Political Determination

The 1950’s through 1970’s fostered action towards Chicano empowerment in response to over a century of strife. Political and social activism to correct injustices and defeat discrimination were a natural outgrowth of that awareness and a major feature of the movement. While incidents before had already demonstrated the need for social amelioration, the post-war era was important because it was the first time Chicanos really began to be politically self-actualized. Indeed, since the 1960s, when legislation such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 brought more Americans into the political mainstream, the Hispanic vote proved to be influential in local, state, and national elections. In presidential elections, candidates have been paying more attention to Hispanics since they have striking numbers in four key states: California, Florida, Texas, and Illinois—a major chunk of electoral votes. However, at the same time, the movement for political empowerment has still not been completely realized because of a history of component problems facing Chicanos.

It appears as if the specter of racial discrimination has revealed itself in socioeconomic difference—this time to interfere with the Chicano political identity. Internal factors explaining low political participation include socioeconomic status. It is no secret that low levels of age, education, and income negatively affect voter registration and turnout. Unfortunately, Chicanos have historically found themselves in the lowest levels of these categories. In 1980 the median age of Chicanos was 22.1 years; for the whole population it was 31 years. Only about fifty percent of Chicanos complete high school and median family income is only two-thirds of the national average[1]. In 2007, it would appear that conditions have improved, but Latinos and Chicanos still find themselves in the same station. According the Census Bureau, the median income for “Hispanic” households was $38,679 in 2007, which was 70 percent of the median for non-Hispanic White households, the “Hispanic” population in 2007 had a median age of 27.6, and there has been a slight increase in high school graduation rates.[2] Considering its growth in size over the past years, it’s problematic to see this group still low across the board. Education is particularly important in galvanizing political participation, especially because the largest proportion of Chicanos are just entering the voting age. However, socioeconomic demarcations resulting from demographic concentration in the Southwest and in urban barrios have left deep cleavages in educational quality. For many high schools in the Southwest, the facilities are not far improved from what they had been in the 1960s. The low standards of education create lower expectations for Chicano students, resulting in a dangerous cycle. Without any encouragement for Chicano youth to complete high school education, it is very likely the position of Chicano students will stagnate.

The Mexican-American population has grown considerably over the past century from about two million in 1930 to nearly six million in 1970 and 45.5 million in 2007.[3] From this increase of numbers should naturally follow an increase of political representation, especially since the next generation of Chicano immigrants is nearing the age to vote. For this reason, it is especially important to address the problem of political non-representation by remembering historically structured obstacles, including diversity among Latino/Hispanic groups all over the United States and the low levels of education in low income areas. In light of the increase of attention to illegal immigrants (a predominately unrepresented group entering the political fray) and the subsequent legislation, it seems even more important for this group to unify and tap into a political potential that has been steadily recognized.

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[1] McWilliams, Carey. North From Mexico. (286).

[2]Statistics provided by the United States Census Bureau current population reports, issued 2008. http://www.census.gov/population/www/index.html

[3] McWilliams 285 and U.S. Census data.

HAWAII

I had the great fortune to vacation in Hanalei, Kauai this past spring break residing in a beach house where the sound of the waves put me to sleep. To give you some background Kauai is one of the 8 islands that encompass the state of Hawaii. It is the oldest island (closest to Japan) and is called the “Garden Island” due to its rich vegetation that even clings to the volcanic mountains surrounded by the clear turquoise water. (Jurassic Park, King Kong, Lost, and other films/TV shows were filmed here!) Needless to say, it is beautiful.

                   Kauai, like the other 8 Islands went through years of occupation and struggle for independence during the turn of the century. Hawaii had an emperor until 1891 was claimed a territory of the US in 1900.  In 1941, due to Pearl Harbor, the US declared Martial Law in Hawaii increasing US residency. By 1959 Americans who had lived in Hawaii for a year had the right to vote in for Hawaiin Statehood. (This vote excluded those native Hawaiians who protested US law)

Although I know little about the colonization/ statehood of Hawaii during my trip I couldn’t help but feel like an intruder. From the shaved ice with condensed milk, Guava EVERYTHING, roosters that crowded the street, to the relaxed atmosphere… the identity of Kauai is still very un-American despite its large tourist-based economy (around 80 percent American).  However, I almost only saw Americans during my vacation. It seemed that everyone I met moved to Kauai when they were young, usually from California, and decided to stay. – This reminds me somewhat of LA and the racial /cultural segregation that takes place. Although some “locals” told me that there is land allocated to those who hold a certain percentage of Hawaiian ancestry they didn’t mention it was only one percent (Race, Class, Gender, 47).

                  I felt flooded with questions on the relationship between local Hawaiians and the Americans who have moved here since the 1959 declaration Hawaii’s Statehood. What is this doing to Hawaiian culture? Language?  I asked some “locals” who told me that it wasn’t the older generation that was hostile towards Americans but the younger generation of Hawaiians. However, they said that if you showed respect to the Hawaiians the tension was usually eased. When it comes to language and culture it seems that, “Hawaiian language was banned in all private and public schools in 1896 and this ban continued until 1986 when it was rescinded through Punana Leo lobbying in1987”(Kauanoe Kamana and William H. Wilson). Currently, there has been an increased push to have Hawaiian taught elementary schools.

