ST. LOUIS — It is officially Hispanic Heritage Month!
This month highlights the contributions and culture of the Hispanic community.
On Monday morning, two ceremonies were held.
St. Louis County had a flag installation ceremony, as a dozen of Hispanic Heritage flags were planted in Clayton.
In St. Louis, St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones held a flag-raising ceremony.
There were cheers and chants at St. Louis City Hall Monday morning, as the Hispanic Heritage Flag made its way to the top.
Also climbing: the Hispanic population growth in the region.
Jones shared recent U.S. Census Bureau data indicating a significant rise in the Hispanic/Latino population in the St. Louis metropolitan area.
The data was released from U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.
Saint Louis University demographer and sociology professor Ness Sandoval called it "historic," stating this is the largest Hispanic population increase in the St. Louis region.
The U.S. Census Bureau showed there is an increase of nearly 14,000 people year-over-year in the region, ranking St. Louis fourth among the 30 largest metros for percentage growth.
Here are other numbers:
- From 2022-2023, the St. Louis metropolitan area saw a 23.2% increase in its foreign-born population, largest one-year increase in region’s immigrant population on record
- That increase – from 129, 604 in 2022 to 159,710 in 2023 – puts St. Louis at the top of the rankings for growth in foreign-born population among the nation’s 30 largest metro areas
- For the first time in recent years, the metro’s Black population increased
“Our City’s strength is in our diversity and the communities that we create when we open our arms to New Americans,” said Jones. “It’s so obvious in many parts of St. Louis, and perhaps most of all along Cherokee Street, what Hispanic Americans do for our City’s culture, economy, and community. I’m grateful to organizations like the International Institute of St. Louis, the St. Louis Mosaic Project, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Hispanic Leaders Group, STL Juntos, LatinX Art Network, and so many others who have worked with us to make our City a welcoming place.”
Beyond raising the flag, the hope is to also raise the bar through several supporting efforts.
St. Louis Mosaic Project recently launched STLParaTi, a new initiative to connect the Latino community to resources and information available in St. Louis. The initiative has been developed by Latinos to retain Latinos in the region.
The International Institute also launched its Latino Outreach Program, a campaign to attract newly arrived Latino immigrants to St. Louis.
One of the city's efforts is the creation of the Office of New Americans in 2023 by providing resources for new arrivals.
Gilberto Pinela is the director for the Office of New Americans. Pinela believes the city has a lot to offer.
"There is a lot of opportunity, cost of living," he added. "The important part is not attracting, but retaining."
CEO and President of the St. Louis Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Martha Garcia Kampen, believes more language access is key to retention.
She's seen a bump in businesses.
"What I've seen is that there is more businesses and there are successful businesses and several who are in the multi-millions," she added.
Her own parents were entrepreneurs and merchants in Mexico.
She thinks of them, when she thinks of their work: A promise for prosperity.
"Moving things forward, moving our people forward, helping to advance career professional, skilled tradespeople and small businesses," Garcia Kampen said.
“These numbers show that the focused and intentional work taking place to make our metro a destination for immigrants is paying major dividends,” said Jason Hall, CEO of Greater St. Louis, Inc. “Winning this decade means getting our population increasing and shifting the trajectory of our metro into growth mode, and this data shows that the hard work led for years by partners like the International Institute of St. Louis and the Mosaic Project is paying off. But so much work is still to be done, and we must strengthen our support for them to make sure that this growth is sustained for years to come.”
St. Louis County Executive Sam Page shared this statement:
"The St. Louis region has worked incredibly hard over the past several years to create a welcoming environment for our immigrant population and the most recent numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau show that work is paying off. New data from the Census Bureau shows that the St. Louis Metro had the highest percentage increase in foreign-born population among the 30 largest metro areas in the U.S., from 2022-2023. New Americans are the path to a more vibrant economy, bolstering our population and our ability to compete with other growing regions across the U.S. Thank you to all the organizations who continue working tirelessly to make the St. Louis region a welcoming community for all. Our work is not done, but this is a great time to stop and celebrate."
On Friday, the City of St. Louis held its first naturalization ceremony, hosted at City Hall, with 30 new American citizens taking the Oath of Allegiance.
Sandoval pointed out the region as a whole is still losing people, but it's a small loss.
"What (the data is) showing, if this can grow in different way, it could turn around in a couple of years," he said.
Sandoval said St. Louis is competing with Charlotte, Nashville and Indianapolis.
Sandoval explained losing an NFL team is a contributor, as St. Louis tries to recruit younger talent. He said younger adults try to find activities they can do.
"Football drives the imagination," Sandoval added.
He also said it's hard to curb the perception of crime, even if crime is down.
Sandoval believes it could take four to five years for perception to change.