Essay On Race In Your Community

Submitted By dmontoya85
Words: 1661
Pages: 7
Open Document
Race in your community
Karly Montoya
ETH 125
University of Phoenix
Although the discrimination among Latinos and other minorities have decreased a lot, there is still much evidence that shows the contrary.

My name is Juan Montoya. I was born and raised in Colombia, in South America. At the age of 23 I moved with my family to this country. I have lived in Florida, Maryland and since last November here in Arizona. I have to say that all three places are very different. But I will tell you about my experience here in Arizona. Arizona is a beautiful state, awesome weather and incredible sunsets. One would think that to be a Latino in Arizona must be easy and that we would have all the benefits we could think of. Well, whoever thinks that is wrong. Based on personal experience and information I have read, Latinos and minorities are still discriminated. Let me tell you how.

One of the first things I noticed when I moved here was that the members of my community are different from me. The vast majority are older and many of them are part of families with children. I am married but do not have children yet. I also find differences in the types of food we eat. When I am at work I see my coworkers eating their lunch from restaurants or fast food restaurants. I, on the other hand, prefer to eat home cooked meals. Even our home decorations are different. I have noticed that in my community they like to add a lot of decorations in their homes; lots of antiques. I prefer simple and modern decorations and also decorations that reflect my culture. However, as a community I see some, although few similarities. We are similar because many of them are interested in sports just like me. Also, they like to recycle and are sociable and friendly. They enjoy the outdoors, walking outside or just hanging out with their families and friends at a park on the weekends. Those are the things that we have in common.

Then I noticed that the leaders of my community view Latinos and other minority groups as a “problem”. What I have read on the newspapers and what I have seen in the community is a racial discrimination against Latinos and other minorities. We are not treated with respect. Maybe is because they think that we are all illegal and that we are always causing problems everywhere we go. You do not see a lot of positive news about us in the media. However, every time we are involved in something negative such as fights or robbery it quickly makes the news. I think that immigrants come to this country to work and succeed and be better people, not to cause problems. However, I think that the lack of support from government agencies and the lack of aid, leads to depression and anxiety and that is why some of them end up causing trouble. And then there is the media. The vast majority of staff working in the media such as television and radio only focuses on news relevant to the public who speaks English and are Americans. Although there are many Latinos on the local news, the news that is presented is primarily for the Americans. The interests of the Latinos are not represented as much in the media. Latinos have their own newspapers or channels and that is how we know about the news.

So, Latinos might get in trouble for the wrong reasons, but then we have those who get in trouble for no apparent reason. By late 1990s US border patrol was still conducting searches for illegal immigrants, and many of those detained were US born citizens. (Carlile, 1998). This shows that they were not searching in a legal way, they were probably doing racial profiling, which means that they were assuming who was Latino based on how they look. This is still happening to this day. When I went to California for a weekend, I had to pass about three border patrol stations. They were not asking questions, or asking for documents, they were just looking at us. I guess my wife and I look “Americans” or do not look like most Latinos because
Show More

Related Documents: Essay On Race In Your Community

Essay On Race And Your Community

May 8, 2011 ETH 125 Race and Your Community In my community it’s only three basic race groups which is African –American, White- American and Mexican –American. Everyone in my community looks different because every race has their own preference and likes and dislike. In Greenville North Carolina the African –Americans are more into music, church…

Words 1267 - Pages 6

Essay On Race And Your Community

Race and Your Community Name ETH/125 Cultural Diversity January 01, 2013 Teacher I was born in and grew up in the Bronx, New York which, at the time was already considered racially diverse as was most of New York City. Growing up in the Bronx most of the people in the community, during my childhood, did look like me, mostly white Italians. There were some African Americans and Hispanics in the surrounding areas of the neighborhood and in the schools I attended, but very few. When I would…

Words 1508 - Pages 7

Race and Your Community Essay

R Race and Your Community I stay here in Long beach California the city is a dominant maritime center of the United States and was recently named "Aquatic Capital of the Nation." The Port of Long Beach is the United States' second busiest container port and one of the world's largest shipping ports. The city also maintains a large oil industry with the substance being found both underground and offshore. According to the 2010 Census, the racial composition of Long Beach was 46.1% White (Non-Hispanic…

Words 1060 - Pages 5

Part I: Naming Ourselves Essay

Within Community: Individualism, Diversity, Community, Culture – Within this first essay we are submerged in the life of an Asian-American. We explore what it is like to be stereotyped by race. “Oh you’re Asian, you must be really smart, but you probably do not excel at anything else”. The statement, “to generate social change one needs to social injustice and discrimination, create new opportunities, and forge new alliances” (Gonzalez, Houston & Chen, 2011) really made me think. As a community, we…

Words 460 - Pages 2

African American Persuasive Speech

Young African American student, you have made it. It is the day of your high school graduation, tears are clouding eyes, applause fills the air, and you almost miss a step as you make your move to retrieve your diploma. As you peer out into the crowd to revel in the fact that your high school journey is officially over, your eyes connect with those of your younger sibling like two electric currents. Watching you graduate that day proved to them that it was possible for them too to become a high school…

Words 836 - Pages 4

Essay on Sarcasm: Race and Simple Fix

could be The constant bicker amongst cultures can be unbearable and maddening, yet we find no solution. What if I told you all your troubles could be solved with a simple fix? Would you agree that living amongst your own would solve all of your problems? No more having to share the same air with those ungrateful people. Life could be a breeze. I think all races can agree that there will always be some sort of hostility amid the different cultures, so why live amongst them? Blacks would be better…

Words 369 - Pages 2

To Bettina Aptheker Essay

team and actively involved around the community. I know so much about you, now you know about me! Your lecture on Unlearning Racism sparked ideas in me that I didn’t realize were there and I am grateful to have this opportunity to directly communicate with you. A topic you spoke of that I personally connected to was white privilege. Living in a community with a majority of racists, I have witnessed and even experienced white privilege. Living in a community that doesn’t discuss racism, unless it’s…

Words 721 - Pages 3

My Essay

Assessment You should use this file to complete your Assessment. The first thing you need to do is save a copy of this document, either onto your computer or a disk Then work through your Assessment, remembering to save your work regularly When you’ve finished, print out a copy to keep for reference Then, go to www.vision2learn.com and send your completed Assessment to your tutor via your My Study area – make sure it is clearly marked with your name, the course title and the Unit and Assessment…

Words 1080 - Pages 5

Eth 125 Research Paper

Individual Final Paper Learning about the history of race and ethnicity has helped me to understand the struggles, tragedies, and hurdles so many generations have endured. All races have suffered from discrimination and prejudice. Some of the most shocking information is from the African tribes and how they sold their own people into slavery and what those slave went through. After further inquisition, this was quite common in the history of all races. The African American was sold into slavery and transported…

Words 1154 - Pages 5

Color Blind Ideology Essay

Color-blind ideology draws on “abstract, liberal notions of equality (‘equal opportunity for all’) to disconnect race from the power relations in which inequality and racial discourses are embedded.” (Rodriquez 646) It serves to “avoid” this sore spot that has been created in society when it comes to talking about race and the discrimination associated with it. However, this is not really something that Hollywood at this was did. They attempted to showcase this equal opportunity through the use of…

Words 860 - Pages 4