off on it, telling the person that, "you sign it now and
I'll get it notarized." which is illegal. When you get notarized it has to be first person, in-person. The person signed the lease
when it said a certain amount, then when they got it back, the copy, it was with whiteout, handwriting changing the amount
of the rent, changing information on the lease and the person was highly upset. She thought this is not right, why was the
amount different? In the original and the copy you can see the whiteout and basically they were being threatened, in a
passive manner, either do it or be evicted.
I taught ESL for Latino adults here. After the classes, which would end at 9pm, these students would wait for me, to ask
questions. Questions that were not in regard to the class. Questions about things they thought were wrong being done to
them. They would go to my class even if it were raining. These people, mind you, they walk. I was like "What are you doing
here?" They’d say, "Teacher, we needed to ask you something, so after the class can you wait for us?" I would stay there
until 10:00 or 10:30 just answering questions. So they need the help.
[What is your estimate of the Latinos here?] Statistics say that it's somewhere in the neighborhood of seven or eight
[percent.] We believe it's really somewhere in the neighborhood of 23% to 33%. But we're talking about numbers that we
are missing, the underground. We feel that for every household reporting three or four people, there are an additional
unreported three or four people. If you have a family of four, there are probably three or four other people living there. I
have had the opportunities to work with different families and they do it — one, because rent is so limited here, sometimes
not everybody will rent to them. Two, because not having the proper documents, they can't get light or electricity, or
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whatever else they need, so they go and temporarily live with somebody that does know the ropes. Many times it's just
affordability. Most of the people here are from Mexico, El Salvador, Peru and Costa Rica. Do we still have Puerto Ricans?
Yes, not as much as we used to. They've moved down to Bethlehem or Allentown. I can tell you that in some situations I
have run into people, for example, they eventually come up to me because they need to enroll their child in school. The
child maybe has been here two years in this city already. The school has no idea, or else they would have got truancy fine
a long time ago. The parents didn't know how to enroll the child and were afraid in case they got asked for a social security
number, so never really thought about it. And when I meet the family, there are a lot of them. And there are a lot of
children in the house where none went to school. So those are unaccounted people. We know that they are renting, but we
don't know that there are children in the home not going to school. Dad usually works and Mom stays home with the
children. That is their lifestyle, because they are afraid of that social security number thing. We have stores here in Easton,
like the Mexican stores, or the travel agency, or different places that are the only places these Latinos go to. That's where
they ask for help and they are referred to us. Once we meet these people, we realize that behind each one you get three,
four, five more. So they are coming out of hiding, but not openly, to meet just two people who are going to help them.
In response to the many needs in Easton, we have created El Puente/The Bridge, which we are trying to get funded. El
Puente is a Latino Community Outreach program that is focusing on helping Latinos transition into the community, belong to
their community and also we're trying to bridge the gap between the rest of the community and the Latinos coming in from
the city. El Puente's a baby. El Puente was an idea for this past year or so, it wasn't until January 10th that the community
starting getting more information about it, although in the — I can't call it underground — it’s existed for about a year now,
because we've always helped the community. Although we didn't have a name back then, we didn't have an office back
then, we were still helping the community. People want the program; it's just that the powers that be don't want to put the
money behind it. It’s a service that is highly needed and they recognize that. Although I guess with the government cuts
and whatever may be, everybody's like "Oh there's no funding" But the people still need the help so we try to provide the
help anyway.
We don't want a resentful Latino community further down the years like what's happened a lot across America. I think that
we have to tackle these issues and show them that they count too. They're just marginalized and I don't like that. So that's
our second job whenever people need us. They are looking, for example, for rental places, for rental rights, for help when
they are seeking food pantries, don't know what to do, don't have any money, especially a lot of medical help when their
children become ill, they don't know what their rights are. Then there's a lot of injustice being committed to them that
sometimes they get papers not knowing what these papers mean, they need a lot of translation. Some of them are legal
[residents] but don't know English at all and some are actually trying to set up businesses. Housing is an issue and medical
assistance of any type. Children need immunization shots to be able to go into the school. They're going to a place that
charges them $100 for vaccine, when they don't know that if they reach me, I take them to the Pennsylvania Department of
Health and they get their shots for free. They don't know this. Now you tell me, when can a Latino family afford $100 per
shot? Right there that's their rent, food money, everything money. I would say it's safe to assume that 65-70% are
undocumented. That's why they don't trust and come out, because they feel if they go to the ESL classes on the corner
across from the police station, that they're going to be found out and deported.
One of the problems ... is our district attorney has this, for the lack of a better word, thrust on deporting a lot of people. For
example, he has people in the area trying to see where they are working. And here comes La Migra like Pancho Villa —
"Out." So he's been doing a lot of that. That's why they are not trusting anybody either. This person is making an effort to
not let people rent out to the Latinos and it's just a big issue right now. I'm going to give you an example. A year ago a
Mexican gentleman came to me who spoke broken English and told me he was renting from a landlord who charged him
$650 a month and got cash in the past with a money order from him and then it was four other people in the household
which he got cash for $650 per person. So each person was paying $650. It's going on still. So there's housing and
employment that abuse these people because they're scared to speak up. They didn't know what to do. They're afraid if
they go to the authorities, the first thing that's going to happen is they're going to be out of here. He asked me to avoid the
landlord. He's covering himself by documenting a money order as a way to go through the courts, but what was not being
documented was the cash flow. And that's one of the things that I try to make conscious. We obviously open accounts; we
have the ability to open a tourist account. They can have checking, they cannot have interest-bearing accounts, but they
can open an account. So that's one of the things that are being done. One of the things that I always try to make them
conscious of is to write a check to the landlord. Don't give them cash. That way you can trace the payment. They come
back, "How do you write a check? Can you write in Spanish words? Can you put it in English?" I'm like, "It doesn't matter,
once you give it to the person, the person wants to cash it."
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Many times the children are living in a different world than the parents, because the children learn English a lot quicker. The
parents feel completely excluded, because they don't learn English along with the child. So now, the child is more
empowered than the parent is and the parent doesn't feel they really have a right to participate, or that they are going to be
looked down upon because the person's illegal or not. But there's a lot of rights mentally that are taken away from the
parents.
If we don't establish services, one of the things I fear is how a mother feels when she can't provide for her child. As a mom,
you know you will do anything you need to do to provide for your child. If they are here, have no where to go because they
don't have the money to go anywhere else, are not being allowed to work, they'll have to get the food to feed their child.
What are the repercussions? How are they going to provide their child with this? Are we going to have a bigger crime rate
because of necessity? If I see my child starving, I'm going to try to get community help. And if that doesn't come through,
I'm going to do whatever I have to do as a mom. These people don't know there's community help out there for them. That
will make the crime rate go up because of necessity. I fear that if there is no intervention right now, the abuse is going to
grow bigger and bigger.
UNDOCUMENTED
[Are you seeing many undocumented in the Lehigh Valley?] Yes, it shows up when people come to collect wages and find
out they can't because they don't have social security numbers. Some of our Community College students have been
mauled with a double whammy that if you're not a resident, then you have to pay out of state tuition and you have to
provide a lot of documentation saying who is going to pay for your studies when you go to college. So the discrepancy is
that at the high school level, no one asks questions. So these kids can go all through high school, but when they start to
apply to college, or community college, then all the questioning starts. So they don't have the money, they don't have the
papers. Why is it different, especially for college institutions? Why is it that when it's time to go to college we ask questions
when nobody asked those questions before? So what's happening is they are faking social security numbers and faking
other information, or they're just not going to college, which is sad. Where it shows up also is hospitals and it shows up in
major ways financially. I think it would fall somewhere between 15-20%.
There is a large number [of undocumented] but it's hard to say how many because a lot of them are spread through
Allentown and Bethlehem and many of them are working quietly in restaurants, some out of the area on farms and such ...
A guess of how many would be 5 to 10 percent. That is undocumented. That does not include people who are here with a
working permit. There are a number of people here with working permits that do not have a Green Card.
LATINO ORGANIZATIONS
[About the relationship between the different Hispanic groups] it is very good. There is no issue ... there may be some
people talking here and there, individual things, but there hasn't been any organized group that has said, "we don't like the
Dominicans, the Puerto Ricans, the Peruvians" etc. This has never surfaced. For years, years, I can't remember the last time
we've seen anything like that. Well I think at the beginning, it was the type of thing where people were divided somewhat
but now we basically are working together. The Peruvian group and the Dominican group are dormant; the one group that
still stays separate is the Puerto Rican Parade Committee, which changed its name to the Puerto Rican Cultural Alliance.
There's one in Bethlehem as well, so there are two of them. In Bethlehem it's called the Puerto Rican Cultural Coalition. And
that one has a separate board. They do a festival and a parade in June. In Allentown they used to be the Puerto Rican
Parade Committee. They changed their name to the Puerto Rican Cultural Alliance and they have a parade in July and a
festival and a dinner. The Puerto Rican Cultural Coalition stays in Bethlehem; the Puerto Rican Cultural Alliance stays in
Allentown.
[Regarding the funded Latino social service organizations] it's not like they won't talk to each other, won't collaborate, it's
just that it has to be worked. It doesn't flow. Someone has to take the initiative like we've done and go to the Spanish
Council, "Can we link initiatives to do this?" and they are very welcome. So it's not like it's a hostile environment, it's just
that people don't think in terms of collaboration. If somebody takes the initiative, I think they are going to think there's a
higher purpose, but if we do it, I think the reception is good. I think one of the reasons why they don't work together like
they should is because of lack of money in the community and the grant. So if you're doing what I'm doing and there is only
a certain amount of money, I'm going to make sure that my organization stays standing, so I'm going to make sure that I'm
going to get that grant. And maybe that’s a lack of resources that we don't have, that's why everybody is doing their own
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thing, because there is a certain grant for this, so this organization is not going to communicate with this one because I'm
going to make sure that I'm going to get this for my services.
I know two efforts that have benefited all three centers. One was when they did the juvenile delinquent program with the
TCCD and the three centers, they didn't work together but the funding was linking them together. And the Council and Casa
duplicated programs. I mean they used the same program, the same groups to do the same work and HAO did something a
little different, but they were supposed to report collaboratively. So now a new one has emerged and that's the
Pennsylvania Association of Latino Organizations ... They [groups] are being told, here's the money, you work together. So
there's a lack of coordination and you feel there needs to be another group that brings them together. These organizations
have worked; it's been Casa, the Spanish Council and HAO that have been central figures helping PALO become the
organization it is. We may not be aware of it, but they are in many areas working together to make things happen. I think
the piece that happens is they have to put their fires out, they have to run these centers and they have staff. The Latino
Leadership Alliance doesn't have any of that; their focus is a little bit different. I think the role that it plays is mostly as an
umbrella association.
I want to say that in the Anglo Community there is a hesitance on their part to partner with anybody because they will
offend someone else. "We're not sure we should partner with the Council because it may offend CASA," or "We're not sure
we should partner with HAO because it might offend the Council."
BETHLEHEM/CONCILIO
[Is there a cohesive Latino advocacy group in the area?] They have like different committees, health committee and
education committee. We used to have that with the Spanish Council. The Spanish Council was an organization with a board
comprised of the leaders of other boards. The services rely on funding. What happens is that as you change leadership
within those organizations, if you don't have a strong unified board, they don't have the clout. And for a long time the
Spanish Council did. But then for whatever reasons, lack of sound leadership, lack of board enthusiasm, that has diminished
and we have seen a tremendous decline in the leadership of that particular organization in the last 5 or 6 years. Then we
have the Latino Leadership Alliance, which when it started out was a very well intentioned organization and was doing good
things. But I think the critical mistake was always that we want to be all encompassing. The minute it joined forces with
Allentown and the other neighboring [areas,] it got too big too fast and then nothing comes to fruition.
The Council of Spanish-Speaking Organizations was formed in the late sixties/early seventies and the way the Council
worked was that it had representatives, or delegates, coming from other existing Latino Organizations, of which the Puerto
Rican Club was one. They would send delegates to the Council board and then the Council opened its doors as a social
service agency, providing a number of services that were very much needed in the community. Basically an information and
referral area where people could come and find out where their kids were going to school, how they register, how they could
get jobs, where they could go for housing, how to get into public housing and all of that stuff. Both of those organizations
are still here and striving as best they can. Of course the Puerto Rican Beneficial Society is a business, so they have more
money, whereas the Council of Spanish Speaking Organizations depends on funding from outside sources. I think that the
Council can do more than it's doing now, but I have to tell you that the Council was for many years, maybe up to the last
five years, one of the most respected advocacy organizations in this community. They had their fingers in everything, they
did a lot of advocating and they were responsible for getting the school system to become more responsible to the needs of
the Latino community. They were responsible for getting Northampton County Prison to be more responsive to the needs of
the Latinos who were in prison, incarcerated. They helped access jobs for people; they actually did job development and job
placement. And when the big epidemic of AIDS came about, they were one of the first organizations to develop a program
around AIDS education and treatment for Latinos by Latinos and they were one of the first in the state. Currently the
Spanish Council runs the only Women, Infant and Children program, the WIC program, in this community. The Council also
houses the only Hispanic Seniors Center in the area and was, again, the first organization to create such a program for its
seniors. And the uniqueness of it is, of course, that our seniors get to go to a place where they can eat rice and beans, learn
about nutrition, then we take them to their appointments and so forth and so on. But you know, times are rough and it
becomes harder and the professionals in the community are more split in terms of the organizations that they can belong
to. So it becomes hard to find people that are going to serve on boards. Particularly when their by-laws say that you have to
come from another Latino Organization. Now they have created some seats on that board for members-at-large that can be
recommended by the board - people with expertise in a particular area that they may need. So there are some other people
on the board now. Anglos serve on the board, whereas before it was largely Latinos and mostly Puertorriqueños.
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I think the Council needs fresh blood. It's not an easy task to move forward an organization that has its fingers in so many
different things, but you clearly need someone who has had experience in that kind of development. And I don't need to tell
you that in most Latino communities if someone has a degree and are very well respected, they think that you can be a
jack-of-all-trades and that's not the case. Definitely some of us have strengths in some areas and not so much in other
areas and I think we have to be able to recognize that. And so, if there's anything that I could say about the situation in the
Spanish Council, it's that we need to look at the leadership and how we are utilizing that leadership. We need to put people
who are strong in program development to do that and people who are strong in finances and grant funding to do that. I
don't know that we've done that as well as we ought to. It's also very difficult to get board members who are faithful to the
cause and who are consistent with their attendance at board meetings and work hard in committees, because it takes more
than just a board meeting once a month. You need a lot of committee work to move things forward. The other thing that's a
real issue is funding. You know, those times when funding has been scarce, when it cannot be had — we've lost a lot of
funding over the years. And then, if you do have funding and you're not doing such a hot job because of the other things
that I mentioned, you're going to lose that too and that has typically been what has happened over the last couple years on
the council. They lose one program after another and we think that we'll make up for it in this other program and it hasn't
been that.
In recent years, the Concilio has been fairly stagnant and hasn't grown. I think the present leadership has become
complacent and comfortable. I think it has alienated a lot of segments of the community that could have been allies. But
whatever the reasons, I don't know them all, but the ones that I'm aware off, I think it's a shame, because it's a good
venue and nothing is happening. It used to be a very prominent and visible organization that everyone used to turn to. It
used to be. And that says a lot.
[Would local advocacy groups be more effective than regional?] I think so, because our communities are different as night
and day. You walk down the Allentown streets and you walk down the Bethlehem streets and you feel that difference. They
are only 10 minutes apart but they are two separate communities. The school districts, the pictures are completely different.
The politics are different. The board leadership is different. Their superintendent and our superintendent in Allentown, for
the first time in my 32 years in this district, are talking to each other and trying to work on initiatives together. You know
why? Because both superintendents are from out of town. Because if they were from here that never would have happened
either. The leadership, I agree we don't have the political clout; we have a group of people working in political advocacy in
the community.
We now have the first and the only Latino City Councilman in the 40 years Latinos have been here. That was a big deal.
They had a big parade. There is a lot of pride on the Latino side, of course and even among some of the Anglos. We have an
older community, which is a great part of the decision-making. But you have the offspring of that older community that are
just becoming first-time homebuyers and they have had the opportunity to grow up in a diverse system, with Latinos,
rubbing elbows. So they were ready for it as well. It's been very well received and very minor with the expectation of the
disgruntled guy, “Ahh, just because you're Latino you did this" That's been minor, but it has been out there.
In Bethlehem, the issues affecting the Latino Community are a lack of political awareness and empowerment, awareness
being the biggest one.
HISPANIC BUSINESS COUNCIL (HBC)/HISPANIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