                  In the book Race, Class, and Gender: An Anthology, which I sited above, I stumbled upon a narrative of a Hawaiian woman named Haunani-Kay Trask who described that there was, “the world that we lived in- my ancestors, my family, and my people- and then there was the world historians described.” She describes how historians are like colonizers in that they only put value on Anglo- ideals transforming the belief that no own owned the land to and oppressive capitalist society.  She ends her narrative describing that in order to understand Hawaiian culture they must be willing to learn the language and prevent their Western way of thought to influence their analysis of Hawaiians. – this seems to echo some of the Asian American, Chicano and goals of the BPP’s for an accurate history.

                   After this narrative I couldn’t help but compare the experiences of Hawaiians with that of Mexicans and other ethnic groups. Looking  specifically at Whitewashed Adobe I can’t help but see the parallels between Hawaii and California’s history and culture defined by whites. Using Mexican and Hawaiian culture to draw tourists/ residence ( Mr. and Mrs. LA). It also led me to make parallels between the Chicano movement in Lopez and the articles we read for class today. It seems since the 1960’s Hawaiians have had a nationalist movement that can be relatable to that of the Chicano, Black, and Asian American movement in the struggle for a self-created- identity.

                  Legal rights are also a struggle for Hawaiians. Even recently in 2006 Hawaiians have been fighting to forge an identity and government separate from Americans in the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2005. “A bill to express the policy of the United States regarding the United States relationship with Native Hawaiians and to provide a process for the recognition by the United States of the Native Hawaiian governing entity. “(http://www.govtrack.us/) Hawaiian sovereignty movements and other Native-Hawaiian activist groups seem to mirror the same struggle for legal rights and identity as other minority groups in LA. 

Made in L.A.

I went to the Made in L.A. screening a week ago, and I was incredibly impressed with the whole event. I didn’t know that it was a community event, so I was a little surprised to see so many non-college students there. During the introduction of the event, Timothy Sandoval, who, if I remember correctly, is the director of the Bright Prospect organization, told the audience mostly about the hope that he has in the high school students in the program, many of which were at the showing, his belief in their leadership abilities, and the students’ potential to affect their community. Sometimes I feel like the discussions in this class, as well as in my sociology class, are so abstract and topics of social justice are handled in an almost sterile way. What I mean to say is that in class discussions societal problems are recognized and then analyzed like a math problem; the solution is the result of logic detached from any emotional repercussions. Listening to Mr. Sandoval speak about his pride for the Bright Prospect students brought those class discussions out of Cloud Abstraction down to a more emotional level. I could see the investment that he had in his students. This also kind of ties into the level of activism here among the Claremont Colleges students and the different ethnic communities that we were talking about in class today. Participation in racial, political, or social issues doesn’t have to be contained solely in the classroom, and yet it seems like for the majority of students it is.
Made in L.A. was really well made and definitely a worthwhile documentary. When Ms. Carracedo gave a description of the process of making this film she told the audience that it was supposed to be a five month project, but as she was filming she recognized a change in the three main women and so the documentary lengthened in order to reflect that. It was really apparent to see what Ms. Carracedo meant when she said that, and it was really amazing to see how those women’s lives and their involvement in the lawsuit against Forever 21 just naturally followed an archetypal model of the underdog story. Made in L.A. also added a more experienced and humanistic perspective to the class discussions. It made obvious, again, how books can sometimes render acts of dehumanizing and humiliating discrimination into facts used as background information to support a large-scale idea or pattern. Maybe I’m more of an audio/visual learner than I thought, but for me, the most striking aspect of this documentary was the women’s telling of their experiences as Mexican immigrants and garment workers and being able to see their reactions on their faces. Another part of Made in L.A. that really gave me pause was at the very end when Lupe, one of the three main women, said something along the lines of "The more I learn, the lonelier I feel". To hear about knowledge in that way, as a student, is a little disheartening. There are obviously circumstantial differences, but even connecting it to just Lupe and how her self-perception changed because of what she learned through her experience in the lawsuit against Forever 21, that statement undermines her achievements.

Community Tutoring Program and Bright Prospect

Like Zandy and Maggie, this class has made me think about education. By way of a disclaimer, I really have a limited exposure to education policy and a limited understanding of how the public school system works in California. But still, I wanted to share some of my own personal experiences here at Scripps.

This will be my second year now with the Community Tutoring Program (CTP), which works in partnership with Bright Prospect (BP), a college access non-profit in Pomona. CTP offers tutoring to Bright Prospect students and organizes programs here at the Claremont Colleges for these students. For example, last semester CTP offered a Preview Day at Scripps and this semester organized a screening of the documentary “Made in L.A.”

Bright Prospect targets high-achieving students from local low-decile high schools, such as Garey (20 minutes away), Pomona (10 minutes away), and Ganesha (15 minutes away). Just to give a quick (and somewhat superficial comparison), Garey is less than 2% white with over 70% of students qualifying for free lunch. An easy contrast is with Claremont High School, where 11% of students qualify for free lunch and 49% are white [1].

Just looking at the facts Zandy included, it is clear that something must be done about underserved schools in our communities. In addition to the solutions he offered, programs such as Bright Prospect have the opportunity to make a clear difference. The Bright Prospect program is unique (and amazing) in several ways.

The Bright Prospect Scholar Support Program takes the very top students from underserved local high schools and aims to have them gain admission to the nation’s most elite institutions. What is different from many other college access programs is that they support students and their families and sticks with them for all four years for their college career. Consider that of every three low-income minority students attending college on traditional scholarships, two will quit before earning their degree. Bright Prospect offers financial and social support to both students and their families during the application process and throughout college. In addition, they offer many programs and opportunities for students and their families during high school. As a result, 85% of the program participants graduate within four years, which is an amazing statistic in itself.

