Although, the Sistema de Castas was dismantled around the 19th century when colonies gained their independence from Spain, it’s repercussions are still present today. It has shaped the view of race and ethnicity as well as social norms in many parts of Central America, South America and Latin America. This can be seen in countries such as Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Panama. “One of the most puzzling, disconcerting phenomena that the non-native visitor confronts while traveling in Latin America is the relative ease with which pervasive and very visible discriminatory practices coexist with the denial of racism”. Racial discrimination exists and is very common in Hispanic America but is often denied or ignored. An excuse many Hispanics …show more content…
This led to the majority of the racial mixing to be between Spaniards and African slaves brought in to work in sugar plantations. Although, slavery was outlawed in 1822 people of African descent still faced discrimination. Dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo ruled over the country for three decades until his assassination. While in charge he carried a massacre against Haitians, called the Parsley massacre, in an attempt to ethnic cleanse. During World War II he welcomed 25,000 to 50,000 Jews in hopes of “bettering the race”. Individuals are encouraged to marry someone of lighter skin or of white descent in order to better the race and the country as a whole. This shows that the Dominican society has this notion that lighter skin is better. “In the Dominican Republic where they excluded Blacks and African culture by regarding them as backward and foreign.” In the Dominican Republic blacks have been excluded from the history books in an attempt to whitewash its …show more content…
This is due to skin color closely predicting race. This is due to the fluidity of the Casta system where a light skin Mulatto or Negro could easily identify as Mestizo. Currently, Afro-Panamanians remain absent from political positions.“Discrimination against citizens with darker skin is affected in the public and private sector through preferential hiring practices, racial profiling by law enforcement agencies, and manipulation of government resources in the public sector. Following the 2004 elections there was only one Afro-Panamanian in the National Cabinet and the Solicitor General.” This shows that panamanians with black ancestry are often denied jobs or other professional opportunities due to their skin color. This leads to Afro-Panamanians to have very limited opportunities and for them to live in poverty. They are underrepresented which leads to their concerns and struggles to be
The Parsley Massacre was the first instance where the world realized that Rafael Trujillo was a ruthless dictator. Rafael Trujillo's 1937 massacre of the Haitians, was his first time committing mass murder. This massacre killed more than 20,000 Haitians and even some Dominicans (“Dominican Republic and the Parsley Massacre”). Even though Trujillo committed this treacherous act, he still defended himself with, “He who does not know how to deceive does not know how to rule” (1 “Rafael Trujillo”). It is crazy that even when he went extremely public with his terror, he still tried to defend himself. The Parsley Massacre symbolized that the man who was supposed to lead and benefit the Dominican Republic was actually ruining their country one treacherous act at a
Since many women in Cuba are dark skin and dress similarly, women that may not be considered Cuban get treated unequally as well. For example, Roland the author of “Cuban Color in Tourism and La Lucha” describes a moment in her book that due to her skin color she was considered a jinitera; as described previously as a female hustler or prostituted. She claimed that “people who did not immediately recognize me as a foreigner assumed that I was around foreigners because I was jinitera” (L. Kaifa, 2011, p. 54). Tourists who are not from Cuba, but are dark skin get the shorter end of the stick. According to the article “Jineteras Love, Marriage and Divorce” seeing white people with Afro Cuban people is a bad thing and can sometimes lead to serious consequences. For example, as described in Havana Guide, once a white man and a twenty year old Cuban woman were walking and according to the article,”Jiniteras Love, Marriage and Divorce” “The police stopped them for an identity check, because they suspected the young Cuban woman of being a jinetera” (“Jineteras Love, Marriage and
Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina is without a doubt one of the most known figures within the Dominican history. The “Era de Trujillo” (The Trujillo Era) occupied the Dominican Republic for the long period of thirty-one years. His dictatorship started in 1930 and ended with his assassination on May 30, 1961. Trujillo’s Career began with the occupation of the United States in 1916. During this time he was trained in a military school, and became part of the National Police, a military group made by the Unites States to maintain order in the Dominican Republic . Trujillo stood out during his military career and rapidly ascended within the military ranges. Under the government of Horatio Vasquez Trujillo received the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and was put in charge of chiefs and assistant commanders of the National Police . This new position gave him the opportunity to be part of the overthrowing of Horatio Vasquez. Trujillo was sworn into presidency on August 16, 1930. Marking the beginning of what is known as the cruel, violent and controversial part of history in the Dominican Republic.
Oftentimes, societal problems span across space and time. This is certainly evident in Julia Alvarez’s How the García Girls Lost Their Accents a novel in which women are treated peripherally in two starkly different societies. Contextually, both the Dominican Republic and the United States are very dissimilar countries in terms of culture, economic development, and governmental structure. These factors contribute to the manner in which each society treats women. The García girls’ movement between countries helps display these societal distinctions. Ultimately, women are marginalized in both Dominican and American societies. In the Dominican Republic, women are treated as inferior and have limited freedoms whereas in the United States, immigrant
Martínez, Elizabeth Sutherland. 1998. De Colores Means all of us: Latina Views for a Multi-Colored Century. U.S.: South End Press.
