"If you want to be American speak American"

The Importance of Language

    We often forget the importance of language. The importance of expressing ourselves freely. How having our language stripped from us or diminished can make us lose our sense of self and lower our self-esteem. We also don't realize how many variations of one language there are. We judge the ones we don't relate with and try to write them off as illegitimate.

    The importance of language is one that goes beyond the 'proper' one we are taught in school. As we grow older and meet new people our way of speaking becomes like a journal. It serves as a book that tells of our experiences and our encounters with different people. We adapt and adjust to different settings and sometimes we take words or phrases from people that never leave our vocabulary.

    When I came to this country from Cuba, I went to a bilingual school full of kids from all over. I made a lot of Dominican friends and the Cuban accent slowly shifted into a mix of both. My dad was outraged. He would get legitimately angry at my accent, but I couldn't help it it was just something that happened naturally. I didn't feel like it made me any less Cuban, but not everyone agreed. We have this idea that once you come the United States and learn English you're a gringa now and somehow your whole identity shifts. This idea is wrong.

    We should be celebrating every language in every form of them. It's adaptation and it's a valuable skill. It's team work and it is damn good. 

   Our language is also stripped from us by white Americans who claim to live in the United States one has to speak English. "If you want to be American speak American". Please tell me what "American" is? The fact that the only word in English to describe estadounidences is 'American' is problematic in itself because the United States does not make up for all of America. America is a rather large continent with a rather diverse population.

 Anyway. Please show me where in the constitution does it say this?? On the contrary. The constitution has no specific language because this is a country of immigrants. From the very beginning. I do not need to speak English to live here. They do this at a way of erasing our culture and roots. like Anzaldua said, "El Anglo con cara de inocente nos arranco la lengua. Wild tongues can't be tamed, they can only be cut out.". Trying to strip immigrants of their language is another form of oppression. 

Latinx Studies Programs

Latinx Studies: If not There Then Where?

It's Not Segregation, It's Representation 

    As a recently arrived Cuban immigrant, I had a sixth grade history teacher who was blatantly racist and would teach history her way, and was usually wrong. She would often try to speak on the Cuban situation without having a clue of what she was talking about. She was a white American so I don't blame her for not knowing, I blame her for blatantly spreading fake information and getting angry when someone would try to educate her.

    After these awful two years of history classes I learned that representation is very important. It's not about teaching some kids a different way or different things. It's about teaching kids in a way that they can relate to the learning and engage with it. If you're giving them a completely unapproachable scenario, they are not going to follow it. 

    In the Precious Knowledge film we see a predominantly Mexican American community in a school system that does not care whether they graduate or not. They don't care whether they're learning or not because of their statistics. Even though it's a 2011 and the statistics might've changed, they say that 50% of the Latinx community end up as dropouts. But how can this not be the case when you have to go sit in a classroom all day surrounded by people who are practically rooting for your failure, learning things you can't relate to. Not only do these kids have to deal with the issues at home that come with being offsprings of immigrant parents, but they get no support in school. Like they mentioned on the film not enough is being done to get Latinx kids into college.

    Through the Mexican American studies program the kids in Tucson were learning not only to value themselves and their culture, but also to become better, kinder people in general. These ethnic studies classes gave them the confidence and boost they needed to make them realize their potential and that even if the whole system is against them, they can still prove the system wrong and persevere. "According to TUSD, students taking ethnic studies classes showed significant improvement on Arizona standardized tests" and "For the past six years, the graduation rate for students enrolled in ethnic studies electives has averaged 93%". Statistically speaking the programs were working wonders so what was wrong?

    In my opinion there were too many latinx students excelling and it wasn't good for the Anglo Americans. As usual they had to come in calling people racist and ruin everything 

    They claimed it was planting a bad cultural seed teaching kids that the system is unfair and that the should try to change it....... 

 

    If the system isn't unfair then how come Anglo-Americans make up 70% of the population but one 31% of the jail population. Meanwhile African-Americans make up only 12% of the population but 41% of the jail population... Again America how is the system not unfair?

    My point is that students need teachers who they can relate to and who will motivate them to become the best version of themselves. Teachers who can properly teach them about where they come from and how to honor their roots. Because only by knowing who you are can you become someone great in life. 

Immigration: A Foreign Policy Agenda

Article: Refugees or Economic Immigrants? Immigration from Latin America and the Politics of US Refugee Policy By Maria Cristina Garcia

    A question that arose while reading this essay was, How can a government put their political agenda over people's lives? Living, breathing people who are actually running for their lives. A country that was founded by immigrants who were also trying to escape life threatening situations and persecution. How did we forget our roots so fast? 

    The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act only considered a refugee a person who was fleeing from a communist of communist-dominated country. We all know America has always been about spreading democracy throughout the world, but what about countries that have some sort of democratic government but still have deplorable life conditions that can be life-threatening? Conditions such as high crime rates or terrorism rates and religious persecution.. 

    To me this Act just further proved that the U.S only cares about their political agenda. They don't actually care about the people in need. 
    Same goes with the Cuban immigration policies. When it was convenient for them they let as many Cubans in as possible. Trying to hurt the Castro revolution efforts they would even encourage Cubans to migrate and aided them. Afterwards when there were too many Cubans for their comfort they started puting restrains and asking the Cuban government to help regulate the migration issue. Not only did they showed biased towards the Cubans because of their political problems with the Cuban government, but they also let them down when it stopped being convenient for them. Their bias is still very much visible today. There are many who are a perfect match for the 'refugee' definition, but are still not given asylum because of racial stereotypes and biases.
    It's no news that the United States government has always worked under a hidden agenda, but this does not make it any better. You can't call yourself the "Police of the World" only when it's convenient for your to invade places to your own benefit. They should not put themselves in a pedestal for doing the bare minimum to look good.