(HCCLV)
We had the Hispanic Business Council. It was established about 15 years ago as a committee of the Greater Lehigh Valley
Chamber of Commerce, which at that time was the Allentown Chamber of Commerce, which then became the Lehigh
Chamber of Commerce. Hispanic Business Council, as a business entity, helped develop businesses within the Hispanic
community. We partnered with other organizations, such as the Community Action Development Corporation, that provided
training for entrepreneurs who wanted to open their own businesses. We also had business mixers; we had a business
development committee. Quite honestly, the business development committee was not that active because there was a lot
of movement among the chairs, people moving out of the area, so the last several years have not been that active. But
about 6 years ago we developed a Hispanic Business Directory that was updated every two years.
But the real focus was education and the sense of the group, from what I recall, was "What can we do that's real, can make
a concrete impact, with the resources we have available?" So the focus, because of the participants that were there, seemed
to be education. So the scholarships, promoting scholarship applications, not only through the money raised and given to
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the Hispanic Business Council, which wasn't very much, but access to other scholarship opportunities, positive school
visitations, mentoring, that kind of stuff. The HBC worked on providing educational scholarships, $500 for college students.
That was our forte. That was what we did the best. We did a fundraiser, in December usually, or January, charged people
$50. We also got sponsorships from local businesses. Then we provided the scholarships in June to students. Then a group
of people came together who wanted to develop a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and they wanted us to join them. They
weren't really formed yet and some people thought it wasn't the right thing to do—to join a new organization that wasn't
developed when we had been in existence for 16 years. So there was some controversy at that time.
They had a written plan of what he wanted us to do. They wanted to merge boards. They had identified a group of people
that they wanted to be the board. He wanted HBC to merge with his to form the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. HBC had
pretty much been influenced by the GLVCC because it was actually a council of the GLVCC and they wanted to be
independent. But when it was proposed to the HBC board members, it didn't hit them right, they said, "Well how can we join
a organization that isn't developed yet when we have something going and we have a very good reputation?”
I liked the idea of developing a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. I thought it was a great idea. But how would we work
together? Then we decided to invite the organizers to an HBC board meeting. In August we called an extra meeting of the
board so we could talk and people were taken aback because one of them said, “I've given you guys the opportunity to join
us and we're going to do this with or without you and we're not sure if we even want you now.” So he was just moving very
fast. Too fast for us. In the end, they said they wanted to do their own thing. They wanted to do business and they didn't
want to do anything with education. We decided we had three choices: join the Hispanic Chamber, stay as we were, or join
the Latin Alliance. We decided to join the Latin Alliance and we had a nice merger.
The Chamber was created to be able to promote the economic interests of the merchants, the professionals and
entrepreneurs of the Lehigh Valley that are Latino. So we do that through advocacy, business development and community
development. Beyond that we have activities, we have workshops very month or every other month, depending. Most likely
we will have a trade show this year. Different areas get attention, sometimes it's the construction industry, next month
hopefully it's going to be the bodegeros [grocers] and restauranteurs. We're trying to get people that can be certified ... I
think if you take a look at the Lehigh Valley, you will see that there is a lack of diversity that has existed for years and a
lack of inroads. So you have a lot of parochialism here within the urban areas and throughout the Lehigh Valley and we're
closing the ties with a lot of businesses that do business with other businesses and as newer people to the Lehigh Valley, we
really don't have the political ties, we don't have the economic ties that others have. So we're at a little bit of a
disadvantage. Progress is going to happen by people working at it. That's why everybody in here works hard and tries to
succeed. Now if the question is “what are the barriers to entry?” I think that a big problem has been the Old Boys Network
and its unwillingness to want to bring others in. [Regarding a local businessman] he told me he was never able to find a
qualified Latino to sit on his board. So I said to him, "well you found one now." I haven't heard a word from him since. Now,
he doesn't have to call me. I was just using that as an example. I don't need to sit on his board. That editorial from the
Morning Call having to do with the LVEDC — These people had the gall to say, through the newspaper, who sits on their
executive committee, that we need to go slow in the Lehigh Valley and we have to be careful with the old guard because
things move slowly in the Lehigh Valley and it's very hard to find qualified Latinos to sit on their boards and for them to do
business with. I mean are we supposed to accept that? I mean who are these people? What century are they living in?
[Local merchants and businessmen who operate more on life experience than education, say the Chamber is above them.]
That's why you can't give people anything. Those people have to have the intelligence and desire to find someone that can
help them. Now we tried, there's some outreach and so forth. You can only create a structure for people to help, but people
need to seek help, they have to want to be helped. So everyone can improve, all organizations can obviously improve. I
hear what you're saying but I don't accept it as a valid criticism. We are a chamber of commerce just like any other
chamber of commerce, except that we're focused on Latino businesses. People have to come to us and become members for
us to at least start helping. So we help those that come seek the help. And we do a meeting a month, or a meeting every
other month and a diverse type of research background, we've done restaurants; we've done vocational meetings,
certifications. I think as a chamber what we're looking to do is to enhance and support the local Hispanic businesses. The
more successful they are, the more wealth they're going to have and the better that our people are going to do and that's
our function as a chamber of commerce. So now what do we do? We go out and we put out the memberships. We have a
membership that is demanding certain certifications, or certain help with taxes, legal, whatever, then we have to cater to
them and bring in the appropriate training so they can advance. So right now what we do, and the way that we are
structured is, we look at our membership. What is our membership doing, what are the issues that they are concerned with?
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Do they need certifications as minority-owned businesses so they can compete at the state level? That's been going on and
we've provided that for them. Do they need help with legal issues? That was another issue that was a need and we provided
that to them. So now, as our membership goes, obviously people that aren't members, they're going to say “they're not
doing anything for me.” Well, no we're not, because you're not a member. Become a member, voice your opinion and we
can take it into consideration and as a chamber of commerce bring you the appropriate help that you need.
We created a Chamber of Commerce to be able to get other people involved in business on the theory that if you go to
school, become educated and make some money, then you'll be able to become involved in boards, become politically
involved and be able to have the discussion that we're having here today. That's what we want other people to do. We don't
want other people to beg, to have to rely on anybody. We believe in self-reliance in economic development. That's what
we're interested in. And it works. Given a chance, it works. I want to talk about this whole victimization concept. You have a
lot of people who, again, make a lot of money off this victimization. Executive Directors that can tell you all about the
history of the Lehigh Valley's Latino community because they've been Executive Directors forever. To create economic
development is to put them out of business, to a certain extent. We want to help out and our key objective is education and
economic development. But overarching, I think the umbrella, is the objectivity. None of those social services would do
anything we come up with. Trying to get social services to do economic growth is a big mistake. They don't know anything
about economic growth, because they don't have to make the money, they don't have to make their own money. And if you
don't make your own money you have no idea, really, what it takes and what's involved. So I think that the social agencies
should stick to what they know how to do, which is to provide social services. I think that economic organizations should do
what they do best, which is to stimulate growth, get people involved and grow and then we should get the people that make
some money to be charitable, to see the light and understand that there's something profoundly wrong about Casa
Guadalupe, or the Spanish-Speaking organizations over in Bethlehem, or whatever it is over in Easton. We get our members
from several places. We purchase lists and we update them on a regular basis from the Hispanic Center, [of Latinos] making
$50,000 and higher. Because that puts them as either professionals or business owners. Not that we don't want other
people, but those are the people that we know are going to have an interest in what we are doing. And that has brought out
a dramatic amount of people that people have never seen, or even knew were Hispanic, to participate, because they see
what this is, we are targeting them correctly, we're hitting on points that are important to them. Advocacy, business
development, community development. We don't want our mission to get bogged down by all the welfare needs of the
community, because they are different strata. It's not me who invented this, it just is.
I feel that the Chamber is not catering to the small bodega owner, the small restaurant owner, the small merchants in
Allentown or Bethlehem and Easton that really need services from the Chamber. Someone that can tell them what to do,
where to get their financing, how can you deal with the city, how to deal with the city of Allentown also. How to really get
the business going. I haven't seen them do anything, as far as to even do a simple survey. Go out there. Go knocking from
restaurant to restaurant, bodega to bodega, asking, "How can we help?" Their philosophy is let's make money by taking
money from these large corporations and banks. They're functioning at a very high level.
I think right now the Hispanic Chamber is operating for the upper-scale businesses, the middle-class businesses, to create a
network for them. And really they're establishing themselves as power brokers, which, if it's done right, is a needed vehicle.
They need to be power brokers. There's nothing wrong with that, but let's do that now, let's get strong in that, but let's not
forget that we still owe the bodeguero, the barbershop guy and the flower person. They are needed, that venue, the vehicle
is needed. I'm glad it's in place, but they just missed the mark of the little guy in the street.
There's some concern that because there's such a focus on the poor and the needs of the Latino community and what has to
be done, that the Hispanic Chamber feels there needs to be some refocusing to address the issue that there are successful
Latinos here who are entrepreneurs. That it’s not just a poor community; that we have professionals, business people, so
they feel that there's an image issue that needs to be refocused to open up these opportunities. There are some very
strong feelings of, "We need to do for ourselves, nobody needs to do for us," that kind of thing. I think there needs to be
some kind of balance of what has to be provided to the community by the mainstream. We can't do it all ourselves... but
there are things we can do for ourselves. So where the class issue comes in is in the image of the Latino community here
and they're trying to refocus that image.
One of the first experiences of one of the Chamber organizers talked to me about when I first met him was — and this
happened to me and happened to many of us — he took one of his tenants over to get a permit for a business and the guy
asked where he lived. He told him and the guy said, "Oh, you live in one of the drug dealers buildings.” They were calling
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him a drug dealer because he came over to Easton and bought all these buildings. That sends a wrong message to someone
who is not a drug dealer, like me, for example. I've been called all kinds of names: that I sell drugs, that all Dominicans sell
drugs; ...and you have to clean that image somehow. If they see a successful Hispanic they immediately assume that
they've made their money through some kind of illegal activity. Not only the Anglos, but the Hispanics as well. An example:
one day I was coming out of my business after working all Saturday morning and I got into my BMW, put the top down and
put on a little music, relaxing and I took off. As soon as I got to the first light the guys in the car next to me, looked like
Puerto Ricans, say to me, "Hey you're doing okay on ese punto, eh?" (Punto is a term for a drug dealers turf...his corner).
And I'm thinking, wow, these people think just because I have a nice car I'm a drug dealer. It's this idea that many people,
including our own people think that we cannot be successful.
HISPANIC LEADERSHIP ALLIANCE

