Kevin Johnson’s book How did You Get to Be Mexican is a detailed account of what it is like to live a life of mixed identity. He illustrates the issues of diversity, assimilation, race relations, and affirmative action in our society today to attempt to give us a better understanding and view from the “insider’s” perspective of what it is like to be of mixed heritage. Kevin Johnson was born in 1958 out of an inter-racial marriage, with his mother being of Mexican-American descent and his father being of Anglo descent. Throughout his entire life, growing up, Kevin was torn between his two identities. His mother did not acknowledge her true roots of being Mexican-American but rather referred to herself as “Spanish” whereas his father wanted and encouraged Kevin to embrace the Mexican part of himself. He was torn between the two, leading him to question his identity and ponder the question: “What does it mean to be Latino?” The core of the book lies in Johnson’s detailed accounts of just how hard it is to live your life being of mixed heritage. In his early stages of life, he …show more content…
witnessed several divorces which directly affected him. As a result, he was forced to change homes and schools frequently while he suffered with his issue of searching for identity. The time spent living with his mother was difficult seeing as she remarried and his step-father Kevin saw as racist. His mother also did not embrace her Mexican-American background to the fullest. His mother’s side of the family leaned towards the American way of living and did not associate themselves with Mexican-Americans but rather referred to themselves as “Spanish.” They spoke no Spanish and tried to convince him that marrying “White” was the only way to go. On the contrary, the days he spent living with his father helped him embrace his Mexican heritage and he accredits his father with helping him do so and also for helping him in the battle to fight off racial injustice. After the years, Kevin went on to attend The University of California at Berkeley. It was there that he began to directly relate himself to being Mexican-American, since in his application, he checked the racial identity box which said Mexican American. He states that Berkeley helped him in his quest to locate himself within his Mexican heritage that he had for some quite time, been longing to reach. His schooling, however, did not end there. He then went on to attend Harvard Law School where there his acceptance as being Mexican American was not as favorable as it was at Berkeley. In short, he did not enjoy his time there and was filled with mixed emotions concerning his identity. He felt discriminated against and also questioned his acceptance to the university and at times felt that he was only given the opportunity to attend the school simply because of his ethnicity. Once his years of schooling came to an end, Johnson went on to practice law then to become a law professor. Even still, he was still questioned about his identity and credibility. Contrary to his choosing to check the “Mexican/Latino” box during his undergraduate and graduate studies, when he began his work in the legal field, at one firm he chose to assimilate himself with his Anglo side. However, when he went on to search for jobs in the teaching industry, he went back to choosing to assimilate himself with his Mexican ethnicity. Aside from his mainly choosing Mexican to be his status of choice through his schooling, he seemed to have chosen that as well to live the rest of his life. Throughout the years of confusion, Kevin decided to lean more towards toward his Mexican heritage. He married a Mexican woman and has three children with her. Kevin ends his book with his still teaching at the University of Davis Law School. At birth, no-one has the ability to choose what racial identity he/she is given. Inter-racial marriage and dating has now grown common in our society. Having that said, the growth of the number of children born of mixed identities is steadily increasing on a day to day basis. Some may find this acceptable or unacceptable, dependent upon their individual views on the issue. The core of this issue is only to be determined by those who are of mixed identity for they are the only ones who can truly explain how it is to live a life of such identity and what good or bad comes from it. Kevin Johnson does an excellent job of conveying his own personal experiences into his book and describing just how much difficulty and confusion comes along with being of mixed origin. He, however, only does a satisfactory job of exactly answering his own question “How Did You Get to Be Mexican?” and “What does it mean to be Latino?” Throughout the book, he seems to be unsure of what way he needs to or should lean. Should he associate himself more with Mexicans or more with Anglos? Growing up he did admit to having tried to associate himself more with Anglos and during the process having made a couple of racial Mexican remarks along the way. His college years evidently made it clear that associating himself more so with his Mexican heritage worked to his advantage. At times throughout the book, the feel that Kevin would only use his Mexican heritage when he saw it helpful or as a “foot in the door” type of way in, is inevitable to believe. Whatever the reason may be that he chose to associate himself with his Mexican identity, he still had some ups and downs along the way. The book does a great job of giving examples of life experiences that proved difficult for someone of mixed heritage as opposed to someone who was fully of one race.
