Envision that you are apart of strict traditional family, the only expectation they have of you is to be apart of the working class of America. Imagine believing that is all you can become in this world, due to lack of money and moral support from family, friends, and teachers. These are the struggles young Chicanos of America face, this is sadly someone’s harsh reality. The silent truth is that the youth of the Latin community face constant oppression in their own culture whilst trying to assimilate and progress in America. Immigrant parents are not given the opportunity receive proper knowledge to educate their children who want to hone their talents whether it is extracurricular activities like skating or helping on simple …show more content…
The author David Diaz in the book Barrio Urbanism: Chicanos, Planning, and American Cities states that, “In the mid-1900s.. The logic of social repression requires a functional rationale to legitimate a civil society in which segregation(in reality ethnic cleansing) and brutality are normative social constructions. The Eurocentric version of el barrio influenced the totality of urban public policy.. (Diaz 4). Urbanization one of the struggles the Hispanic community in Los Angeles have been dealing with for awhile it has been more apparent over the years. Many of the communities that have been destroyed to build new shopping centers or luxury lofts are in areas like Echo Park and Downtown Los Angeles. This directly affects Chicano families with low incomes, and are not able to afford to move out of their homes immediately. Moving from place to place can have residual effects on their children and might discourage them to further their education due to low incomes. Parents might encourage their children to work at a young age to help ease the burden of high rent rates in Los …show more content…
When they’re in society they must adapt American culture and the negative stereotypes. The authors Holleran and Waller argue that “Second generation Mexican American adolescents may hear origin and survival stories from their families that bear little resemblance to textbook, media, and popular accounts written from the perspective of dominant culture. They may feel pressures to identify as Mexican in their homes and communities, but to act “American” in school and work contexts.” (Holleran & Waller 4) Often times the Chicano youth might feel like they need to look or act American to be accepted by their peers. As Americans we shouldn’t encourage this mind set, and embrace each other’s diversity. Even though segregation is a part of the past, racism add stereotypes are still prevalent in the present. A common stereotype we hear is that most Hispanic girls are teen moms. This stereotype, has tainted the community’s identity over the years but in a recent study in 2016 it has challenge that assumption. In an article, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it states updated statistics that states, “While dramatic declines among Hispanic and black teens (51 percent and 44 percent, respectively) have helped reduce gaps, birth rates remain twice as high for these teens nationally compared with white teens.” This
As a member of a working class community, my life has been a struggle between resources and opportunities available for me. Having sparse resources has lead me to the constant push of working towards the things I’ve achieved. Social identities have become a guidance for my future goals and abilities. Being working class Latina, raised in a Catholic family has created many barriers and pathways into the future I wish to hold. Furthermore, taking all the social identities I have grew into have become the bases for my educational goals and identity.
Being a child of immigrant parents is not easy. You are constantly living in the fear that one day you’ll wake up and you parents won’t be there with you anymore. Specially now that we have a new president, things are getting more challenging. But don’t get me wrong, I live a happy life. I am proud to call myself a Latina.
One of the toughest adjustments, having been born to Mexican parents, is migrating to an unknown country where traditions and languages differ from one 's own. Though many pursue an education and strive for a better life, the purpose behind an immigrant, like myself, differs from the typical American. Immigrants strive for a life that was once impossible, going to school is not only to attain an education, but to better prove that we can also become successful regardless of our traditions and skin color. I lived in a country for over fifteen years, fearing deportation, not only losing a home, but potentially saying goodbye to a bright future. Although many feel empathy for Mexican-Americans, it is undeniably difficult to truly comprehend the immense trauma children and even adults undergo upon experiencing racism and prejudice.
Moreover, she reveals that stereotypes mark people as undesirable and separate them from the rest of society, thus impeding their assimilation. Cofer uses another simile when she details her experience with an American boy at her first formal dance: “ … [He] said in a resentful tone: ‘I thought you Latin girls were supposed to mature early’—my first instance of being thought of as a fruit or vegetable—I was supposed to ripen, not just grow into womanhood like other girls” (549). In this simile, Cofer shows how those who stereotype Latino women compare them to fruits and vegetables because both are supposed to mature rapidly. However, she denounces this comparison by emphasizing that it dehumanizes Latino women and reduces them to the status of mere plants while creating a
Gentrification is the process of renovating and improving a house or district so that it conforms to middle-class taste. Real Estate investors usually take low-income places that they feel have a chance to prosper economically, and turn them into areas that attract the middle and upper class workers. In doing so they feel like the low-income areas will be safer and more appealing, attracting more people to visit and live there. An improvement to a poor district sounds beautiful, but is gentrification as great as it’s sought out to be? Many residents have their doubts about gentrification due to the idea that the costs of their living will go up and they will be driven out of their neighborhoods.
