The Mexican American Culture

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Our world is made up of many diverse cultures. These cultures have influenced many aspects of this world that we live in today. Understanding and developing knowledge about these cultures is vitally important. Having the ability to understand other cultures will allow you to look deeper into your own cultural values. We will begin with looking at the nation’s largest minority group, which are the Hispanic Americans (Healey, 2012). The Hispanic Americans are divided into many groups. The three largest groups are the Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Cuban Americans (Healey, 2012) and these are the three that will be focused on. Mexican Americans are the largest Latino, or Hispanic American, group. There are many events that have had an influence on the Mexican American way of life. Immigration from Mexico flourished during the Mexico Revolution in 1910. Trouble was arising in Mexico and many people were fleeting hoping to stray away from the issues. After World War II, there was an increased demand for labor. This caused an increase in Mexican American immigration as well. The government of the United States fought back towards the immigration. “Operation Wetback” was put into place in the 1950s as a program in which almost 4 million Mexicans were deported. Mexican American’s privacy was vandalized, raided and broken into. Operation Wetback caused hard feelings towards Americans and has been a continuing issue for Mexican Americans to accept (Healey, 2012). One of the most significant changes in Mexican society came from the North American Trade Agreement, or NAFTA. In this agreement, the U.S. began to move their factory operations to Mexico. Jobs were offered at factories along the board but the wages were decreased (Heale... ... middle of paper ... ...us in the nation. According to McKenzie and Rouse (2013), “79% of African Americans say religion is very important in their lives.” African American religion is carried out in worship settings. They emphasize theology during their messages. The majority of African Americans are Protestant and classifying yourself in a group is highly valued in this society (McKenzie & Rouse, 2013). Just like religion is important in this culture, extended family is as well. The extended family of African Americans is typically described as close-knit. The blood ties of this culture are the strongest bonds. All adults are responsible for a child’s upbringing. They are part of the community and it is the adult’s job to help them grow. Roles and jobs are shared through out the family. Sharing roles and working together are seen as stabilizing factors within the home (Henderson, 1999).

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