I felt, however, that Johnson could have done a better job of explaining just how he felt emotionally about his identity and also of how he came to the decision of marrying and choosing to embrace more his Mexican culture than that of his Anglo culture that was bestowed upon him at birth. Overall, the book is an insightful read. For those who are of mixed identity or have family or friends that are of such, it brings to light just how hard and difficult it is to be brought up by two completely different cultures. The book helps to show that someone cannot just adequately balance both sides because in the end a decision must be made just as Kevin did. He chose the Mexican side of him and married into that
culture. The greatness of this book is due to the fact that Kevin was willing to use his personal life as examples to help give readers a better understanding of what it is like to live the life of a mixed individual and although it is evident that his purpose was to search for and embrace his identity, this book made me see his experiences as an eye opener. Having kids of mixed heritages may not seem as such a big issue with the parents, but the children are the ones who evidently suffer the most and it is up to us to decide if we are willing to put our children through that. Johnson wrote the book to explain to us his troubles and battles. Is it not possible that he wrote this to possibly shed a bit more light on the issue?
After reading Alsultany’s “Los Intersticios: Recasting Moving Selves,” I realized that there are many misconceptions among those who have single or mixed racial background. For individuals who have more than one races, it may seem that they are at an advantage since they have luxury to take side with which ever race they choose. However, it actually results in a constant aggravation when one is constantly questioned about their race. Alsultany was asked by her classmate about her racial background. It was apparent that her classmate confirmed in her mind that Alsultany was different from her since she didn’t supposedly fit the description of a typical American, despite mentioning that she was born and raised in the U.S. This further strengthened
Post-emancipation life was just as bad for the people of “mixed blood” because they were more black than white, but not accepted by whites. In the story those with mixed blood often grouped together in societies, in hopes to raise their social standards so that there were more opportunities for...
Islas, Arturo. From Migrant Souls. American Mosaic: Multicultural Readings in Context. Eds. Gabriele Rico, Barbara Roche and Sandra Mano. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. 1995. 483-491.
They had three children all mixed with white, black, Mexican, and Irish traits. Danzy had a clear understanding of her parent’s marriage. They married with hopes that they would “snub the history that divided them and create an ahistorical utopia…” (Senna 33). That is not how the marriage resulted, however. There was physical and later verbal abuse. There was alcoholism and disrespect. Friends and family believed that the divorce was “the ugliest divorce in Boston’s history” (Senna 32). Danzy understood that was the belief because of the beauty that a marriage between a white woman and a black man could promise. From the outside, their family was described by “domestic coziness, the pedestrian normality only underscoring the young family’s literary and multicultural exoticism” (Senna 20). I believe that Carl’s Senna mistreatment of his wife and children stemmed from his misgivings of his conflicted identity. It did not help that he was skeptical of whites and married a white woman with “blue eyes [and] blue blood” (Senna 13). Kelly argues that he is that way because of his “abandonment by his black mother and the absence of an authentic experience of blackness.” By the end of the memoir, Senna’s father has remarried and discovered that all lines follow that his mother did not lie to him in the telling that Francisco Jose Senna was his father. He seems
People are discriminated against because of their race and social position every day. This has been going on for hundreds of years. In Mexican White Boy, Danny and Uno were discriminated against by people around them for being different, but along the way of discovering themselves, they form an unbreakable friendship.
Race and ethnicity is a main factor in the way we identify others and ourselves. The real question here is does race/ethnicity still matter in the U.S.? For some groups race is not a factor that affects them greatly and for others it is a constant occurrence in their mind. But how do people of mix race reacts to this concept, do they feel greatly affected by their race? This is the question we will answer throughout the paper. I will first examine the battle of interracial relationship throughout history and explain how the history greatly explains the importance of being multiracial today. This includes the backlash and cruelty towards interracial couple and their multiracial children. Being part of a multiracial group still contains its impact in today’s society; therefore race still remaining to matter to this group in the U.S. People who place themselves in this category are constantly conflicted with more than one cultural backgrounds and often have difficulty to be accepted.
Camilla's point that Mexican Americans have had a long constant battle in America is very true. I agree with Camilla' that because Mexican Americans have had to endure so much they have been able to form a strong sense of culture. Growing up in Los Angeles I have always been around Mexican American culture. However, not until the readings did I realize the hardships Mexican Americans have had to face and how those hardships have been represented through their art. It is important for all Americans to be taught the hardships Mexican Americans have faced either through books, videos or art. Once Americans become aware they will realize the beauty of the Mexican American culture.
Neither white nor black people want to be poor, hungry, or have unfair judgment put on them. However, being born with the blood of their parents, they have to live under different circumstances. Their lives are comfortable or struggled, depending on the kind of blood their parents give them. In particular, the mulattos who have mixed blood of white and black have more difficulties in life because of having multiple cultures. Indeed, the novel “the House Behind the Cedars” by Charles W. Chesnutt demonstrates that mulattos struggle dramatically in a racial society of white, black, and mulatto people.
