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Yvonne Palfreyman
Professor Briggs
English 1050
August 5, 2014
Diversity Issue Reflection
One current diversity issue that the U.S. has today is immigration and the different
ethnicities that now exist in the country. Even though most people can trace their ancestry back
to a point when their ancestors came to this country, many people still have a problem with
immigrants coming to the U.S.
When settlers first started coming to this country and trying to assimilate the Indians that
were here before them there has been problems. The new settlers wanted the Indians to live the
way they were, they thought the Indians were savages just because they lived a different
lifestyle. The problem was that many Indians didnt want to live the way the settlers did.
Christopher Phillips wrote about how Ronald Reagan made a comment about the Indians; he said
they from the beginning announced that they wanted to maintain their way of life, he also
commented maybe we made a mistake, maybe we should not have humored them in wanting to
stay in that kind of primitive lifestyle (453).
The photographs that Warren Neidich produced on Indians tell a story all on their own.
Even though Neidichs photographs were not real, they depict the history very well, and if he had
done them in color instead of black and white they wouldnt have made such a big impact on his
audience. His photographs show how the stories about assimilating the Indians werent all good.
I think many people dont want to remember what happened to the Indians and want to forget the
horrible things that were done to them, but people who have ancestors that were Indian will
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never forget. On my fathers side his grandmother was half Cherokee, and she use to tell him
many stories that have stayed in my family for years, including the trail of tears. It makes me
wonder how some people think they have the right to tell others how they should live, and what
type of people are okay immigrating to this country.
Like many people who live in this country that have had ancestors come to this country
through Ellis or Angel Island, I myself have had my great grandmother from my mothers side
come through Ellis Island from Denmark. In Mary Gordons essay where she pays homage to her
ancestors she makes a remark about how different people in this country all have something in
common because of places like Ellis Island. Gordon said the only thing I could think of that
united people whose backgrounds, histories, and points of view were utterly diverse was that
their people had landed at a place called Ellis Island (432). I think many people forget that at
one point their families were immigrants to this country and therefore forget to treat new
immigrants with respect.
There are some people who think immigrants who come here should have to speak
English and follow certain rules. Some anti-immigrants stated Many immigrants come from
Spanish-speaking countries and live in concentrated ethnic ghettos where they have little
reason to learn English and little exposure to mainstream U.S. culture and traditions
(Publiceye.org). They also make comments about how the government isnt doing anything to
help them learn English and to conform them to the American way. Is there really only one way
to be an American? We are all different in many ways and thats what makes America so unique
in my opinion.
Regarding these immigrants that have come from Spanish speaking countries, is it so bad
that they are different and have their own language. Should we really make them learn English
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and change their traditions for them to be accepted here? I dont think so and neither does Gloria
Anzaldua, her essay How to Tame a Wild Tongue talks about how her school tried to
assimilate them by making them speak English and taking speech classes. Anzaldua said until I
can take pride in my language, I cannot take pride in myself (525). I think everyone should have
the right to be who they are and show it in their own ways; Anzaldua does this in her essay by
going back and forth between English and Chicano Spanish. She shows who she is by doing this
and I think her essay did a good job in showing who she is.
Many Chicano artists show who they are through their murals, in the mid-1960s,
murals again provided an important organizing tool and a means for the reclamation of their
specific cultural heritage (Cockcroft, Barnet-Sanchez 303). Chicano middle class artists for
years felt like they were isolated because their work wasnt a practiced way here in the U. S., but
throughout the years they have had more opportunity to express who they are and hold on to
their heritage.
I think many people a lot of times go through stages in their life where they go with the
crowd, and not really think of the consequences. I wonder how many people go with the majority
of people saying that immigrants should be a certain way when in reality they dont think the
same way, but are too scared to say it because of fear of rejection. This is what George Orwell
did in Shooting an Elephant, he went with the crowd when he didnt really want to. Orwell
said for it is the condition of his rule that he shall spend his life in trying to impress the
natives, and so in every crisis he has got to do what the natives expect of him (506).
Elizabeth Payne in week 7 summed this up pretty well; she said He did it solely so he wouldn't
look stupid to his peers. How many people do things they normally wouldnt because they think
it is expected of them, or worried what their peers will say?
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I believe the readings from our textbook that we used this semester work really well
together. From the way immigrants have been treated at Angel and Ellis Island at the beginning
of the 1900s to the Chicanos even today at the borders, and through their speech and art, and
through Phillips and Neidichs essays talking about the Indians. There have been many
disadvantages to being an immigrant or just being a different ethnicity to the majority here in
America.
Throughout this semester my eyes have been opened to what different ethnicities have
had to go through. I had no idea what the immigrants had to go through when they arrived at
Angel Island. I think it is because many people have talked about Ellis Island and because I have
had my own ancestor come to this country through Ellis Island that I knew about it, but I had
never heard of Angel Island before. I really enjoyed researching about Angel Island and reading
the poetry that the immigrants wrote on the walls there, it is something I will never forget.
I enjoyed reading the different perspectives of the writers, they all have their own way of
writing but they all get their point across very well. I believe the book and the readings we had to
read were put together very well, and had a way of tying the different ethnicities we have here in
America together. I am glad I chose this class for my Humanities course, I have learned a lot and
hope to use what I have learned when I become a teacher. It is important not to discriminate and
accept all people no matter what they look like or how they believe.
I also enjoyed having our weekly discussions as a class; this helped me see the different
perspectives other people can have on a subject. Many times I would read another classmates
discussion on our readings and be amazed at how it made me think of the subject in another way.
I think that is an important aspect to taking a college class, not only involving yourself in the
discussions, but reading your classmates responses and thinking more on the subject.
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Works Cited
Anzaldua, Gloria. How to Tame a Wild Tongue. Reading Culture: Contexts for Critical
Reading and Writing. Diana George and John Trimbur. New York: Longman, 2012. 521-
528. Print.
Cockcroft, Eva Sperling, and Holly Barnet-Sanchez. Signs from the Heart: California Chicano
Murals. Reading Culture: Contexts for Critical Reading and Writing. Diana George and
John Trimbur. New York: Longman, 2012. 303-309. Print.
Gordon, Mary. More than Just a Shrine: Paying Homage to the Ghosts of Ellis Island. Reading
Culture: Contexts for Critical Reading and Writing. Diana George and John Trimbur.
New York: Longman, 2012. 431-435. Print.
Neidich, Warren. Contra Curtis: Early American Cover-Ups. Reading Culture: Contexts for
Critical Reading and Writing. Diana George and John Trimbur. New York: Longman,
2012. 456-459. Print.
Orwell, George. Shooting an Elephant. Reading Culture: Contexts for Critical Reading and
Writing. Diana George and John Trimbur. New York: Longman,2012. 503-509. Print.
Phillips, Christopher. Necessary Fictions: Warren Neidichs Early American Cover-Ups.
Reading Culture: Contexts for Critical Reading and Writing. Diana George and John
Trimbur, New York: Longman, 2012. 453-456. Print.
Political Research Associates. Publiceye.org. Web. August 3, 2014.