Additional Key Terms for Unit Two

Hey everyone,
Below are the Key Terms and definitions all of you came up with in discussion section. Feel free to add others! And please remember that you will have to be more specific when defining any of these terms on the Unit Two exam--always relate the terms to the larger class objectives (i.e. the Latina/o experience)
-Isabel
p.s. You can also check out the terms and definitions from my other sections by clicking *Section A* and *Section C*

From Lecture:
[]-Globalization: increasing influence that people from different parts of the world have on each other*
*note from your GSI: Is this all it is?

From Discussion:
[]- Flexible Labor Pools: groups of people that can be moved based on where labor is needed

[]- IRCA: (Immigration Reform and Control act) 1986, Requires employers to prove employees legal working status*
*note from your GSI: What else did it do?

[]- Push/Pull Factors: Factors that make people migrate from one country (push) to another (pull)

[]- National Origins Act: established strict migration questions* in 1890 census, a border patrol & also made Asian exclusion a federal policy
*note from your GSI: Did this act establish questions? No...it established ___[who can fill in the blank?]___

[]- Transnational Corporation: corporation that is based in the US but has factories in other countries to get their full product*
*note from your GSI: Are these corporations only in the US? What did you all mean when you stated "to get their full product?"

[]- Homeland Security Act: created US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Act (ICE) & merged into Homeland Security*
*note from your GSI: When did this happen? Why?

Reflection Post 2

So far, I feel like I have gained alot more knowledge about the Latino community/communities within the US. Prior to taking the class, I had known a few general ideas about some of the things that we have discussed. I especially enjoyed learning about the the Young Lords Party among the Puerto Rican community and their struggle and fight to get what they believed in. To me, this marks a crucial point in the history of all Latino Communities because it began building a true foundation for establishing a Latino voice in the US.
I have also enjoyed learning about the Cuban Exodus and Revolution recently. In my Spanish literature class we just finished studying the Spanish-American war and how the Cubans were involved with that. Now studying the aftermath of that and where the Cuban community has grown toward is really interesting to me, everything is tying in together. It makes what we are learning/discussing in Unit II more appealing, and makes me appreciate a little more the life we have here in the US after understanding the struggles the Cubans went faced/are facing.

Discrimination

One of the aspects of today guest lecture on discrimination that really resonated with me was the topic of intra-group discrimination (ex. discrimination between latinos) and inter-group discrimination (ex. whites discriminating against latinos). First of all, during lecture the speaker mentioned that darker skinned Latinos face more discrimination in the United States, demonstrating a form of intra-group discrimination. However, from the reading for last week, we learned that in fact darker skinned Cubans faced similar discrimination in Cuba from their lighter skin countrymen, demonstrating a form of intra-group discrimination. This suggests to me that there may be international discriminatory factors that pervade our societies. Rather than simply looking at discrimination by region or even by country, we can observe discriminatory trends on a global basis. Because of this, some forms of discrimination that we may view as "intra-group" or "inter-group" may be classified as such only because of the region in which they occur. This occurrence seems to especially hold true in the case of skin color, where all over the world, darker skin people seem to face more discrimination.
Another concept that I feel was not mentioned much in lecture was the effect of context (geographical location, demographics, etc.) Although the effects of language, phenotype, and gender on discrimination were mentioned, I strongly feel like context of the discrimination may be one of the biggest factors in the manner in which it occurs. For example, discrimination faced by a Latino laborer in New York would probably be less severe than the discrimination faced by a Latino worker in a Texan border town. This would be due to the fact that Latino immigration is a much bigger issue in those areas, and people would correspondingly have much stronger feelings about it. Therefore, I believe that the context in which the discrimination occurs may be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, factors in how severe the discrimination is.

Central Americans - Discussion Questions

The article states that in the past 7 years, over 500 thousand Salvadorians and 220 thousand Guatemalans have immigrated to the US. What push/pull factors may have motivated these immigrants?

In the past two decades, Central Americans have become a growing minority in America, and along with Mexican Americans, generally attend inner city schools. Among these two groups, which group tends to perform better in school?

Unlike Mexico, some Central American countries are war torn and politically unstable. How does this affect Central American immigrants work ethic and determination to succeed in school? How does this differ from Mexican Americans born in America?

Suarez mentions in the article that Central Americans “generally perform better in schools and certainly experience different kinds of problems than castelike minorities, such as blacks, Mexican-Americans, and Native Americans”. How do the problems Central Americans have differ from these other groups?

Why did bilingual teachers like teaching Central American students so much?

Although Central American students were hard working and dedicated to their studies, they were discriminated against by the schools. In what way were they discriminated against, and what was the cause of this discrimination?

Why was Suarez so surprised that so many Central American students stayed in school?

