Race_and_My_Community

Running head: RACE and YOUR COMMUNITY Race and Your Community Frank Aponte University of Phoenix ETH 125 Race and My Community In the United States the topic of “Race” affects the lives of everyone. Just think of when you watch the evening news and the topic of race is probably mentioned at least once during the broadcast. In light of the recent presidential election some would say race is becoming less of an issue in the United States, after all we have elected an African American president. This is an question “Has the issue of race become less relevant now that we have a black president'” This is a question that is extremely difficult to answer. Instead, I used this question as motivation to explore what role race plays in my community and how the topic of race affects my everyday life. Let us begin my first understanding my race and experiences I have had based on my race In the early 1900’s my family migrated from Puerto Rico. As part of the Hispanic ethnic group growing up in New York was not as easy as one may think. Even though New York is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world, I was faced with discriminatory remarks and behaviors because of my race. One example of discrimination was Bilingual education. “Bilingual education was intended to give new immigrants a leg up. During earlier waves of immigration, children who entered American schools without speaking English were left to fend for themselves. Many thrived, but others, feeling lost and confused, did not” (Barbour, 1995). “Even in integrated schools, Latino children were given separate, unequal treatment. “No Spanish” was a rule enforced throughout the Southwest, Florida, and New York City by school boards in the 1960s. Children speaking Spanish on school grounds, even on the playground, might be punished with detention after school, fines, physical reprimands, and even expulsion for repeated violations” (Schaefer, 2006, p 242). This type of discrimination led to “Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which ensured supplementary services for all non-English speaking newcomers to America” (Barbour, 1995). A current day example of discrimination is the fact that “Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens by birth, but have never been allowed to vote for president while living in the island territory” (Hinojosa, 2000). In 2000, Jose Lausel filed a lawsuit in federal court to get the names of George W. Bush and Al Gore added to the ballot for the November 7 election. “A federal judge in San Juan ruled in Lausel's favor, but then an appellate court in Boston ruled only residents of states can vote”(Hinojosa, 2000). Lausel is quoted in the CNN Interview as saying, "We don't vote for who is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the United States, and yet Puerto Ricans are ordered into battle by that commander-in-chief. We have no say in the decisions the president and vice president have over Puerto Rico, we are citizens of the United States, and we are being discriminated against”(Hinojosa, 2000). In addition to the above examples, the Puerto Rican community was affected by other forms of discrimination over the past century. An early example was Dual Labor Discrimination. “Dual labor is when there is a Division of the economy into two areas of employment, the secondary one of which is populated primarily by minorities working at menial jobs” (Schaefer, 2006, p 71). In the 1900 many “Puerto Ricans people were engaged in small farming. They cultivated a variety of crops for themselves but also to sell locally. When the Americans arrived, many of the small farms were bought and these new plantations only cultivated one crop, coffee or sugar cane for the international market. The farms were mechanized and many workers were displaced” (Anderson, 2009, p. 5). “These displaced farmers moved to the US in order to find employment” (Anderson, 2009, p. 6). Often they were unsuccessful and eventually were exploited and forced to become apart of the US secondary job market. A second example of discrimination and one that I have had experience with is the concept of redlining, “the pattern of discrimination against people trying to buy homes in minority and racially changing neighborhoods” (Schaefer, 2006, p 78). This concept is a second example of discrimination and one that I have had experience with. I recently, purchased a home and, while in the end everything worked out it was not an easy path. When my wife and I would go out looking for our new home we found real estate agents would be reluctant to show us pricier homes in predominantly white neighborhoods. One agency even asked to see a copy of our paystubs once we told them the area we were looking to buy. Several agents that we called would speak to us and try to re directed where we looking and suggest areas where more minorities lived. Although I have experienced discrimination based on my ethnicity, I culturally identify equally with the Hispanic culture and the United States Mainstream culture. At the end of the day I am American born and raised with both American and Hispanic influences. I just wish people would ask themselves the same question before drawing conclusions on various ethnic groups. Puerto Rican Americans Religion -- The dominate religion among Puerto Ricans is Catholicism. Puerto Rican Catholics observe the seven Catholic sacraments: Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, Penance, Matrimony, Holy Orders, and Anointing of the Sick. A small minority of Puerto Ricans actively practice some version of “santería REE-ah"), an African American pagan religion with roots in the Yoruba religion of western Africa. A santo is a saint of the Catholic Church who also corresponds to a Yoruban deity” (Green, 2009). Economic -- Puerto Ricans who have assimilated to the main stream culture, many of them from the younger generations, have moved away from New York City, taking high-paying jobs as professionals. However, “less than two percent of Puerto Rican families have a median income above $75,000” (US Census, 2000, p Summary File 3). The sort of manufacturing sector jobs that were traditionally held by Puerto Ricans have become scarce, leaving them struggling looking for employment. Political –Excluding the recent Supreme Court appointment of Sonia Sotomayor, Puerto Ricans currently