America: Land of The Uneducated

A recent government study in 2012 of adult literacy estimates that 16 percent of adults in the United States have difficulty with tasks like signing a form or filling out a bank deposit slip. More stunning is the estimate that about half of these adults graduated from high school, which means they’ve successfully completed twelve years of education. Even among recent graduates seeking to join the army, almost one quarter are disqualified for lack of academic preparation. In regards to college students, one study found that fewer than four if every ten graduating college students were able to compare and contrast the main ideas of two articles. Furthermore, a high percentage of college graduates only demonstrate only basic literacy levels. This raises a question: Why do American people have so poor academic skills? The causes of academic shortcomings in the United States cannot all be pointed to our school system. Many social, cultural, political, and economic factors make important contributions as well. These causes might even be more important than those directly associated with formal education, there is plenty debate over what precisely is the issue. Without doubt poverty has an important role in their educational outcomes. But our public schools contribute, rather than improve, the inequalities that children experience in other aspects of their lives. Our schools are simply not well designed to develop the skills and abilities in all youth the way we expect them to, especially among those who already have fewer advantages than others. So how do we compare with other countries? In a 2010 international test the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). American students were rated average in science and reading, and below average in math when compared with thirty five other countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In math, about one in four failed to demonstrate a very low level of math proficiency. In addition to widespread underperformance among American students, one quarter of high school freshmen do not complete high school. This is the highest dropout rate among countries who report to the OECD. And among African American and Hispanic, more than one in three don’t complete high school. Another short coming of our school system is that despite a very high rate of high school graduates going to college, college graduation rate is below the average of the countries that report to the OECD; not long ago the United States had the highest. While a large majority of American youth attend college, more than half of those that enroll don’t end up with a four year degree. The main reason is that half of those who start college wind up dropping out and college dropout rates among African American and Hispanics are even higher. According to OECD college dropout is 29 percent in all other countries. Japan has the lowest dropout rate with only 9 percent. Thus the problem with our educational sys is that students don’t acquire the cognitive skills and knowledge expected from them, and they don’t persist with their studies. To be direct, our public schools don’t provide the quality of education or the quantity of educated teachers needed to guide these children toward successful proficiency.

 

Cruce el Rio Grande Nadando

"Cruce el Rio Grande Nadando"

Within the United States, there were 22.3 million born U.S. natives who self-identified themselves as Hispanics of Mexican origin. This statistic was from a Census Bureau by  the Pew Research Center in the year 2012. The United States is covered by far the largest Hispanic origin that account for two-thirds of the population in 2012. Over the years there have been more and more immigrants that come form Mexico and start their families here as well as have earlier generations from Mexico come over with them or send money back for their families to immigrate to the United States. With all of this taking place, there has been talk about how the people prefer to be classified if they should be called Latino, Hispanic, or just Mexican. With the Census Bureau has been has come across this situation and have not taken into consideration of this matter until after the 1930's census. The Census Bureau had classified them as white in the beginning. Many of them would say other but the Census would then change it later on record that they were white. To many people it was a problem. Because Mexicans being born or immigrated to the United States weren't being treated as white people with rights. They were through history treated as second-class citizens as well as legally treated as laborers. With this, it is taken by white Americans that all Mexicans are "illegal" and all "illegals" are Mexican. As law enforcement is pressed upon illegal immigrants it is shown that they go after how they dress or how dark their skin is. And because they cannot really determine how they really are able to classify themselves they are not assumed to be white or therefore not legal to the United States. Throughout the time the country has somewhat evolved. The United States still being young discrimination will still exist. If someone were to have an Indian complexion, that person would still be discriminated against. Despite having people who are at a high status within the United States, many still qualify themselves as "white" in the census or anything else, because they are at times afraid to be discriminated against and or be treated differently. many Latino-Americanos would to this because they wouldn't know that to classify themselves as and because many of them looked or felt "white" they would check that. But to many people the race isn't what is important to them. Its the culture that in retained and if possible the American citizenship. Now there is a new change that is being discussed in the Census Bureau. That the Hispanic question be followed with a nation of origin. This way many people who were previously classifying themselves as Hispanics may actually be able to be more specific of who they really are by where they are from originally. With this change many people will be more content. It will have come from a long way form when people were only allowed to fill in white, then other, and now to finally have his opportunity to fill in the place of origin.

