In/Out Laws of the United States

              When student who major and/or minor in political science; students learn that our

government is a complex structure with multiple levels which is more complicated than the next.

With a population in America which currently stands around 320,775,017. The government has

many responsibilities and this population does not include the undocumented that cross our borders

every day.

            With all this happening when it comes to the legal aspect of dealing with the millions that

arrive on American soil, the levels of government are to handle the problem on that particular level.

Usually the federal government takes care of the 7,000 miles that border the United States. At this

moment the federal government is taking a particular interest in the southern region of the borders

for two reasons. The first reason is that the amount of miles that separate Mexico and America there

is approximately 2,000 miles long compared to the 5,000 that separate the northern region; this is

easier to monitor the shorter distance. The second is that there is not as many people crossing the

northern border that the country shares with Canada and this includes the borders of Alaska; than in

the southern border.

               Like any laws in the country, the federal government make and set forth the laws; however

it is the lower levels to enforce the law to the extreme or as loose interpretation of the law to what

they want. However, the federal government only enforces the nationwide laws and the

interpretations.

               It is here that the country has seen the different immigration law that are passed by

Congress but as the law goes to the lower levels such as state and local; they can add stipulations.

For example, the recent controversies that rose with the harsh immigration laws in Arizona.

However, according to my research the other states have followed suit with the Arizona law, but not

to the extreme as the first. However, the immigration law controversy is not the only thing that the

state of Arizona is famous for; the famous gun battle at the O.K. Corral took place in Tombstone,

Arizona.
              It is the enforcement of this law in Arizona that my village in Illinois has gone to the

extreme with interpretation of the different immigration laws. In Carpentersville there are three

major ordinances that were passed and now in some way is being enforced. The first is that within

village limits, there is an official language of English; this law is not strictly enforced because there

are stores in the strip malls that still have Spanish language either in the store or in the name. Like

the first ordinance, the village passed very discriminatory ordinance stating something like, “if a

resident is undocumented and living within village limits, he or she cannot fight against village hall

about issues” because of the illegal status; the village does not recognize these residents. This second

issue was brought to the attention of ABC news, who came to the village to report the story.  Out of

the three ordinance that the Village of Carpentersville has implemented and strictly enforces

regularly; is the living situation of the undocumented. Most of the houses in this small town are

concerned one family dwellings and a family of 4 or 5 can live quite comfortably in many of the

ranch style houses. With the recent boom in immigration from the south, many of these single family

homes are becoming homes to multiple family. Recently, the village passed an ordinance that would

allow village officials who suspect that there is multiple family; to enter the residence and start the

eviction process and turn any undocumented over to Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE). So

far the village has successfully removed two major undocumented rings. The first was when a little

farming property converted their chicken coops into barrack like homes; in this round up ICE and

other village officials found at least 80 undocumented people. The most recent round up was not as

bad with a total of 20 people in a house. So even the local governments are doing their part to control

the immigration situation.

***Remember there is inline hyperlinks imbedded into the text.***

© 2015 Mary Costley, May 1,2015 

Politics

            Politics is one of the most important, if not the most important aspect of any culture or society. Policy dictates what is acceptable, what is unacceptable, and what can be done to improve a situation. For minorities, politics can be a very tricky concept. According to the Latino Politics article by Rodolfo de la Garza, between the years 1970-1980, the number of Hispanics in the United States increased from 9.6-14.6 million. By about 2002, the Bureau of the Census reported that Latinos totaled 38.8 million, becoming the nation’s largest minority. By becoming the largest minority group in the country means that we as Latinos have become crucial to society, especially in the political world. All recent elections, especially the presidential ones, have been helped or hurt by the Latino community, which is why politicians have made much of their campaigns based off of appeal to or against Latinos. For Democrats, especially current President Barak Obama, have fought for better immigration reform to allow people who have already established lives and families here to continue to thrive here, especially since many of them are productive members of society. In fact, a few months ago, the President signed an executive order allowing close to 4 million illegal immigrants to remain here with temporary amnesty, allowing families to stay together. On the opposite side of that are the Republicans, who strive to make immigration reform that prevents undocumented immigrants from coming over and for kicking those who have made it back to their own country. Like when the Arizona governor signed the SB 1040 back in 2010, allowing law enforcement to pull over anyone suspected of being an illegal immigrant and demanding documentation or proof that they are in fact a citizen. Laws like these are why it is so important that Latinos should become more involved with politics. Unfortunately, in the same exact article, it explains how the acquisition of party identification is positively associated with years of residence in the United States but is negatively affected with age. In short, immigrants and their first-generation children will see the importance of being involved in voting and keeping up with political agendas, but as their lineage continues, less and less of their kin will want to be involved or will not see the importance of politics. This doesn’t mean that Latinos have given up on their political voice though. According to the Demanding Equal Political Voice…And Accepting Nothing Less: The Quest for Latino Political Inclusion by Louis DeSipio, contemporary Latino politics is founded on generations of prior struggles for inclusion with a consistent set of demands, including and equal protection of the law and the ability to participate equally in American society regardless of race or ethnicity. Politics are very crucial for the Latino population as it centers largely on race and immigration. The fight for equal political voice has been going on for a long time in this country and will continue on for a certain time. But as time progresses and ideas start to change, hopefully Latinos will be able to change the ideas of the American people about them and look on toward a brighter tomorrow for Latinos and Hispanics everywhere.

