By Andra Bryan Stefanoni

news@joplinglobe.com

PITTSBURG, Kan. — State leaders and a community activist put better representation in education and politics at the top of the agenda for Kansas’ quarter of a million Hispanics.

About 9 percent of the state’s population is Hispanic, with that expected to double by 2030, according to figures provided by Woods & Poole Economics Inc.

That issue was the focus of a panel discussion Thursday at Pittsburg State University as part of Hispanic Heritage Month.

“The number of Hispanics has doubled in Kansas in the last five years, and the number of African-Americans is growing, but it’s largely due to birth rates being higher than Caucasian birth rates,” said Danielle Dempsey-Swopes, executive director of the Kansas African American Affairs Commission.

“At some point, we’ll have a higher number of Hispanic and African-American babies to educate than Caucasian. So how does a state like Kansas — that does not have a history of being as racially and ethnically diverse — manage that?”

She estimated that there are 300 government committees that help all Kansans in some way, but said leaders of those groups are predominantly Caucasian.

“We need to make sure our leadership becomes infused in Kansas as we move forward, to identify and develop a sense of culture,” she said.

Jessica Ayala, a community activist in Kansas City, said: “There is so much work that needs to be done. We are underrepresented in politics, in education, in so many fields.

“You’re in a position to make a difference,” she told students.

Steve Cisneros, executive director of the Kansas Hispanic & Latino American Affairs Commission, said one of the biggest issues in the spotlight is immigration — and he praised state legislators.

“We didn’t pass any knee-jerk legislation, and that says a lot for our state, to do the right thing,” he said. “We cannot put a border up around Missouri and Kansas and Oklahoma. All these issues have to be dealt with at the federal level.”

Dempsey-Swopes said improving graduation rates also is critical.

“The students we lose the most, in terms of dropping out, are often Hispanic and African-American, who have the lowest graduation rates,” she said. “The Legislature needs to invest in programs, in particular for Hispanic young men, because they have the very lowest graduation rates. And that in turn will save the state money in terms of foster care, (social services) and in so many other ways.”