The picture is of Cain Velasquez (middle), a Mexican fighter born in the United States, of Mexican immigrant parents and is currently the heavy weight champion in the UFC.
http://www.pewhispanic.org/2013/05/01/a-demographic-portrait-of-mexican-origin-hispanics-in-the-united-states/
http://www.academia.edu/1553810/Racial_Identity_and_Racial_Treatment_of_Mexican_Americans
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_18117280
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/01/03/hispanics-may-be-added-to-census-race-category/1808087/

Pick a Color, Any Color

               

                 Racial identity has always played a significant role in determining how a person is treated. Along mankind’s timeline, there has slowly been a trend to accept colors of all kinds only in the recent century or so. By no means is this acceptance or assimilation universal; people today can still be heard using racial slurs. What happens though in a world where people of multiracial backgrounds slowly become more prevalent than those who claim only one race? Will there be an enlightenment of sorts where people no longer make judgments based on skin tone?  Unfortunately our generations will likely not know this answer, but it is a good idea to look at our surroundings now and notice the increasing trend of people who wish to be identified as mixed race.

                

                As a person who was born to a Mexican father and Irish German mother, I have found that I am often forced to “pick a race.” From tests to school applications, I have had to mark either Hispanic or White. This has honestly always confused me. I was surrounded in a “white” culture at school, so from day one I formed a white identity. However, as I began to grow older my features and skin tone began to paint the opposite picture of how I perceived myself. An astonishing number of people, including President Barack Obama, have begun to embrace their mixed background. Although some might claim that bringing attention to people of multiple races hurts civil rights, they fail to look at what struggles these types of people may face, including choice of identification.

    

               An interesting study of a mixed population in South Africa describes how even though there is a large mixed population, there can still be problems avoiding the notion of white dominance. If those who can vote still only vote for people of white ancestry, it’s hard to see any real advantage of stemming from two different races.  In an article by Tanya Golash-Boza called Dropping the Hyphen? Becoming Latino(a)-American through Racialized Assimilation there is this notion that a person is never just an American unless they are white. What happens to a country’s attempt at unification when the people can’t even all agree on what to call themselves. Although assimilation, the process of becoming equated with a preexisting way of life, has three supposed degrees of variance (including straight-line, segmented, and racialized), there seems to be no way to escape a label of some kind. A mixed person ultimately has to define themselves and this is counter intuitive as they have the privilege of two (or more) very distinct worlds.

             Treating ones varied cultural backgrounds with respect and the attention each deserves is quite possibly a solution to reservations one might have when claiming identity. As I mentioned earlier, there is a slow but building group of leaders and popular people who have mixed race. This is a sigh of relief for others who struggle or who feel confused when explaining that mom is white and dad is brown. Of course the idea of mixed race is nothing new and neither is the idea of segregated groups of color. What is changing, and for the good I believe, is the study of the mixed children. There is recognition now that people of different colors do have an effect on the arts, in literature, and in theatre. Mixed kids are slowly understanding that they can have pride and be accepted.

http://humanexperience.stanford.edu/mixedrace

http://www.mixedracestudies.org/

Polar opposites: A Thin Line between Ethnicity and Race...

 Are many people stereotypical about Ethnicity and race? Or is assimilation taken too far in the U.S. many people in Latin American goes through racial or is questioned ab. In the article “To be or not to be (Hispanic or Latino): Brazilian racial and ethnic in the United States.  The biggest   problem is racism in Brazilian many people that are from there is Latino but when they come into the U.S. they are identified as another race or ethnicity. They are told that they or their ancestors are from the European, second the way they view Latinos that immigrate to the America and they are being put in a category. Lastly is the crucial outcome of Latin Americans identity.  

