The Struggles And Inequalities Of Mexican Americans

Throughout this first chapter of Latino Americans the key points in my opinion were the following. Starting with the origin story of the Americas, the book mentions there might not be a definitive starting point because there “500 nations in North America before a European ship ever dropped anchor off the Eastern Seaboard” (Suarez 3). The book from this point on chronologically starts narrating, first about 55 years before Protestant refugees from Mayflower ever stepped on American soil, a Spanish sailor Pedro Menendez de Aviles forced French protestants from their Florida coast settlement to then stablish St. Augustine. From this point the book continues to tell the stories of Juan de Oñate, from witnessing the founding of Santa Fe, the oldest capital of North America, to exploring more than half a dozen of American states, he is one of the most fundamental conquistadors who is the least

How would you discuss the worldviews and value systems of Indigenous peoples prior to European contact/invasion? How did these worldviews impact all aspects of life (science, agriculture, language, spirituality, etc.) for indigenous peoples?

I will be applying the three major sociological perspectives, which include functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism to the experiences of Hispanic Americans. No ethnic group attracts more public attention than the Hispanic people do due to their large numbers, their residential clustering, and bilingual programs and signs associated with them making them a recognizable ethnic group. Hispanic people who live in poverty or the small number involved in gangs, drugs, or other criminal activity get more attention and generate negative stereotypes, but most of them live as members of the middle class.

There are three iconic symbols of the presence of Mexican Americans in the history of the United States: The role of Mexican Americans in the WWII, the Bracero movement, and the Zoot Suit Riot. All three moments provide insight on the participation of Hispanics in the construction of the American society and more importantly, on the way the Mexican American identity has been constructed and on the ways this community has been considered, in general terms, a group of domestic aliens. As a consequence, Mexican Americans have been segregated and denied equal opportunity historically. However, they are here to stay, an Anglos better learn to deal with their presence.

The Movement from Mexico to the USA was a great change for a child. There were many new things there that would make a nine year olds mind confused, but people get over it. The recklessness inside the mind of the child didn’t let them think of a new thing as exciting.

much of the western frontier, there were no public schools so children either received a rudimentary private or received no education at all. Another factor was that there were only a handful of secular colleges in the country at the time so only the wealthiest received a higher education. During this time, many Indians listened to prophets like Handsome Lake and distanced themselves from the white settlers that continued into their lands. These actions made the settlers increasingly hostile towards the natives because of their unwillingness to assimilate in their culture.

Many Mexican Americans have been able to accomplish their own versions of the American dream by attending a 4-year college, owning businesses, and taking on political and public service careers. However, Mexican Americans and Mexican immigrants continue to face the hardships that their ancestors went through in the 20th century. The ethnic Mexican experience in the United States has been a difficult one for Mexican immigrants and Mexican Americans of the first generation. Two key factors that continue to shape the lives of Mexican Americans and Mexican immigrants are labor laws and the citizenship process. Focusing on the research, statistics, and information provided by Mai Ngai “The Architecture of Race in American Immigration”, Natalia Molina’s, “In a Race All Their Own": The Quest to Make Mexicans Ineligible for U.S. Citizenship”, and George J. Sanchez, “Becoming Mexican American” will provide the cause and effect of labor laws and citizenship laws that made an impact on the lives of Mexicans during the 20th century.

Mexican American empowerment was the goal of The Chicano Movement of the 1960s, it was a civil rights movement extending the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. During this movement there were three goals that were achieved, which was land was restored, education reforms were gained and the rights for farm workers. . Latinos lacked influence in the national political arena prior to the 1960’s but that changed when the Mexican American Political Association (MAPA) were diligent in working to get John F. Kennedy elected president in 1960, which in turn established Latinos as a significant voting bloc. Once in office Kennedy had shown his gratitude towards the Latino community by addressing their concerns of the Hispanic community

Although, African American’s and Mexican Americans adverted more struggles in America than any other race, regarding harm or injury brought on by actions or judgement by others; one thing is certain they’ve managed to overcome some of these differences amongst some of these ethnic groups while benefitting themselves in overcoming those struggles and meeting their accomplishments. One way was they have managed to come together to fight for their civil rights during that of the Civil Rights Movement; as well as fighting for their civil rights during the Civil Right Act, American Anti-Slavery Society; and the President Obama DACA Policy. Thus, giving them the right to freedom, job security, health benefits, housing, equal opportunity, and immigration

The political backlash to the widespread economic hardships of the time, which should have been aimed at the capitalist system of exploitation, fell instead on minority workers and their families. Mexican immigrants, welcomed as laborers during the economic boom of the war years, were scapegoated during the depression and subjected to racist attacks and severe immigration restrictions. Over one million immigrants came from Mexico to the United States between 1900 and 1930, filling the demand for low-wage, unskilled workers in the growing U.S. economy. Most Mexican Americans were farmers and they settled in the communities in California and the Southwest. Many Mexicans and their children became U.S. citizens. Mexican Americans faced a great deal of increasing hostility because they were competing with whites for whatever low-paying jobs that were available.

In the 1800's, education, though segregated, ultimately became accessible to

The Native Americans also lost their old cultures throughout time. In 1860, Americans created the first boarding school for Indians. The government forced many families to put their kids into the school. At the school it was mandatory to learn english, American ways of living, religious training for Christianity, change names to American names, and wear proper clothing. Americans thought if they were taught the religious beliefs of Americans everyday, they would soon believe in Christianity and forget about their old culture. Their end goal was to completely demolish the Indian culture. One boarding school then turned to sixty schools for 6,200 Indian students all learning the same things. In order to change the kids from Indian to American,

I was born into a Mexican community who prides themselves on hard work and believes in self-values. I am a first-generation student from west of Grand Rapids, Michigan-an area in with a yearly Hispanic festival and multiple ethnicities are seen celebrating Mexican culture together. However, recently we are being perceived as rapists, drug dealers, and lazy people who live off the government. I am always hurt by hatred but was even more hurt hearing it from the President.

I have felt marginalized before.Part of the reason i feel is because I am Mexican am I feel left out or sometimes that I don't belong here.The times I feel especially marginalized is when I am meeting a new group of people and they treat me differently and exclude me from thing and I feel that it is because I am Mexican.The way i think marginalized is it is when a group exclude a person or people because they are different.That is what I think but the definition is “treat (a person, group, or concept) as insignificant or peripheral.”Marginalized is a very hurtful thing because you feel sad or sometime depred about it.

Efforts to 'civilize' the Native Americans through the use of schooling began in 1819 and continued until the late 1920's. The first schools were the result of Christian missionaries' efforts to gain converts. English was the only language spoken in these schools, and the Native American culture was looked upon poorly. Some earlier efforts were made to adapt to Native American culture, including the development of a written Cherokee language. This knowledge, however, was used to impart Anglo-Protestant values and religion (Spring 18-21).