The purpose of this paper is to recognize, study and analyze the race relations in Brazil. Race relations are relations between two groups of different races; it is how these two different races connect to each other in their environment. Since Brazil is racially diverse, this study is focused on how Brazilians relate to each other. Throughout the essay, it will become clear that there exists a conflict between two race groups. Afro-Brazilians and White-Brazilians are not connected and though these two groups converse with each other, discrimination still lies within the society. This discrimination has created inequality within the society for Afro-Brazilians. Thus, this paper will not only focus on racism and discrimination that Afro-Brazilians experience because of White-Brazilian, but also on the history of Brazil, the types if discrimination that Afro-Brazilian must endure today and how the media creates discrimination.
Gonzalez, Juan. Harvest of Empire a History of Latinos in America. New York: Penguin Putnam Inc, 2000.
There are currently 150 million Afro-descendants in Latin America who make up nearly 30 percent of the region’s population (Congressional Research Service, 2005). Out of the fifteen Latin American nations that have recently adapted some sort of multicultural reform, only three give recognize Afro-Latino communities and give them the same rights as indigenous groups (Hooker, 2005). Indigenous groups are more successful than afro-descendent groups in gaining collective rights and development aid from international NGO’s. Collective rights important because are closely related to land rights and can become a tool to fight descrimination .I will attempt to uncover the causes for the discrepancy. This study relies heavily on ethnographic research on post-colonial ideas of race in Latin America and I will attempt to connect race and power structures in environmental decision-making by interviews with national decision-makers, NGO representatives and both black and indigenous communities .
Fernandez, Lilia. "Introduction to U.S. Latino/Latina History." History 324. The Ohio State University. Jennings Hall 0040, Columbus, OH, USA. Address.
During this course, this author has been taught about various social issues in today’s society as a whole. Some of these issues include perception of race and culture, poverty, social inequality, urbanization, and more. After exploring all these issues and more, this author has chosen to finish his last assignment on racial discrimination and Hispanic Americans. This author decided upon this specific issue because he has observed this in almost every town or city he has visited as a truck driver. This author thinks it is unfortunate that minorities are still treated unfairly. As citizens of the United States of America, it is useful to become educated on what racial discrimination is and see how it is applied in everyday life. This author decided to investigate this issue and determined the genuineness and voluminous of it.
Racism has resided within the Dominican Republic for centuries after the defeat of the Haitian Empire. Yet, the profuse racism came from the Presidency of Rafael Trujillo. Rafael Trujillo yearned to withhold the prevalence of white skin-tone in Dominican individuals. Trujillo initiated an anti-Haitian regime as he was determined to whiten his country. To present himself as a white Dominican, Trujillo wore makeup to lighten his appearance, to uphold his standards. Yet, the horrific, defining moment of his presidency was the Parsley Massacre. Trujillo started the massacre in 1937, as he sought to deceive his people by claiming the Haitians were practicing witchety, while claiming they kept a Dominican opponent in hiding. Dominican troops slaughtered
What would it be like to wake up everyday knowing you would get bullied, mistreated, and/or abused just because of where you were born? Discrimination still exists! “Discrimination remains and there is an increase in hate crimes against Hispanics, Latinos and Mexican-Americans, as one of the perceived symbols of that discrimination, the U.S.-Mexico Border Fence, nears completion. Instead of pulling together in these difficult times, we may see a greater polarization of attitudes” (Gibson). But why are hate crimes increasing towards Latin and Hispanic aliens and what types of discrimination are occurring against them? Understanding violence towards the Hispanic and Latin alien is divided into three main classes; the difference between legal and illegal aliens, the attacks and effects, and the point of view of different people towards aliens.
Montoya, Margret E. "Masks and Identify," and "Masks and Resistance," in The Latino/a Condition: A Critical Reader New York: New York University Press, 1998.
As long as civilizations have been around, there has always been a group of oppressed people; today the crucial problem facing America happens to be the discrimination and oppression of Mexican immigrants. “Mexican Americans constitute the oldest Hispanic-origin population in the United States.”(57 Falcon) Today the population of Mexican’s in the United States is said to be about 10.9%, that’s about 34 million people according to the US Census Bureau in 2012. With this many people in the United States being of Mexican descent or origin, one would think that discrimination wouldn’t be a problem, however though the issue of Mexican immigrant oppression and discrimination has never been a more prevalent problem in the United States before now. As the need for resolve grows stronger with each movement and march, the examination of why these people are being discriminated against and oppressed becomes more crucial and important. Oppression and Anti-discrimination organizations such as the Freedom Socialist Organization believe that the problem of discrimination began when America conquered Mexican l...
Reflecting back on the statement historian Jaime E. Rodriguez gave on the impact that independence had on the people of Latin America. “The emancipation of [Latin America] did not merely consist of separation from the mother country, as in the case of the United States. It also destroyed a vast and responsive social, political, and economic system that functioned well despite many imperfections.” I believe that the eagerness to get rid of slaves