 Many people that are Latino are put into this classification system made in the U.S. with what race they are. The problem with this classification system is that if you have any European ancestry so people who skin tone or even by generation. The children of two generation have different experiences living in the U.S. many Brazilians that immigrate to the U.S. coming as a child. Are more accepted one reason is because they have a chance to get the right education and being around other racial ethnicity. They also have better chances learning English. When adults Hispanics or Latinos migrate they don’t know how to speak English. Secondly the way U.S. view Hispanics and Latinos they only look at the unimportant about Latin’s in American and the big impacts. The hard work they do while living in the U.S. the good work they do but still to be stereotype as bad to the U.S. 

Lastly why it is crucial for immigrants of Hispanic and Latino ethnicity is because in the U.S. It is a high rate of racism that has to do with who fits in the category to actually be American and

Who is closer to being the right color to be American or even with class; higher and middle. When I was younger growing up I went to school with an elementary school with mostly black kids and Hispanics they had many programs for students even speech classes for the students that didn’t speak English clearly. So my opinion is that the U.S. wants immigrants that was born or was migrated in America to take on the ways of the American people and make it as much as possible for other race to be similar as whites. Some Hispanics / Latinos don’t even know much about the ethnicity they come from.

So to conclude yes assimilation is taken too far in America. There is too many people being grouped in categories and this is bad because it’s not a good dream that people destined for in the article 'Latino Americans,' A History of Immigration and Assimilation many dreams are damaged by deportation and separates family if they don’t fit the category or without documentation they get sent back.

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/opinion/2013/09/24/latino-americans-history-immigration-and-assimilation/

http://www.pewhispanic.org/2013/08/29/mapping-the-latino-population-by-state-county-and-city/

Mexican Depictions and the Judgments of other Latin American Races

Many people don’t understand that many ethnicities get confused with other races, just because they speak Spanish or come from Latin roots. For example some Latino races such as Puerto Ricans, Guatemalans and Brazilians are sorted in the Mexican category because most of the nation is populated by Mexicans which is offensive to their roots and culture and feel disrespected to be in the mix with the Mexican-American population. According to census.gov, in 2012 it was reported that the population of Hispanics was 52 million people; the majority are Mexicans.

The Mexican race, has been stereotyped as many different things such as, lazy, “machistas,” most teenage girls become pregnant, teenage boys are gang members, rely on government support, have large families, and that all Mexicans are illegal immigrants. These are just a few of the many stereotypes that have stigmatized the Mexican race. With that being said, when other Latino races are guessed to be Mexican, many get offended because they are look down upon. Caucasians have brand that they have less opportunities like having no education, low wage jobs that no one else takes, take advantage of government benefits, and commit crimes. Besides Caucasians oppressing the Mexican race, it is also within Latinos, such as Puerto Ricans and Guatemalans.

All Latinos have some similar characteristics and sometimes it’s hard to tell what race are they. Since the majority of Latinos in the United States are Mexicans, everyone is quick to categorize them as that. Puerto Ricans get easily offended due to the fact that they are completely different. Their culture is different, not to mention that they are not illegal. Mexicans are looked down upon and if Puerto Ricans get mistaken by being Mexican, they are automatically stigmatized with all the negative stereotypes. It also creates problems with Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE). Their role is to deport illegal immigrants and since most are Mexican, they can confuse Puerto Ricans and cause conflict. They are U.S. territory and it bothers them that they have to carry identification around to not get deported. I guess they can blame Mexicans for being dragged down with all the damaging stereotypes.

Guatemalans have a total different opinion to why they get offended when being called Mexican. Mexico has a border between Guatemala and Chiapas, Mexico. In the website examiner.com there was an article about mentioning that Mexico is becoming hypocritical. They are planning on building their own wall in Chiapas; it is said that its purpose is to stop violence. This makes it much harder on Guatemalan immigrants that have to cross the Mexican border to get to the United States. Mexico is corrupt against the citizens of Central America. Immigrants that pay “coyotes” to cross them from Mexico to the United States, don’t always make it further than Mexico. The police or drug cartels often capture them to torture or kill. Central Americans hold a lot of grudge against Mexicans, because they are all in the same situation. Their country is no longer helping the poor and they migrate to the U.S. in search of a better future. Although they are neighbors, they don’t necessarily get along and therefore do get offended when called Mexican; due to similar characteristics as any other Latinos.

