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Amanda Wright
English 1050
Professor Briggs
August 4, 2015
Reflection Essay
Discrimination is huge issue in this country whether you are black, white, Asian,
Mexican, European, etc. It is a problem that this country has been dealing with for many
centuries, however; the issue of Mexican discrimination has become more prevalent in American
culture today and it has to be addressed. People from Mexico who immigrate to America for a
better life have been treated as if they are less than the white population and are looked down
upon and seen as less intelligent. This is simply not true. Although the discrimination of
Mexican-Americans has been a huge issue in the US, I am not sure that many people are truly
aware of the extent of their hardships. The struggles that these people have had to face with
coming to America and becoming a true American have not been easy. The road to acceptance
and respect by the typical white American has been a long one and we are still not fully there.
Before taking this class I admit that I had never delved too deeply into the lives and culture of
the Mexican-American people. I have been a victim of what the media feeds us about what they
call, illegal aliens and I personally have never known (or wanted to know) the other side of the
story. Maybe intuitively I didnt want to know something that would make me feel embarrassed
for being a white American. I feel ashamed because now that I have been introduced to the heart
of some of the people, I feel a deep empathy for them and really want them to feel accepted and
welcome here just as much as any American.
The issue of discrimination based on the Mexican race was addressed in many ways and
through many different types of writing styles and visual art pieces in this class. The first article
we were assigned to read that really made an impact on me was an article named, How To Tame

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a Wild Tongue, by Gloria Anzaldua. This woman is a self proclaimed, Border woman, whose
writing style is extremely unique and the ultra rare form of writing in multiple languages. I had
never in my life read an article where the author wrote in more than one language. It was truly
fascinating. Anzaldua speaks Mexican and Chicana dialects, (Chicano; being something I had
never heard of before) as well as many other languages. She uses her knowledge of the Mexican
culture and Chicano culture mixed with her American knowledge to speak to a wider range of
people. Her audience is both English and Spanish speaking people and she does it beautifully.
Throughout the article she writes predominantly in English and then she switches back and forth
between the different dialects of Spanish. The way she does it forces the audience to stop and
really assess what she is saying. I believe in doing so, she is helping the audience stop and take
in what she is saying. She wants the audience to understand what she is saying completely and
fully understand her point of view.
In the article, she explains how it was for her growing up and how difficult it was for her
to speak more than one language. The descriptions she uses of and how she was ridiculed for that
fact by teachers and even her friends makes the reader feel her pain. I had never thought about
this side of the culture and I am so grateful that I was introduced to it. She would speak of how
when she would speak English even her own people would lash out and say, Pocho, cultural
traitor, youre speaking the oppressors language by speaking English, youre ruining the Spanish
language.(522). Reading that immediately makes me feel guilty. These people see white people,
someone like me, to be an oppressive person. Someone who dominates over their language and
culture in a condescending way to make them feel less than or inferior, so much so that they
think speaking English and not their native language is an insult to their people.

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Similarly, in a different discussion week, we were assigned to Google a man named

Rodolfo Acuna. Doing this forced me to go out and learn about a Mexican-American on my own
which gave me a better appreciation for the culture of these people. I learned that he was a man
from Mexico attending school in California and when Rodolfo was told by his academic advisor
at the time that Mexicans dont have a history it changed something in him and he ultimately
became a historian, professor, and activist for the Mexican-Chicano community. Having
someone tell you that your culture does not matter would evoke the worst feelings in any person.
Speaking Spanish was not seen as a beautiful language to be embraced and it was clearly not
accepted by his, assumedly white, academic advisor. Consequently, Acuna was a very influential
person in the Mexican culture. He helped to educate those who were less familiar with the
culture of the Chicanos as well as help those of Chicano and Mexican-American descent to gain
a better understanding of where they came from. His story taught me that there are immigrants
from Mexico who come to this country and want to better the country, who want to spread
knowledge and only do good for those around them. This was an eye opening thing for me to
discover. There are people who come to this country from Mexico who are not just working
under the table and stealing our jobs, they are here to better their lives, better their families
lives, to gain an education and to be better people. We should be embracing this and accepting
this. There are too many white Americans in this country who dont have the amount of courage
and drive as this one Chicano man did.
Mexican-American and Chicano people have been discriminated and looked down upon
by the typical, white American but even more historically discriminated against were women. In
another article I read in class, Women Boxers: The New Warriors. A group of women that the
author describes as malcridadas or, a woman who will not behave and is determined to do

