Mexicans and Racism

1079 Words3 Pages

Racism isn’t a subject that appears in every day conversations. Although most people try to ignore its existence, it’s quite obvious that it marked the lives of a lot of people and it has now become an essential part of our history. As a student who has lived in the valley all her life, I’ve been taught about the hardships African Americans had to endure while obtaining their freedom, becoming eligible to vote, being segregated, but never did I stop to think that the people who shared my culture and walked the streets of the Valley and San Antonio were going through a similar experience. Throughout the years it has become apparent that African Americans weren’t the only people who had been mistreated.

In those days, from El Paso to Brownsville, all along the highways you would see restaurants dotted with signs: “No Mexicans Allowed” and we couldn’t go into restaurants, swimming pools and theaters; we had to go to places whereas [since] they were in “little Mexico,” little towns separate and apart from the cities; they were the Mexican sections of the cities. We couldn’t go to a barber shop, the movies; we couldn’t do many things. (Orozco 30)

During this trivial time period, “La Raza”—a group of people mainly conformed of Hispanics who expressed their racial pride—outnumbered the whites and somehow were still forced to accept the poor living conditions they were being submitted to. “Most of La Raza owned no property and worked as cotton pickers and were locked out of the higher-paying jobs in foundries, machine shops, creameries, cotton oil mills, and small factories” (Orozco 20). The constant belittling of races would eventually lead to a divided society, a society that would soon become segregated. Restaurants, schools, barber ...

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...tain people who think of themselves as the “perfect” race and even if there are still incidents that involve racial discrimination, we have still accomplished a lot as a society as we are now closer to having full racial equality and ethnic acceptance. The pain and suffering of our ancestors through the hands of racism weren’t in vain as we now enjoy our position in a world where prejudice ceases to exist. The never ending battle between the suppressed and the oppressor finally ended—leaving the suppressed victorious. The chains of racism were finally broken and as Martin Luther King Jr. said, “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”

Works Cited

"Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Quotes." The Official MLK Day of Service Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2014. .

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