Being categorized as a Latino may influence negative stereotypes. Other Latino races do get offended for being categorized as Mexican. Race is definitely important not only within Latinos, but with others as well. No race likes to be confused for another, since everyone has a different culture and beliefs.

http://vivirlatino.com/2010/05/28/but-puerto-ricans-arent-immigrants-right-rican-in-chicago-almost-deported.php
http://www.examiner.com/article/hypocritical-mexico-is-now-building-their-own-wall-on-border-with-guatemala-press-ignores

Stop Racism, it's the enemy of freedom

 

Christina Giles

ILAS 100 Section 1

Blog 3

    Race discrimination involves treating someone unfavorably because he/she is of a certain race or because of personal characteristics associated with race such as hair texture, skin color, or certain facial features. Color discrimination involves treating someone unfavorably because of skin color complexion. Why should it matter that I am lighter than you? Or my hair is darker than yours? We should all be treated equally.
    We should not be denied a job or be treated disrespectfully because someone looks “Hispanic."  Most people are quick to judge other people just because of stereotypes. Many stereotypes of Latino’s that are in today’s generation consist Latino’s being lazy, that they take all of our jobs, and that we are all the cause of criminal activity. Race should not be defined as white’s being superior to all other races, but in the United States that is what it seems like it is.

What does it even mean to be "white?" Just because someone does not listen to "white" music, dress "white" and does not look "white" does not make it alright for someone to be treated less fair. I do not believe that there is actually a person who is white. We are different in one way another.

I attended Elk Grove High School. My school is considered to be a white high school. Many students thought it was weird that I did not act Latina. In my mind I do not even know what it is to be Mexican. They expected me to hang out with only Mexican people, to listen to Mexican music, and to dress Mexican. Since I wore designer clothes and shoes, people thought that I was just embarrassed to be Mexican. I do not believe that if someone wears designer clothes and brands they are automatically white.

I believe that people believe that just because a person is Mexican they have low income, so they think that Mexicans cannot afford expensive things. Therefore when I wore brand clothes or shoes people would look at me weird like I cannot afford them. It really upset me when think that only white people can afford expensive items. Most Latino’s are said to have low income and little or no education. The racial categories represent a social-political construct for the race or races that respondents consider themselves to be and "generally reflect a social definition of race recognized in this country.

           All in all, I believe that someone should not be treated differently or disrespected because of the color of skin someone has or by the racial ethnicity that someone is. Everyone at the end of the day is a human being. Hair color, skin color, and race should not define a person. Before you try to judge a person by their appearance make sure you get to know them and their ethnic background. People are always so quick to judge someone without knowing a person's values. Racism needs to end, we are in a generation that Latino’s make up 17% of today’s nation and is going to continue to grow. As once said by Rosa Parks, “Racism is still with us, but it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and, hopefully, we shall overcome.”

http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/race_color.cfm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/hhmcensus1.html

Is the Hyphen Meaningless?

       After reading "Dropping the Hyphen? Becoming Latino (a)-American through Racialized Assimilation" by Tanya Golash-Boza it caught my attention the importance of either keeping or dropping the hyphen in one's race. I guess it all depends on the person and how they identify themselves. I cannot argue for one side because I have some sort of belief in both. Yes, I truly believe we are all Americans, well for the most part, the ones who were born in the United States. However, I also believe that we do come from different ancestors and look different and should be identified and proud of being part of something else than American. 

          

As this picture above demonstrates how we should drop the dash and just identify ourselves as American. However, what is an American? Who are they? How do you become one? I asked these questions in class and I’m going to repeat it because it is really important to think about it. When you search and define “American” you will see it say somewhere “a native or citizen of the United States” but it also says “a native or inhabitant of any of the countries of North, South, or Central America.”  Yet we are guilty of implying that American is white and the more we become white the more American we are.  Nevertheless, many do not believe they will ever become white or American because of their color of their skin and other characteristics that differ from others.  On the other hand, United States is a melting pot with all races and which makes up America and what American has become.  Why categorize ourselves when we all live in the same country, shop at the same stores, drive the same streets, and have the same rights. In many articles in the Chicago Tribune, are arguments on why the hyphen should be drop. For example, in the article “Now's the time to drop hyphens that divide us” by John Kass, he points out that by dropping the hyphen it will “It will help us gather together, as one nation, to get ready for what must be done, without demonizing any group or giving into fear-mongering.” I totally agree and it should be done but there it is not brought to the attention as much as other issues. Kass has more great points which can be read on this link. 