Many stories embody the cultural aspects of Mexican-Americans and their struggles with living in a discriminatory society. Stories like With
The immigrants entering the United States throughout its history have always had a profound effect on American culture. However, the identity of immigrant groups has been fundamentally challenged and shaped as they attempt to integrate into U.S. society. The influx of Mexicans into the United States has become a controversial political issue that necessitates a comprehensive understanding of their cultural themes and sense of identity. The film Mi Familia (or My Family) covers the journey and experiences of one Mexican-American (or “Chicano”) family from Mexico as they start a new life in the United States. Throughout the course of the film, the same essential conflicts and themes that epitomize Chicano identity in other works of literature
The text is important because not many people know the difficulties of being Mexican-American, especially when it comes to being themselves or the inner turmoil that comes with it; being Mexican-American means following traditions and speaking perfect Spanish, while at the same time having a grasp on American traditions and
“The virtual personas of Latino immigrants (represented as a threat to the nation) make the authority that has accumulated for real immigrants in their role as workers and consumers vanish” (Chavez 47). In the public eye Latinos are depicted as noncompliant and dangerous citizens and noncitizens of the United States. “The virtual lives of ‘Mexicans,’ ‘Chicanos,’ ‘illegal aliens,’ and ‘immigrants’ become abstractions and representations that stand in the place of real lives” (Chavez 47). It is depressing to understand that the majority of the United States strictly sees Latinos as these distorted images. At the end of the day each individual’s life matters, we all need to become more compassionate for one another.
In these protests, students would stand outside of their school with picket signs protesting the racist actions within their schools, as well as calling for freedom of speech and the hiring of Mexican American teachers. These protests by students were one of the first major protests by Mexican Americans against racism and helped greatly to ignite the Chicano Movement. (Muñoz) Rodolfo Gonzales addresses the importance of these youthful students and their actions in his speech with the words “…we need actions such as the ‘blowouts,’ because the youth are not afraid of anything. Because the youth are ready to move. The whole party will be based on the actions of the youth, and the support of the old.”
“The common denominator all Latinos have is that we want some respect. That 's what we 're all fighting for” - Cristina Saralegui. Judith Ortiz Cofer published the article, “The Myth of the Latin Woman,” where she expresses her anger towards stereotypes, inequality, and degradation of Latin Americans. Cofer explains the origins of these perceived views and proceeds to empower Latin American women to champion over them. Cofer establishes her credibility as a Latin American woman with personal anecdotes that emphasize her frustration of the unfair depiction of Latinos in society.
In what ways do Mexican Americans and Asian Americans share similar parenting challenges? One of the biggest dilemmas that they face is the redirection of familistic living. Asian and Mexican Americans have traditionally lived in homes with generational members all under one roof. Family members did not live in separate homes neither did they practice “living the nest” manners as native Americans do. Children are encouraged to live at home until they found a spouse and were ready to marry.
I’m the first generation of my family to be Mexican -American, but I have been introduced to the Mexican culture since I was born. I appreciate the difficulties my parents have faced to make me the person that I am today even though I wasn’t born in Mexico my parents have taught me the language and the culture which I’m so proud of being part of. For others being Hispanic is actually being born in any Latin American countries which is not true at all. Being Hispanic is much more than my cultural background it actually describes how much I appreciate my culture and how I get to experience things other people don’t. I fit into the Hispanic community through the experiencing the culture first hand ,participating in traditions and planning to include my culture in my future.
Title: Gentrifying Chicago neighborhoods. General Purpose: To inform my audience of Gentrification in the Norther part of Chicago around the 1960s. Specific Purpose: At the end of my speech, the audience will understand the meaning of gentrification, how Puerto Rican families in the Northern part of Chicago lost their homes to Gentrification, how they fought against gentrification, and how gentrification is now occurring to Mexican families in the Southern part of Chicago. Thesis: Puerto Rican families lost their homes in the 1960s when Lincoln Park was gentrified despites their best efforts, and today Mexican families are losing their homes in Pilsen to gentrification. Introduction I. Attention: What would you risk in order to continue having a home?
Both readings claim that Hispanics are here to stay, but with opposing views on how this affects society. One place where Hispanic presence is on the rise is in schools. However, some Hispanic students know more Spanish than English, and therefore struggle in school. This idea of exemplifies the stereotype that Hispanics are “dumb”.