“I have a dream that one day right there in Alabama little black boys and little black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers,” these famous words were uttered by popular Civil Rights Movement leader, Martin Luther King Jr, in his famous, “I Have a Dream” speech. Did his dream come true? People might argue that yes, King’s dream is a reality. America doesn’t suffer from segregation and we even have a black president. But what about events like the shooting of Michael Brown in Missouri? Or the riots that came subsequently after? What about the statistics that prove more arrests are African American? Is racism over or has America lulled itself into a false sense of security, ignoring the …show more content…
Many third generation Hispanic Americans suffer through this even after being more closely related with their American roots then their Hispanic ones. A Hispanic reporter for CNN, Nick Valencia, tells us his experience with racism in his article "My Encounter with Anti-Latino Racism". Valencia was speaking Spanish with his friends at a music festival when a white lady screamed at them, " 'Go home! ' she yelled at me. ‘Why don 't you go back home to Mexico before you ruin this country like you ruined your own! '" (Valencia). Valencia goes on to recount how this experience was able to open his eyes at how negatively and antagonistic way Hispanics are being treated in news stories, in political discourse, on talk radio, in everyday conversation. The anti-immigration legislation in the United States has made this plainly visible. (Valencia). America is such a diverse place, it 's been called the "melting pot" and it 's true. Everyone, except the Native Americans, are immigrants, even white people, their roots reside in Europe. Why must we obsess with this it 's-not-your-country ideology when, in reality it 's nobody 's country? We are all different, so why don’t we cherish the diversity America has to offer instead of oppress
Being African American has never been easy. At birth, we are born with a target on our backs for simply being a different color and whites are born privileged. One would think that when slavery was abolished that the target would be removed but that isn’t so. King states in his article that “…white supremacy saturated public culture...”
After having viewed a few films in Chicano History class like A Class Apart, A Struggle for Educational Equality, and Latin and African Americans: Friends or foes, one cannot help but wonder how it is possible that you might be learning about the intense racism towards Latinos in the United States for the very first time after having devoted your life to the American country. I, myself, was born and raised in Arizona, a state south of the United States, in the city of Tucson that lies only about an hour away, or around 68 miles away from the Nogales, Sonora, Mexican border. One would assume to know a sufficient amount of history of the neighboring land or at least be aware of some fundamental facts about America and Mexico’s relationship throughout time.
Since the 1960’s, Latino communities have experienced the implicit and explicit effects of racism through various social institutio...
In Dr. King’s words: “Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty.”
Latino/a immigrants share similar experiences of anti-immigrant rhetoric, just like other immigrant groups. Many Latino/as in America have faced negative comments based on their identity. For example, Rush Limbaugh, a radio host, expounds negative comments toward Latino/as, particularly Mexicans. He claimed that Mexicans are “a renegade, potential[ly] criminal element” that is “unwilling to work” (Media Matters for America, 2/28/06). These malice comments were similar to those of other immigrants.
Internalized racism has hit the individual level where half of all Hispanics consider themselves as white. One Mexican American asserted that he felt “shame and sexual inferiority…because of my dark complexion.” He also described himself with “disgust” loathing his appearance when he sees himself in the mirror. Stereotypes play a huge role in the Latino culture in the U.S where often the usual stereotype is that Latinos are job-stealers, uneducated, poor and illegal. “Envidia” or jealousy sabotages the Latino community because Latinos begin to question the qualifications of other successful Latinos. No one has the positive thought that Latinos can achieve and triumph in any field; they just can’t believe that. Latinos just stamp other Latinos with those stereotypes Americans say. Because of internalized racism, Latinos and Hispanics distance themselves from the Spanish language to support the English only movement. They are embarrassed of their inherited language and rather choose English to complete assimilation. “Almost 40% of Latino/a respondents prefer English as their dominant language…” (Padilla 20). Where I currently live, I always see on the day to day basis Hispanics and Latinos that immigrated to the United States from other countries sounding “white.” I speak to Hispanics; even Latinos in Spanish and they respond
Racism (n): the prejudice that members of one race are intrinsically superior to members of other race (Wordnet search, 1), a controversial topic in today’s society, a subject that many people try to sweep under the rug, but yet a detrimental problem that has been present in America since the colonial era. Will this dilemma come to a halt? Can all Americans see each other as equals despite their skin color and nationality; and what role has it played in past generations versus today’s generations and how will it affect our future? Has this on going way of thinking gotten better or worse? These are questions raised when many think about the subject; especially members of American ethnic groups and backgrounds, because most have dealt with racial discrimination in their life time.