The majority of Central American students had one or more members of their family still living in Central America, and reports say that immigrants from El Salvador alone send between 350 million to 600 million dollars a year to their families. What mentality do a lot of Central American students have that could explain the aid they send back to their home country?

How does this sense of duty or responsibility correlate to “survivor guilt”, a condition first described by Bettelheim?

How did economic difficulties for the immigrants affect their hopes of “becoming somebody”?

2nd reflection post - scarface

Cuban 3rd wave and Scarface the movie. When doing my readings this past week I felt slightly familiar with some of the material as though I had learned it before. I didn’t realize until discussion however that this familiarization was from cinema and not another classroom. Scarface is a movie about on Cuban immigrant’s rise to power in the Miami drug scene. The movie opens with him and his friend coming to Cuban in the 3rd wave of Cuban immigration after the revolution, also called the Cuban Crime Wave. He faces the struggles of a new arrival to the country working dead-end low-paying jobs. His frustrations grow until his first career opportunity is presented to him – drugs. Because this is the first opportunity he has seen for a job with upward mobility, Scarface takes his role head on. This kind of off-the-boat ambition shaped a view of immigrants. Scarface had little or no chance to become a somebody in the US legitimately. He little education and few marketable skills. The drug industry, however, ignored that- it was the only way he could see himself rising to power in his new home. I can remember being young and naïve as a 10 year old in a tiny white town in NH and wondering if this is why negative stereo-types existed. If maybe people were driven into these roles in the dangerous fringes of society and then hated for their role. This all goes back to the invisible immigrants versus hyper-visible immigration that was discussed on the first day of class. The first wave of professionals coming from Cuban was relatively invisible, but the third waves which was saturated with criminals made a bad name for all Cuban immigrants.

Discussion Questions for Friday

Hey guys, I know this is a little early, but I decided to put up the discussion questions for this Friday. I may add more after lecture on Wednesday, but for now here they are:

Despite the political and social racism that the Mexican Americans faced, they were crucial to the development of many of Michigan's industries. What are some of these industries, and in what ways did the Mexicans contribute?

In what ways did Mexicans try to integrate into American culture, and in what ways were they barred from associating themselves with other Americans?

What did the government do with the Mexican workers during the Recession, and what was the result?

Why did the government implement operation wetback?

What different kinds of racism did Mexicans face here as opposed to in Texas?

How much did they make, on average, and did any of these jobs pay better than the others? Why do you think this was so?

Were Mr. Chavez’s kids allowed to go to school?

In the Cuba article, what are some of the differences they describe between refugees and normal migrants?

What were some of the characteristics of the first wave of Cuban immigrants?

Second wave?

Third Wave (Mariel Exodus)?

Fourth Wave?

What were some of the similarities and differences in ideology between the first and last waves?

What were some of the racial issues that Cubans faced, specifically during Fidel's revolution and after running away to the U.S.?

In Wednesday's Guest Lecture:
-He said that the majority of Mexicans who came to MI worked in beet farms. What were some of the reasons he gave for why sugar became so popular in the United States?

-What was the New Deal, and why were the majority of latinos left out of it?

-What was the steriotypical role of the Latina during the women's rights movement, when middle class women were leaving home to get jobs?

-What is repatriation, and what were Frieda Kahlo and Diego Riviera's stance on it? Why?

Young Lords in Puerto Rico

I would like to reflect on the Young Lords’ independence effort within homeland.  Despite the FBI’s infiltration in the party, the Young Lords were destiny to fail to spark insurrection in Puerto Rico.  The first reason is because the party went to Puerto Rico with a set agenda.  In the barrios in the US, the Lords became popular because they provided the people with services they requested, the street cleaning, morning breakfast, etc…  The party never surveyed Puerto Ricans to identify the main issues prevalent to the people.  Since the Lords never directly rallied the people to promote community needs, they were greeted as foreigners, specified within the video shown in lecture.

Another reason the Lords were ineffective was because radical movements work best when local leaders organize and unite the community under one identity.  The Young Lord Party was already established as an US youth movement for latinos in urban barrios.  The PN or PPD are prime examples of local movements gaining ground for unity and progression among Puerto Rican islanders.

In general, the Youth Lords’ inability to shift their focus from what they believed Puerto Rican islanders needed, to providing services similar to the tactics provided within the barrios, led to their fail.  The party’s collapse was proliferated because of such failure (within Puerto Rico) and inner party decaying.

Discussion Questions for 10/10

How do you think the conception of the American immigrant has changed (or stayed the same) since the early days of immigration around the time of Benjamin Franklin?

How has the anti-immigrant sentiment grown over time? Do you think that immigrants had a harder time in the past or in the present?