The Latin Alliance was like a civic organization and we tried to work on issues. Originally it was developed because there
were all these little groups out there; the Dominicans were on one side, the Peruvians were on another side, Colombians on
another side, Puerto Ricans had another organization and everybody had their own little thing. Some had festivals, some
had dances, everybody going their own little way, some events conflicted, people didn't know where to go and everybody
was saying that the Hispanic community is going crazy.
The Alliance was formed after the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs (GACLA) conducted hearings in the
early 90s that led to the creation of a Mayor's Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs under Mayor Daddona. But Daddona
decided not to run and another mayor came in. We were trying to advise the new mayor on issues that affected the
Hispanic community, out of the study developed with GACLA, but he was not supportive or collaborative. People started to
resign out of frustration with the administration. We decided to leave at once and form a new organization we called the
Latin Alliance, independent from the mayor's. That was to create a forum where people could come together every month
and talk about different issues. What we decided to do was all these groups and I knew most of these people and had good
relations with them, was to ask them to send delegates of their organization into this new Latin Alliance organization and
that's how the board was formed. So that actually created a more cohesive type of community. So now every group would
have a chance to talk about their organization, what they were doing, at this forum. We developed several committees: an
education committee, a festival committee. We decided to do a Latin American kind of festival between September 15 and
October 15, so it would fall under the Dia de los Hispanos kind of thing. So we decided to do that, because although there
was a Puerto Rican parade, people who weren't Puerto Rican were feeling left out. So we decided to do a festival that all
Hispanics could participate in and we would celebrate a different country each year. Unfortunately we didn't get that much
representation from Easton because the community is very small. It is an emerging community though. We got some
participation from Bethlehem, not as much as we should, but we still got people from the major organizations over there.
When we merged with HBC, one of the issues was what are we going to keep... to bring from each organization. I wanted
the HBC to keep the scholarship and the dinner and breakfast where we hand out the scholarships. We get about 150
people at this breakfast and they're not all Hispanic. We do the dinner to raise money—very successful. We decided to get
away from doing the business part because the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is doing the business side of it. We're doing
educational issues and leadership issues. We are still developing the ideas around leadership training. We formed a
committee and they were looking at the I-LEAD program. I suggested that our organization connect with I-LEAD to work
with our leadership committee, which they did. In addition to that, we have the Weed and Seed program here, I-LEAD is
doing the training for the Weed and Seed, which is a year or two year program where members come over and learn about
leadership type of things. But these are grassroots type of people working with the Weed and Seed program, because most
of the programs delineate a certain area where they work and that's a city program. While we work with a group that is
doing this kind of work, we will continue to develop our leadership committee.
The group says that part of their goal is to bring different elements of the community together and coordinate services to
help address the community. I think the coordination of services, some services, is a good idea, however I don't think that's
we are set up to do at this point. I think we are set up to do leadership development, educational advancement and, if I
may say, to help the community, to strengthen the community. Now how we're trying to strengthen the community may not
be by getting representation of all the Hispanic community into this board, however we have major representation, not
necessarily of the Hispanic community's organizations into the board, but people who are able to work towards a common
goal. As you noticed we have Anglos who are heads of other organizations like the Red Cross and other Anglos, but it's not
as diverse as I would like to see it.
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OUTREACH
[Regarding a community event to bring the diverse elements of the community together] I was the only Latina there. I said
to them "Are you doing this? Are you doing that?" "Oh no, we're not" "Did you promote this in the Latino media?" "No, we
advertised in the Morning Call." "Well how many Latinos really read The Morning Call? If you really want the grassroots
community presence, you need to go to El Torero newspaper, El Hispano newspaper, now we have Panorama, several
others. We have channel 69 Spanish edition that also goes to the Latino community." And then they went "Oh, oh."
BUSINESS, JOBS AND ECONOMIC ISSUES

One issue is economic development and creating more opportunities. In the Lehigh Valley there are a couple of people who
make up the "old boys network." These people are creating the "new wave" of younger people, their children and their son-
in-laws. Those people are the new wave of blanquitos [whites] who are going to run things. Who serve on all the boards and
make all the decisions; the banks, insurance companies, PPL, LVEDC. We need Hispanics on those boards, on LVEDC, on the
(WIB) Work Investment Board. And bottom line, we need more (business) opportunities for Hispanics. That's it! They only
way to get in there is to have people in those positions. More people in politics, etc.
I know in Pennsylvania, if you look at the second highest state in terms of age, we're only behind Florida. And if you look at
the out migration of kids graduating from colleges that leave Pennsylvania, you have a population that is moving towards
not being part of the workforce. Then they look at economic development. How in the hell are they supposed to recruit
businesses and industry if they can't provide a pool of higher adult educated employees? So where's that pool going to
come from? Where are the numbers? The numbers are right there. And the main thing to do is bring them up.
I know the Latino community; I know the business needs of the Latinos and all business in general. Small and medium-
sized, because that's what I do... I'm also one of the founding members of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of the
Lehigh Valley. [We were told] "The Greater Lehigh Chamber is already there, why don't you just join as a council?" Why?
Because then we have no decision-making. We don't want to be tokens, especially when there are no programs; the GLVCC
has no minorities on their staff. No Latinos, no African-Americans. You're going to tell me they can't find a receptionist? An
intern? No one. They don't have information in Spanish; they don't have committees that address the needs. They used to
have the Hispanic Business Council, but the HBC was more for education than anything else. So again the business
community was neglected.
When it comes to LVEDC, I have no faith in them. They need to improve their representation. Everybody knows that. They
don't see the Latinos as an important force. They see Latinos as a problem that they have to deal with, but they don't see it
as a group that has power. I've been working more closely with CareerLink and as a result I have been able to work with
LVEDC. The difference is that the CareerLink Executive Director has been more open to working with me and has been open
to many of my recommendations. Diversify the staff, have people who speak Spanish, also have information available in
Spanish, organize events in partnership with minority and Latino organizations, we're doing all that. In fact, I'm planning a
business development resource fair targeted mainly at the minority community, small businesses.
My view of the LVEDC is they're 10 or 15 years behind where they should be. This is 2005 and they are about 1990, 1989.
There's definitely a big need for diversity in their ranks, they have none [minorities]. It's all about releasing power and
sharing it. They will quickly ask you to volunteer and adamantly ask you to volunteer and that it's incumbent upon you to do
it, but how about having Latino paid staff? That would bring more value. And it's not happening.
I am generally supportive of LVEDC. I think they understand that the world is changing. I think they want to do the right
thing, I think they're moving in that direction. There are a couple of people that are actively involved who I think are stuffy
old corporate executives with an Old World mindset. Regarding the controversy that took place this year, the person who
criticized the LVEDC board was on the nominating committee for five years, never said any of this stuff. I mean he was on
the committee that was supposed to be building membership and the organization. So it just upset a lot of people. Mostly
men who were basically doing good, moving in the right direction, maybe too slowly, but basically decent people trying to
do good, that he just insulted. That's not the way you solve problems in a small community. I know there are 600,000
people here, but basically it's a very small community. We all know each other. You don't make change by insulting the
people who created the institution that needs to change. It wasn't a productive way of doing it.
I would recommend that small business owners in Allentown they form their own groups and support each other. They don't
have to have anything to be members, just "Where do you get the information? Where do we get the community grants?
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How do we deal with the city of Allentown? How do we deal with government? How do we get inspected? How do we deal
with the inspectors?" Small issues that affect a business on a day-to-day basis.
There are two things that are out there that need addressing. One is organizing Latino businesses and that's what the
Hispanic Chamber clearly wants to do. That's a very valuable task. Second is helping the small struggling businesses take
the next step. CACLV can do that. We could be a lot better at it, do a lot more with it if we had more than four employees.
So I think there's a gap there.
For Latino businesses, one of the areas of need is always finance and technical assistance. If you are particularly focusing on
the minority and women owned business, technical assistance is a great, great need. Financial assistance and technical
assistance also comes in the way of helping people figure out how they can clean up their credit, find out if their eligible for
financing. A lot of times they don't even know how to do that. Also, in the area of financing — financing programs for start-
ups — we don't have any programs. For example, when you're setting up a business, you don't have two or three years of
tax records, you don't have all this information that if you go to a bank they are going to ask you for. What I see is that
individuals get turned down because they don't have this information, or because they don't know how to clean up the
credit issues from their past that are still on the report. Sometimes, it's not even theirs. But it's on the report and they don't
know what to do. So there's a lot of need in the area of knowing and understanding where to find the resources. And those
are already in existence. And also for the organization to provide those resources that they need to enhance their services.
For example I know Community Action is a great organization, but they have only one person that provides business
development technical assistance. And this person, she's great, but she doesn't speak Spanish. So she has to rely on
somebody else, who is an average person, to do the translations.
Although that's not directly my job. But I find myself, many times, sitting down with the people who want to start
businesses in Allentown and I'm walking with them step-by-step filling out forms. Otherwise, they wouldn't understand the
form and that is an obstacle in them starting their business. If the interpreter does not know the words, technical terms,
then they are not going to be able to provide assistance for business owners and that's what I see, that there's a big gap.
That is a great area of need for support, let me give you an example of this one lady: she bakes, she makes cakes. She
knows about that. She used to have a business in Massachusetts and over there she found a lot of people who are resources
like this, people who were bilingual, so she was able to get the assistance, get her business going. But when she came here
to Allentown, she didn't find anybody. And she made a lot of mistakes along the way. Then she finally came to see me and I
was able to help her. Since then I have spent so many hours with them. Even on the weekends, so it was not really
something that was part of my job, but I do it because if I don't do that, these people fall through the cracks. They will
never start a business if they don't get the help that they need.
When it comes to financing, there we need to create, because there aren't, as far as I know, there are no programs here
locally — that's why I invited this woman from California to come here. Her name is Sue Williams, she travels all over the
United States promoting this pilot program that gives financing to small businesses. Programs that require not so much
documentation. It's an SBA guaranteed program, which means that the bank that she works with is exposed to less risk,
because of the guarantee by the government, the SBA. And that allows them to take on more risk than any bank that we
have in the area. Our banks are assuming all the risks themselves. There are many SBA-guaranteed programs. But yet the
banks locally are very conservative in their underwriting. They require so much information. And my point would be that this
program, for example, should be a permanent program and it should be a program offered by all the banks in our area.
Because there shouldn't be a reason why I should be waiting for this woman to come from California to offer this
presentation and the application, the opportunity to apply, to the people in Allentown.
I think one of the ways that you get the attention of the business community is to point out how much money there is in a
particular constituency. Whether it's the elderly, whether its kids under the age of 12 or people who speak a different
language than you. You need to build relationships and the best way to build those relationships is to hire people who can
build them. And I think that they go hand-in-hand, but I think for most people the first step is for them to understand how
much money is in that community. One of the things that I think Whites don't understand about People of Color is that
People of Color do business based on relationships far more than Whites do. Whites do business based on the profit: its
cost, its quality, its availability, its accessibility and so on. People of Color, in my experience, do business more based on
relationships. They'll let themselves be ripped off because they think that the person they are doing business with is
trustworthy. That's my point about, for example, mortgage companies. The bank that does the best business in the Lehigh
Valley in mortgage lending is Keystone-Nazareth Bank and Trust. Why? Because a Latina has done such a spectacular job of
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building those relationships. The reason why 200, mostly Latino, families were ripped off in a real estate fraud scheme in
downtown Allentown is because the real estate and mortgage brokerage understood that building relationships is what
worked and they ripped them off mercilessly to the tune of tens of millions of dollars collectively. A couple hundred buyers.
They understood that if they had Puerto Ricans on their staff, they would reach Puerto Ricans. If they had people who spoke
Spanish and so on. The companies that figured that out are the ones who are basically predators. Check-Cashing stores,
Pawn shops, Payday lenders, mortgage brokers and all these other bad-actors that are out there, all too happy to rip people
off and take their money from them.
My point that Latinos do business based on relationships as opposed to price/product information ... I think it's very
important for the business community to understand that there's all this money out there but you need to learn how to get
at it. You need to hire people to build those relationships, you need to market to them. I feel it's very critical that they get
it. I don't think Anglos understand that very fundamental thing.
Another thing that's happening of value is affordable housing getting sparse. Income for affordable housing is getting worse.
The Valley is not there for Latinos income-wise to support the rising price of real estate. If you get a $10/hr job here in
South Bethlehem, here in the Lehigh Valley, That's still considered not that bad of a job. What will $10/hr buy you with the
prices that we have now?
Most Latinos are the working poor. They're working but they're not earning. They work and the paycheck goes to housing
and for food — all of it. I think if you do a study of Latino savings accounts you're going to find out there is none. They
won't be able to save. They live from pay to pay. They'll do anything. They'll cut grass as long as they can get paid a little
more. They're going to need $10, $12, $13 an hour. A $2 per hour increase would make a big difference in a family.
CAREERLINK
We have a very elaborate workforce system here in the Lehigh Valley. Very elaborate. And I think that it's over 60% of the
kids in the CareerLink summer program are Latino. So we know how to market and get working on the pipeline of having
them come to raise their skill levels during the summer months, so when they go back into school we're creating and raising
them up. And I know a large percentage of our staff is Latino, which we do workshops and job clubs and we have a special
orientation.
[Is job training in the area attempting to close the gap?] Yes. We've done industry clustering, we just got through with
industry clustering and I do believe in force-feeding education and do believe in force feeding people toward or steering
them toward industries where there are job openings and career pathways. I take criticism for that, but Healthcare is the
only critical issue we have in the Lehigh Valley and you can be darn sure that if I can take “Mary” and “Lillian” and start
them at a home health care agency and help them get their CNA and then move them on to a nurse, that's a pathway. And
it's creating that pathway that our system is now involved in for an individual, versus getting them a job. Totally different.
And I think that's the holistic approach that all of us need. We have waiting lines for the ESL and GED classes. We need to
devote much more money and energy in the community to raising those levels first. For example, some more dollars in
incumbent worker training for people. Government, rather, programming that. In other words, if we worked with “Lillian”
and we got her a job as a CNA; we sent her to the Career and Technical Institute where she got a CNA (Certified Nurses
Assistant) Certificate and we place her at maybe a nursing home as an assistant. There needs to be money available for her
to get that next level of training. Either money through the company, in helping her find a pathway to get into that program
with the company, or providing it if the company doesn't to help her move up the career pathway in that company. It’s
about both the corporations and the government investing more dollars. It should be half and half. The employer's gaining
by the person gaining that skill, but they're not gaining enough to pay for all of this. So that's where we need to provide
that at a certain level. So I can see a shared expense for employers and the Department of Labor to move people up
through the pathway of their career choices.
If we want to make an impact on the working poor, getting them jobs is not enough. We have to help people already in low-
paying jobs move up the ladder and then move the entry-level people in; there's a process that happens. Well, we do a lot
of summer programs, we spend a lot on summer programming with kids, but we have work experience programs. Starting
with 10th grade, we follow them all the way through — 10th grade, 11th grade, 12th grade and we help them find summer
jobs. We get options for them for college. Sometimes it's just getting through the maze with people. It isn't necessarily you
have to pay for everything. We hold programs like "What should I be when I grow up?" And have parent's days and they
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bring their kids in and we talk about "What should you be? Where is work? Where are the jobs? What are the skill sets?"
You have to educate your entire community on this. It isn't just Latinos, it's everybody, so that we all fit in.
[How strong is the network between various organizations that are addressing workforce issues?] Very strong. As the
Workforce Board Staff, we've called every single one of them in and asked, "What can you do for our system? What part of
our system would you like to be a part of?" It's a matter of not taking over what they do; it's a matter of aligning their
services to create a system, versus a center, a program. Mary doesn't have to run all over the universe. She walks through
these doors and whatever she needs, it's our responsibility to help her get it. So there are 93 community-based
organizations in the Lehigh Valley. Every two weeks we hold meetings with whoever wants to come. Whoever wants to
come, we tell them "Here are all our jobs, here's how you contact these employers, here's a system available to you, here's
what they pay, here are the skill sets they need, here are the training programs available, here are the dollars we have to
spend, what else can we do? Send us your people.” We're a hub. Our system is run by 47 board members and 51% of them
are in the private sector. They are telling us what they need and what we should be doing and that's different.
[How many Latinos do you have on your board?] Eight or Ten. I talk to them a lot, just "This is what we're doing, how does
that sound? Does that seem to work for that particular population?" So they are advisors and they are part of developing
the system. Like "How do you expect these people to move on if the only time you're open is from 8 o'clock until 4 o'clock?
Let's try an evening program." So now we have the building open one night a week.
BETHLEHEM
[How do you build wealth in this community?] Most likely it’s not the gambling hall, that's what it's not. That's one of the
big things we're fighting now. Oh wow, we're going to have 5000 new jobs if we build this casino on the south side of
Bethlehem, but I don't see anything nice outside in Atlantic City once you cross the boardwalk. So we have to be careful
what we strive for as far as jobs go. At first it was slots and now they are talking tables. Although I like to go to the casino,
I don't want it in my backyard. It would be more harmful than helpful to this community. Many men and women in that
community would go to that casino and spend their rent money. A lot working there will end up spending their money there.
Money that should go for basic needs, like food, is going to be used somewhere else. Although I think the creation of jobs is
one thing we need, we don't need jobs from a casino, that's for sure. They help people open up businesses, but often a
single person. It is not enough. It is on such a small scale as opposed to the need that they need to look for larger
companies to come in. Rather than bringing in these little companies in, it's the larger companies they need to bring in. I
remember when it was Bethlehem Steel, people worked, there was food on the table, they had what they needed, there
wasn't as much violence, which changed.
Bethlehem thinks creating decent jobs is starting small businesses. The Community Action Committee — that has been their
focus and they do a good job doing that. Look at the companies that are coming in. Olympus is coming in from Long Island.
Where is it going? Over the mountain. There's another company coming in from somewhere in New York, where are they
looking at? The edge of Bethlehem and Allentown at the industrial park. A lot of those places are too far away.
THE LATINO CONSUMER FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF A LOCAL LATINO