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what she wants, regardless of what society rules or even good sense dictates, (211) are
photographed and shown to be very strong, confident women. These are women from all walks
of life, some of which are also of Mexican descent and came to America for a better life. She
depicts the women as very confident and strong and they are seen in photos that display them in
a way that forces you to respect them. The author, Delilah Montoya, is a photographer from
Texas who uses her photography as a means to explore the Chicano ideology. She showcases an
important part of history, when women are allowed to box and are seen as equal to men. This is a
huge deal for all the women of America, including the Chicano women. The use of photos in this
piece was a powerful statement showing that women from all walks of life can be strong,
empowering and confident women.
Another way Mexican-American people embrace their heritage is through murals. In the
article, Signs From the Heart: California Chicano Murals, the authors Eva Sperling Cockroft
and Holly Barnet-Sanchez show photos of murals that have been painted amongst the many
walls of Los Angeles. Because the murals mainly depict that of a worker or of someone from the
middle class, murals have been identified with poor people and have been as such seen as a
lower class art form. However, As they continue, The desire by people for beauty and meaning
in their lives in fundamental to their identity as human beings. (303). The Mexican-Americans
creating these works of art were simply trying to spread knowledge and their culture with the
people around them. As Cockcroft and Barnet-Sanchez stated, since before the cave paintings at
Altamira some 15,000 years before Christ, wall painting have served as a way of communicating
collective visions within a community of people. (303) Painting murals is something that has
been a huge part of their lives and culture for a very long time. This article definitely shed a lot

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of light on the importance of these murals to the people and how much it means to them to be
able to educate their youth and tell stories about their past.
I believe that the murals are beautiful and are simply a way for the Mexican people to
feel more at home. In the week 5 discussion, Shabina Ditta stated that, murals have an effective
way of demonstrating an influential story that shows culture and traditions. Through the use of
specific symbols, Chicano muralists were able to use murals as an organizing tool and a means
for the reclamation of their specific cultural heritage. I could not agree with her more. They
make a great point; these murals were not meant to be just pictures or even just art; they were
meant to be tools to demonstrate a story that showcases their culture, tradition and heritage. This
was their way of reclaiming their heritage and showing that they are proud of it.
Americans have always been concerned with the border of the US and
Mexico; keeping the Americans safe on home soil and the Mexicans out. The
struggle has always been for the Mexicans trying to escape Mexico and begin
a new life for their family in a free country. Why does accepting Mexicans
into the US seem like such a bad idea to Americans? I believe that for many
white, English speaking Americans, the fear is that the Mexican people will
somehow take over the American way of life as we know it. The fear is
portrayed in Passport Photos, an article by Amitava Kumar. He explains
how America is fearful of the nation learning Spanish or allowing the Spanish
speaking culture into the minds of the American children. I believe that the
anger he expresses in this article is similar to the anger that Anzuldua feels
about the way she is treated for not being allowed to speak Spanish as a
child. Americans fear that slowly the Mexican language will be incorporated

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into everything we see and hear and America will no longer be a

predominantly English Speaking nation. America is afraid of change. But
when are they allowed to become true Americans in our eyes? What then are
the criteria for being accepted into American citizenship? Kumar asks, Who
is permitted to proceed beyond the gates into the mansion of full
citizenship? (516). He poses a great question that many have not been able
to answer. It seems that the only way to be accepted and a MexicanAmerican is to be a fully English speaking person. He uses the imaginary
conversation with the border officer to illustrate his point, that the Mexican
people are not welcome and they are prohibited from entering into this
country. He paints a great picture of what America should be; a culture of
mixed races, a beautiful collection of different people that can bring art and
life into the people and an appreciation for all culture. America has been
slowly allowing more and more Mexicans into the United States and hopefully
with it, they will bring in more acceptance and change the way they view
Mexican-Americans.
I have learned so much about diversity from this class that I feel will
really benefit me as a person going forward. I felt that the focus in this
course was discrimination against others based on race, sex, and nationality.
As a result of reading these articles and discussing them every week, I have
learned to think critically and analytically about how diversity is represented
in my daily life. Learning about so many different cultures has forced me to
look at others who are seemingly different than me in a new way and to be

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more understanding of their culture. Every week in our discussions we were

made to examine how social structures may legitimate one group over
another and I learned that society plays a huge role in this. Society teaches
us what to believe, who to like, how to look, and we all follow it. We are
programmed to believe we are the superior race and the superior country
and because of this, everyone else is below us. We should be learning to
accept all people and know that differences are what make us great.
Overall, I have learned to critically examine my own beliefs and attitudes as
they relate to diverse cultures and have changed my mind about how I feel
about the Mexican-American culture. I have learned to have such an
immense amount of respect for these people now that I have a greater
understanding of where they have come from and from listening to their
points of view. Hearing how they feel from their perspective means that they
are no longer different, they are simply human and so am I.

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Works Cited
Acuna, Rodolfo. Wikipedia. 08 Aug 2015.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodolfo_Acu%C3%B1a. 25 June 2015.

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Anzaldua, Gloria. "How to Tame a Wild Tongue. 521.

Cockcroft and Barnet-Sanchez, Signs from the Heart: California Chicano Murals, 303.
Kumar, Amitava. Passport Photos. 514.

Montoya, Delilah. Women Boxers: The New Warriors. 211.