The second program is larger. The Bright Prospect of Academy of Young Scholars targets the top 20% of local high school students. They supply information about college and aid students in their applications in order to increase the number of students who graduate from four-year universities, mostly Cal State’s or UC’s. They have over two hundred students in this program. A crucial part of the program is peer mentoring. Eleventh and Twelfth graders who have already gone through the program serve as peer mentors to ninth and tenth grades, a mutually beneficial relationship. This ensures each student has a strong support network while extending the number of students Bright Prospect is able to help. Students also gain experience in leadership and organizing through this; for example these students were responsible for ensuring such an abnormally large turnout for “Made in L.A.”

Vicki Ruiz in “Citizen Restaurant” used a quote by George Lipsitz that I really loved. He said, “We do not choose our color, but we do choose our commitments. We do not choose our parents, but do choose our politics” (13). Although I have a pretty limited experience in education, what I have learned through this job has changed my understanding of community and my politics. During high school, I often felt frustrated with the lack of resources offered to students. By way of a disclaimer, I attended the wealthiest school in my district. But even still an understaffed counseling center, limited awareness of the college application process, and other issues were all problems we faced. Luckily, I stumbled across visit programs designed for underrepresented students as well as received a scholarship to attend a summer program. It wasn't until I went to my summer program that I realized that I could attend a private school and that I was qualified enough to be recruited be some. Still, most of my school graduates and goes to community college, which while can be the best option for some students shouldn't be the only option for all.

I can't say I've resolved my disappointment with my high school. What I can say is that this disappointment coupled with my own interest in educational reform has motivated me to get involved.I’ve been able to combat some of the frustration I felt in high school and even at college by working with organizations like Bright Prospect and the Scripps College Academy while broadening my awareness of college access programs and feeling more empowered through action.

I think it is time for me to get off my soapbox and reveal my ulterior motive. I wanted to let you know that CTP hiring another co-coordinator year! Email me (lnolan@scrippscollege.edu) or talk to me in class for more information about this or Bright Prospect.

[1] nces.ed.gov

Colorism and Common Sense

   In Racism On Trial, Lopez notes how during the 1940’s, “Light-featured and relatively well-off Mexicans experienced race differently that other community members.  For middle-class Mexicans, especially those with more European looks, claiming to be white was social advantageous in the context of the times…In contrast, for darker-skinned Mexicans, those in the laboring class…the full weight of anti-Mexican hostility made any pretense to be white delusional” (80).  It was “common sense” that lighter Mexicans of a lighter skin color were more trustworthy or hardworking than those of darker skin.

            This section of the book reminded me of a segment on 20/20 on ‘colorism’ I saw back in high school.  In the report, the news crew presented employers of various businesses with dozens of pictures, along with resumes, of potential employees.  What the employers didn’t know was that many of the pictures and resumes were the exact same person.  The twist was that the news crew changed the names of the applicants and had their faces photo-shopped in order to make their skin color darker or lighter.  Not knowing they were evaluating the same person only with a darker skin color, the employers were asked whom they believed was smarter on a scale from 1 to 5.

            The results came in showing that the applicants with the lighter skin were generally seen as smarter.  And it wasn’t only the whites who would give the lighter skin people higher scores, but the blacks also tended to favor the light skin.  While in the 1940’s, it may have been much more obvious that there was discrimination going on based on skin color, there are still similar problems going on today, perhaps a bit more subtle.  Like the judges, perhaps these employers had certain shortcuts, or a variation of “common sense” that told them that the applicants who were lighter seemed more trustworthy or smarter.  However, they would most likely never admit this because like the judges, they don’t consciously realize it either.  

I couldn’t find the video report, but here is the article that accompanied it:  

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/GiveMeABreak/story?id=548303&page=1

Education

Reading Zandy’s post really made me think about the situation where I come from and certain things I have seen going on. I work for a summer program called Horizons, where inner city, underprivileged/ at-risk kids are brought in for a summer camp/ school program. Most of the students who attend are Hispanic and those who aren’t are mostly African American. The program is kindergarten through 8th grade and most of the students who begin the program in the kindergarten class do not speak English. I always find it interesting that we are told not to speak Spanish to the children unless absolutely necessary, as it is their job to learn English. While the majority of the students do end up learning at least Basic English, some truly are not able to grasp the language. It might be that the students have some sort of mental block when learning the new language, but the case is often that English is not spoken at the students’ homes and therefore they are not surrounded by the language on a regular basis and are not really able to practice. I do think it is important that the students are surrounded by English and taught the language while at school, but for some students, it seems like we end up compromising other areas of education in order to teach them something they truly are not grasping. I don’t really know how I feel about this issue, whether or not the students should be allowed to be taught in English or in Spanish, but it is something very pertinent. The ESL (English as a Second Language) program is something interesting to look at. I had an extensive debate with a friend about whether or not school should be allowed to be taught in a language besides English. We discussed the fact that while students may be able to learn subjects easier if they are in their natural language, they may never be able to learn English as easily as if they had started young. The school that our students from Horizons mostly come from teaches almost all of its classes in English with a couple ESL classrooms. We have a few students who have gone through many years of Horizons as well as normal elementary school classes but still do not comprehend English. The Hispanic population in Colorado is now by and large the greatest of all other minorities, with 19.9% of the population being Hispanic and the next largest minority population being 4.2% (from the 2007 U.S. Census Bureau). With such a large percent of the population being of Hispanic descent, and many, many households speaking only Spanish, you would think that Spanish language classrooms would be more predominant. A Colorado website called colorincolorado.org gives advice and support in both English and Spanish to families with ELL (English Language Learners) children. The website’s mission statement is as follows: “The National Institutes of Health estimates that one in five children has serious difficulties learning to read. These children are potentially among the most troubled kids in society. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 17 percent (or approximately 9 million children and youth) of the nation's K-12 public school population is Latino. By 2025, the nationwide school-age population will be 25 percent Latino, and states such as California, Texas, Florida, and New York will have public school districts that are more than 50 percent Latino. These children are all not only learning to read, but also they are struggling to do it in their non-native language. With early identification and a lot of help, however, these children can flourish; without it they are at high risk for school failure. Colorín Colorado's mission is to find research-based and best-practice information about teaching reading to English language learners (ELLs) and use the power and reach of the Internet to make it widely available to parents, educators, and policymakers.” The statistics listed within this mission statement show the great rapidity with which the Hispanic population is growing and how children who are not native English speakers often do have a very hard time succeeding. After this long winded post about Hispanic/ Chicano students and what is being done for them, I go back to Zandy’s post about what was happening in the past and how children were treated then. As Zandy said, children were horribly criticized for their ethnicity. In terms of the children that I know today, it is necessary to keep them from those cruel critiques. Is the only way to do this, though, through English? If we are a country based around the melting pot theory, would it make sense for us to deny rights to those who do not speak English?