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2001-09-19/news/0109190255_1_hyphens-americans-greek-descent   However, many will disagree because they emphasize their ancestors and background and proud of their race and do not want to be define as just American.

Right above, there is a picture that presents pride of being a hyphenated American.  Many people say they are proud of being Mexican-American, African American, or Asian American, etc. I as well can say I am proud of being Mexican American because I celebrate being a Mexican and an American. Some may say how can you be proud of your race when it’s at the bottom of the social class? However, it is not about any of that when it comes to race. It comes from where your ancestors were born and what traditions and customs you practice. In the reading by Tanya Golash-Boza, she argues that it is necessary to have the hyphen due to the fact it is represented that Americans are white and non-Americans are hyphenated Americans. Also, to one their biological features and traditions are very important to them and the embrace it by letting everybody know how they define themselves.   Golash-Boza talks more about importance in hyphens and the racial assimilations. https://webcourses.niu.edu/bbcswebdav/library/eReserves/20138-ILAS-100-----1/golashdhb.pdf

Hyphen or no hyphen you still would be you. It is not a bad thing to keep the hyphen but it does categorize you into a group and may have issues with something because of your race due to the corrupt and racist world we live in. However, claiming that you are American will not guarantee anything but just be grateful to be able to even say you  are an American. 

There's More Than You Think...

Race, not to be confused with ethnicity, is a social construction that varies according to societal experiences and time.  Tragic or impactful events can change social perceptions of race; for example, many American opinions regarding “middle eastern” race changed post-911.  Ethnicity, on the other hand, is related to cultural factors, such as nation of origin, belief system, language, and heritages.  An excellent comparison of race and ethnicity can be found here: http://www.diffen.com/difference/Ethnicity_vs_Race. 

In class, there has been considerable discussion about what it means to be Latino, and the impact that discrimination from Anglo-Americans has had on Latino-American and native-born Latinos lives.  Many articles have shown that Anglo-American perceptions and attitudes regarding the Latino culture cause Latino-Americans and native-born Latinos to challenge their own self-identities in terms of the expressions of the Anglo-Americans.  In addition, its common knowledge that upward mobility and certain measurements of success are statistically lower for Latino-Americans and immigrants versus their Anglo-American counterparts.

I do not in any way question the very real, present discrimination faced by minorities, specifically Latinos in the US.  However, I find the class discussion limited and simplistic, as race is an extremely broad topic and class time is limited, and would like to introduce several topics of conversation.

Firstly, discrimination exists in many forms and in every country.  It is extremely common for receiving societies to be frustrated with an influx of immigrants, regardless of skin color, as studies on discrimination in Africa (http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---declaration/documents/publication/wcms_decl_fs_88_en.pdf) These frustrations inevitably lead to discrimination in the provision of social services, limited job resources, low-status social position, and often verbal and physical abuse.  And, unfortunately, despite well-meaning governments, many lack the financial resources and training to curb and prevent discriminatory practices.

Also, in societies where the major constitution of people shares the same skin color, there is still discrimination and racism (http://idsn.org/fileadmin/user_folder/pdf/Old_files/africa/pdf/Africafull.pdf, http://pri.org/stories/2012-06-11/documenting-caste-discrimination-india).  People not living in these societies will not consider the repressed minorities to be of a different race than the majority; but within these cultures, the belief of an inferior race is still an excuse for discrimination.  This reinforces the idea that race is a social construct, and also allows that even without skin color, societies will still invent some concepts regarding racial differences.  

Another topic that I think would be interesting to discuss is that of reverse discrimination.  Reverse discrimination is defined as discrimination against members of a dominant or majority group or in favor of members of a minority or historically disadvantaged group. Groups may be defined in terms of race, gender, ethnicity, or other factors (Wikipedia).  Racial reverse discrimination is often used to correct for some inequity experienced by the minority in question, and is often historically justified. 

The fear of discrimination has become so ingrained in Anglo-Americans, that reverse discrimination has jumped out of legal practice, like in the necessary Equal Opportunities Act, to every day practice.  For example, and interesting study by Donald Dutton titled “Reverse discrimination: The relationship of amount of perceived discrimination toward a minority group on the behavior of majority group members” shows that Anglo-Americans, in some situations, will treat perceived minorities better than they will treat other Anglos.  I think I would enjoy a class conversation on causes of this behavior.  Is it “white guilt”, is it pity, is it fear?  I have to admit that I've witnessed, and perhaps participated in reverse discriminating activities. 

My last complaint about many of the articles and discussions in class is how we've victimized Latinos repeatedly.  Constant study about the helplessness and perceived inadequateness of Latinos in the US could lead to further discrimination, identity-questioning, and self-esteem issues.  Even the organization of some of the articles reinforces the negative view of the situation by diminishing improvements or by diminishing victories by placing them in portions of the articles that readers are more likely to give less precedence.  Why can’t we read about something positive once in a while?

These few items do not come close to exhausting my thoughts on race and how it pertains to Latin American issues; however, there is only so much room in this blog (I’m already 200 words over).  I believe that all discrimination is truly awful and I am embarrassed that it takes place so frequently in my country.  However, with little effort, one can see that it takes place the world over.  Given this knowledge, I feel like it must be human nature.  So, why are we like this? 

image source: http://www.punitivedamage.com/cartoon_lg.jpg

Mexicano Con El Corazón En La Mano

Mexicano Con El Corazón En La Mano

How can we as human beings defined race?  Well, we could have an endless discussion about it, and we would never get to a well fitted definition for it. As a Mexican, in my opinion, race is whatever we want, I say this because we could all changed its role or meaning within society, especially in the United States.

The struggle of race first came to people, to differentiate white from black. In this case, whites as the supreme race over of all, and blackness, of course, as the inferior race on face of the earth. Here, it would be reasonable to mention that in 1803 in the Tasmania islands, the British people terminated the native aborigines that live there during that time because the British thought that it would be a benefit for the whole world, to get rid of these aborigines that lived in the forest, didn't know how to cultivate, and weren't Christians, so because of these characteristics the British thought they were useless to society, and therefore, they all, should be terminated. These were the ways how people, back then, used to differentiate race.

There is also other ways that people use to define race in the United States such as, skin color, clothing, way of Speaking English, the music people listen to, etc.  For example, if you worked for a retail store selling phones, and a customer calls in to get more information about the new devices that just came out, she wouldn't be able to tell that you weren't American if you didn't have an accent, of the other way around. But if that the same person, comes to the store, asks for you, she might be surprise that she wasn't able to tell whether you were American or not, because of the simple reason that you don’t have an accent, and she was able to see you. Another example could be, a person with dark skin color, looking for a job. This person goes to restaurant looking for a job opportunity, and the first question the employer asked you is do you have a social security number? Here the employer assumed that the person looking for a job was undocumented because of his darker skin color. There is tons of characteristics that people in the United States use to set social barriers to people that aren't necessary white but have a lower educational level, or are not able to speak the host language well enough to pass as an American.

Other crucial factors that stop people from integrating to the American society are discrimination, education, surroundings, and people that were born outside the U.S.  I say this, because people that haven’t been discriminated are most likely to identify themselves with the American culture in an easier way. In the other hand, people that suffered discrimination would rarely associated themselves with the American culture, but instead would identify themselves as Latinos, Hispanic, Cuban, Mexican, Chicano, etc. Education plays an important role when it comes to adaptation or social assimilation because people with higher educational level are seen as people that are useful to society, and that are able to support and enjoy all the luxuries that most of the middle-class Americans have.

In conclusion, I believe race is a term that we would never be able to define as longest people keep using it as a social barrier within society. But I believe that race is an artificial social contract used to categorize people within society. 