“I have a dream”, Martin Luther King Jr. said in front of thousands at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963. Martin Luther King Jr. a minister and activist had a dream, his dream was to end racism in the United States who wanted economic and civil rights. This era began in the 1950’s when oppression towards African American’s became prominent. Unfortunately racism has been evident for centuries, but it took a series of events that led people to realize enough is enough and there needs to be change. After years of fighting for equality, African Americans were able to make a change.
“Racism is the practice of discriminating against those alleged to be inferior, either intentionally of without awareness” (Liberman, 36). This is exactly what white supremacy groups such as the Ku Klux Klan are doing; they are targeting Latinos because of their ethnicity. These white supremacy groups see themselves as the superior race and see any other race or ethnicity as intruders that must be removed from the United States. These groups intentionally discriminate against Latinos that are immigrants and those that are legal, because they are inferior to them. The article “concludes...
Latinos have struggled to discover their place inside of a white America for too many years. Past stereotypes and across racism they have fought to belong. Still America is unwilling to open her arms to them. Instead she demands assimilation. With her pot full of stew she asks, "What flavor will you add to this brew?" Some question, some rebel, and others climb in. I argue that it is not the Latino who willingly agreed to partake in this stew. It is America who forced her ideals upon them through mass media and stale history. However her effort has failed, for they have refused to melt.
Racism isn’t a subject that appears in every day conversations. Although most people try to ignore its existence, it’s quite obvious that it marked the lives of a lot of people and it has now become an essential part of our history. As a student who has lived in the valley all her life, I’ve been taught about the hardships African Americans had to endure while obtaining their freedom, becoming eligible to vote, being segregated, but never did I stop to think that the people who shared my culture and walked the streets of the Valley and San Antonio were going through a similar experience. Throughout the years it has become apparent that African Americans weren’t the only people who had been mistreated.
During this course, this author has been taught about various social issues in today’s society as a whole. Some of these issues include perception of race and culture, poverty, social inequality, urbanization, and more. After exploring all these issues and more, this author has chosen to finish his last assignment on racial discrimination and Hispanic Americans. This author decided upon this specific issue because he has observed this in almost every town or city he has visited as a truck driver. This author thinks it is unfortunate that minorities are still treated unfairly. As citizens of the United States of America, it is useful to become educated on what racial discrimination is and see how it is applied in everyday life. This author decided to investigate this issue and determined the genuineness and voluminous of it.
What would it be like to wake up everyday knowing you would get bullied, mistreated, and/or abused just because of where you were born? Discrimination still exists! “Discrimination remains and there is an increase in hate crimes against Hispanics, Latinos and Mexican-Americans, as one of the perceived symbols of that discrimination, the U.S.-Mexico Border Fence, nears completion. Instead of pulling together in these difficult times, we may see a greater polarization of attitudes” (Gibson). But why are hate crimes increasing towards Latin and Hispanic aliens and what types of discrimination are occurring against them? Understanding violence towards the Hispanic and Latin alien is divided into three main classes; the difference between legal and illegal aliens, the attacks and effects, and the point of view of different people towards aliens.
Latinos face a lot of discrimination when they come to the united stated or they try to assimilate to the American culture. Most immigrants have to deal with the police investigating them because they think they are all drug dealers or are in some type of illegal organization. They also have to deal with people calling them names because of their skin color. Americans also accuse Hispanics of stealing their jobs (Ramos, 53). They also face seeing racist graffiti on homes or wall of a building and they have to face hate crimes (Plunkett, 15). They sometimes get excluded from white communities (Plunkett, 39). Latinos are also blamed for serious problems the country faces (Ramos, 195). There are reasons for Americans to discriminate Latinos and reasons why they shouldn’t discriminate them.
Racism is the mistreatment of a group of people on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, place of origin, or ancestry. The term racism may also denote a blind and unreasoning hatred, envy, or prejudice (Dimensions of Racism). Racism has had a strong effect on society. Despite the many efforts made to alleviate racism, what is the future of African Americans' Racism's long history, important leaders, current status, and future outlook will be the main factors in determining how to combat racism. Racism is still present in many societies, although many people are doing their best to put an end to racism and its somewhat tragic ordeals.