Political Shock

          Latinos in America are subject to scrutiny when engaging in political culture. I say this because just like every other minority in this country, they have had to fight, and are still fighting for their place and recognition on the political battlefield. The norm has always been the white Anglo-American figure in office, but it is now transforming into a more diverse melting pot. As the African Americans pursued for their civil rights via Martin Luther King, while Cesar Chavez marched for equal benefits, while Susan B. Anthony broke the oppressive norm, they have set a new standard for the present world that we live in today. Discrimination and some forms of segregation still prevail, but not as it used to. This blog pursues to recognize the current state of Latino involvement in its polity. The fact that Latinos will too occupy office, will promote equality under the law where controversial issues have risen due to discrimination.

          In this country, a majority of Latinos will classify themselves as Democrat. After Bill Clinton and Barack Obama’s questionable attempts at mitigating the immigration dilemma, Latinos have still considered their attempts and held them closer to home. Moreover, Democratic leadership has shown much deference to immigration policy and race thus, Latinos feel the need to affiliate and trust. In addition, the Democratic Party has always been perceived as being the more liberal side; the lesser of the two evils. If immigrants or Latinos question politics, they sometimes cease to vote or have a voice for a few reasons. One reason why Latinos refrain from voting, according to the New York Times is, “that no demographic group is more marginalized in American elections than Latinos. Many are ineligible to vote, while those who can vote often do not or are concentrated in noncompetitive districts and states.” (NYTIMES/Leonhardt) I disagree in part and agree in another, without having this vast array of Democratic affiliation, the Latinos may not have a voice in general. But as time progresses, I think that Latinos must stray from appealing to Democratic policy simply relying on the notions of tradition or lack of education. Soon the issues posited by each side should govern what choice is made by the voter.

          Moving forward, education plays a big role, as touched upon in the precedent paragraph. With education, speaking from personal experience, it creates an influence to participate in civic engagement. Everything from voting, campaign fundraising or just general knowledge of politics have been correlated to the grasp of education. The politically engaged voter is thus able to make sound arguments and choose the candidate that best appeals to their needs, not just the issues concerning immigration. Latinos living in America, may have interests in more conservative policies or desire for reduced government intervention, in other words, Republican ideologies.

          The bigger aspect to retain would be the place Latinos will obtain in politics throughout the growing years. The fact of the matter is that Latinos are blending in and creating a new form of assimilation that contributes to the face of American culture. It is more common than before to see and accept campaign logos containing the name “Rodriguez” at this time. According to the Huffington Post, “In 2014, the Obama administration was the most significant catalyst of Latino advancement in professional American politics. While Latinos remain underrepresented in government, more Latinos are doing important work in Washington than ever before.” (HUFFPOST/Manriquez) Additionally, we see individuals such as Sonia Sotomayor, as a Latina Supreme Court Justice, and in other smaller areas, we see Luis Gutiérrez as representative of IL 4^th Congressional District. It appears that more and more Latinos are creating a name for themselves and engaging into the political playing field.

          To conclude, we can advocate and shed light on all the importances of this recognition. But why does it matter? It matters because it promotes a social change that is not only relevant to culture, but political enrichment. Many Latinos may bring about new ideas, which may reflect cultural tradition, or who knows, but it may have great benefits to expand and explore new ideologies. In this country, I am a Latin American, but I like to refer myself as ‘just’ American because that is what I am. The white Anglo-American people may share different beliefs and that is okay, but we are equal under the law. Latinos occupying a diverse government will operate under the rule of law which ensures the notion of a government of law not people.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pablo-manriquez/40-under-40-latinos-in-am_b_5947028.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/16/upshot/why-hispanics-dont-have-a-larger-political-voice.html?_r=0

Why Cuban-Americans Vote Republican?

Cuban experience varies significantly compared to the experiences of other Hispanic/Latin population entering the United States during the twentieth century. Based on various studies Cuban-Americans not only differ from the majority of Hispanic population in United States in terms of education and dispersion, they also differentiate themselves in their political views. According to Girard, Grenier, and Gladwin “despite a two-to-one preference for the Democratic Party among Hispanics, about two-thirds of Cuban-American voters have identified as Republicans”(P42). To identify possible reasons for Cuban-Americans political orientation we have to consider their immigration experience. 

Majority of Cuban-Americans entered United States as refugees after the 1959 Cuban Revolution lead by Fidel Castro. Initially, Castro pronounced Cuba as socialist state, however, later gravitated towards communism. The initial wave of refugees were primarily wealthy, upper middle class, and educated Cubans, who refused or were reluctant to comply with the new political order. Needless to say, remaining in Cuba, along with the oppression and restrictions of their freedom, would mean to comply with the new government and in many cases sacrifice their financial position within the Cuban society. Fidel Castro’s siding with Soviet Union during the 1960, just amplified United States anti-communist political agenda. As response to the Cuban ties to Soviet Union United States government created a special program allowing Cubans to “escape” the communist regime and build a new life in the United States. Cubans, being refugees, qualified for many programs and benefits provided by United States (http://www.rcusa.org/post-arrival-assistance-and-benefits ). This is one of the most significant factors that differentiate Cuban-Americans immigration experience from immigration experience of any other Latin American group. In return Cubans “escape” from the regime was highly publicized by United States providing the fuel for its anti-communist agenda.

                            

              http://www.nps.gov/history/heritageinitiatives/latino/latinothemestudy/images/Refugee%20airlift.jpg

Historically, majority of the wealthy population tends to side with the more conservative political parties, which in the case of United States political system would mean siding/supporting the Republican Party. Further, “scholars have noted that the Republican Party’s hardline rhetoric regarding foreign policy resonates with anti-Castro, anti-communist politics in the Cuban-American community” (“Exile Politics and Republican Party Affiliation”, P43). Cuban-Americans seem to focus primarily on foreign policy while according to Girard, Grenier, and Gladwin’s article the non-Cuban Hispanics are more likely to concentrate on the domestic concerns, such as: education, governmental assistance, civil rights, bilingualism, and race. A very significant factor influencing these views could be the fact that Cuban-American community failed to disperse within United States; the majority of Cuban-Americans to this day reside in southern Florida. This significantly altered the demographics of that particular area (Dade County, Fl.). As well as the fact that as refugees Cuban-Americans received a different “preferential” treatment from United States government, which is not to be compared to any other Hispanic/Latino group immigration experience.

Today, however, the researchers have identified a new trend in Cuban-American voting. Things began to change in the late twentieth century and there is supporting research indicating that Cuban-Americans are more and more identifying with the Democratic Party (http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/06/24/after-decades-of-gop-support-cubans-shifting-toward-the-democratic-party/). This could have various root causes. One of the possible causes could be the fact that the new generations of Cuban-Americans have different political views compared to their parents and grandparents. Further, the newly arriving Cubans seem to be more likely to support Democrats than Republicans. Another possible reason could be the fact that the conflict with Cuba has lost its momentum over the years and that recent changes in the foreign policy regarding Cuba cause a change resulting in focus on domestic issues. Overall, it is safe to say that the long-term somewhat rigid Republican Party identification of Cuban-Americans is beginning to break up and their voting patterns are changing.

Works Cited:

Girard, Chris, Guillermo J. Grenier, and Hugh Gladwin. "Exile Politics And Republican Party Affiliation: The Case Of Cuban Americans In Miami*." Social Science Quarterly (Wiley-Blackwell) 93.1 (2012): 42-57. Academic Search Complete. Web. 29 Apr. 2015.

The National Council of La Raza- Hispanic Immigrants' Superman-

     The National Council of La Raza was founded in 1968 and is based in Washington D.C., the heart of the United States. It is a private nonprofit Hispanic civil rights group that seeks public support for their cause.

     Their cause is to improve opportunities in the work place and in education, ensure their civil rights, and to promote equality overall for Hispanic Americans. The National Council of La Raza has tried their best over these forty seven years to spread their cause across the nation to help improve the lives of Latinos living in America. It is one of the most substantial national groups that stand for their rights in the United States. They have helped register an abundance of Hispanic voters to strengthen their voices on political issues occurring in the United States. The National Council of La Raza has also helped guide an immense number of immigrants through the process of becoming citizens along with managing research and analyzing policies to make sure that the rights of Hispanic Americans are protected and ensured. With the National Council of La Raza's help, President Barack Obama was able to gain more public approval towards his immigration announcement that allowed millions of immigrants to stay in the United States and live their daily lives in peace while letting them stay with their families instead of being deported out of the country that they call home.

     Their president and CEO, Janet Murguia, has worked to make sure that the Latino voice is strongly heard on political issues such as immigration, education, and health care. She has been on many news stations trying to spread the message of the National Council of La Raza to convince Latino communities to raise their voices and be heard instead of remaining silent when it comes to political issues. She has been named as one of the most powerful women in Washington and one of the most influential Hispanic women in newspapers and magazines.

    The National Council of La Raza has been involved in civil rights movements since the 1960s, but since they were not able to effectively gain support because of the lack of public knowledge of their cause, it was difficult for Latinos' voices to be heard politically until radio stations and other media forms spread their message across the nation.

    The NCLR has created a health institute for Hispanics to help with medical conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and HIV. They have also created the NCLR Homeownership Network that helps people with the process of buying a home along with creating education programs that help stress the importance of education for Latinos.

    To conclude, The National Council of La Raza has made an immense contribution to helping the Latino population. Whether it be standing up for their rights or for ensuring their health and safety within a community, they have been giving back to the community for over forty years and have made a lasting impact on the Latino community.   

http://www.nclr.org/index.php/about_us/history/advancing_media_issues/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/national-council-of-la-raza-/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Council_of_La_Raza

https://www.flickr.com/photos/nclr/6035555437/in/photolist-ackNmD-acoD6Y-ackNiK-ghEaS7-ghEbqG-ghEbds-7ef8Ns-4ERLCJ-7ebfPk-bceWKB-bceWBp-bceWTi-bceWD2-bceWv8-bceY2H-bceWGV-bceWyV-bceXYX-4EMvPM-dbuJMr-dbD8h3-5EbJqy-54UezG-55a2ML-55a2Ly-54Q2xD-555PLM-dMUMB1-c3WBqf-4wKbsE-efnTzM-fvNdCJ-7eaU8X-ctRBgL-8hFobo-8hFoQJ-8hFpmw-8hCasa-8hFqts-8hCbzV-8hFuxh-8hCcga-8hCgsx-8hCinn-8hFx8w-8hCepP-8hCfPg-8hFwwG-8hCj1p-8hCdJv

https://www.flickr.com/photos/civilrights/3057547752/in/photolist-dbKLXn-5EbJqy-dhQwEu-dhQAaB-dhQvWf-dhQznr-dhQDXB-dhQBAY-dhQyVv-dhQzB8-dhQxTT-dhQEC2-dhQCRv-dhQvso-dhQCw5-dhQwKF-dhQECC-dhQyDx-dhQwe4-dhQzSK-7eakFM-bceWyV-bceY2H-bceWv8-bceXYX-bceWD2-bceWTi-bceWBp-bceWGV-bceWKB-bceY4R-bceY8e-bceYd2-4BpN8K-dhQCv6-dhQy9D-dhQz9M-dhQByk-dhQBQR-dhQDx2-dhQEY4-dhQyng-dhQvfG-dhQAgq-dhQAD9-dhQxDt-dhQxpP-dhQAwi-dhQDDQ-dhQwYR

Never Change

Race is a very important factor in education, job opportunities, and politics because those three systems are what shape people into unique individuals.  As in the readings assigned in class, latino students and teachers have had to fight for Latin American history to be incorporated in the education systems.  Immigrants and even other races are racially discriminated when it comes to equal job opportunities because Americans feel that Latinos are only fit labor jobs when they work just as hard as everyone else.  Latino Americans are recently getting more involved in politics and trying to fight for equality.  About 6.6 million Latinos voted in the 2010 election.  Even though Latinos are involved in voting the numbers are constantly increasing and decreasing.  Latinos must stay consistent in voting if they would like for situations to change and earn equality.  Also in 2011, the unemployment rate for Latinos was 11.3%, which was lower than the U.S. population which was 8.8%.   (http://www.nclr.org/index.php/about_us/faqs/most_frequently_asked_questions_about_hispanics_in_the_us/)  Putting discrimination statements on application that people have to sign off on do not make any difference because people, especially immigrants and African Americans are still discriminated.  There should be no valid reason that the Latino unemployment rate is lower than U.S. population.  According to Edward Telles and Liza Steele the two did research on the effect that skin color have in America.  It was found that,”the people with the lightest skin color had the highest mean educational attainment and the darkest persons having the lowest.”  (http://americasquarterly.org/the-effects-of-skin-color-in-the-americas)  This shows that lighter people have an advantage over darker skin people when it comes to the education system.  They receive a more valuable education and when they are praised darker skin people feel incompetent.  Which is what has really stuck out to me is the way that students are forced into “acting white” in schools.  I have experienced something similar in my lifetime.  When I was in 13 I attended a predominantly white middle school.  I felt so left out because there was times where I was the only African American in class.  I was bullied because of my skin color and my tendency not to speak up for myself.  The bullying got to the point where I wanted to be white.  I started begging my mother to straighten out my hair, I changed my wardrobe, and even began to talk different.  It lasted until my senior year of high school.  My high school told students to “act smart,” “think smart,” and “be smart.”  Instilling those values in the students I began to believe that if one did not “act white,” then they would not be successful.  My high school did not even celebrate black history month or talk about slavery because they felt like at that point in our lives students should know their history.  The more students began to speak out on what my school was doing the more I realized that they was trying to brainwash us and make us forget about our background because it was not good for us if we wanted to be successful.  The more students complained, the more the school made an effort to please us.  This shows that as long as people stick together and fight for change it will come and people should never forget their backgrounds nor be ashamed of them.  Today I now do not “act white” but I am a professional and do know how to use proper english when in a professional setting.  Getting my high school to make changes is what taught me not to be afraid to be myself.

Birds of a Feather Flock Together

Birds of a Feather Flock Together

One would think that in 2015 we would all be over racism in America, which is a melting pot of diverse races and ethnicities. Sadly that is not the situation. By definition, race means a person’s physical characteristics like bone structure, skin, hair, and eye color. A person’s ethnicity refers to their cultural factors like nationality, regional culture, ancestry, and language (http://www.diffen.com/difference/Ethnicity_vs_Race). While most people get a clear-cut option of how to identify themselves, others do not get that.

            For many children born to Latin immigrants, there is sometimes a struggle as to who to try to identify with more, their non-native parents, or the rest of society? In the US, many people see people from Latin America as second-rate citizens who do nothing but steal jobs and drain government funding. They also see Hispanics as being uneducated, prone to teen pregnancy, and illegal (Golash-Boza, 2013). In fact, immigrants and their children eventually stop identifying as being Mexican, Puerto Rican, Argentinian, etc. so they can assimilate to the US and what they believe to be US culture and standards. Unfortunately, the more they try to identify as being an American, the more discrimination they face, so they start to isolate themselves and conform to the ways of their non-native parents.

            In the US, we need to start accepting the fact that there is always going to be racism in parts of the country. Even though this did not happen to Latinos, it was only earlier this year that a video was released showing a fraternity spouting racial slurs against African-Americans and how there will never be any in that particular chapter. Latinos are more likely to face racial profiling from police and store employees than white people are (http://www.civilrights.org/publications/reports/racial-profiling2011/the-reality-of-racial.html). This ties into how we portray Latinos and the Latino community. On Halloween, people can buy costumes that portray a stereotypical Hispanic with the oversized poncho and sombrero. We as a society need to stop teaching young people that wearing these types of costumes and using derogatory language is ok and that there will be no consequences for these actions.

           Being the daughter of a Mexican immigrant and a white woman from Chicago gives me a little bit different perspective. Personally, I never faced any type of discrimination because when you look at me, I look more like my blonde-haired blue-eyed mother with my brown hair and green eyes. When I would go somewhere with my father, people would automatically assume that he was my stepfather because I do not resemble him. When I would correct these people, I would weird get looks and people would automatically ask me if my father had ever forced me to learn Spanish so I could communicate with him. They automatically assumed that I was fluent in Spanish and I ate Mexican food constantly because of my father. I am not fluent in Spanish, nor do I constantly eat Mexican food. Something else I faced was whenever my education came up. My mother is a divorce attorney and my father manages a parking garage. Someone asked me if I inherited my academic ambition from my mother. This is something that I predominately inherited from my Mexican immigrant father. He came to the US on a scholarship to attend the prestigious University of Chicago. However that fell through and he attended Bryant and Stratton College where he graduated at the top of his class and worked at the famous Harry Carey’s Restaurant for 17 years. So, I may not resemble my father strongly, but I definitely take after him in my academic success.







SOURCES 
Golash-Boza, Tanya. "Dropping the Hyphen? Becoming Latino(a)-American through Racialized Assimilation." Social Forces 85.1 (2006): 27-55. 

http://www.civilrights.org/publications/reports/racial-profiling2011/the-reality-of-racial.html

http://www.diffen.com/difference/Ethnicity_vs_Race

In Brazil race is looked at differently than in the United States. The main reason behind this is the unique mixture of races that took place during the colonization of Brazil. European, specifically Portuguese, and black races mixing through transculturation; which is a give and take exchange between cultures, that has a lot to do with the distinct view on race. The end result of the mixing is a nation that is almost entirely different than the rest of the countries in Latin America, which makes it hard to identify Brazilians in the United States. This leads to a lot of self-identification by Brazilians, and the different view of race in Brazil helps this self-identification.

An example of this different view on race is seen in Helen Marrow's article titled "To Be or Not To Be (Hispanic or Latino): Brazilian Racial and Ethnic Identity in the United States" when Marrow writes a quote by a woman named Christina who says, " In Brazil you are white even though you can descend from anything, you can almost be black but still white, you see? You only need to be a little bit light, and you are white." As you can see this the complete opposite of what is seen in the United States with the one drop rule. This rule explained by Shari L. Dworkin in her article titled "Race, Sexuality, and the One Drop Rule: More thoughts About Interracial Couples and Marriages" as "how U.S. courts and law books historically declared that a mixed race person with “one black ancestor” or “one drop of black blood” should be categorized/viewed/treated as black."  This means that even though there is more space to be labeled as white, and accept the many privileges that come associated with it.

This way of thinking changes the way that Brazilians identify themselves by in the United States. Brazilians that come to the United States that previously identified themselves as white in Brazil carry that label with them to the United States, because they see that it gives them an advantage by putting them higher in the social hierarchy ladder. Also, because they receive all the benefits that entail with the label of being white, which include opportunities that aren't available to them if they were to be identified as another race. This carrying over of  labels I explained by Marrow when she writes, " Brazilians immigrants in the USA are more likely to come from middle and upper-middle-class origin and there identify as white, than the general population in Brazil. Martes confirms that most adult Brazilian immigrants enter the USA thinking they are white." This quote is important because it shows that Brazilians who were better off in society and thought of themselves as white tend to carry this self-identification into the Unites States. Seeing how easy it is for somebody to identify as white it shows how different race identification is Brazil, and also how being identified as a race that is of a higher standing in society could change the way you get treated in the US.

http://helenmarrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Marrow_2003_Ethnicities.pdf

http://thesocietypages.org/sexuality/2009/10/18/race-sexuality-and-the-one-drop-rule-more-thoughts-about-interracial-couples-and-marriage/

For a Better Race

Henry Escobar 
In the United States, race plays a role in how immigrant groups identify themselves.  Several immigrants would rather identify themselves as American and not as Latinos for whatever reasons they may have, whether they think it would be more advantageous or want to avoid discrimination.  But when exactly did the idea of identifying yourself as something else start?  I will go into some of the history between certain races and explore why they identify themselves the way they do in their country and how it could carry over to immigrants going to the United States.

To start, in Helen Marrow’s article “To be or not to be (Hispanic or Latino) : Brazilian Racial and Ethnic Identity in the United States” it talks about some of the reasons why Brazilians identify themselves the way they do. Some of those reasons have to do with Brazil’s history of racial mixing.  One of the main reasons why Brazilians don’t consider themselves as Latinos is because they don’t fit into the definition of being Hispanic or Latino.  The definition given in the article says that a Hispanic is “’ any ‘person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race’... since Brazilians are not deemed to have ‘Spanish origin or culture’, they are not considered to be Hispanic”.  They don’t have a Spanish origin or culture because their race is so diverse, they have a complex history of European, Asian, African and Middle Eastern immigration.  

In a study done by Christina A. Sue and Tanya Golash-Boza where they single out Veracruz and Ingenio to do research on their racial identity and history, they find similarities and factors that would sway them to identify themselves differently.  In Veracruz, they find that many of their people know of their own African ancestry but they choose to not identify themselves as such, “black ancestry without black identity”.  In Peru it was the other way around “black identity without African ancestry” which meant that they didn’t really know much of their history, but they knew they were they had some black identity.  This shows how knowledge affects how they identify themselves.  If they knew that their ancestors were former slaves, they might feel like they are lower class citizens, so they would rather choose to identify differently.

 

One’s identity depends on their cultures view on race.  For example, in the article “Blackness in Mestizo America: The Cases of Mexico and Peru” it is show how people “living in a nation where blackness is highly stigmatized” decreases the tendency to identify as such. These ideologies carry over through generations and might affect their and their children’s racial identities.  People would generally want to be seen in a positive light, for Brazilians, they would rather not be labeled as Latinos since for them, they see it as being a class lower than blacks in America.  For the people of Veracruz, they know their history of slavery and deny the identity for shame or other reasons. In Ingenio, they didn’t know about the history with slaves, which gave them no reason to want to deny it since it didn’t mean that they were children of slaves, and in turn they embraced the culture.

Image: http://www.alternet.org/files/styles/story_image/public/story_images/racism.jpg

Race as a Social Construction

            The issue of race has been a topic in the human past for the past several centuries.  It has been heavily debated and discussed by sociologists, as no concrete, universal, or constant criteria for what actually determines race has been defined and agreed upon.  It originally was based off of genetic lineage, but later (in the past couple centuries) adopted a sense of physical appearance.  Out of many instances of these debates and discussions, Latin America has proved to be a particularly tricky area for racial distinctions and definitions.  With such a mix of people and cultures it’s no surprise that these distinctions and racial boundaries are difficult to determine.  Several sociological studies have shown that the social construction of race in Latin American countries has become increasingly hard to define because of ethnic mixing and globalization.  While race has been an important area of sociological study for a long time, perhaps it is time to do away with these social constructions that limit and maybe even distort the perspectives held about particular individuals, groups or cultures.

            Across the board, those who self identify as Latin American are represented by different skin tones, hair colors, eye colors, physique, and many other factors.  These individuals can vary in appearance so much so that anyone could assume their identities be tied to two completely different parts of the world.  For example, physical features could lead someone to assume a Latin American to be from East Asia or Africa based on their drastically different skin tone and eye shape.  Indeed there are individuals in places such as Peru, who appear to have Asian ancestry, while other people in Brazil or Cuba are exceedingly dark, and consequently, of African descent.  The problem with determining these racial boundaries for Latin Americans is because over time (much like the rest of world history, right?) humans have actively intermixed regardless of appearance.

            Seeing as we have grown in our knowledge of sociology, biology, and other fields, I suggest it is important to think critically on the term “race.”  Especially with racism so prevalent in today’s society, I believe that the idea of race as a social construction needs a bit more attention.  By educating people with the concept of what a social construction is, we have the chance to decrease racism, violence, hatred, genocide, and other horrible mindsets and actions that only hurt people.  This awareness could spark a new age for social sciences and human thought.  Not to mention, the education of why social constructions such as race could spread to other areas deeply embedded into the social psyche, such as the economic system, gender issues, and patriarchal ideals.  A newfound awareness of these issues could spark a shift in human thinking to where these social constructions become outdated and rejected, and ultimately lead towards a brighter future focused on the unity we share as humans, and celebration, instead of criticism, of our individual differences.

http://oakes.ucsc.edu/academics/Core%20Course/oakes-core-awards-2012/laura-flores.html

http://personalpages.manchester.ac.uk/staff/peter.wade/articles/Blackwell%20Poole.pdf

Why do Latinos and Blacks face Fear, when Whites do too?

With the immigration population rising in astonishing numbers, identifying race becomes a hot topic with so many people coming from different parts of the world. The way people are seen, identified, and judged are by the color of their skin or by their English accent. Once identified as a “foreigner” or simply non “white”, people are discriminated against and not given equal rights. Latinos, specifically the darker skin toned ones get it the hardest. They are discriminated against by the white people in this white culture, and even by their own kind as “pretos”,” indios” or “morenos”.

            In Wendy D. Roth’s article “Creating a “Latino” Race” she interviewed Puerto Ricans and Dominicans from New York City to see how they self identify each other.  The respondents all identified primarily as “Latino”, “Dominican” or “Puerto Rican”. What was interesting was that they all identified themselves as not being “white”, something that was a trend from the readings. In Dropping the Hyphen article some Mexicans identified themselves as being “non white” because of discrimination. The more discrimination that individual received, the more awareness of their non-white status was making them feel stronger about identifying themselves as Mexicans or Latino. They basically alienated from “whites” in their communities because they felt as they didn’t belong.  Compared to Marrow’s article on Brazilians, most Brazilians did not even want to be identified as Hispanic/Latino, but rather as “white” for social rewards. Wendy’s respondents had a familiar approach to these “social rewards”. One respondent was a light skin Latina, but when she was applying for jobs it benefited her to be identified as a Puerto Rican English speaker. In her article she talks about how Latinos saw advantages to being bilingual and bicultural in a country with a growing Latino community.

  Back to Marrow’s article, Brazilians would rather be identified as “white” however, if their skin tone was dark then they would rather be identified as “black” than Hispanic/Latino. It is clear that Marrows, Wendy’s and just about every other article on race, it is talked about being “white” is the most privileged racial category. They all acknowledge that the lighter skin tone you are, the more advantages you gain in society, especially gaining approval among white people. But this is not an easy task because in order for Latinos to fully become white, they must lose what makes their “Latino” identity and adopt the American one. But what’s with the whole idea of becoming “white” and being accepted? This has been created because America is a country of white supremacy. It has the power and advantages over everybody else; making them want to not feel discriminated against. Why is there a fear in Latinos to be discriminated about their skin tone and background? It is not just a Latino thing, but a whole race issue with America. Blacks have had it really bad and still do. Everybody is in fear, including white people.

Why would white people have fear you might ask? What is it that stops so many white people from wanting to change their hearts when it come it comes to race? What is it that keeps them stuck right there in that comfortable position? It is a combination of fear and greed. Greed in that they don’t want to lose dominance, power, privileges and benefits at the system of white supremacy has created in America for white people. They don’t want to lose none of it because they are scared. They are scared of black retribution and black vengeance. Since they put their hands on them and made them their personal slaves for no pay. Throughout America’s history black people been discriminated against and still are to this day. White people are scared of losing what they got and scared of losing their positions to minorities as a whole, not just to “blacks”. The whole “they took my job” is complete bullshit. It is a competitive market out there so man up and stop being lazy making up excuses for not doing the jobs you don’t want to do. America needs to face reality and admit it is a country of white supremacy. It is now and always been through institutions, culture, power, politics, education, and media. It is all biased. White people are not bad, we are all equal but white culture is racist. Not saying all whites are, but the culture is racist and that is the problem. Do something about it. Say something. Face your greed and fear so we can all live in a more peaceful country and peaceful world. America is meant for all people. We must embrace all cultures and identities while respecting and celebrating the culture of others. As talked about in (http://everydayfeminism.com/2015/03/blackness-isnt-the-problem/ ) we shouldn’t see differences as threats, something to be tolerated, or even ignored. Differences are to be respected, honored and celebrated, something that Dr. King was dreaming about.

http://everydayfeminism.com/2015/03/blackness-isnt-the-problem/

http://thesocietypages.org/papers/creating-a-latino-race/

 

Black, White, and Beyond: Racial Identity in the United States

Black, White, and Beyond:

Racial Identity in the United States

            Children do not seem to have a very good understanding of ethnicity or race, myself included. When I was little, I thought there were only two races, black and white, and since I wasn’t black, I must’ve been white, it just seemed so simple, and the issue never really came up so I was never corrected. That is, until one day I asked my mom what race we were, and imagine my shock when she tells me “Oh, we’re Mexican mijo.” It was mind boggling, I always saw myself as an American, and that was usually synonymous with white, so of course, I thought I was white, rather than black, I didn’t even know there was a third option, let a lone a fourth and fifth. As I grew, race became much more apparent to me, along with black and white, there was Latino, Asian, Arab, Native American, and so much more, and yet, I was incredibly surprised to learn through this course that my original white-black polarization view is actually very prominent in American society when identifying people by their race. And when you add in people of mixed race and ethnicities, I began to realize that ethnic identity was not as simple as I had originally thought.

            People in the Afro-Latino community seem to have a really rough time with the issue of race. If say, a Puerto Rican of African decent were to immigrate to the United States, U.S. natives would have trouble identifying what he is, or at least have trouble putting a label on it. As stated before, there is a sort of long standing white-black polarization in the U.S., so natives would often try to fit people of mixed heritage into one of those categories if they can, so this Afro-Puerto Rican who at first glance looks like an African American, would probably be written off as just black by most. However, even though most “white” people would see this person as just black, other African Americans may not be so welcoming to this Afro-Latino. While he or she may look black, the fact that they speak Spanish, come from a Latin country, and were largely engrossed in a Latino culture, members of the African American community may call this person “not really black”, despite legitimately being of African descent.

Similarly, people in the Latino community would also treat this person as a “low man on the totem pole”, considering him or her as less Latino because he or she was of African descent (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBaPG14cdkM). This is actually a very prominent trend in the Latino community, Latino/Hispanic is actually a very mixed race, and it is often stigmatized to acknowledge ones “negro” roots in favor of pointing out their European roots, especially if they are light skinned Latinos (https://webcourses.niu.edu/bbcswebdav/library/eReserves/20152-ILAS-100-----1/suebma.pdf). This is even present in my own family, my mother and aunt are both light skinned, and while my mother doesn’t really care about such things, my aunt is “thankful” that she and her children are light skinned; so what, if being light skinned is something to be thankful for, does that mean being dark skinned is something to be ashamed of? The issue of race is not a simple one, it is highly present in the lives of all, but at the end of the day it is up to the individual to decide how they identify themselves, and however that may be, they should take pride in it.