BUSINESSMAN – PETE RAMOS, RAMOS REALTY
I opened my business in 1999 and before that, I was selling real estate with another company. I was a real estate agent
since 1977. At the same time, I was also a steel worker. I worked for Bethlehem Steel for 28 years. I was doing that and at
the same time building my real estate business. I used to work nights at Bethlehem Steel and then during the day from 9 to
5 I'd be working selling real estate.
I came from Puerto Rico in 1955. I believe I was seven or eight. My grandfather came here to work in the late 40's. '48, '49
something like that. Then in the 50's my grandmother came here as a nanny for a family here. Then my grandmother came
for my father in 1955. My grandfather used to work on farms, on the railroad, you know, seasonal work. Maybe that's how
he met somebody here who needed someone to take care of her children and in fact I still see those kids from when my
grandmother was a nanny. We came and stayed with my grandmother for a short time at the house where she was a nanny
and from there we moved to the projects — the South Terrace. I don't know what they're called now. Since then they've
been torn down. The army built it back in the 40's and now they've built new modern townhouses there. When I first got
here there were few Latinos here. There were about twenty families, maybe thirty families of Latinos. In fact, at that time
they were just starting out The Puerto Rican Club back here, which is part of the first Hispanic community around and it's
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still going. At that time in the schools, when I graduated from high school there were 1100 kids in our graduating class and
I think there were maybe 5 Latino kids that graduated with us. Now, 50% of the school's Latino.
[Of your business, what percentage of the clients that you get are Latino?] I would say 70%.
[So Latinos would tend to come to you first because you're Latino?] Probably because of the language, right. It's probably
the language. I think Latinos are loyal, if you treat them right. Loyal consumers, definitely loyal consumers. You treat them
right and you don't even need to advertise, you just tell the other person, "Hey, come over here" Now, lately in the last five,
four years since 9/11, most of the buyers that I get are from New Jersey and New York. Latinos. A large percentage of
them. I thought why don't I just put one small ad in a newspaper and I did. I put a small ad in a New York paper and a New
Jersey paper and I got a lot of response.
[Do you think that name “Ramos Realty” then attracts other Latinos to the area or makes them feel free to call down here?]
I think so.
[For example, if Stoltfus Realty had put an ad in, you probably would have got less response from the Latino population
than you did?] Absolutely.
I'm seeing companies, competitors from Jersey, a lot of companies and mortgage brokers that are coming across the bridge
and seeing the influence of business over here. I don't think our community in general has realized this yet. Let me talk
about my industry, real estate. I don't think the real estate industry and the sales people out there even understand the
Latino community. I'll get a call, "Hey, Petey, I'm out over here, I know this guy over here" and they'll send me the client.
Either they don't want to deal with it, or they don't understand. [So Non-Latinos will call you and send you Latino clients.]
Yeah. Interesting, right? That company should be training us to work with them. I've noticed that the large franchises are
going in that direction now, because I was just interviewed by one to join them because they are realizing the [buying]
power in the Latino community. They want desperately for me to join them. They now have a web page in Spanish and all
their literature, everything, is done in Spanish.
If there's a listing in an urban area, in downtown Allentown or downtown eastern Bethlehem, there are people and not just
in my industry, who are afraid to come into the community because of the stereotypes we have gotten over the years. I
hear realtors tell me “I don't want it, the list is probably down in Allentown, or I don't want to deal with people that are in
Allentown, I want to deal with people in Bethlehem." I don't think it's discrimination, I think there's a lack of understanding.
[So you said that they have stereotypes about Latinos and Latino consumer, so very often they are not willing to deal with
them. They may not even understand how much business they are turning away.] I would say there are a lot of them, even
when talking about other businesses. In the automobile industry, I'm seeing lately, in the last couple years, four or five
years, where automobile salespeople are Latinos. We're being catered to, but not that much. Another thing; the bankers. I
tell them because they do the work in my business, "Hey, why don't you have any Latinos?" "Well, we can't find any." Don't
tell me that. Go to the community college, pick them up, train them. Their answer to me is this, "There's no one out there
qualified, you can't find someone out there qualified to do the job." Well then you take them from the bottom and you train
them. Mortgage brokers are beginning to realize the importance of the Latino community. And believe me, they are all
scrambling to get Latino Mortgage brokers on-hand. And they are doing it.
I started with a company that was minority owned. And it was the first time that in the Lehigh Valley that had 100%
commission. In other words, I got 100% of my commission. I was the only Latino and they were trying to get this concept
in the air. He had a second salesman and two part-time agents. So it was very small.
[And how was it that you did well? Did you begin to go after the Latino consumer?] Of course. And we're talking 20 years
ago when there were a lot fewer Latinos here; a lot fewer Latinos, and I did very, very well. I started knocking on doors and
people started to get to know who I was and they all know me today. I wasn't getting the respect at the time that I
deserved. Now I have respect from my fellow realtors. I don't think I was looked at as an equal by the sales associates in
other offices. "There's a Latino realtor, he's not as good, not going to do as well as us and he's going after that community
that doesn't have any real resources or money or anything like that" Now I've proved them wrong over the years. Well, a
large franchise wants me to join them. I don't need to join a franchise now.
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[So over the years the Latino community made you a very successful real estate agent.] Absolutely. I have my very own
real estate business. I have fifteen sales associates —14 bilingual and one Asian. Last year we did $32 million in gross sales.
I also have my real estate management company with two full-time employees.
ORIGINS
The following gives a perspective on the diversity of backgrounds of some local Latinos.
I'm from El Salvador. I was born and raised and got my high school diploma from El Salvador. I did two years of college
there and then I decided, because of all the political turmoil that was going on in El Salvador ... Basically the police came in
and burnt the university down because they said they were housing the guerrillas and protecting the opposition of the
government. So they burned the university and I can't go to school, so I said now maybe is the time to go visit my mom
and that's how I ended up in the United States. My mother lived here since 1967. I was born in El Salvador, when I was one
my mom left and my grandmother raised me. But I learned English in El Salvador, so I had a foundation, because my
grandmother told me that whether I decided to come live with my mom or stay in El Salvador, that was something good
that I learned. My grandmother was always pushing me to learn more, know more. So I owe her for what I know, what I
am.
[14% of the Latinos on the census did not identify a subgroup.] I think that's because with the length of our history, there's
a lot of intermarriage. If you look at my family, there's intermarriage between Mexican, Puerto Rican, Spanish and Cuban.
So it depends on which person you're asking, you know? In cases like that, I think you just say "Hispanic". It's hard to
kind of chop yourself up. I think the other piece of it is, Latinos who are not Puerto Rican; to identify themselves as not
being Puerto Rican is putting themselves at risk.
There is an influx of Latino professionals to the area, mostly from New York and New Jersey. The attendance that we see at
mixers is high and it's mostly people who are new, coming from other states, or those who graduated from the university
who are now starting to fill these managerial level positions. Also in the medical community, you look in the paper and see
when they post those in new positions; you read a lot of stuff like that. It's been [happening] in the last few years, five, six
years. It's really more evident in the rural county area. I didn't know it was that evident here. I did a survey of housing
sales in Allentown over a number of years and what I found was the purchases were all over. Economically if you're low
income or moderate income, you'd be buying in center city, but there were Latinos buying throughout the city. That would
represent the professionals coming in.
I’ve been in Allentown for seven and a half years from New York City. I’m Dominican. I was born in the United States, in
NYC but I used to go back and forth during the summer to visit. I went to medical school in the Dominican Republic, I didn’t
graduate, but I have all this information in my head still. When my father retired he said, “Ok, we’re going back home”. And
I thought it would be a good idea, because at the time I wanted to be a doctor and I thought if I went back home with him
it would be cheaper to go to medical school there. So that’s what I did and I went there for two and a half years, then
realized I didn’t want to be a doctor. The Dominican population [in Allentown] has grown immensely since the (2000)
Census. I think the Census had us at about 6 percent of the population but I’d be willing to say that we’ve gone up about
twice as much to twelve, thirteen. I have two children, I’m a single parent and I’m gay also. I was raising my kids in New
York City, in The Bronx, they’re growing — I mean I have everything under control, they were doing good, but were just
about to become teenagers and I thought “I’ve got to get these kids out of The Bronx before they hit those years.” My
mother had a comadre [godmother] here and we would always visit her. We liked the quiet pleasantness of the town and
people were so polite and nice and friendly, so this was the first place that I thought of. It has been a struggle, because I
came as a professional, I have a master degree in bilingual vocational education and in NYC. I used to teach in the
colleges, but when I moved out here I knew no one so it was very difficult for me to get in, and in a small town like this, it’s
who you know. It’s all about who you know, so if you don’t know anyone you’re in trouble. So I’ve developed relationships
and have gradually gone from one position to another. I’ve held many different positions since I’ve been here. People don’t
want to pay. They want you to be bilingual/bicultural but they want to pay you peanuts and I wasn’t willing to take peanuts
because I’m a single mom.
I've been here fourteen years; I'm originally from New York City and moved here. Well, my sisters had moved down and we
were down here every weekend. Then the parents moved down, so that was the only immediate family I had in New York.
So since we spent so much time here, we decided just to move. We thought it was a better environment for our children
than where we were living. So we just liked The Valley, so we made that change. I came down in '89. I remember one time
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I walked into a restaurant and the waitress refused to serve me. And that just flipped me, because I had never — because
New York is like a melting pot. You have cultures from all over the world and then I came here and it was like, "Oh, my
gosh!" I had never in my life thought of myself as a minority. I just thought of myself as a person. So that was a culture
shock to me. And I still recognize that every so often, you still got that feel in a place, depending on who you talk to. I
remember one time I went to do an assessment on a woman who was in a hospital as she had been hit by a car. She says
to me, "I got hit by a dirty Puerto Rican spic." She goes off and off about Hispanics. And all of a sudden she looked at me as
I stood there and realized I was Hispanic, says, "Oh, but that doesn't mean you."
I was born in New York and my parents are from Guatemala. We transitioned when I was very young to Easton. I grew up
here; at the age of fourteen I went back to Guatemala. There I became an ESL teacher. I came back approximately four
years ago. So when my children came with me to this country, my citizenship didn't transfer right away because of a law
that was in effect when I left this country. I had to leave this country at the age of sixteen and not fourteen. If I left before
sixteen, my citizenship was not transferred to my spouse or to my children. I encountered that later on, so I was here with
my children who came with a visa. The visa expired, in the transition I was trying to legalize them and we ran into many
obstacles and I told the government "What are you going to do, deport my children to whom? I'm the mother, I'm a citizen
and I’m here." So we were in a fight for a few years and I went to Mr. Brown for some help and he gave me good advice,
gave me the contacts and as of last year, they became citizens finally. Living in Guatemala for twelve years I saw a lot of
the suffering people go through and why people come to this country. Not because they think everything is handed to them,
because if anything, these people work a lot harder than the people that are born with everything here. I see what they
come to do and what they go through, to get whatever little bit they can. They are basically pushed out of their countries
for political reasons, because of crime reasons. So these people are just looking for a better life and realizing in that little bit
of time my children were illegal, that they didn't have insurance, that the three of us were treated like illegal immigrants. I
was shunned a lot. People would think just because I had just come from Guatemala that I wasn't a citizen.
I was born in Puerto Rico. I've been in the states for 17 years but I've been here in the Lehigh Valley for 9 years. I lived in
Tallahassee, Florida for 2 1/2 years and then I moved to Austin, Texas. I lived there for 7 1/2 years and then I moved here.
I got divorced and talking with my family back home, they convinced me to stay here in the states. I had no family in Texas
but I had two sisters, an aunt and cousins here in the Lehigh Valley so here I am. I studied at the University of Puerto Rico
in Rio Piedras and in my third year I met my husband there, who graduated and was accepted into a Master's program in
Florida State University in Tallahassee, so we moved.
I have lived here all my life. I came here when I was nine months old from New York City, Puerto Rican parents who came
to New York probably in 1944 or '45. Well what happened was that in New York City at the time there weren't that many
jobs, so he would come to do seasonal work in a place called Jonesville, Pennsylvania, where they were basically picking
tomatoes. So he was working as a migrant and then somebody said, "You know, not too far from here there's a big
company called the Bethlehem Steel Corporation that's looking for workers.” And so a bunch of them came to Bethlehem
and applied and were able to get a very decent paying job and move their families from New York here. Of course when my
mother heard about it she thought she was going to where Jesus was born and cried all day and all night because she didn't
want to go there. The rest is history. He worked there until he retired and so did a lot of the other families. At the time
when we came here there were five other Puerto Rican families. And that's when, in this community, the families got
together and they formed the Puerto Rican Beneficial Society, which is better known now for its social activities, but back in
those days it was a support group, if you will, where the moms got together and gossiped and the fathers played dominoes
and the kids played games. We used to go from house to house until the club got its own facility. And people with no money
and a third-grade education wrote some outstanding by-laws that are still in existence today and so is the club. So I have
spent the greater part of my life in the Bethlehem Area. I was educated within the parochial school system in Bethlehem. I
went to grade school at Holy Infancy which is the large Latino parish here, and to Bethlehem Catholic High School. I'm a
graduate of Northampton Community College, where I received my Associates Degree and then I went on to Westchester
University, where I received my Bachelor's and then Lehigh University, where I received my Secondary Education degree.
When I went off to college, in this community, there were three of us who went off to college at the same time.
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KEY INFORMANT INTERVIEW WITH ASD OFFICIALS

