ELKHART — Erwin Macedo, between his shift at work and school, peers down the street from the stoop of his south Elkhart house.
“We were the first Hispanic people on the street. Now all of a sudden, if you take a good look, there’s a whole bunch of Hispanics,” he said. “It used to be white people around the neighborhood. Little by little, they moved.”
U.S. Census Bureau figures prove Macedo right.
Elkhart and Goshen have experienced sharp Hispanic increases dating to the 1990s, and south Elkhart now has one of the most concentrated Latino populations in the county. Yet, the magnitude isn’t always apparent. Judging by the racial breakdown of political leadership in Elkhart County, the Latino hold on power isn’t commensurate with their share of the population, for one thing.
What’s more, many, while involved in the broader Elkhart County community, maintain deep roots in the tight-knit Hispanic community, in part because they’re more comfortable speaking Spanish or feel more of a cultural connection.
“I can kind of see the Hispanic people doing their own little thing,” said Macedo, who works in a factory and studies at Ivy Tech Community College. He moved to his Carlton Drive home, in a modest neighborhood south of Lusher Avenue, when he was 5. His parents, natives of Mexico, brought him from California where he was born.
Viewed one way, the Hispanic neighborhoods and the growing number of businesses and organizations catering to the population suggest segregation and division.
Viewed another way, the Hispanic grocery stores and Spanish-language radio stations are the function of a diversifying community, the response to a need. They have their formal function and a less obvious one — giving Latinos a support system — forums to exchange information about how to maneuver in this new place.
“I would interpret it as a sign of institutional growth and institutional preservation,” said Luis Fraga, co-director of the Institute for Latino Studies at the University of Notre Dame. By giving Latino newcomers outlets to meet and share their experiences, the entities geared to the population “can serve as a wonderful mechanism of furthering integration.”
Ask Latinos in Elkhart County whether they feel as though they’re truly part of the community, and their answers will vary based on a variety of factors — their age, how long they’ve lived here and their economic and educational circumstances, and how much they interact with non-Latinos.
Here are some of their stories: