Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2026

Publication Title

Latino Studies

Abstract

[In lieu of abstract, first paragraph is replicated here]

In May 2020, Illinois State University published a heartwarming human-interest news story about a recent Latine graduate. The alumna, a mass communication major, had landed a broadcasting job in one of Chicago’s regional television stations, and the goal of the story was to celebrate her success. In telling the story of the success, however, the article stated that “When she was 13 and spoke no English, her family packed up their life in their native Colombia and immigrated to the Chicago area for new opportunities.” In time, the story went on, the student learned English and excelled academically throughout her K-12 and university studies. In featuring her life story, the article sought to illustrate the student’s immigration and linguistic journey to give more credence to her success—and rightly so in my view. The problem was what the article saw, or failed to see, in the immigration story: only a lack of English, not the presence of Spanish, Colombian culture, and the tenacity to immigrate that would be the foundation of her success as a bilingual broadcaster. Dismayed by this deficit-minded framing, a small group of Illinois State University faculty members in the Languages, Literatures, and Cultures Department and the Latin American and Latino Studies Program started a conversation about the article. We noted that, while well-intentioned, the story ironically framed the student’s Spanish-speaking abilities as a barrier to her success in bilingual broadcasting. As fully bilingual faculty members, we understood exactly the opposite: the student’s bilingualism was an asset. But rather than pillaging the article (and salvaging the author’s presumably good intentions), we wondered if we could instead show the University that bilingualism should be promoted rather than suppressed; celebrated instead of stigmatized.

Funding Source

This article was published Open Access thanks to a transformative agreement between Milner Library and Springer Nature.

DOI

10.1057/s41276-026-00558-1

Comments

First published in Latino Studies (2026): https://doi.org/10.1057/s41276-026-00558-1

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