Karen Angello, Ph.D., Superintendent of Schools
C. Russell Mayo, Ed. D., Deputy Superintendent
Dr. Angello: I would like to do some reframing first. Coming in new, what Dr. Mayo and myself have in common from working
together is very strong advocacy for all students. I selected to come here after being a consultant for a number of years
working with urban school districts because I felt that conditions were in place in this community to really be focused on all
students. As we know, nationally, over the years, there has been disparate treatment among different classes of students;
those of different races and at different levels of poverty; and it had a lot to do with the whole alignment of expectations.
When I arrived here, the district had already been placed on empowerment but it treated that in a very proactive manner in
that it really came together. We had the business community working with us; a very strong, focused, board of directors and
people truly had that as their mission. I have to say that I am among a rare group of people. As proponents of No Child Left
Behind, we looked at the disaggregated data and specifically at what was occurring with each of our student populations.
So, first of all, before we could even look at selecting staff, we have to be well grounded in who we are and what we expect,
because it doesn’t matter who you hire if they’re not also well grounded in those precepts; they are extremely important. So
what we feel is really important is for people to learn how high our expectations are and to remove stereotypes; to really
understand what it’s like to be a limited-English proficient student. How do we work with that language barrier? How do we not
make judgments about students because they are limited in their English proficiency but who may in fact have the concepts
from previous schooling experiences?
So we've had to change our strategies in working with children who are acquiring a language and the concepts at the same
time. How do we work with children with whom we have to perform even more custodial roles to make sure they have health
care, proper nutrition and to find ways how, during the summers and they're bound to their own homes for safety issues, we
can continue to get them access to the schools. We have to have within this organization a different passion for our kids. We
have to understand that these children bring with them a number of things—and that they also have a lot of skills and talents.
With that in mind it makes us understand, those of us here, what we have to do is to maybe change our own frame of mind as
to what we’re supposed to do for our students. At the same time, we have to look at how do we reflect and actively have a
more diverse teaching and support community for all of our staff and the need for the staff to bring to the organization the
same passion and the same beliefs. That's going to be equally important. What we want to do is to bring the community with
us, to help us. I think one of the things we’ve had to acknowledge as the challenges of educating in any part of this country is
how we can build capacity with our communities to work together.
Dr Mayo has built capacity with a group of community people who are going to be working right beside him. In the past, it
seemed that people had a commitment but it came out of one office. That can't help us, because it is a multifaceted situation.
We're all competing for diverse candidates who can get higher paying jobs; they can get other kinds of opportunities.
I have found that one of the greatest influences on children's lives is poverty. Poverty brings with it multiple issues. People will
struggle around those issues and think the child doesn't have the background experience, or the child doesn't have the English
language capability, or the child hasn't had this; instead of saying "This is our student population — what do we need to do to
bring everybody on a level playing field so that they have those initial experiences?”
We're working right now with our hospitals and many community people on what we can do to assure our children have access
to health-based care. That's equally important. My focus is not on what people have been denied. It's let's look through this
rapid demographic shift we have so we can look at what we need to do to provide the contextual pieces; to do as much as we
can to assure success for the students. We have to have the passion for making that happen.
We have some terrific staff from school to school who have that passion. Others may have been worn down because as
they’ve moved through the transition over a period of time they may not have had the tools. I think in the last four years,
since the school district came into empowerment, more resources started coming in, but the resources are still limited.
However, we're continuing to find ways to get that support. That's where our business community provides us with private
sector monies. They're trying to provide the support but I think it's very complex and it isn't just Latinos. We have children
who speak 35 different languages here. They can all fall behind if they end up with a language deficit. Being limited-English
along with living in poverty brings a whole other set of variables into the process. I don't think it was ever meant to have been
a discriminatory practice. I think it's a matter of having the tools, given all the conditions that are impacting our students and
making sure that we have the tools for them to be successful.
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Q – What services do you have for language minority children?
I'm very excited about what we are doing here. We have implemented what is called –CALLA (Cognitive Academic Language
Learning Approach) by Dr. Anna Chamot of Georgetown University. It consists of strategies for really looking at the context in
which children have learned. For example, I was in a high school biology class and we had in that room a number of students
who had been here from 3 months to 2 years. The teachers would teach in English and the kids would really struggle to
comprehend the concepts and then they would reinforce it in Spanish; as it happens, this particular group were Spanish-
speaking students. But the students would just light up and all of a sudden they were able to talk back in terms of
understanding the context.
We also work with and have been partnering with the migrant program headed by Fran Mannino out of Millersville University.
She has helped us with funding so our teachers can get sheltered instruction training so we’ll be able to provide those
students, who need a more intense language experience, sheltered instruction through the Sheltered Instruction Operational
Program (SIOP).
In addition, we recently adopted a K-5 reading program, the Rigby Literacy Program and a related program, the Rigby “On
Their Way to English” Program that goes side by side with it. At the high school level, we have a side by side with English
called the Visions Program, also related. We've just implemented these in the last three years. We've also added facilitators
through Title -III federal monies and have three facilitators right now who go out and work with regular teachers and ESOL
teachers in the schools. We will be adding more who will be school-based through Title 3 for the coming school year.
So we're working very intensely with language. Every school has to have at least six parent involvement activities a year and
in several of our schools, we are now providing parent nights in Spanish. We have translators there but we have also provided
all-Spanish programs. We have provided parent activities in the native language for parents of various languages, which can
be tricky because in one native language there may be various dialects.
Q—What luck have you been having getting the parents out?
Each of the principals is keeping a tally in terms of the numbers. We did have a parent coordinator but we have decentralized
it. Since we have decentralized it, the principals have it as part of their accountability. Dr. Mayo has helped write a rubric of
how to evaluate our principals. One of them is on their parent and community communication and involvement. We've had
some very strong participation.
I'll give you an example. This fall at Trexler Middle School we had a special reform initiative going on sponsored by the State
Board of Education. One thing they did all summer was to collect the individual data of their schools. Marty Velazquez and
Erlinda Agrón are on that committee and they got up and gave a presentation of what the group had done. Marty spoke in
English while Erlinda did it in Spanish. We had a packed house and the PTA president said to me "I know now that our
Spanish-speaking parents will come back for parent involvement.” Because to date there had never been that kind of an
experience.
Our early childhood centers have been remarkable in terms of parental involvement. We initially met with a core group of
parents to generate ideas as to how to get the word out and get other parents involved. We’ve had some schools with little to
no parent involvement that are now active because it's a part of each school’s accountability. We also want to make sure we're
informing them of what we're trying to do because, as we increase the expectations and, with No Child Left Behind, we have to
inform parents regarding their rights in terms of choice and in terms of supplementary services. I think it behooves us to
continue to grow that. Regarding the involvement of Latino parents it's growing but I wouldn't say it's anywhere near where
we want it to be at all.
We received an anonymous $25,000 grant to work on customer service. We are also building our inside culture but we also
want to build our outside culture because we had some scary offices around here and no matter who went into that office
during a school they could be frightened away. We have to have a welcoming environment and that's the piece we started
working on in our retreat last summer.
There are some parents who don't access the school system as a result of their experiences. There are others who can't
because there's no one really willing to receive them. Then there are those who know how to make that connection and that’s
something we need to keep building on strongly. We have a team comprised of key community organizations and community
leaders and they have to say what's working, so not only is the school district accountable, these other community entities will
have accountability because it is complex.
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Dr. MAYO: The first thing Dr. Angello told me when I got here is that we need a diversity plan, particularly for the workforce. After I
came on board, I heard a number of concerns expressed primarily by minority members of the community that our students
were heavily minority but our workforce wasn't. The employee group often discussed at that time was the administrative
positions, because from a community point of view that's the more visible group. So, we put together a diversity plan for the
workforce and we pulled together this year a group from the community, a task force involving 32 people counting me. I try to
play more of a facilitator role rather than a chair and provide a lot of opportunity for discussion — open discussion. We had our
ground rules and the doors were closed, so only the committee was there; no media, not anybody else.
The Latino community was represented, but as you know within the Latino community, like the African American community,
White, European or any other community, one cannot assume they're unified in their views. That clearly came out in the
meeting with the diversity task force. As usual, you had folks of various cultures who wanted to talk about the past. “Nothing's
worked in the past, so why should we believe it'll work now?” And then you had the group who saw the glass as half full. They
said,” Wow! We're glad to see some motion in the right direction. What can we do to help?" We tried to put as many
perspectives on the committee as possible. We didn't just want to hear from those who wanted to move ahead. We wanted to
know what everybody thought and there was somewhat of a catharsis over the period of this year.
We like to think that we had those on the committee that were close to the heart and soul of this community diversity-wise
and we worked from there. Basically, what we came up with was a two-pronged offensive on the workforce. One is; let's find
out why we have remained at a constant percentage with the minority representation in our workforce. That translated into an
organizational climate survey to determine if this is a climate that welcomes diversity.
When we talk diversity we're not limiting it to people of color. We're also talking about diversity of opinion, diversity of
disabilities. We're talking about a generally welcoming and accepting climate in which we have qualified employees; a work
environment with qualified people with differences.
The climate survey is one piece of it. The other piece is—and we had great debate over what should be the target, if you are
going to change the percentage of minority representation in the workforce, what should be the goal percentage? We ran the
whole gamut throughout one meeting, from, it ought to reflect our student body—and I said, "Humbug, it ain't going to
happen. Let's be realistic.” I had already shown them where in the pipeline, the people just aren't there. People of color are
not training to be teachers or administrators at those kinds of percentages. It's just not going to happen. Nationally, the
average is 6% in school districts. Now if we pull out Los Angeles, Boston, Allentown, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh it might go up
to 15% or 20%. The highest I ever saw in my travels was in Little Rock where we had a desegregation plan and it was 36%
minority in the workforce but yet the school district was 70% minority and that was pretty remarkable. So we worked our way
down from 70% to 45% and some wanted to adamantly hold at 30% and this is over a 6-year period. Finally, someone said,
to be reasonable, lets set a goal we can actually achieve, so let's just double what it exists now. Let's say 16%. Some said,
“Well you're not serious then.” Another said, “Now wait a minute ...” I asked, "What do I say to the superintendent and the
board when they ask, Why 16%?” Well, it's double what we have now and that's a 100% improvement. So we arbitrarily and
collectively decided on 16% and that's the goal over the next 6 years. That's the essence of the plan. This is a managing
diversity plan vs. an affirmative action plan meaning we want everybody to feel welcome.
Dr. ANGELLO: It's very challenging when you work with a board that doesn't support something for all kids and I've had that
experience in the past. Our board is adamant about raising the bar for every kid in this district and it is just a joy to work with
them.
Dr. MAYO: One of the best I've ever seen.
Dr. ANGELLO: I only have one person remaining on the board that was here when I was hired and they still are strong. I'm friendly
with the board members and we have some very strong passions.
I see a different enthusiasm on the part of our staff who have been interviewing and really, eagerly, trying to seek candidates.
The other piece, I think is the most important part, before you even think of recruiting is the organizational climate. The
concern is whether people feel welcome when they're hired and that overlaps with the customer service aspect.
Dr. MAYO: By way of background, I traveled 12-15 years with an African American who's an administrator and who is a good friend.
One of the things we discovered and agreed upon awhile back in some of our most private conversations is that when you
shake this all out in the end, in our urban school districts, the real issue, the leverage issue, would be poverty. It wouldn't be
racism or any of that, because if you can deal with the poverty piece and get the economics up, that’s what it's all about
ultimately because you'll get respect, you'll be able to access the system and you'll be able to participate. He and I finally
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concluded when we got to Little Rock, after having been together a long time and after having worked it from the race angle
and from various angles, that this was really about poverty. Ultimately it's about education.
Dr. ANGELLO: I know it's going to be the test of time regarding whether we’re authentic or not. The other part of that is, we really
do have to work. I am extremely concerned about the dropout rate. We're having a forum and we're going to actively have
some outcome from that. We're bringing in a gentleman from the National Coalition of Dropout Prevention, who, as it turns
out, grew up in the coal regions of Pennsylvania and he's excited to come back. We’re going to try to find grants that will
really support us. I met yesterday afternoon, an hour and a half each, with of my high school principals trying to define what
an at-risk student is and what it is that we're doing. What evidence is there that shows our efforts are working? Somehow
we're stuck because we say we have teen programs here but why aren’t they working? Why aren't they demonstrating a
difference in our kids?
We also had to look at retraining our parents so they won't remain mired in poverty forever. That's where the whole economic
development effort in the community is very important. We had no tax base here for our budget and the district went eight
years without raising taxes. That's bound to cause suffering. We have very crowded schools. We're going to be unrolling our
facilities plan and we have about $252,000,000.00 worth of work ahead of us.
We would like to establish some “go to” people to start building neighborhood leadership. We don't think out of the box
enough. We need to find those out of the box pieces to get Latino parents and other parents involved. I also think we need to
have more faith-based initiatives with the many local churches.
Q—In addressing the issue of diversity how are you going to get past the issue that you can't find qualified people?
Dr. MAYO: Regarding the issue of the availability of qualified people both sides may be right [There are qualified people vs. They
don’t have the right credentials) – Pennsylvania may be one of the more difficult states in terms of obtaining certification.
Dr. ANGELLO: I've never seen a state like this. It has every kind of barrier it can possibly have and it doesn't have alternative
routes. I've talked with the head of the State Board of Education at length about it. It troubles me. I think the process we
use for certification in this state is absurd. The situation has to be tackled because it does set up barriers and what we're
trying to do is trying to figure out how to help people get through that process.
Right now we're trying to fill the position of director of Human Resources and that’s a critical position. We have done two
searches. We have sent out information to numerous sources including those within the Latino community and we haven't
found the right candidate yet. We get candidates who have worked in 501c3 organizations with small staffs and there’s no way
they can take on this position. If we don't find someone qualified to take the position on, we may have to grow someone from
the inside and prepare him or her for the position. We want to get that position stabilized so we can bring someone in who can
assist with recruitment and other things because you can't saddle just one person with that task. Recruitment is everyone's
responsibility.
On another matter, we need to have more people coming to the table than just the same few leaders who show up. It has to
be all of us working together but what happens is we end up draining the energies of the same few people, over and over and
over again. I know we each have our “go to” people, those people you can rely on to be there when you need them. We need
to work hand in hand. We’ll take the lead on some things but we'd like to have them take the lead on others.
I want to develop parent leaders in the schools. We need to be able to connect these parents with each other. There are some
school districts that have some very successful can parent liaison models. That's the other kind of emerging leadership we
need to have. When you develop these kinds of leaders you're dealing with some people who have been through poverty,
understand it and can help others in that situation. What you're really doing then is building a stronger base around our
children so that they can be successful.
We have upped the ante academically by getting rid of some programs such as small engine repairs and fabrication that is the
same as woodworking. I have also put in for a grant for advanced placement. We want to do more training at the early grades
to access more students to advanced placement classes and starting in grades six, do what we'd call vertical teams, so that we
start with more academic competition at the elementary levels. We also have a number of programs such as with Kutztown
University, which is a million dollar five year grant for the Academic Alliance and the Upward Bound programs in the math and
science and areas. We have about 150 students in that program. The middle and high school students in the program go to
the college and stay on campus on Saturdays and then go there in the summer for a period of time. A number of those
students are going on to college. We have one program with East Stroudsburg and DeSales has an after-school tutoring
program. We have a middle school reform committee and a high school reform committee.
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So we're really trying to build a lot more but we're not yet where we need to be. I'm still very concerned about the number of
students that are not getting to where they need to be, but we're putting forth a lot of work in those areas.
When I worked with urban schools in Massachusetts I helped set up a framework for evaluating school districts. I knew that
my leadership would align with this school district because the conditions were in place. What I think my strengths are is to
work very hard at building capacity within the community and in accountability.
A lot of data is gathered in-house, which is used in determining the needs of the students and in setting up a plan to address
those needs. The analysis is very detailed.
The other thing is that we always waited to see what the PSSA was going to do and I decided that we weren’t going to wait a
whole year to see what we were doing, that we would have milestones. So we've got into quarterly assessments. Now next
year we are going to have some new software so our teachers can look at the data regularly. The accountability movement
changed but people didn't have the tools to work with. We didn't have organized groupings of data to work with.
I have to say I think there’s tremendous commitment in this community. And for them to even want to have this study done
speaks very well. We have a lot of work to do.
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LVEDC Latino Population Study Summary and Recommendations
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS

When the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation commissioned this report they asked one key
question: “How do you build wealth in the Latino community in the Lehigh Valley?” It is this question that leads to
the focus of the recommendations listed below.
The future socioeconomic status of the Latino population in the Lehigh Valley lies in its ability to become self-
empowered and to guide its own direction. It is hoped that, in addition to these recommendations, those
individuals, systems and organizations that wish to address other specific areas of need for this population will
utilize the data contained in this document. Other entities may utilize the information in this report to develop other
sets of recommendations related to their areas of interest or expertise. While this study provides a comprehensive
analysis of the Lehigh Valley’s Latino population and provides much information that can be useful to many
institutions in the area, the recommendations below have a narrower focus. They relate to the need for the
development of the human and organizational resources within the Latino community that will enhance their ability
to work with the mainstream to devise an ongoing effort to advocate for and develop the services crucial to this
population. There should also be a proactive agenda to better integrate Latinos within the systems—social,
economic, educational, political and community— that affect the lives of this population in the Lehigh Valley.
1. DEVELOPMENT OF A LEHIGH VALLEY EDUCATIONAL COALITION

Education has emerged as one of the most critical concerns within the Lehigh Valley’s Latino communities. The
school districts in the three primary urban areas, while sharing many commonalities in relation to the
backgrounds and academic status of Latino students, are also unique and different systems where Latino
students experience very different dynamics, both in the school experience and because of the nature of the
local communities.
There is a wealth of knowledge on educational issues and alternatives not only among the significant number
of local Latino educators in the public and private schools and area colleges/universities, but also among other
Latino professionals who have both professional knowledge on Latino educational issues and personal
knowledge of the educational system in the area. Some of these are educators and other professionals who are
products of the local school systems and have direct knowledge of the Latino student experience. Others are
parents of current or former students and some are both. Among these are individuals who, for decades, have
advocated for the changes needed to address the educational status of Latinos in the area. The primary issue
is that this experience and knowledge has not been effectively tapped. The Morning Call documents decades of
concerns that are still being echoed today.
1.1. The building of a coalition of educators, community leaders, professionals and community members that
can develop an educational agenda for the area and collaborate in the implementation of that agenda.
This would include the creation of a multi-district partnership to address Latino concerns. While there are
some issues that can only be addressed locally, others can have a regional approach. This is especially
true in responding to the transient nature of the Latino population. A regional approach, according to one
educator, “will begin to close a lot of the cracks that our kids are continuously falling through.” The
anecdotal data in the area indicates that there is a lot of intercommunity movement and that the Latino
experience in each area is very different. This group can:
1.1.1. Examine what works and what doesn’t to determine what has to be done to improve the Latino
students’ school experience and academic success; share knowledge and resources related to
Latino student performance; and collaborate on the efforts to recruit more Latino staff.
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1.1.2. Provide alternatives to teens that will diminish the number of those turning to gangs as an
alternative. Invest in keeping teens, especially the over 15 group, involved in extracurricular
activities by overcoming the economic gap that keeps them from being able to participate.
1.1.3. Increase the pool of Latinos with higher education and technical skills by seeking ways to address
higher education retention issues, to support and develop Latino graduates and provide
opportunities that will keep them in the area. Also, provide more opportunities for the educational
and professional advancement of paraprofessionals in the districts.
1.1.4. Advocate for changes at the state level related to equity in school funding and in facilitating the
certification of qualified individuals to increase the pool of bilingual/bicultural school professionals.
1.1.5. Tap into and collaborate with existing community resources (i.e. the local business-education
partnerships) that can provide both financial support and a holistic approach to education from
young student to adult learner.
2. CREATION OF A REGIONAL LATINO LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND CROSS CULTURAL

COMPETENCY INSTITUTE
The issues of cross-cultural understanding and leadership development are intertwined in the development of
the status of the Latino population in the Lehigh Valley. Cross-cultural understanding is an issue not only
between Latinos and non-Latinos, but also among Latino subgroups.
In addressing the issue of leadership in Latino communities we must consider leadership in its broadest terms,
understanding that any one of any age or status can be a leader. For the purpose of this study we will define a
“leader” as a community change agent who is willing to take the lead when it comes to changing things and
seeks to motivate others to embrace change. Leadership is taking the initiative to act as a community change
agent to improve conditions.
There is a need for the current Latino leadership to work collaboratively and more effectively so they can make
a greater impact and achieve more long-term results. It is necessary to develop the hidden wealth of
untapped Latino leaders to address the perceived “lack of leaders” situation, which places an unfair burden on
a small cadre of people to be all things to all people an effort to make a difference. This has emerged as a
common theme throughout this study. The frankness of the Latino key informants regarding the concerns in
these areas is to be commended.
Many misconceptions held by both Latinos and non-Latinos have emerged. There are segments of the
mainstream non-Latino population that hold fast to common stereotypes about the Latino population and do
not have an understanding of its differences, complexities and contributions to the community at large. This is
further complicated by the misconception of some Latinos about other Latinos. Inter-group issues among
Latinos exist on various levels, including national origin, socioeconomic status and level of acculturation or
assimilation. A level of resentment exists among some Latinos who are economically, educationally and
professionally advantaged. They believe that the general and stereotypical, view held by the mainstream of the
lower socioeconomic and less educated Latino population places them at a disadvantage economically,
professionally, in business and in achieving access to integration into the mainstream.
There is little doubt that the majority of those key individuals who are community advocates, often giving
numerous volunteer hours to the betterment of communities in the Lehigh Valley, are selfless individuals
seeking to make a difference. This was borne out in the survey results in which the overwhelming majority
(64%) identified the community leadership and potential leaders; the increasing numbers of educated and
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professional individuals; and the level of community involvement and commitment as their strongest asset.
Despite their criticism of the current status of community involvement and leadership, there is high optimism
that this is the very strength they possess that will help them move forward.
Most Latino activists will say they have become leaders through “trial and error”, “the school of hard knocks”,
“learning as they go” or in a “baptism by fire”. For the most part they saw a need and felt obligated to do
something about it. Consequently, most have had little training or mentorship in how to be effective leaders or
change agents.
Despite good intentions, some of the leadership has ended