An Eye Opening Experience of Los Angeles

After reading Kate’s blog about her first experience in Hollywood it got me thinking about my first visit to Los Angeles, which was a real eye opener. Before coming to America my knowledge of Los Angeles was limited to portrayals of the city in films and television programs, or commercials for Disneyland.

With a few of my fellow international student we embarked on a trip into the city, using the Metro link. As soon as we left the sleepy suburban town of Claremont we looked out at the window of the train in shock as we passed town after town of dilapidated buildings, which seemed a sharp contrast to the immaculate town of Claremont we had just left. As I looked around at the other passengers it seemed to be predominantly ethnic minorities who were aboard. The diversity of the passengers reminded me of the Lipsitz reading from the beginning of the semester, which discussed the buses role of bringing communities together. The train did not seem to be fulfilling the same role, as most people had self-consciously segregated themselves and were speaking predominantly in their native tongues.

Upon arriving at Union Station we decided to start by exploring the city by foot, we soon stumbled upon the Mexican quarter which immediately presented visitors with a sign which stated that Los Angeles and Mexico City were ‘sister cities’. This made me think of the amnesia of the past which Deverell talks about in ‘Whitewashed Adobe’. After looking around at the stalls full of traditional Mexican clothing and restaurants serving authentic Mexican food, I again was reminded of the Deverell text and his discussion of Los Angeles obsession with romanticizing the Mexican past which was clearly evident here.

After a while we decided to jump on the train and visit the Universal City Walk which is located next to Universal Studios. This as we had guessed was a hotspot of tourism, with plenty of souvenir shops and lots of places to eat what I assume would be classed as ‘traditional American’ food (like hamburgers and candy!) a huge contrast from the Mexican quarter. It lacked any real cultural relation or architectural history of the city, but it had I ‘heart’ Los Angeles t-shirts which kept the tourists happy. This is one place in LA which is much ‘whitewashed’.

After a busy and hectic day we hurried back to Union Station to catch our 9pm train back to Claremont, which we missed by two minutes. We then were horrified when we were informed the next one would not be leaving until 11:30pm! The lack of public transportation and our reaction, made me think of Avila’s point that transportation is taken for granted. In our two and a half hours at Union Station I encountered many homeless people, carrying all their possessions with them. We ourselves were at one point asked to produce our tickets in order to stay inside the station. The irony for me was that right next door, a high school prom filled with middle class kids was in full swing, whilst outside people were searching for a warm and dry place to sleep. I think the most surprising thing for me was that the complete blindness of most people to see the poverty around them, they are too busy with upholding the glamorized version of LA and Hollywood.

Common Sense Racism and Desperate Housewives

After reading Ian F. Haney Lopez’, “Racism on Trial, The Chicano Fight for Justice” and the idea of common sense racism, I couldn’t help thinking back to an episode of Desperate Housewives that I had watched while at home over spring break. In the particular scene I reflected on, which I also posted, Gaby brings her children to Carlos’ office because she needs to talk to him. Carlos has recently brought in Lucy to crack down on his business and help it become the stronger. Lucy has glass figurines that are very important to her, and doesn’t let anyone in the office touch them. While Gaby is talking to Carlos, their children wander into Lucy’s office, unsupervised, where Lucy finds them playing with her figurines. The scene then cuts to Carlos and Gaby walking down the hallway to find out what the yelling they hear is about, to find Lucy yelling at the cleaning lady, who seems to be of Hispanic descent, about letting her children wander around the office. “Office, Si! Daycare, No!” Lucy yells at the woman. Carlos asks what is going on, and Lucy replies, “Apparently, some people don’t understand that this is a place of business and they need to keep their kids at home!” When Carlos tells Lucy that they are his kids, not the cleaning lady’s, Lucy immediately calms down, and in a much calmer tone apologizes, thinking that the kids were the cleaning lady’s, and proceeds to walk away. Carlos stops her, saying, “So what if they weren’t [his kids], is this how you talk to people?” and proceeds to fire Lucy.
In his book, “Racism On Trial,” Lopez writes, “Common sense is so integral to racism in the contemporary United States that I suggest a new definition: racism is action arising our of racial common sense and enforcing racial hierarchy” (127). In the Desperate Housewives episode, Lucy saw the kids in her office and immediately assumed that they were the cleaning lady’s, spoke to her in a way that assumed that she didn’t understand English, and that she would need to put her kids in daycare or bring them to work with her. Upon discovering that they are actually Carlos, her boss’ kids, she lowers her voice and apologizes, dismissing the problem right away. Like the woman cleaning the office, Carlos and his children are Hispanic, however Lucy doesn’t apply the same behavior towards him because he is her boss, and within the social hierarchy of the office, above her. Lopez also states, “In daily life, we continually make decisions, yet these decisions are almost never based on a complete reevaluation of a situation’s every facet. Instead, we use mental shortcuts to choose from preset alternatives. These shortcuts and alternatives often function as common sense” (123). Lucy used mental shortcuts to jump to the conclusion that the Hispanic children she found in her office belonged to the Hispanic cleaning lady, instead of thinking through the possibilities and asking the children who their parent were. Because of her assumption, she demonstrated common sense racism.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P9lnuqM5mU

