“Behind every number, there’s a story.”
That’s what inspires Maria Hinojosa, host and executive producer of NPR’s Latino USA, to investigate the dramatic demographic changes taking place in the United States in her new PBS show, America by the Numbers. In a nation that will be majority non-white by 2043, Hinojosa’s storytelling focuses largely on the oft neglected experiences of immigrants and people of color.
Unafraid of what mainstream media too often neglects, Hinojosa’s America by the Numbers brings to life the tensions at the heart of a rapidly diversifying America. She examines not only the unjust treatment of underrepresented communities by the American government but also the cultural conflicts inherent within these communities. For Hinojosa, the conflicts between tradition and progress, community and individuality, white and non-white are not to be avoided, but rather spotlighted.
Last week, Sojourners chatted with Hinojosa about America by the Numbers and the role the media can play in welcoming these demographic changes. This conversation has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Sojourners: Why did you create America by the Numbers?
Maria Hinojosa: When you’re living in the middle of a moment in history, you don’t realize how profound it is, how it’s changing everything. We are all in the midst of living through this amazing demographic change in our country. Every single day that passes we are leaving a different America behind and creating a new one. As a journalist, I wanted to focus on this. I found it interesting that there wasn’t more coverage about this.
And at the same time, I think that there’s always been a conversation of, “Is the diversity really here forever? Is it really going to stay around? Is it just a moment? Is this a fad?” And to do that reporting and say it is America by the numbers is basically saying the numbers, triple-checked, are irrefutable.
WATCH: Trailer for America By The Numbers
Why do you think most Americans struggle to accept these changes? Why do they need the numbers to believe the sorts of stories you’re telling are meaningful?
Because I think in our country when you talk about race and you talk about change, oftentimes it is in the context of somebody’s gaining and somebody’s losing. We wanted to approach the conversation from a different perspective. We make up an incredibly diverse team of journalists. For example, I wasn’t born in this country, so I have a different feeling about the fact that the country is changing. I am part of that change. I’m not afraid of that change.
We don’t as a team approach the numerical reality of what’s happening or the cultural dynamic of what’s happening from a place of fear. We approach it from a place of journalism. It is something that we need to be covering, we need to be talking about, we need to be discussing, we need to be creating space and we need to be doing hard reporting about.
You mentioned the diversity of your news team. Why is it important to have a diverse team full of people of color involved in the production of news media? How does who’s covering the story change the story?
The reality is by the numbers the diversity in American journalism has actually decreased over the past decade. By the numbers diversity in journalism is suffering at the same time our numbers are growing. …
So, for us to have diversity in all of the aspects of production is important because this is reflective of the country that we are. We also talk a lot about having the appropriate sensitivity to the communities that we’re covering. Having a diverse staff means that we want to elevate our level of cultural competency. It isn’t just about being representative. It really is about cultural competency.
I also, in particular, want to encourage younger journalists to feel like there is a place for them in the roles of American journalism.
Were there places you felt your team was lacking in cultural competency or when you needed to be extra sensitive?
I think one of the beautiful things about this series was that it did challenge me in every way, because it took me to places where I had never been as a reporter. For example, it took me to report from a Native American reservation, which I had never done. That was probably the most challenging. You want to be welcomed, and yet there is a tradition of a lot of distrust from the people towards journalists—rightly so.
We have to be able to stand corrected and to want to hear how communities see themselves. We’re approaching the stories at all times thinking about these questions as opposed to not. We really think about this stuff and it takes time and it takes effort and it’s confusing sometimes and it delays things, but in the end I think we’re the better for it.
In the episode “Our Private Idaho,” you asked a man named Pat Bolen, “Did you feel that you were being discriminated because of the fact that you were a white man?” He said, “Yeah. Based on those stories, wouldn’t you feel the same way?” The camera held for an awkward tension, but we didn’t get the answer. What’s your answer to that question? In other words, what would you say to white people, especially white men, in this country who feel that they are being shut out of opportunities because of their race?
My answer is that I understand fear. It’s uncomfortable. And when you experience fear, the thing that you go back to is what you know.
And my greatest experience with fear was around 9/11 when I was reporting that story here in New York. And after that I did go into a bit of shock. And I remember feeling some things that were not the real me. And I think that’s what deep fear can do. It can make you react from not such a productive place.
But there’s no easy answer to this. Things are going to change. Our country is changing. We all feel that it’s changing. None of us know exactly where it’s going or how it’s all going to pan out.
But I think for Pat Bolen it was important to acknowledge that, to say that, to have a space to say that, without feeling terrible, without feeling like he’s going to be judged by that is really important. So there is no easy answer. But do I as a journalist feel I must do my best to understand that fear? Absolutely.
How do you hope that your show impacts people? For people inspired by your show, what are the next steps they can take to welcome these dramatic demographic shifts and effect positive change in the United States?
Should we have sign-up sheets for people saying, “Here are 5 things that you should do?” I think that’s really important. But we see our greatest responsibility as to get this out, get it being watched, and get it being talked about.
We have created a space. It’s about dialogue. It’s about changing your own mind. It’s about breaking down your own assumptions. It’s about being a little bit more aware of one’s own assumptions. It’s about awareness. A lot of people never think about what’s happening on Native American reservations or think about what’s happening in a place like Guam.
So in the end, it sounds trite and highfalutin but I think if I’m able to inspire some sense of democracy, of people having agency in their voice because they’re seeing their stories told on national media that using that agency, using that voice, in an expression of democracy would be the best thing that could happen. Voting to writing letters to making calls to organizing to everything that embodies democratic expression. That would be the dream.
Who do you look up to as a journalist, a person, or an advocate for justice?
I find myself inspired by the people I meet on the daily. For example, last night we were screening in Orlando and this gentleman, probably 65 years old, white guy, drove 70 miles to come to see our piece in Orlando and he stayed so that we could have a picture and he just said, “I’ve devoted my whole life to teaching Latino students in pre-k so your show, Latino USA, has been like a lifeline to me.” And I’m just thinking, “Wow, he’s every day dedicating his life to teaching Latino kids in pre-k.” So I get inspired by people who are doing phenomenal work without a lot of fanfare.
Is there anything else you would like to mention about America by the Numbers?
For us it’s really important to know what people are thinking. For example, take the people of Clarkston, where we did our pilot, when they ended up seeing themselves on the national airwaves talking about democracy and voting and electoral rights and political process and representations. And a year later three former refugees had decided to run for office for the first time ever.
That’s the kind of inspiration you can’t make up. They saw themselves in the media. They said we can do this. They ran for office. And we went back to film that. That’s the utmost in owning the agency of expression in the mainstream media.
Ryan Stewart is Online Assistant for Sojourners.
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