In a speech in Powder Springs, Georgia in July, 2008, then Senator Barack Obama, answered a question about bilingualism. “We live in a global world. And I don’t understand people who go around worrying about ‘We need to have English only’. They want to pass a law that would say ‘We want English only’. Now I agree that immigrants should learn English. I agree with that. But it is important to understand this: instead of worrying whether immigrants can learn English - they will learn it - you need to make sure your child can speak Spanish. You should be thinking about how your child can become bilingual. We should have every child speaking more than one language.”

Immediately, his distractors jumped on his answer, with even Lou Dobbs of CNN falsely asserting that Obama advocated bilingualism “while discussing the issue of illegal immigration.” Clearly illegal immigration and English as a second language are two different things.  Statistics show that Spanish is the second most common language in the U.S.; spoken by over 12% of the population.

Our country boasts the fifth largest Spanish-speaking population, coming behind Mexico, Spain, Argentina, and Colombia. It never occurred to me that one day I would be sitting in a business, waiting to pay my money, while being talked about in another language, by the employees (more on that later). Nor did I understand when I first entered college that Spanish would also benefit me in corporate America.

It’s past time for African-Americans to understand that pragmatically, with the advent of the global marketplace, having a second or even third language on a resumé greatly enhances the chances of the job-seeking professional. According to an article “College-Educated Blacks Lose More Jobs than Peers,” some argue that the problem of joblessness among African-Americans can be solved by education alone with Spanish as a second language, but at every education level, the unemployment rate for Blacks exceeds that of Whites. The disparities among the college-educated and other evidence suggest that even if the Black educational attainment distribution was exactly the same as the White distribution, Blacks would still have a higher unemployment rate.

Without a renewed commitment to anti-discrimination in employment and job creation in Black communities, high rates of Black joblessness will continue.
Speaking on the theory that the problem of joblessness among African-Americans can be solved by education alone with Spanish as a second language, Damon Hoyle, an educator who  teaches fifth grade Social Justice at KIPP Polaris Academy for Boys stated, “I do not agree totally with that statement. I do agree being fluent in a second language is a very marketable skill set for potential employees, especially Spanish, in today’s society. However, it would be a mistake to attribute one factor to such a complex problem. There are many factors contributing to the current unemployment rate amongst African-Americans and each factor should be examined thoroughly if we are to move beyond our current state.”

Hoyle first studied Spanish when he attended Dulles High School and continued to study in college at the University of Virginia, where he received a degree in African & African-American Studies. He continued, “If you really want to become fluent in Spanish or any language you should visit a place where they speak the language and stay for an extended period of time. It is the only way that you will become truly fluent.”

He points out that although he wasn’t necessarily intimidated by the language,  he did become frustrated while trying to learn all of the rules. “Our society is rapidly changing, becoming more and more diverse, and if we do not push ourselves as a community to stay astute to those trends we will be left behind.”

While statistics show college-educated Blacks posted the largest job loss numbers, Latinos showed the steepest decline. Unemployment went up nearly three-fold, to 5 percent, among Latinos with college degrees. Especially in careers where clients may be anywhere on the globe, the ability to communicate with them in their own language increases both the quality of the relations and the ability of the business to meet their needs.

Businesses recognize that a person with the ability to speak a second language fluently is a valuable asset. It also shows off the capacity of the aspiring job candidate to learn and assimilate complex systems of information, a talent that is sure to catch the attention of any human resources department. According to a recent study in terms of community, learning a second language will also increase understanding and compassion for other cultures.

“Houston has a huge/growing Spanish population and many of the students and families KIPP serves speak Spanish. So becoming fluent in the language would benefit me to be a more marketable/well-rounded educator,” Holye said. Now, the question is how can we as African-Americans learn the language? One can begin with traditional teaching that includes universities, community colleges, and several private organizations offer language classes.

Yet, we cannot forget that the Internet is a learning tool that consists of more than just entertainment Web sites. Many Web 2.0  sites, using social media technologies provide language lessons, audio guides to pronunciation, feedback from native language speakers, fellow students, and much more.

In the event I alluded to earlier, I was at a car-inspection center  and I understood the negative comments directed at me as an African-American in Spanish. I responded to them in their own native language—and they were not only shocked, but apologized profusely.

That has happened on several occasions  and of course, that is only one benefit to knowing Spanish in an ever-increasing Spanish-speaking environment.  Making myself a valuable asset to my employer is, as they say, priceless.


Damon Hoyle, an educator with KIPP Polaris Academy for Boys  states, “There are many
factors contributing to the current unemployment rate amongst African-Americans and each
factor should be examined thoroughly if we are to move beyond our current state.”
                                                                                                                  Photo by E.C. Davis