Response to ‘Racism On Trial: Chicano Fight for Justice’.

I was uplifted by the words of Sal Casto form the little clip that we watched in class on Thursday. His words were inspirational and touching and connect with the book on many levels. Just like the Watts Riots were an importance uprising for African Americans, the Walk Out’s were equally important for the new generation of Mexicans to identify themselves and leave a noticeable mark in history. I connected with the younger generation or Chicano’s especially as they were a group of young individuals who sensed a loss of their own culture and raged against a system to better define them. It surprises me as to why the events of Rodney King were more popular than the two cases mention in the last book we were reading ‘Racism On Trial: Chicano Fight for Justice’.
I felt like the author portrayed the older generation as being seduced into the American dream and the want to be considered white. But I felt a sense of independence and rebellion and like the ‘teen spirit’ in terms of activism in the younger generation that constructed a new term and sculpted a new identity of the Mexican American heritage.
What also intrigued me was the formation of terms and how that developed over years. For example, there are so many terms to associate a person with his/her background. I find it forceful for a person has to identify oneself with a specific ethnicity or race, and the definition of this can get a little complicated. Various terms like Latinos, Chicanos, Mexican Americans, Hispanic, Spanish often leaves me confused as how to address someone if your not sure what they define themselves as. From previous similar parallels can be drawn in the Asian construction of race. It gets a little confusing as you have Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Pacific Islander…etc. Which gets even more complicated with the terminology of the first generation immigrants and their decedents. In art where the artist has full authority to specify his art, I like to think that it is based on the individual what specifics of his/her racial category they do or do not want to define themselves with.
The book ‘Racism On Trial….’ exposes various ways in which Mexican Americans identified themselves with race. I like the way the author viewed the evolution of Mexican Americans as a race and how he constructs his gender-based argument in their search for masculinity. In his chapter sub-titled Gendering Race, Racing Gender on PG 223 he mentions, “ Brotherhood unites us and love for our brother makes us a people whose time has come”
What I also found interesting form the discussions in the class is how minorities united against forces that tried to separate them and this is also mentioned in Lopez’s book. All colored people had to submit to Power, that can be viewed form different angels in terms of authority, the government, race, gender norms...etc “Our oppressions are one. Our dreams are one. Our demands are one. We suffer as one, we react as one, and we struggle as one”. These lines on page 213 brings up a concept of racial Triangulation where it wasn’t about the war against black and white but the grey area that consists of liberation and unity amongst all races.
The battle of Mexican’s to find identity in a racially diverse community is not new. In my previous Blog I mentioned about Ritchie Valnes and his struggles to define himself and find identity during the post war period with the ambiguity of his race. Lopez does an astounding job of writing as an observer as he gathers and places these issues from various prospective. But his book got me questioning as to weather it was triggered towards uplifting the Chicano struggle and fight for justice? Or did it just place issues that as individuals we face in terms of identifying with race, color, heritage? Or was he just questioning race in general?

Zandy’s March Blog Entry

Zandy’s March Blog Entry

While reading the book “Racism on Trial- The Chicano Fight for Freedom”, I became interested in the aspects of the book that detailed education for Chicano children. One particular passage from the book in which a teacher stated “We will keep trying… but there is nothing you can do with those kids, they can’t discuss, they can’t talk, all you can do is give them seat work to keep them busy and keep them under control” (p.17) caught my eye. Although this quote is referring to the educational system in the 1950s and 1960s, the public school system for minorities, and particularly Hispanics, has not improved as much as it should have today. If one wants to create more parity among the different ethnic groups of the United States, one must enhance the public educational system in minority communities.
Today, Latinos are quickly becoming a significant proportion of the US student population according to the US Department on Education. While reading the report from the department, many striking facts hit me, such as almost 2 in 5 students were below the modal grade and do not graduate from high school. The main conclusion of the report showed that Hispanics were lagging behind Blacks and then Whites in test scores and college degrees, however their enrollment in primarily minority schools has increased dramatically. This is likely due to the fact that Hispanics on average have lower average incomes. The study indicates the obvious that primarily minority schools must improve for Hispanics.
Improving the public school system for minority students, especially Hispanics is not an easy challenge. The issue is complex with many conflicting ideologies on how to deal with the problem. However, personally I believe there are a number of strategies that we must implement in order to improve the schools for Hispanic children. First, a dramatic increase in funding is needed for these schools. With more funding, the schools can afford and retain better teachers, which is vital in enhancing the school system. Also, more after-school programs should be created to help tutor and supervise students so that they do not engage in outside activities that could hinder their education. These after-school programs could also include college preparation courses, which could help increase the number of students ready to attend college. Finally, colleges need to offer more student loans and scholarships to Latino students. Latino students are grossly underrepresented in colleges compared to other ethnicities. By increasing the number of Latino college students, the long-term situation will improve. With more Latino college students, the likelihood is greater that more Latino students will become teachers with college degrees that would help in the educational system. Also, if a rise in Latino college attendance occurs, one would most definitely see an increase in average income for Latinos. This would benefit the educational system for Hispanics because their communities could provide more funding for students due to the higher incomes. Something must be done as soon as possible, otherwise the Latino educational system will continue to decline, which thus hinders the Latino effort for greater economic equality.

