Campfire Questions

Why should Hispanics, who have suffered a great deal of discrimination, join a group that discriminates against others? It defies common sense.

Calm down Armando, think of the long-term objective. We lose too many Hispanic children in their early years. More than half of Hispanics to not finish high school. Much less go to college. If we can use the Boy Scout as a tool to begin developing tomorrow's leaders we should forget about the past and think about the future. A future where we assume a fair share of the leadership responsibilities. I have had my fair share of disappointments, but I cannot afford to look back. We have a bright future ahead of us, but it is up to us to create it.

When I was a boy I wanted to join Boy Scouts but I couldn't since I couldn't afford even theblue shirt, which was required in order to be a member. When I became the father of two sons (and a daughter) I didn't want my children to join BSA since they didn't give a R**** A** about me all those many years ago. All my kids turned out great and the BSA can go suck a giant institutional egg. At that time they didn't seem to care about other than white kids. They can still keep on doing it.

I am an intern for the YMCA in Southern California and we are having a similar difficulty attracting people from the Latino community to our organization. Even though our county is nearly 35% hispanic/latino and growing, the amount of members we attract is greatly disproportionate to this figure. Perhaps it is due to the fact that the YMCA in our area has typically been a white-bred organization throughout its entire history, or the lack of a available resources (bilingual staff and material), or the fact that the YMCA has ignored this particular demographic in the past. We are currently working on ways to attract and include more of the Latino population to the Y; the problems the boy scouts and the Y currently face are eerily similar.

This makes me wonder if institutions like the YMCA and Boy Scouts of America are truly 'American' if nearly 15% (according to the article) remain disconnected. These programs provide a wealth of opportunity, a chance to make positive connections, and learn the values that provide the basis for a balanced life. I can only hope more will have the chance to experience what these organizations have to offer.


Matt Berson

What's a Latino or Hispanic? I don't get it. The whole thing seems racist to me... Secondly, we here in TX had my daughter join after we paid the $10 bucks, attended the Scouts' meeting and all sounded good except that we never heard from them again. Wake up people! Everyone now just want to be glued to TV or the Net or whatever...

Viva America! As an Eagle Scout and a son of Mexican immigrants, I think that the outreach the BSA is doing is a great thing. Sharing the values of honesty, courtesy, and kindness with growing young men can only have a positive impact on their individual lives. This benefit will transcend to their communities and our country. Regardless of your stance on immigration, these children are our neighbors, classmates to our children, and community members. Devoting energy to molding these eager, talented and smart young Latino's is a wise investment.

That's because they are the only one's reproducing...the white's have to work to support all these anchor babies

Hello, thought I'd join in this discussion.

First of all, kudos to Boy Scouts of America for recognizing that they'll need to attract Latinos in order to thrive in this fast-changing society. Looks like they've learned some smart things along the way (such as the fact that translations alone aren't going to do the trick, and the way they approach parents, etc.). This is terrific, and I believe this organization can help integrate immigrant Latino boys into the U.S. society and inspire them to achieve their best. Meanwhile, American-born Scouts (including Latinos) will benefit from learning about other cultures and developing special friendships that can broaden their perspectives.

Second of all--and this is in response to a reader comment--when we talk about "Latinos" we are using the word as an abbreviation for "Latinoamericanos" or "Latin Americans." "Latin" refers to people or language descending from European countries such as Italy, Spain, France and Portugal, but "Latinos" refers to anyone from Mexico, Central America, South America, as well as island countries in the Caribbean such as Cuba and the Dominican Republic.

I am not speaking out of prejudice or bigotry but I am getting sick and tired of seeing and hearing the term and designation Latin and now the corrupted version of Latino being applied especially within the past few decades to Spanish speaking peoples. As an Italian-American of Roman ancestry it was from my ancestors that the Latin language, culture, and tribes derived from by means of Julius Ceaser, ancient Rome, Pompeii, and the Vatican and if any people are the true Latins it is the Italians over any other people since Latin is the cultural legacy of Italy for over 2000 years and not of Hispanics of the Western Hemisphere the majority of whom are a mixture of several races.

Give me a break, why should the whites have to carry the burden of an association. The boy scouts are a very good program for the boys irrespective of the ethnic background. If the latinos do not feel that they wish to partake in the program. it is their loss, the same as the excellent educational system we have in this country that they do not wish to partake,

Interesting article, however, the reporters incorrectly stated that the BSA's "first concerted foray into Latino youth marketing" was in 2002. In fact, the BSA has had several marketing efforts aimed at the growing Hispanic demographic since the late 1970s.
In the late 1970s, it was Henry B. Murphy, who at the time was a vice-chairman of the National Catholic Committee on Scouting and a board member of Resorts International, facilitated a three-year grant to the BSA for a national Hispanic Outreach program. The grant was primarily used to support a new position in the BSA's national offices ??? National Director of Hispanic Relationships ??? that was responsible for developing the marketing tools to promote the scouting program to the Hispanic American community.
The first director, hired in 1980, was Raul A. Chavez. Chavez served in the position for only two years, before taking the position of Communications Director for the Boy Scouts. He was replaced by Louis E. A. Gallegos in 1982. The initial three-year grant expired in 1983, but was renewed for another three years and increased. Gallegos served until 1985 and was replaced by Roberto G. Gonzales in 1986.
By the end of the 1980s, the BSA considered the Hispanic Outreach program a success and wanted to expand it beyond the amount of funds they received from Resorts International. To accomplish this task, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation was approached. Beginning in 1990, the Kellogg Foundation gave the Boy Scouts a three-year grant in the amount of $1,560,000. This marked the end of the Hispanic Outreach program.
By 1993 the funding from the Kellogg Foundation was ended and the Hispanic Emphasis program was merged into the BSA's new national Urban Emphasis program. During the 1990s, the Hispanic ???emphasis as a national initiative had declined by the late 1990s,??? however, the Boy Scouts insisted that the ???program's Siempre Juntos (???Always Together???) spirit lives on in the BSA's Scoutreach Division.???
In addition, the BSA's membership in 1989 was 4,246,915. In 1997, the total traditional members was 3,624,038, which declined to the end of 2007 to 2,855,833 -- a decline of 21.2%. For more information, see http://www.bsa-discrimination.org/html/bsa_membership.html.