Part 1: Self as witness
As an immigrant in today’s society, I have sadly experienced discrimination by race/ethnicity and language abilities first hand. Although it was a horrible experience and something I wish no should go through, it has turned me into the person I am today. I have been mocked many times in middle school, when I recently moved to New York, about my accent and pronunciation of words. Many times I would ask what simple words like “wood” or “fake” meant and instead of an answer I would get chuckles or answers like “are you being serious?”. Many times I went home and cried or wondered why it was so hard for me to adjust, but I tried not to get ahead of myself and think to myself that I am smart enough to the point where I can call myself bilingual . Now that I reflect on it, it has made me a stronger and better person and I have the opportunity to share my story with others and demonstrate the confidence I created within my six years of living here. As per race descrimination, due to the political problems by the president during 2014-2015, he laid a steryo-type of Mexicans being “illegal” and “rapists' '. Speaking spanish out with my family was hard and scary because I never knew who would say something about it. I felt very scared to be identified as hispanic because many assume that if you speak spanish you are automatically mexican, but I realized that I am part of America’s diverse country and it helped me embrace my culture more. I am and was lucky enough to have found people who have similar backgrounds and stories to tell about themselves that were similar to mine and have helped me re-embrace being hispanic and remember that speaking another language is a beautiful and amazing thing.
Part 2: Historical Presidents
Although experiencing racial discrimination is something that people have been fighting to see the end, there is one specific historical event that started the Latin American/Hispanic racism history. Back in 1848, Latin Americans and Hispanics started facing racism during the Mexican American War by the United States. Americans took many mexican slaves to work on the railroads that connected the United States and Mexico in order for others to emigrate and work for them. They were treated very differently and seen as slaves. Mob violence against Spanish-speaking people was also common in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, The violence began during California’s Gold Rush just after California became part of the United States. At the time, white miners envied former Mexicans a share of the wealth yielded by Californian mines and sometimes enacted vigilante justice. In 1851, a mob of vigilantes accused Josefa Segovia of murdering a white man. After a fake trial, they marched her through the streets and lynched her. Over 2,000 men gathered to watch, shouting racial slurs. Others were attacked on suspicion of fraternizing with white women or insulting white people. Children also became victims of this violence. In 1911, a mob of over 100 people hanged a 14-year-old boy, Antonio Gómez, after he was arrested for murder. Rather than let him serve time in jail, townspeople lynched him and dragged his body through the streets of Thorndale, Texas. Although the type of discrimination is different nowadays, it has been around for a long time and the issue still continues not only with hispanics, but with others like african americans.
Part 3:
As now an adult, I try to find many ways to advertise what is going on in the world. To the future children and teenagers of this generation, I advise to not be afraid to use your voice and speak up to what you believe or know is correct. As we see that social media is used by many, I would advise to advertise what is going on in the world and help educate others on politics. I fear for many kids who are minorities that are unable to understand what racism is and how to handle racial slurs or comments that will make them upset. The comments people make about others, whether it is based on race, body image, disability, or other mess with many teenagers and young kids’s mind and can cause them to commit sucide or change for the good of others. I think as the next generation, we should all stand up for what is right and defend others, in order to teach a lesson and set an example for younger generations to come. We can move on forward to heal ourselves by learning from past mistakes made of our own or others, and educate ourselves as to why it was wrong or why it is not appropriate. We may also learn from other’s mistakes as well, and take advice from elders like teachers or parents who know best. A solution I also would recommend is involve yourself in other clubs schools might have where you can learn about issues going on in the world, not having teachers teach about these movements, like black lives matter, so others can further understand the political issues many face when it comes to race. When it comes to other issues like physical appearance, I recommend learning to learn and appreciate and love yourself because everyone was made different for a reason and surround yourself around people who love you and fill your life with positivity.