a pop culture education

Over Spring Break, my brother’s girlfriend, Cindy, took us on a “pop culture tour” in LA, since my brother and I know virtually nothing about it. Our main destination was Hollywood Boulevard, to see the Kodak Theatre, Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, and the Walk of Fame. We also ventured into the shopping extravaganza of Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, picking up some cupcakes at Sprinkles, “The Original Cupcake Bakery,” (according to their website). We ended the day with a three and a half our drive back to Claremont – how perfect! As it turned out, Sprinkles cupcakes are magical – after an hour and a half of traffic, we decided that we should eat one of the cupcakes, the “Black and White.” To our surprise, the traffic started moving after we ate it. It slowed down a few minutes later, so we decided that we had better eat another. Who knew that a Lemon Coconut cupcake would speed up traffic like that?! Unfortunately, our last two, the Red Velvet and the Double Chocolate, didn’t do the trick.

Anyways, this was my first time in Hollywood, and I was surprised at what I saw. I expected to see a red carpet, maybe some movie stars, at least some upscale restaurants and stores. What I saw instead were average-looking people on an average-looking, dirty street, a kitschy souvenir store, and a McDonald’s. While I might have been standing on a piece of cement where Clint Eastwood left his hand and footprints, the only people I saw looked basically like us. Maybe my surprise is part of my ignorance about pop culture, similar to how I wrote a three-page letter to Jim Carrey when I was eight, fully expecting a written reply with answers to all of my questions. What is it that made me expect these cultural icons to be more accessible? The closest I came to seeing a member of the rich and famous was on Rodeo Drive, where we saw a yellow Rolls Royce. Most people stopped to take pictures with it, almost as if the car itself were a celebrity, when really it was just evidence that there was someone rich nearby, perhaps watching us, vicariously enjoying the attention through his car.

Reflecting on the roots of my expectation that “the life” or at least those who are living “the life” would be somewhat accessible, I am reminded of booster promotions of Los Angeles, discussed by Deverell throughout Whitewashed Adobe. The Hollywood that I imagined sprang from popular media representations that have been carefully constructed to include only certain elements of society, similar to the exclusively expensive Rodeo Drive shopping extravaganza. In reality, both Hollywood and Beverly Hills foster populations that are largely absent in conceptions of Los Angeles as the “white spot,” the place where anyone can pursue the good life.

Ethnic Categories

I just came across an article on the LA times website (http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-arab31-2009mar31,0,1054147.story) that immediately caused me to think of discussions we've had in class. The article is about students who are trying to get the UC system to include a Middle Eastern category on its application, with the possibility of subgroups within this category. Currently, Middle Easterners are considered white, according to college applications such as this one and the US census.

While reading the article, I was immediately reminded of the Chicano movement, where individuals fought to be recognized as a distinct group, not lumped in with whites where their issues could be unseen. As with Mexican-Americans, Arab-Americans once worked hard to be considered white. Now, students are leading the movement to be recognized as a distinct group.

One statement that stood out to me from the article is:
"Back then, to get rights you needed to be white," said Yasi Chehroudi, president of the Iranian Student Group, which is helping spearhead the University of California campaign. "Now it helps to be yourself."

This reminds me of the Chicano movement, as well, and the push for assimilation that activists turned against in order to reclaim themselves and their heritage. I find it interesting how Chehroudi seems to be saying that Middle Easterners were not being themselves before, because they were accepting a false label. Is it possible to be yourself if society calls you something different? Is one's sense of self so tied up in racial categories that without an accurate label one can't be oneself?

The article also said, "The report questioned whether they should be placed in a minority category, which could increase their chances for benefits aimed at the socially and economically disadvantaged. Some in the Middle Eastern community agree. But UCLA junior Shawn Gabrill said he has more in common with other children of immigrants than with those whose parents were born in this country."

This passage shows to me the way that race seems to be another way of talking about class. The label 'white' can imply many things-- educated, well-off etc.-- but it does not guarantee these things. Neither do these adjectives guarantee being white. Still, these labels seem to be used as some kind of code. 'White' doesn't simply mean that you are of European descent, but that you fit into a certain standard of living. Is the purpose of the ethnic identification boxes to guess someone's socio-economic background, or is it to gather information on distinct groups of individuals? Not including a box for Middle Easterners because they fit more closely economically to the white image affirms that the boxes have a different purpose than that of straight-forward data collection. To be a minority, do you need to be disadvantaged in some way? Or do you automatically become white after a certain point?

I don't understand why there are not adequate ethnic category boxes on these forms, nor why it is so difficult to add new ones, particularly when they are as clear as this case. At the same time I wonder, how did these boxes come to be so important in how we see ourselves?

