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.