Hispanic community leaders charged Monday that whites still discriminate against them in voting, or there would be a Latino member of Congress and more Latinos in the state Legislature.

Over the past decade, the story of population growth in the United States was defined largely by the story of Latinos emerging as the nation's largest minority. 1 in every 6 U.S. residents is Latino and the 2010 Census count showed that Hispanics have begun to fully spread across the nation.

Latinos are a community of 50 million people. It's time we start acting like it. Through the vote and through the Internet, we can make that happen.

One of the changes to emerge from the 2010 census, which showed an explosion in respondents of Hispanic descent who also identified themselves as American Indians. 70% of the 57,000 American Indians living in New York City are of Hispanic origin, according to census figures.

The U.S. Census projects that very soon (2050) the population of the United States will be "majority-minority." What will cause this shift is the increase in a demographic group called "Latinos" or "Hispanics."