Forever 21: Not Just Annoyingly Loud Music Any More

I was, unfortunately, unable to make the screening of Made in L.A. this past week (that’s what I get for coming back from break a day late and doing absolutely no work while I was home). Since finding the documentary online was a no-go, I decided to look into the history of Forever 21 boycotts and protests online. I assumed that if the farmers and the garment workers were already angry with Forever 21, someone else must be, too.

Those familiar with stores like Forever 21 and their ilk (Charlotte Russe and Wet Seal come to mind for me, and my West Coast friends tell me Papaya is similar) will not be surprised that many of Forever 21’s products are designer knock-offs (or “recreations”, if you regard them more positively.) What I did find surprising, however, is that several designers have actually recently taken action to protect their intellectual property—a Village Voice article dated September 2007 listed Anthropologie, Diane Von Furstenberg and Anna Sui as being among “more than 20 other designers” suing Forever 21 for infringement of intellectual property rights [1]. An article from E! earlier that year adds Gwen Stefani to the list [2]. I’d like to think that lawsuits like this would be enough to cramp Forever 21’s sweatshop-contracting, warehouse-building style, but unfortunately, I don’t think that will be coming any time soon.

Even though I’m happy that Forever 21 might face consequences for a few of their bad deeds, any money they lose will be going straight into the coffers of the high-end design firms, rather than the more low-profile artists whose work is also being stolen, such as Julia Schonlau, whose t-shirt design, originally made available on Threadless, was practically traced onto a Forever 21 t-shirt [3]. I’m not sure Schonlau is even aware that her work has been stolen—I could find no other mention of this online—but either way, I doubt she has the financial resources to take on a multinational chain like Forever 21. Women who are looking for designer quality aren’t going to shop at Forever 21 anyway, and women who do shop there probably don’t have the extra cash to splurge on designer goods, so the big designers aren’t really losing their market. But Schonlau’s shirt sells for a comparable price to Forever 21’s—in fact, FXXI’s is actually $0.90 more. Schonlau is the one losing business here, but she’s never going to be able to recoup the money.

But obviously, the most unfortunate people involved in all of this are the garment workers who make all of the knock-offs in question, often for less than minimum wage, working long shifts in abhorrent conditions [4]. I agree with Jen’s comment in her post, that the recent victory of in the garment workers’ suit seemed more like an isolated case than a step forward. I know I, for one, am done shopping at Forever 21, but that’s hardly going to do anything. Even the boycotts by the South Central Farmers seem, ultimately, like they’re better for making the farmers feel empowered than actually affecting the store’s sales in a significant way. What will it take, do you think, for the public as a whole to start caring about issues like where our clothes come from, and what exactly we’re supporting when we buy our clothes? Or have we already become used to the idea that our clothes come from sweatshops, that no matter where we turn we’re paying for the continuation of an exploitative system?

[1] http://www.villagevoice.com/2007-09-18/nyc-life/sui-generis/
[2] http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b55656_Gwen_Hates_on_Harajukus_Lovers.html
[3] http://fashionista.com/2008/12/adventures_in_copyright_sad_fa.php
[4] http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=792

Domestic Workers in LA Today

Over break, I saw this news story online: http://cbs3.com/sports/Kobe.Bryant.Housekeeper.2.968378.html

In short, Kobe Bryant and his wife are being sued by their former housekeeper for unsuitable working conditions and insufficient pay. Other charges also include not being covered by medical insurance when she was told she would be, being wrongly discharged, and being humiliated treated unfairly by the Bryants.

This immediately reminded me of the book that I read for my book review, Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo’s Doméstica: Immigrant Workers Cleaning and Caring in the Shadow of Affluence. In this book, Hondagneu-Sotelo describes the experiences of domestic workers, like the Bryant’s housekeeper, in Los Angeles. She is a big proponent of educating domestic workers about fair working conditions and being paid properly. Hondagneu-Sotelo has distributed information to domestic workers about when they would be eligible to be paid back wages if they were not paid enough by their employers during their time of employment.

I find it sad that this is only a news-worthy case because it involves a sports star, but I think it could be an important step in terms of making the public more aware of the problems that still exist in our society concerning fair labor practices. Hondagneu-Sotelo said that it is difficult to regulate domestic work because of the large number of employers and employees involved plus the fact that many of the employers do not think of themselves as employers with the responsibilities that go along with that role, for example, taking care of their employees.

I hope that this case and others like it will get more media attention, because that would be a great way for domestic workers to get their story known, and gain more rights as workers here in the United States. (Not only rights for domestic workers, but for all workers, for example the garments workers in Jen’s post about Made in LA.)

Opportunities in LA

I went to watch “Made in LA” last week, and I was a really…new experience for me. As most already know, the film is about the exploitation of immigrant workers in the garment industry here in Los Angeles. It follows the story of three women (Lupe, Maura, and Maria) who fight for their rights against Forever 21. After three years of protesting and trying to push through a legal case, the three women along with sixteen other workers reach a private settlement with Forever 21. This was framed as the “happy ending” for the documentary, but I found it unsettling. The nineteen workers were awarded with a monetary settlement, agreeable work hour limits, and minimum wage. However, I didn’t feel as though their victory was much more than an isolated incident. They didn’t set a new precedent in the law for workers. The documentary also mentioned that many clothing companies are choosing to move their production overseas because of the demands for fair labor here in the US. The workers said that garment work is one of the few opportunities immigrant workers have. If these factories are forced out by worker demands, I wonder how it affects the job market for those who are unable to find other work especially in this economically hard time.