In the essay "It’s Hard Enough Being Me," Anna Lisa Raya relates her experiences as a multicultural American at Columbia University in New York and the confusion she felt about her identity. She grew up in L.A. and mostly identified with her Mexican background, but occasionally with her Puerto Rican background as well. Upon arriving to New York however, she discovered that to everyone else, she was considered "Latina." She points out that a typical "Latina" must salsa dance, know Mexican history, and most importantly, speak Spanish. Raya argues that she doesn’t know any of these things, so how could this label apply to her? She’s caught between being a "sell-out" to her heritage, and at the same time a "spic" to Americans. She adds that trying to cope with college life and the confusion of searching for an identity is a burden. Anna Raya closes her essay by presenting a piece of advice she was given on how to deal with her identity. She was told that she should try to satisfy herself and not worry about other people’s opinions. Anna Lisa Raya’s essay is an informative account of life for a multicultural American as well as an important insight into how people of multicultural backgrounds handle the labels that are placed upon them, and the confusion it leads to in the attempt to find an identity. Searching for an identity in a society that seeks to place a label on each individual is a difficult task, especially for people of multicultural ancestry.
Latinos who were raised in the United States of America have a dual identity. They were influenced by both their parents' ancestry and culture in addition to the American culture in which they live. Growing up in between two very different cultures creates a great problem, because they cannot identify completely with either culture and are also caught between the Spanish and English languages. Further more they struggle to connect with their roots. The duality in Latino identity and their search for their own personal identity is strongly represented in their writing. The following is a quote that expresses this idea in the words of Lucha Corpi, a Latina writer: "We Chicanos are like the abandoned children of divorced cultures. We are forever longing to be loved by an absent neglectful parent - Mexico - and also to be truly accepted by the other parent - the United States. We want bicultural harmony. We need it to survive. We struggle to achieve it. That struggle keeps us alive" ( Griwold ).
Crouch, Ned. Mexicans & Americans : Cracking The Cultural Code. NB Publishing, Inc., 2004. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 21 Nov. 2011.
My response to chapters 1-3 This novel made me remember when came in to this country and how everything was at the begging in California. We didn't know anything about here everything was so different from Mexico but my family and I had dreams just like America and Candido. When Candido got run over by Delaney it king of made me upset, because it wasn't Candido's fault and the First thing that Delaney thought of was his car, insurance discount, and the last thing was the victim. Those king of thing are thing that us Mexican have to deal with for coming to a new country to have a better future. What made me more upset was when Delaney gave hime twenty dollars. Is it that how much a life of a person worth? What if thing would of happened the
...ildren even Johnson admits “there is nothing I would not suffer to keep the brand from being placed upon them.” He may question his choices and still struggle with his identity, as we all do, but he feels he made the best decision for his life and for the lives of his children. He did not judge the men who stood the higher ground and fought the fight for equality but rather he stated “Beside them I feel small and selfish.” In truly understanding what he gave up in the choices that he made, Johnson finishes the story by stating “I cannot repress the thought that, after all, I have chosen the lesser part, that I have sold my birthright for a mess of pottage.”
The film is concentrated on Mexican-American nationalism and immigration. In the beginning of the film, the main character sees himself more of an American rather than Mexican. He speaks fluently in English but does not know how to speak or comprehend proper Spanish. This is an example of involuntary language loss. Rudy, the main character, who was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, does not see himself as a white man but does not see himself as a pure Mexican either and is stuck in the in-betweens of both ‘Mexican’ and ‘American’ culture. Because of this, he is not of specific origin or descent but rather a Chicano. A mix between both cultures instead of just one.
Times are changing and I feel like I am forced to conform to the everyday social norms of America, which makes me feel impuissance. Racial identity, which refers to identifying with a social group with similar phenotypes and racial category, is the only experience that I have with life (Organista, 2010). Racial ethnicity was used to build my self-esteem and to keep me in the dark when it came to how society treats individuals of darker complexion. However, once I left the confines of my family and neighborhood, I was forced to befriend and interact with individuals that had different cultural values and beliefs than me. This experience caused me to learn how to appreciate other racial and ethnic groups and their cultural values and belief. This is an accurate definition, of acculturation because I was able to understand and fit in with individuals different from me, while maintaining my own culture and ethnic identity. Therefore, knowing the importance of my ancestry, while acculturating and developing my own identity was all used