From Times Square to Timbuktu by Wesley Granberg-Michaelson

Author:Wesley Granberg-Michaelson [Granberg-Michaelson, Wesley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: REL000000
ISBN: 978-1-4674-3895-7
Publisher: Eerdmans
Published: 2013-09-23T00:00:00+00:00

The Meshing of Civilizations

In 1968, while a graduate student in theology at Princeton Seminary, I had a conversation with one of my favorite professors, Dr. James Billington. An expert on Russian history and culture, he taught at Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. I asked Dr. Billington what area of study I might consider that would have a major effect on the future trends of history, and the evolution of our democracy. Dr. Billington identified the role of Spanish culture and civilization. He thought that the rising significance of Latin America, its proximity to the United States, and the increasing interplay of cultures through immigration and other means could have a decisive influence on our future. Yet, so much about Hispanic culture was not studied, understood, and appreciated.

Dr. Billington’s comments reminded me of similar observations made by Dr. John MacKay, who served as president of Princeton Theological Seminary from 1936 until 1959. Prior to that, MacKay had been a missionary, helping lead a school in Lima, Peru, at a time of reform movements in Latin America. He also became a key figure in the ecumenical movement. I recall being told by my Young Life leader and mentor, Bill Starr, that Dr. MacKay was predicting that the cultural, political, and religious life of the United States would be profoundly impacted by our Hispanic neighbors, and we were unaware and unprepared for this encounter.

Dr. Billington, now Librarian of the Congress, and Dr. MacKay, who was a professor of Hispanic thought at American University following his time at Princeton, and died in 1983, were both prescient in their observations. In the last four decades, no “foreign” civilization has had a greater impact on U.S. society than Hispanic culture. We’ve witnessed a meshing of civilizations, filled with tensions and conflicts, as well as creativity and promise, that continues to this day.

Hispanics, either foreign born or by ancestry, now total 50 million people in the United States. Almost 33 million are from Mexico; 4.8 million are from Puerto Rico; El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Guatemala each account for between 1 million and 2 million residents.31 Of the estimated 11.2 million unauthorized residents in the United States, about 80 percent are Hispanic.32

The influx of Mexicans to the United States over the past four decades, bringing 12 million new residents to this country, has been unprecedented in our history for a movement of people from any single country. Slightly over half are unauthorized residents.33 Yet, the startling fact is that net immigration from Mexico to the United States has halted, and may even be reversing itself. The recession in the United States, combined with increased border enforcement, a high level of deportations under the Obama administration, and improving economic conditions in Mexico, has resulted in as many, if not more, Mexicans leaving the United States than entering.34

Yet, Mexican American and overall Hispanic populations are intrinsic features of American society that will continue to grow and shape our future. Between 2000 and 2010,

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