After the screening, there was a question-and-answer session. I found it very interesting that most of the questions weren’t really questions. The viewers passionately shared how they identified with the hardships in the documentary on such a personal level. Everyone spoke of persistence, determination, promise, and above all—dreams. I couldn’t understand the Spanish responses that weren’t translated, but I knew that everyone suffered the same struggles as a community. It became a cemented fact that race played such a determining factor in the lives they lived, and it saddened me.

For my urban politics class, we went into Los Angeles to do a workshop at City Hall. The workshop was for students to learn how to work the structure of the local government to be better community activists. Much of the day reminded me of things we have covered in class.

First, we had the opportunity to sit in on a city council meeting (which are open to the public). Like the city, the council is very ethnically diverse. The staffers even made a point of telling us that first immigrant ever to be elected to a council position, who is a Mexican American, currently serves. For the few minutes we were there, they debated whether to fund trailers for immigrant day laborers in Watts. This reminded me of Whitewashed Adobe because, although the city benefits from Mexican labor, workers face poor working conditions, a second-class position and almost no protection from the government. Also, Jen Perry, who was instrumental in the dealings that destroyed the South Central Farms, still serves on the council.

After the meeting, we took the elevator to the top floor’s outdoor sightseeing balcony. This only reinforced how many influences are represented in LA. From one corner, you can see Union Station which features the idealized Euro-Mexican architecture discussed in Whitewashed Adobe. Take a few steps to the left and you can see both Dodger Stadium and the iconic Hollywood sign. Both White Flight and Racism on Trial address how the building of Dodger stadium resulted in the leveling of one of LA’s largest and most vibrant Hispanic communities. Lastly, from every angle of the balcony, I saw miles of imposing highways that stretch as far as the eye can see in every direction. As we’ve seen in many of the readings, these highways serve to connect the city and to divide it. From the top of city hall, it is easy to see how these overwhelming structures have such power in shaping the city physically and socially.

Finally, to top off the day, we walked three blocks to little Tokyo and got sushi for lunch. This made me think of consuming culture through food discussed in Ruiz’s Citizen Restaurant and the difficulties many Japanese Americans faced during and after internment discussed in Kurashige’s Shifting Grounds.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

I grew up in what my car insurance company would call, "a high risk neighborhood," but I never saw Angeleno Heights quite like that. Its a small area right outside of Downtown Los Angeles, conveniently located next to the epicenter of my life, Dodger Stadium. The houses range from gorgeous, perfectly intact Victorians to dingy stucco multi-unit buildings owned by slum landlords. That in itself is the beauty of my neighborhood. About 100 years ago the most wealthy people of Los Angeles lived in Angeleno Heights, now it is considered "high risk". The neighborhood was so "high risk", that many of my friends parents would not allow them to drive to it at night. My friends were all fairly wealthy and disturbingly jaded by their Valley lifestyle. To them, my neighborhood was a living breathing example of the truth in urban media. Gangs, drive by shootings, and graffiti does occur in my neighborhood, but does not define nor contextualize this urban neighborhood. I felt obliged to say, "I've lived here my whole life and have not once felt uncomfortable" simply to enforce the idea that urban media is essentially racist. In reality, my friends and their parents were worried about the amount of Latinos in the neighborhood. They exemplify, aversive racism at its best; avoid people of color entirely, but don't cause trouble. This realization came full circle last week when I told my friends that my house was being forclosed on and I was moving to a townhouse in West L.A.. Their general reaction was, "well, at least you are moving to a better neighborhood". A better neighborhood? Or a whiter neigborhood? My new neighborhood is across the street from the Grove, a disneylandesque shopping mall, down the street from the Beverly Center, a giant mall, and right next door to a Ross. Do shopping malls really make great neighborhoods? Or do they just attract wealthy white people? Because that is exactly the neighborhood I am now living in; a large townhouse community filled with young white families. It is where Los Angeles gets the reputation for being culturally flat. In my eyes, for the first time I am living in a bad neighborhood. I love Angeleno Heights for everything that it had to offer: unique architecture, diversity, and of course, a close proximity to Dodger Stadium.

Freeways: LA vs. Vail

After reading through the blog entries that had already been posted, Maia and Melissa’s entries on freeways made me think about my own experiences with freeways and how they have or have not benefited where I have grown up. I live in Vail, Colorado, a small ski town about two hours from Denver. Despite having a lot of outdoor activities to participate in, the only way to access a larger city is through one highway, I-70. I-70 connects all the mountain towns and is the sole way for anything to be transported to and from Denver. Whenever there is a snow storm, accident, or falling rocks off of the mountains there can be delays that last up to hours, and more often than not multiple sections of I-70 are closed, prohibiting anyone traveling by car. This can cause a lot of problems for people living in towns like mine; grocery stores run out of food, flights are missed, etc. When the highway is closed, those already traveling have to find somewhere to stay until the freeway is re-opened.
Even though I-70 connects towns and neighborhoods instead of dividing or breaking them up, it can be a major inconvenience when it is closed and there is no other way to access other places such as the airport, large shopping centers, and other businesses that are not available in the small mountain towns such as mine. Unlike Vail, freeways in LA are numerous and were used to break up neighborhoods and areas that were deemed a lesser priority than others. Like I-70, LA’a freeways connect people to other areas of the city, like Disneyland, however because of the multiple highways in place there is more than one way to access where you want to go. When there is traffic or a road closed in Vail, you either sit on the road for hours and wait it out or never reach your destination until the problem passes. In LA, you either sit in traffic, or find a new route.