up working at cross-purposes. While some collaborate, "When the best leader's work is done,
others function competitively so the divisions become the people say we did it ourselves."
barriers to achievement and long-term progress. The Lao Tzu: sixth century B.C. philosopher
and Father of Taoism
competitions that sometimes become public issues create
political landmines that other Latinos in the community seek
to avoid. A common statement in the mainstream community is that there are few identified Latino leaders, so
the same individuals are constantly tapped to serve on numerous boards, committees and events. The reality
is that there is a wealth of untapped Latino talent that makes its contribution in quiet ways through a specific
effort or program and they stay under the radar. This is what the Center for Emerging Leadership (CEL)56
would define as subtle yet critical forms of leadership.” According to CEL, “Leadership is the capacity of the
people to develop, to create and to sustain over time. Paradoxically, the very acts of leadership that enable
people to self-govern are often invisible and rarely seen as leadership.”
2.1. A Latino Community and Leadership Development Program tailored to the specific issues and concerns of
Latinos in the Lehigh Valley should be developed. A task force should be formed with the directive to
develop a culturally competent, Latino-focused program with a curriculum designed to address specific
local needs. This task force should explore existing models. I strongly recommend an examination of the
Latino Leadership Program sponsored by the Hispanic Center of Reading and Berks as one of the models.
Existing programs are not specific enough or comprehensive enough to address the key issues and
concerns exclusive to this population. The goals of the program should include:
2.1.1. Bringing together existing leadership to address the misunderstandings and issues that divide
them and to develop a skill set that will enable them to work together more effectively.
2.1.2. Finding ways to tap into the hidden wealth of energetic, committed and talents of individuals in
the Latino community, develop their leadership skills and add them to the recognized pool of
community leaders,
2.1.3. Prepare youth for leadership roles, currently as teens and later as adult members of the
community. Provide role models, mentors and alternatives to the “streets.”
2.1.4. The creation of a cross-cultural competency-training component that will enhance the ability of
Latinos and non-Latinos to work effectively with those with cultural and other differences.
56
http://www.emergingleadership.com/
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3. BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Along with education, the need for business and economic development emerged as one of the top concerns in
the area. Regarding the economic needs of the community, three key areas emerged where needs were not being
met:
3.1. EMPLOYMENT ISSUES: The need for more jobs and better employment opportunities, especially more full
time jobs with benefits. The need for bilingual job skills training and access to education, including ESL
classes and training to prepare them for jobs with livable wages and benefits. Also, the need for more
jobs for young people, especially those who are students.
3.2. BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT: More information available in Spanish to future business owners and to
existing Latino business owners regarding support services offered by various agencies and institutions.
Services in Spanish to help Latino businesses gain access to capital and to network with other businesses.
Services to small businesses need to be expanded, especially the small storefront business. There should
be an ongoing Spanish language program of on-site assistance, since many of these are one or two
person operations that do not have the time to attend courses or meetings. Some kind of assessment of
their specific needs should be conducted and used to develop the type of on-site assistance to be
provided. They can benefit from assistance in how to create effective local merchants’ association.
3.3. FINANCIAL COUNSELING: Access to financial assistance and financial counseling: According to one key
informant, “They need to know that they work hard and have their money work for them. This is for their
retirement and finances their children’s education ...” cautionary education regarding financial services
(i.e. agencies that provide loans at high interest rates) that get people in trouble rather than help them.
There is also a need to address predatory lending in the area.
3.4. ACCESS TO CAPITAL FOR BUSINESS AND HOMEOWNERSHIP: Latinos tend to have higher rate of denials
to business and home loans. They sometimes cannot meet the guidelines set by mainstream institutions.
Other communities have established programs that give more accessibility and more chance for approval
to many Latinos seeking to start or grow their business, or buy a home, make home improvements, buy
a car etc. The Latino community in this area should explore the development of programs to better meet
the needs of lower and middle income Latinos being underserved by existing financial institutions. In
addressing this issue the local community should explore building on local efforts already seeking to
address this need and also research successful models outside the region like the Spanish American
Federal Credit Union in Dover, NJ and the Community First Fund serving a number of counties and
communities in Pennsylvania. The following are small overviews of these models:
3.4.1. The population of city of Dover, NJ is almost 60% Latino. Most of the Latinos that originally
settled the area were from a town in Puerto Rico call Aguada. The presence of Aguadans in Dover
goes back to 1948, when a group of seven families moved there for work at the nearby Mount
Hope Mine. For many migrants, the adjustment to life in New Jersey was difficult. Not only did
many face barriers of language and culture, but they also encountered discrimination in
education, housing and hiring. Carlos Figueroa, who left Aguada for Dover in 1957 at age 17, with
a ninth-grade education and almost no English, made 75 cents an hour at his first job at Boonton
Handbags. Francisco De Jesus, who was 18 when he first arrived in Dover, moved in with his two
older sisters in a small apartment above a shop on Blackwell Street. "I learned to love Dover," he
says. "But those first days were tough. The police harassed us, the banks wouldn't lend us money
and we worked hard for the money we earned. I washed dishes. I worked making pencils in
Franklin. I did a lot of jobs to get by." In January 1970, with $55 from a handful of investors, De
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Jesus and Figueroa opened the Spanish-American Federal Credit Union. Known in the community
as "La Cooperativa," the credit union allowed Puerto Ricans to get mortgage loans; by the late
1980s, the union had helped 30 percent of the local families buy homes. Today, the credit union
occupies a modern building at 23 Prospect St. and boasts 20 full-time employees, 5,000
members and more than $18 million in assets. It provides a full line of both on-site and on-line
banking services to the community. They include Savings, Share Drafts (Checking), Children's
Savings Plan, IRA's, Certificates of Deposit, Christmas Club, Vacation Club, Money Market
Accounts, Small Business Accounts, Money Orders, Cashier Checks, Western Union Transfers,
Wire Transfers, Direct Deposit, Loans (Auto-New & Used, Personal, Debt Consolidation, Guarantee
Line of Credit, Credit Cards, First Mortgage, Second Mortgage, Home Equity with variable and
fixed rate, Home Equity lines of credit, Credit Line/Small Business), Credit Life Insurance, Credit
Disability Insurance, Automated Phone System, ATM, Night Drop, and Notary Public.
3.4.2. Community First Fund was founded in 1992 by community activist Jim Hyson along with members
of the Lancaster Rainbow Coalition and the Lancaster Peace and Justice Coalition as the
Susquehanna Valley Community Development Loan Fund to expand economic opportunities to
low-income populations and under-served communities. In 1995, the name was changed to
Community First Fund, a name more representative of the mission and core value of the
organization, which has as its priority, the community. The vision to be a source for community
and economic development in the entire Susquehanna Valley continues to be a major focus of
CFF's mission. Community First Fund began as a loan fund serving Lancaster County. It has now
expanded to serve an eight county area, which includes Lancaster, York, Berks, Dauphin,
Lebanon, Cumberland, Adams and Perry Counties from offices in Lancaster, York, Reading and
Harrisburg. Community First Fund is certified by the U.S. Treasury Department as a Community
Development Financial Institution, by the U.S. Small Business Administration as a Micro lender
and is accredited by the Pennsylvania Community Development Bank. It’s services include:
CFF Small Business Loans: For start-ups of new businesses or expansion of existing businesses, uses
include machinery and equipment, site improvements, working capital, inventory, materials and supplies
and expansion. Loans of up to $35,000 are made available to qualified applicants. Community First Fund
serves as an intermediary for the U.S. Small Business Administration to develop small businesses in central
Pennsylvania.
CFF Affordable Housing Loans: For public and private organizations, developers, tenant associations,
community land trusts, housing cooperatives and individuals to develop, maintain and rehabilitate
affordable housing units.
CFF Community Based Loans: Community First Fund provides loans to non-profit and community
organizations to develop and support community-based programs.
Pennsylvania Women's Business Center, a division of Community First Fund, provides training, consultation,
loan capital and advocacy support to small business enterprises. The goal of the center is to develop more
knowledgeable, better prepared business owners.
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4. DEVELOPMENT OF AN ENGLISH/SPANISH BILINGUAL AND BICULTURAL HUMAN RESOURCES

DATABANK
The lack of access to bilingual (English/Spanish) and bicultural (knowledgeable of Latino and mainstream
cultures) individuals to fill paid professional positions and to serve on key boards and committees is a common
complaint with sometimes differing Latino vs. non-Latino perspectives. Non-Latinos complain: We can’t find
qualified Latinos ... the same people serve on everything ... give us names. While Latinos complain that they
are not being hired despite their qualifications and that the same Latinos are called for boards and committees
while others are left out of key policy making positions. In responding to this issue the focus should be on the
development of a resource with access to bilingual/bicultural individuals (as defined above) such as a resume
bank. A bilingual/bicultural resume bank will serve the purpose of providing access to individuals that are
knowledgeable of the Latino population and also individuals that are fluent in English and Spanish.
4.1. A bilingual/bicultural referral clearinghouse to collect names, resumes etc. for employment and service on
boards and committees should be created to assist existing local corporations, businesses, governments,
human service agencies, etc. in finding bilingual/bicultural individuals to serve and work in their
organizations. There should be 2 distinct databases to distinguish those seeking to be considered for
employment vs. those willing to volunteer on boards, committees, task forces and special events.
Individuals can submit their resume to both databases. This is a venture that will require staff time and
will only be effective if undertaken as an ongoing funded project by an agency or business that can staff
it.
4.1.1. Bilingual/Bicultural Resume Databanks
Employment
Leadership - Volunteer
5. ADDRESSING LATINAS AND THE FEMINIZATION OF POVERTY – BREAKING THE CYCLE

The majority of poverty in the Latino community is concentrated in female-headed single–parent families with
low educational levels. High poverty rates have been linked to low levels of educational attainment. Few
women with professions or college degrees live in poverty. “Low levels of formal education have been linked to
employment in low wage earning jobs. Low wages have been linked to subsistence living. As can be seen, the
links create a cycle from poverty to poverty.”57 When this is combined with the economic and emotional burden
of being a single-parent head of household the economic consequences are dire. The ability to break out of this
cycle without some external support or assistance is virtually non-existent. The issue of poverty in these
circumstances often becomes a generational one, with the data on the children from these households showing
they are likely to drop out of school, they have higher rates of interaction with the juvenile justice system and
face increased risks of emotional, behavioral, academic and social problems. It is important to note that these
statistics do not mean single mothers are worse parents, rather they suggest that they have a tough job
juggling their responsibilities at work and home and have fewer resources than traditional families. The fact is
that the economic health of the Latino population will be impacted by our ability to provide options,
opportunities and the support needed for these women to complete their education and achieve the skill level
needed for a profession that will provide them with the resources to break the cycle of poverty. A study by
57
Poverty Fact Sheet Series - Poverty, Education and Job Opportunities, Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet, Family and Consumer Sciences, http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-
fact/5000/5707.html.
126
Cornell University found that “what mattered most for kids' school readiness was the mothers' ability and
educational levels”.58
5.1. While there are some local efforts to reach this population, the data indicates that more comprehensive
local programs are needed to provide support and educational opportunities for this single parent
population. One example of a comprehensive support system can be found in St. Paul’s College, a
historically Black college established in 1888 that developed a Single Parent Support System which allows
single parents to pursue a bachelor's degree while keeping their families intact. The SPSS Program allows
a single parent student to come to Saint Paul's College, live, study year-round and receive a bachelor's
degree in three to four years. The College provides counseling, childcare, seminars on parenting and
housing for the families. The program currently serves 20 single parent families. It is viewed as an
opportunity for the continuation of the education for the parents and providing a wholesome environment
for the children so that both can break the cycle of poverty. It is a system of support where single
parents and their children aspire to be the best they can be by acquiring a college education.
6. DEVELOPMENT OF SERVICES FOR THE UNSERVED AND UNDERSERVED LOCAL LATINOS IN THE
EASTON AREA
The City of Easton has been home to a small population of Latinos for several decades. Initially, the majority of
this population was Puerto Rican, followed by a population of Latinos of Mexican origin and the rest
representing a variety of Central and South American populations. While the Latino population grew in
unprecedented numbers in Allentown and Bethlehem over the past three decades, rapidly and dramatically
changing the demographics of those cities, the growth in Easton was more contained. That is until this past
decade, where quietly the composition of the Latino community in Easton has changed and has begun to show
signs of a more rapid growth taking place, with a Latino subgroup composition very different from that of
Allentown and Bethlehem where Puerto Ricans predominate. In Easton, Mexicans are becoming the
predominant population, with increasing numbers of other non-Puerto Rican populations coming to the area. In
addition, this population has a significantly higher influx of undocumented immigrants. While Census2000,
documents a Latino population of about 2500, the anecdotal data and the documented growth of the Latino
student population in Easton indicates a Latino population that is more than twice that number—probably well
over 6,000. Easton is showing dramatic signs of growth but unlike Bethlehem and Allentown, they have not
been successful in establishing any Latino specific service organization like the ones in Bethlehem and
Allentown that were created over three decades ago to address the needs of this population and help to ease
it’s transition and address the inability of the mainstream systems to adequately serve this population. In
Easton, there appears to be a significant need in 2005 for what is commonly referred to as a “Latino Center”.
6.1. The establishment of a funded and staffed “Latino Center” in the city of Easton is something that is
overdue. Out of necessity, the basis for such an organization has arisen. In January 2005, the Morning
Call published an article documenting the efforts Monica Samayoa with the help of Easton City
Councilman Ken Brown to establish Easton’s first social service agency to serve Latinos. It didn’t have a
name at the time of the article. It now has a name, “El Puente”/The Bridge, but despite over a year of
struggle to get it off the ground, it has little else in terms of resources. According to Ms. Samayoa,
“People want the program, it's just that they don't want to put the money behind it. It’s a service that is
highly needed and they recognize that. Although I guess with the government cuts and whatever may be,
everybody's like "Oh there's no funding" But the people still need the help so we try to provide the help
anyway.” Councilman Brown adds, “We have sought out funding, but we have ran into many, many
58
Parent Teacher Association of Connecticut, Inc. http://www.ctpta.com/parenting/singlemoms.htm
127
hurdles.” Monica continues to try to help using her home and her car as her office and the streets as her
base of operation. Monica states:
El Puente is a Latino Community Outreach program that is focusing on helping Latinos transition into the
community, belong to their community and also we're trying to bridge the gap between the rest of the community
and the Latinos coming in from the city. As well, we have the many Latinos that have been here for years, for 20
years or so and have never felt part of their community. Therefore they don't vote, they don't seek community
resources, or they don't know what's out there for them, although they are legal. So we're just looking to help them,
to educate them, give them the information that they need. They are looking, for example, for rental places, for rental
rights, for help when they are seeking food pantries, don't know what to do, don't have any money, especially a lot of
medical help when their children become ill, they don't know what their rights are. Then there's a lot of injustice being
committed to them that sometimes they get papers not knowing what these papers mean, they need a lot of
translation. Some of them are legal but don't know English at all and some are actually trying to set up businesses. I
can tell you that in some situations I have run into people, for example they eventually come up to me because they
need to enroll their child in school. The child maybe has been here two years in this city already. The school has no
idea ... those are unaccounted people. We know that they are renting, but we don't know that there are children in
the home not going to school.
The consequences of not meeting the basic needs of the rapidly growing Latino immigrant population affect the
community-at-large. Not only are they in need of services but they are also a vulnerable population that can be
victimized by unscrupulous employer, landlords and other individuals. This is especially true of the segment of the
immigrant population that is undocumented. Regardless of our view of the rights of the undocumented,
understanding the undocumented means understanding the circumstances that lead people to risk life and limb to
escape their homeland often leaving family and friends behind—a homeland that is an integral part of them yet
they are compelled to leave. No one has missed the stories of the terrible risks taken by vulnerable immigrants
forced to migrate illegally, which in some cases have led to their deaths. The stories abound of undocumented
being abused, robbed and raped and risking their lives in order to escape economic deprivation or political
persecution and oppression. And once they get here they face the psychological impact on individuals and families
caused by the separation of husbands and wives, parents and children and the loss of the traditional extended
family support system.
Studies have shown that the undocumented contribute to our economy to a degree that clearly balances any
drain on resources. The issue for our local human service system lies in what the federal government does with the
many dollars contributed by immigrants. An analysis of tax dollars paid by immigrants showed that the federal
government benefits from the tax dollars of undocumented yet they place the burden on local and state
governments.
According to a 1993 testimony by Charles Wheeler of the National Immigration Law Center before the U.S. House
Subcommittee on Human Resources, about two-thirds of the tax dollars paid by immigrants—legal and
undocumented—go to the federal treasury, while most of the health, education and social service costs that are
incurred are paid for by state and local governments (Fein and Seebach). Thus, the federal government receives
most of the taxes paid by immigrants and shifts most of the costs to state and local governments. While newcomers
pay proportionally more in taxes than they receive in services, those taxes are primarily federal; state and local
governments do not benefit as much from immigrants’ tax dollars.59
59
Lillian Kimä, “Higher Education of Undocumented Immigrants: The Student Adjustment Act. Part 2 0f 4” 7/21/2003, ILW.com,
http://www.ilw.com/immigrants/life/articles/2003,0721-students2.pdf (11/15/03)
128
7. DEVELOPMENT OF LOCAL LATINO-FOCUSED MULTISERVICE COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS

While it was not within the parameters of this study to do an analysis of the local Latino-based social service
organizations, the following are general comments to consider in the development of local Latino community
multi-service organizations to meet the growing need. They do not reflect any assessment of the quality or
effectiveness of these local organizations.
The rapid growth of a diverse Latino population with unique linguistic and cultural challenges has necessitated
the development of local community-based organizations (CBOs) with the linguistic and cultural expertise to
develop and coordinate services that address this population. Allentown and Bethlehem have been fortunate in
having established three Latino Community Based Organizations that despite their ups and downs, especially in
the constantly changing face of community and governmental funding, have successfully survived for more
than three decades. In the community the opinions will vary and some will say some of these organizations
have been more successful at growing and adapting to the needs than others. There is little doubt that the
Hispanic American Organization is an example of continual growth and expansion to meet local needs.
The nature of Latino CBOs has changed over time to keep pace with the ever-changing role they must play.
When many of these organizations were started they required a leadership that were activists ready to
confront controversial issues. Over time, these organizations grew to become multi-service centers with
increasing ties to government and other funding to meet a myriad of services. Like most other human service
organizations, program and fiscal accountability required them to change their roles to be able to survive and
continue to provide needed services to the community. Today, the executive directors must be individuals who
are more administrators and managers than grassroots community activists—that is not to say that they can’t
be both. While many hold on to the view that these Latino social service organizations should be the advocate
voice of the community, the reality is that their focus should be as advocates for services and funding. In
addition, there is overwhelming agreement that one organization cannot be the sole voice of Latino
communities that have become so diverse. The advocacy role should be left to umbrella groups that can bring
together those diverse elements of the community.
This is a point in the history of the community that more than ever needs the leadership of these organizations
to serve as role models to the power of collaboration. Such organizations play a critical role in developing
services to attend to unmet needs and can develop mutually beneficial partnerships with mainstream
organizations to help them effectively address this population without a duplication of services and avoiding
the development of secondary services that may be underfunded, understaffed and lacking in specific
professional expertise.
It is important that local CBOs grow and keep pace with the changing community and organizational needs.
Among the issues confronting Latino organizations today are:
The need to build an organizational infrastructure that can survive a change in leadership and will assure
continued development and growth by strategically developing programs based on need rather than
“chasing the dollars” of available funding.
These organizations are often unable to provide competitive salaries, which make it very difficult to hire and
retain well-qualified and experienced professionals. Being under funded and understaffed, directors are
often in the unenviable position of undertaking multiple functions, from providing direct client service to
being agency administrator, to being program and staff supervisor, public relations person, fundraiser and
crisis manager.
129
Collaborations between these agencies could be very beneficial for both organizations in helping to build
them up fiscally, administratively and programmatically. These organizations should assess how they are
currently functioning and determine their individual strengths and weakness.
In building capacity, developing and strengthening Latino CBOs, it would be best to examine successful models
of comparable organizations in comparable communities. One such example is the Hispanic Center of Reading
and Berks in Reading, Pennsylvania. This was an organization that in 1998 was about to close its doors due to
fiscal and administrative mismanagement but instead reinvented itself and in less than five years went from
deep in debt with only a handful of programs and staff to an outstanding model center with a new facility, over
35 staff and numerous programs developed primarily through successful interagency collaborations. It was
recently the Standards for Excellence certification from the Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations
after a process of intensive scrutiny over half a year.
8. THE CREATION OF A LATINO STUDY TASK FORCE TO BE CHARGED WITH AN ASSESSMENT OF THE
FINDINGS OF THIS STUDY—TO DETERMINE PRIORITIES AND OVERSEE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF
STUDY RECOMMENDATIONS
The LVEDC is to be commended for commissioning this study to more effectively determine the needs of the
Latino population and to utilize the data and the findings in its planning. It is important that the Latino
community itself determine how to carry out the recommendations and how to best utilize this data. The need
for coordinated efforts in the Latino community came across loud and clear in the findings of this study.
Therefore:
8.1. A Latino Study Task Force should be created, comprised of representatives of the diverse segments of the
Latino community. Invitations to serve on this task force should go out to representatives of the local
Latino organizations, Latino elected and appointed officials, recognized “de facto” leaders of the
community and Latino professionals serving in the public and private sectors of the community.
8.2. In addition, the LVEDC should plan for the eventual addition of a bilingual and bicultural Latino
professional if it wishes to be effective in addressing the business and economic needs of the Latino
population in the Lehigh Valley.
130
Lillian Escobar-Haskins, M.H.S.
A researcher specializing in community and human service issues, she has conducted various targeted community research
studies and analyses, making recommendations based on findings. She has published comprehensive reports and provided
consulting and training services with an emphasis on community relations and diversity issues. Her specialties include
organizational development, program design, needs analysis, community relations, non-profit board training, cultural
competency and diversity, and Latino community outreach. She has served as a trainer/instructor to numerous
organizations, government agencies and universities on cultural and human service issues including: Diversity,
Multiculturalism and Cultural Competence; Social Status and Cultural Factors Affecting Achievement Among Minority
Groups; Promoting Educational Excellence for Children of Color; Latino Traditional Cultural Values and Second Generation
Perspectives; Latino Health and Mental Health Issues; The Culture of Poverty; Institutional Racism; Train the Trainer for
Diversity Training; Train the Trainer for Latino Professionals on Cultural and Community Issues; Counseling Across
Cultures; Acculturation and Current Social Realities in Relation to the Traditional Cultural Context.
Research project publications include: “Latinos in Erie, PA: Myths and Realities: Growing Beyond the Stereotypes”;
“Reading, PA Hispanic Center and Latino Community Study”; “The AIDS Crisis in Pennsylvania: The Hidden Epidemic
Among African American and Latina Women”; and “Latinos in Mercer County: A Reflection of the Changing Latino
Population in the Northeast”.
She was an advisor to the Governor of Pennsylvania during the Casey administration and to his cabinet and state
government agencies on social, educational, political and economic issues affecting local Latino communities. Worked
directly with professionals, organizations and communities on cultural and community issues including: education, health,
mental health, economic development, and civil rights. Provided technical assistance to community based organizations.
Collaborated with the governor's cabinet to enable citizens and communities to access state resources.
She served for six years as executive director of the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs. While there she
designed and established an annual statewide conference focused on Latino concerns. The conference received broad
acclaim for its content and quality, growing from an attendance of 270 in 1991 to 950 in 1994, and which lead to the
creation in 1996 of the Pennsylvania Statewide Latino Coalition and its annual statewide conference. A founding member,
she served as the coalition's annual statewide conference coordinator for its first five years. During that period it became,
and remains today, the largest statewide Latino conference on the east coast.
Currently she is a founding partner of Alegre Research and Demographics, which specializes in community research. The
company also produces film and video, TV and radio commercials and public service announcements and assists clients in
reaching diverse audiences in a culturally relevant manner.
She serves on the Wachovia Regional Foundation Board of Directors and the Wyomissing Foundation Hispanic Initiative
Steering Committee.
SELECT LIST OF AWARDS AND SPECIAL RECOGNITION RECEIVED

PA Department of Commerce Recognition for Successful Entrepreneurship
PA State House of Representatives Citation for Distinguished and Dedicated Service as Executive Director
of the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs
PA State Department of Community Affairs Certificate of Appreciation Commitment and Professionalism in
the Advancement of Social Justice and Equity
Mt. Pleasant Hispanic Center Recognition for Outstanding Service to Harrisburg’s Latino Community
Commonwealth of PA Diversity Planning Committee’s Diversity Award
USPS Affirmative Action Women's Program “Outstanding Contributions in Professional Field”
Women’s International Coalition Unsung Heroine Award
HOGAR CREA International Outstanding Service Award
Spanish American Civic Association Outstanding Achievement Award
Lancaster Hispanic Human Services Committee Leadership Award and Outstanding Service Award
Senate of Pennsylvania Citation Commending work with Displaced Homemakers/Single Parents
HOGAR CREA of PA Outstanding Service Award

Latinos in The Lehigh Valley: The Dynamics and Impact of This Growing and Changing Population

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Latinos in the Lehigh Valley

The Dynamics and Impact of this

Alegre Research and Demographics

P.O. Box 21750

NATIVITY AND CITIZENSHIP .................................................................................................................................... 12

LATINO-OWNED BUSINESSES .................................................................................................................................. 43

LATINO BUYING POWER................................................................................................................................................ 48

KEY INFORMANT DEMOGRAPHICS ............................................................................................................................. 62

THE MOST SERIOUS PROBLEMS AFFECTING THE LATINO POPULATION ........................................................................ 64

FIGURE 2: LATINO GROWTH BY COUNTY AND SUBGROUP 1990-2000 ..................................................................................... 11

FIGURE 3: YEAR OF ENTRY FOR FOREIGN BORN LATINOS ..................................................................................................... 13

FIGURE 4: LATINO RACE SELF-IDENTIFICATION .................................................................................................................. 14

FIGURE 6: LINGUISTIC ISOLATION OF LATINO HOUSEHOLDS ................................................................................................ 15

FIGURE 7: AGE: YOUTH AND SENIOR POPULATIONS ............................................................................................................ 16

FIGURE 8: MEDIAN AGE ................................................................................................................................................... 16

FIGURE 9: MEDIAN AGE OF LATINO SUBGROUPS ................................................................................................................. 16

FIGURE 10: HOUSEHOLDS BY TYPE, RACE AND LATINO ORIGIN............................................................................................... 18

FIGURE 11: UNDER AGE 18 LIVING STATUS BY HOUSEHOLD TYPE ........................................................................................... 18

FIGURE 12: CHILDREN UNDER 18 IN POVERTY BY FAMILY TYPE ............................................................................................... 19

FIGURE 13: CHILDREN UNDER 18 LIVING BELOW POVERTY LEVEL ........................................................................................... 19

FIGURE 14: EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT BY RACE/ETHNICITY ................................................................................................. 21

FIGURE 15: EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT OF LATINO GROUPS.................................................................................................. 22

FIGURE 17: INCOME BELOW POVERTY LEVEL IN 1999 ................................................................................................................................37

FIGURE 18: MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD ............................................................................................................................................................37

FIGURE 19: HOUSEHOLD INCOME SOURCES .............................................................................................................................................38

FIGURE 20: AGGREGATE INCOME FOR ALL HOUSEHOLDS BY SOURCE – 1999..............................................................................................38

FIGURE 21: HOUSEHOLDS RECEIVING PUBLIC ASSISTANCE.......................................................................................................................39

FIGURE 22: MEDIAN INCOME IN 1999.......................................................................................................................................................39

FIGURE 23: MEDIAN EARNINGS BY GENDER..............................................................................................................................................39

FIGURE 24: MEDIAN EARNINGS IN 1999 ...................................................................................................................................................39

FIGURE 25: HSHLDS PAYING OVER 50% OF INCOME IN RENT ....................................................................................................................44

FIGURE 26: PERCENT OF HOME PURCHASE LOAN APPS DENIED..................................................................................................................45

FIGURE 27: HOME LOAN DENIALS BY RACE/ETHNICITY..............................................................................................................................46

FIGURE 30: WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN WITH UNDOCUMENTED?.....................................................................................................................87

LEHIGH VALLEY DEMOGRAPHICS:4

TABLE 1: POPULATION BY RACE AND HISPANIC/LATINO ORIGIN (2000)

AFRICAN AMERICAN 9,798 3% 6,886 3% 7,284 7% 2,244 3% 3,221 12% 17,017 3%

ASIAN 6,488 2% 3,610 1% 2,375 2% 1,557 2% 436 2% 10,281 2%

TWO OR MORE RACES 3,382 1% 2,416 1% 1,944 2% 887 1% 627 2% 6,157 1%

Bethlehem’s Latino community is generally an older,

It is essential to note that Latinos have also increased in

TABLE 5: LEHIGH VALLEY POPULATION CHANGE 1980-2000

LEHIGH VALLEY - 2000 Venezuelan

Central Costa Rican

Census 2000 SF1

TABLE 6: LATINO SUBGROUP DISTRIBUTION 1990–2000

TABLE 7: POPULATION CHANGE BY LATINO ORIGIN

Census 1990 STF 3 1990- 1990- 1990- 1990-

TABLE 8: GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF SELECTED LATINO POPULATIONS

NATIVITY AND CITIZENSHIP

TABLE 9: CITIZENSHIP STATUS AND PLACE OF BIRTH

Latino population reflecting the Native: 21,957 12,072 1,547 7,341

More importantly in terms of services, acculturation and language is that 55%

Not a citizen 4% 18% 5% 28% 13% 31%

Latinos comprise a racially diverse and complex group FIGURE 4:

Racial self-identification often varies based on Latino Some other

Only 7% of those under 18 years of age are not English fluent

FIGURE 5: LATINO LANGUAGE FLUENCY BY AGE GROUP AND LATINO SUBGROUP

17% 46% Speak English

Latino Households 10,070 1,011 709 182 373 730

Linguistically isolated 22% 26% 37% 16% 22% 32%

FIGURE 7: AGE: YOUTH AND SENIOR POPULATIONS

Under 18 years 65 yrs and over

LATINO WHITE AFRICAN ASIAN

FIGURE 8: MEDIAN AGE

LATINO WHITE AFRICAN ASIAN