Citations

"Introduction to Sociology: Race and Ethnicity: Definitions." YouTube. YouTube, 06 Mar. 2011. Web. 07 Nov. 2013.

"Scientific Racism: The Eugenics of Social Darwinism." YouTube. YouTube, 16 June 2011. Web. 07 Nov. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eX5T68TQIo>.

“I am Proud to be an American Where at Least I know I’m free.”

“I am Proud to be an American Where at Least I know I’m free.”

By: Robert J Wegner

These are the lyrics that I herd blasting out of one of my fraternity brother’s speakers yesterday afternoon. This was around 6:15PM, shortly after I arrived home from Wednesday’s class discussion.

I can remember the first time that I herd this song; I was in the car with my mom just after the Twin Towers were attacked on September 11^th, 2001. My mom got chocked up and I remember her telling me that although I was only in the 5^th grade that I will likely remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I first heard of the tragedy. As it turns out, my mom was right as usual.

I mention this story for two different reasons; the first being how ironic it was to hear this country-ish song coming out of one of my brothers speakers, just hours after todays discussion on the deportation of LEGAL immigrants in the United States. The second reason I bring up this song and September 11, 2001 is because that is the day that America and especially my generation began to fear, judge and stereotype an entire race of people.

From this day forward the vast majority of Americans began to treat people of Middle Eastern decent in a different manner. This is the first time in my life that I can remember race being so openly and abundantly discussed. The next thing I knew, the great country of America that I was born in and growing up I at the time; declared a “War on Terror”. Unfortunately, to a child who was between the age of eleven and twelve, this meant fear people of Middle Eastern decent.

I grew up in a middle-class home with parents that tried to teach their kids that there is no difference between black and white, white people and brown people or, purple people and gold people; when it comes to the color of a persons skin.

This is the first time I am getting to learn the racial inequality in present day America. These issues were not taught to me by my parents, in fear that I would begin stereotyping different races. I did not learn about these issues in elementary, middle or high school because the vast majority of the kids that went to my school were white and came from communities with parents who had similar incomes.

I was born in raised in a one-story ranch in Hoffman Estates; I grew up with a very tight-nit family, amazing neighbors and great friends. Unfortunately, I was one street away from getting out of district 220 (Barrington School District). From elementary school to high school, I dealt kids who lived up to my schools stereotype: spoiled white kids, who live in their parents mansions and brag about their parents cars and money. For the average home in North Barrington costs $789,120; with 95.6% of the residents being either “white” or “Asian American”. My mom attended a School Board Meeting when I was still in grammar school and the people in the Barrington area referred to the people who lived in Hoffman as “the people with the aluminum siding”.

Needless to say, I am very happy to have grown up in Hoffman Estates instead of Barrington. I had the opportunity to make friends with other kids from Hoffman Estates, many whom attended Fremd High School. A part of me wonders how much more exposure to different cultures I would have came across, had I attended Fremd. At Fremd, there is a larger Spanish American and Asian American population and more kids to interact with who were raised in different cultures.

At Barrington High School, we were taught to believe that slavery was abolished in 1865, there were riots and segregation up though the 60’s but were not taught how impactful the color of ones skin still is in American society. This is why I was completely shocked to hear that a legal citizen of the United States were deported after not being able to produce a birth certificate. I honestly believe it was racist to not have taught us both sides. If we do not recognize these problems and go though life believing that we live in the “The Land of Opportunity” as well as “ The Land of Equality” we leave immigrants with a lack of opportunity and equality of their own.

Works Cited

"Barrington High School in Barrington, Illinois (IL)." - Test Results, Rating, Ranking, Grades, Scores, Classes, Enrollment, Teachers, Students, and Report Card. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2013. <http://www.city-data.com/school/barrington-high-school-il.html>.

"High School Graduation Rate at Highest Level in Three Decades." EDgov Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2013. <http://www.ed.gov/blog/2013/01/high-school-graduation-rate-at-highest-level-in-three-decades/>.

Lee Greenwood. I Am Proud to Be an American. 1984. CD.