play a small role in politics. “Puerto Rican political activity has followed two distinct paths— one focusing on accepting the association with the United States and working within the American political system, the other pushing for full Puerto Rican independence”(Green, 2009). Political leader’s have cause for concern due to low participation of Puerto Ricans in elections. Many suggest that this is because Puerto Ricans have joined been a political party in the American system and don’t feel an obligation to vote. Language -- Puerto Ricans speak proper Castillian Spanish. “The main difference between the Spanish spoken in Spain and the Spanish spoken in Puerto Rico is pronunciation. Long exposure of Puerto Ricans to American society, culture, and language has also spawned a unique slang that has come to be known among many Puerto Ricans as Spanglish” (Green, 2009). Familial – “Puerto Rican family dynamics have a strong Spanish influence and tend to reflect the patriarchal social organization of European Spanish culture. Traditionally, husbands are heads of households. Older male children are responsible for younger siblings, especially females. Both Puerto Rican men and women care very much for their children and have strong roles in childrearing; children must show respect to their parents and elders. Recently, the family structure has suffered which many attribute to the assimilation to American Culture” (Green, 2009). o Do members of your community look like you' In what ways do they look the same or different' A “racial group is a term reserved for minorities and the corresponding majorities that are socially set apart because of obvious physical differences”.(p7 chpt 1). The key here being physical differences. It was not a difficult task to derive at an answer when considering whether or not people in my community have the same physical attributes as I. I was born in Canarsie Brooklyn at a time when the community was predominately white. I am Hispanic; Puerto Rican to be precise, so I was growing up no one in my community looked like me. Over the past 20 years I have been at the center of the transition from an almost all white community to an almost all African American community. Today the entire neighborhood is comprised of African Americans; still no one looks like me. The idea of how one looks is where the core issues of race are grounded. This begs the question “are people treated differently based on race'” I reflected on this question for a long time and although the answer should be no; my answer to this question based on years of experience is yes. o How do leaders within your community treat people who are like you' How do they treat people who are different' Community leaders tend to focus on the issues facing the majority of the community. In this case the community leaders are black and represent issues that the black members in the community care about. This leaves the white and Hispanic members of the community feeling cheated, as if our issues are less important because of our race. “Race” put in quote on def of race from text and discrimination” o How do other members of your community treat people who are like you' How do they treat people who are different' It is unfortunate but members of my community treat Hispanics, or anyone of a different race for that matter, as if they don’t belong. Sometimes I am made to feel as if I am treading on sacred ground. Based on the way I am treated I find myself being very defensive when faced with social situations in my community. At times I find myself taking the position “ I was here before you”. Although this may be a true statement it only adds fuel to the discrimination fire. I decided that before I could try and figure out ways to mend the racial divide in my community , I first needed to understand where the true differences o Do your texts or work manuals contain information by or about people like you' Here put info from text and other paper about Puerto ricns o Do the local media represent people like you' If so, in what ways' The local media really doesn’t represent people of the Hispanic race. There are only two Latin radio stations in New York. The local TV channels are usually focused towards the interest of an African American community. o What are some similarities and differences between you and the people who are in leadership positions in your community' Do you feel minority group interests are represented within your community' o If you could resolve any inequities within your community, what would you change' How and why' o Which main concepts from the text relate to race' Apply some of these concepts to your project. 4 types of community leaders – Official Leaders – Elected officials, school board members. Official leaders tend to focus on the official business of the community – such as policy decisions, economic development. They are often most in tune with civic leaders and may be seen as disconnected from people’s daily lives. Civic leaders often represent the interests of a particular group of people or institution within the community. They typically are knowledgeable of the official layer of the community and can provide the point or view of their interest group on official issues Religious leaders, neighborhood association presidents, etc. – they hold recognized civic positions in the community. Louis Aiain Director of Integrated Services for District 18 and school board member. References Anderson, T. (2009). Contemporary Mexican and Puerto Rican immigration. New Haven Teachers Institute. Retrieved September 13, 2009 from www.yale.edu Barbour, S. (1995). Immigration Policy: A compilation of essays with opposing view points on immigration. Greenhaven Press. Hinojosa, M. Puerto Ricans’ lawsuit seeks Right to Vote for President. Retrieved September 13, 2009 from http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/10/24/puerto.rico.vote/index.html Schaefer, Richard T. (2006). Racial and ethnic groups (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. US Census Bureau, 1990 Census of Population and Housing and Census 2000, Summary File 3. Retrieved October 9, 2009 from www.census.gov/main/www/cen2000.html Green, Derek. (2009). Every Culture Puerto Rican Americans. Retrieved October 9, 2009 from http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Pa-Sp/Puerto-Rican-Americans.html