500 years of colonialism
Due to the tug-of-war by European empires, the Latino people have not been able to stay one hundred percent true to their origins and culture of their indigenous ancestors for over 500 years. Since Columbus landed in Hispaniola, the Latino people have been the true melting pot of the Americas and have been subject to European influences. Not achieving independence from Spain until the end of the 19th century, Latin America has been attempting to collect itself for the past one hundred years. When working with Latinos, it is important to reflect on this immense oppression experienced by their people when analyzing their behavior, traditions, and culture.
latinos and education in america
Receiving education, even at a grade level, was not something that Latinos could realistically participate in throughout American history. As stated by Simón Salinas in ""Wise Up!" Undocumented Latino Youth, Mexican-American Legislators, and the Struggle for Higher Education Access" on his experience with the American education system in the 1960's , "sometimes we’d go places for three weeks, and it wasn’t even worth enrolling in school because we’d leave right away. In Texas, they didn’t have any programs like bilingual ed. – it was either sink or swim. So a lot of the kids would drop out after fifth or sixth grade. If you spoke Spanish you would get punished" (2004, p. 215). Demonstrated in Figure 1 (Casselman, 2014), unfortunately the rate of receiving a complete education among Latinos has yet to make dramatic improvements. While they are getting an education past the sixth grade, many Latinos are still not graduating from high school. When approaching the problem of this educational epidemic, it is important to not blame the student. The society they live in is what needs to be analyzed. With language barriers, cultural differences, and lack of resources, the Latino youth can not succeed at rates similar to the black and white American population.
oppression of latinos in the u.s. media today
With the media storm over wildly inappropriate quotes from a recent Republican Presidential candidate, opinions are stirred up on social media in places such as Facebook, Twitter, and the comment section of News Company websites. Although most people know that the "proposals" by the unnamed candidate are inappropriate, unjust, and morally wrong, there are people who agree with every bigotry term they hear during debates. It is important to advocate for the silent Latino population who can not access these social networks or do not speak English, without getting into a full blown "Facebook argument" with your conservative, racist uncle that lives in Alabama. When placed into a situation where you must be the Latino's advocate, remember to be respectful, credible, and concise.
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References
Header Photo: Retrieved from the Library of Congress
Chasteen, J. (2001). Born in blood and fire: A concise history of Latin America. New York: Norton.
The Fall of the Aztecs. (n.d.). Retrieved December 9, 2015, from http://www.pbs.org/conquistadors/cortes/cortes_a00.html
Scaruffi, P. (2011). A time-line of Latin America. Retrieved December 8, 2015, from http://www.scaruffi.com/politics/latin.html
Gordts, E. (2013). Mexico's Poverty Rate: Half Of Country's Population Lives In Poverty. Retrieved December 9, 2015, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/29/mexico-poverty_n_3673568.html
Seif, H. (2004). "Wise up!" undocumented latino youth, mexican-american legislators, and the struggle for higher education access. Latino Studies, 2(2), 210-230. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.proxy.lib.wayne.edu/docview/222604578?accountid=14925
Casselman, B. (2014). U.S. High School Dropout Rates Fall, Especially Among Latinos. Retrieved December 9, 2015, from http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/u-s-high-school-dropout-rates-fall-especially-among-latinos/
Header Photo: Retrieved from the Library of Congress
Chasteen, J. (2001). Born in blood and fire: A concise history of Latin America. New York: Norton.
The Fall of the Aztecs. (n.d.). Retrieved December 9, 2015, from http://www.pbs.org/conquistadors/cortes/cortes_a00.html
Scaruffi, P. (2011). A time-line of Latin America. Retrieved December 8, 2015, from http://www.scaruffi.com/politics/latin.html
Gordts, E. (2013). Mexico's Poverty Rate: Half Of Country's Population Lives In Poverty. Retrieved December 9, 2015, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/29/mexico-poverty_n_3673568.html
Seif, H. (2004). "Wise up!" undocumented latino youth, mexican-american legislators, and the struggle for higher education access. Latino Studies, 2(2), 210-230. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.proxy.lib.wayne.edu/docview/222604578?accountid=14925
Casselman, B. (2014). U.S. High School Dropout Rates Fall, Especially Among Latinos. Retrieved December 9, 2015, from http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/u-s-high-school-dropout-rates-fall-especially-among-latinos/