The University of Memphis’ Center for Research on Women, or CROW, is involved in a three-year study called “Race and Nation: Building New Communities in the South.”
Through the project, the researchers hope to come to an understanding of the experiences of new immigrants as they arrive and adapt to the South, and the attitudes of long-term residents toward new immigrants.
The project, begun in May of 2000, is well underway and has already published two well-received reports of their research findings.
The project is designed to examine immigration in three Southern sites, each with unique immigration qualities. The sites are located in Memphis, New Market, Tenn. (in east Tenn.) and Atlanta, Ga.
In addition to CROW, collaborators in the project include the Highlander Research and Education Center, located in New Market, and the Southern Regional Council in Atlanta.
Marcelo Mendoza, CROW senior research associate, said the Memphis site is more research oriented, while the other two sites are more grassroots oriented.
“The grassroots point of view is trying to promote a mutual understanding between newcomers and older residents,” Mendoza said. “Our point of view here is to ask what it means for the South, this new ethnic/racial composition.”
The Tennessee sites are focusing on the Latino immigration, Mendoza said, while the metropolitan Atlanta site is focusing on Asian immigration.
According to the 1990 Census, there were 7,091 Hispanics in the Memphis metropolitan area. The 2000 Census counted 27,520 Hispanics — a significant increase in the Hispanic population of this area.
This August, CROW and the Regional Economic Development Center released the report “New 2000 Estimates of the Hispanic Population for Shelby County, Tennessee.” The findings suggest that the number of Hispanics in Shelby County is actually much larger than the 23,264 counted by the 2000 Census.
The study used three different methodologies to calculate the Hispanic population in Shelby County, and estimated between 31,200 and 34,602.
“The Census did not capture all the Hispanics that are here,” Mendoza said.
A possible explanation for the Census 2000 undercount, Mendoza said, is that some individuals may never have received a Census form, or if they did receive one, may not have returned it.
One method CROW used in the Hispanic population estimate was official birth data from the Shelby County Health Department on births to Hispanic women from 1993 to 1998.
The conclusion of the study states, “Although the methods employed in this study are commonly used and recommended by experts for estimates at periods between the decennial censuses, they do not intend to challenge the official 2000 Census count.”
Earlier this year, CROW released a report titled “Latino Immigrants in Memphis, Tennessee: Their Local Economic Impact.”
The report states that the South is becoming an increasingly popular destination for immigrants, especially the states of Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas, where the Latino population has doubled in the last decade.
The report states that Latino workers in Memphis have a total economic impact of approximately $1 billion creating 35,972 jobs.
An important aspect to consider, Mendoza said, is the large number of Latino men and women employed in Memphis’ distribution sector. These jobs, which are low skill and low pay, will continue to grow with the expected growth of the sector.
With the continued growth of distribution sector jobs, Latinos will bring in their network of family and friends to fill them, Mendoza said.
The report points out that of the $570.8 million that Memphis Latinos earned in 2000, they paid $85.6 million in payroll/income taxes and sent $125.6 million home to families in Latin America. Through consumer expenditures, Latinos generated approximately $12.3 million in local and state sale taxes, and spent $359.6 million in the local economy.
“The multiplier impact of these expenditures of $359.6 million by local Latino workers is impressive,” the report states. “These expenditures result in another $664 million spent locally by workers and businesses that benefit from Latino workers in the Memphis economy.”
“We were surprised with how many new jobs are created to serve the Latino population here,” Mendoza said. “The whole economic system benefits.”
With continued Latino immigration to the Memphis area, many changes and developments are being made in the workplace. Staffing agencies are increasingly using bilingual employees to serve the Latino population, Mendoza said.
A future CROW study, being done in collaboration with a local nonprofit agency, the Workplace, will conduct phone interviews with employers to determine what barriers need to be overcome to hire Latino workers, Mendoza said. In addition to language barriers, there are often cultural barriers to Latino employment.
“These reports answer the most common questions people ask,” Mendoza said. “‘How many Latinos are there, and what is the impact?’”