How does the American stance on immigration policy differ from that of other countries in terms of what bodies control the immigration standards and the strictness of enforcement of these standards?

What did the Constitution originally have to say about the controls that federal and state governments have over immigration law?

What major change in immigration policy took place almost immediately after the end of the Civil War?

What factors led to the record amount of immigration just before World War I in the United States?

What was the significance of the Immigration Act of 1924 (also known as the Johnson Act)?

Why do you think that European and Asian immigration was so severely restricted by quotas following WWI, but Mexican immigration was encouraged?

What is the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA)?

How did IRCA pertain especially to Mexican immigrants?

How many people are estimated to reside in the United States illegally?

How do economic forces and public policy work together to form patterns of international migration?

How does the percentage of foreign born citizens currently residing in the United States compare with other years in the 1800s and 1900s?

What are the four historical lessons that prove to be helpful in understanding American immigration and the policies that manage the inflow of foreign born workers?

What types of occupations are the most common for foreign born workers in the United States?

Which states are the most popular in terms of foreign born residents, and why do you think these states are so popular for immigrants?

How do educational requirements create a polarized spectrum in terms of available jobs for foreign born workers?
How has the enforcement of Border Patrol changed over time and what else besides Border Patrol does the article specifically mention about what the President believes is the best way to fix immigration policy? Do you agree?

Why does the President believe it is important to take a comprehensive approach when considering immigration policy instead of using partial policy reform tactics?

What measures have been taken since the inception of IRCA to help prevent illegal immigrants from entering the United States? What measures have been taken to hold employers accountable for hiring illegal workers?

Late Reflection Post : (

My reflection post is about the poem we read by Gloria Anzaldua. This poem was a piece of writing that bothered and stuck with me long after I had read it. As the poem begins it sets a mood over-developed self-righteousness. This quickly moves to sentiments of disrespect and perhaps a little disdain. It had me confusedly thinking back to the treaty of Guadalupe hidalgo I had just read – was this poem referring to the “Mexicans” or “savage tribes”? It had me wondering how the US government had referred to the native Americans as “savage tribes” in a treaty with Mexico who I’d thought no longer viewed the natives as savages now that they “had souls”.
When I read the line about courts and land grants I knew the poem must have referred to the interaction between American soldiers and Mexican citizens. This was even more confusing since it seemed to me the duty of the army in the southwest to uphold order and the treaty. Instead this man in a position of authority was waving a document of Mexican rights as he drove them off their own land.
When I reached the final stanza the entire feeling of the poem shifted. It moved away from contempt for fellow man to hatred for some species of animal. The line “the boys wouldn’t look me in the eyes” helped a little I suppose with my disgust of the American army but still the imagery was heart-wrenching. As I first read the treaty of Guadalupe I thought how the Mexicans had it luckier than the Puerto Ricans; they were given instant citizenship if they chose while the Puerto Ricans had had to work through “the labyrinthine logic of American law” to get theirs. But this last stanza had me thinking maybe the Puerto Ricans had it less-un-lucky only to be looked at with an attitude “at best one of ignorance and, at worst, one of disdain” because at least they weren’t being lynched and raped and suffocated by the ass of a self-righteous army officer.

Kritik of El Plan Espiritual de Aztlán

El Plan Espiritual de Aztlán and ultimately the idea of Aztlán is a great nationalist ideology.  The ability for a national movement to self identify its beliefs and pride is key to spark a revolution.  However, in addressing Professor Cotera's challenge in lecture to analyze the implication of the El Plan Espiritual Aztlán,  the ideology of Aztlán could not go any further than promoting self pride for Chicanos because Aztlán maps an imaginary homeland.

If  the United States Federal Government were to acknowledge El Plan Espiritual de Aztlán, it would only define the Chicanos' ancestry.  The plan does not challenge the Federal Government to give back any stolen or concurred land.  The Plan's demand for the government to acknowledge Chicanos' indigenous root will only further perpetuate the inferior notion that Chicanos are not Americans and not equivalent to citizens.

I believe that El Plan Espiritual de Aztlán should have either went further to challenge the American Government of land rights (similar to what some Native American did within the Supreme Court) or emphasized that their heritage with the land should at least grant them equality with whites.  Self pride may be essential to organize people but to claim change within a prejudice society it is necessary to organize and redefine the status quo!

Other Political Organizations We Haven't Talked About Yet

LULAC, Young Lords, UFW, and other very meaningful groups have already been mentioned in our class. However I'm still waiting to hear about NALEO. Which is the National Association of Elected Latino Officials. They are a non-partisan groups whose goal is to integrate Latinos s programs promoting the integration of immigrants into American society, developing future leaders among Latino youth, providing assistance and training to Latino elected and appointed officials and by conducting research on issues important to the Latino population. Right now, they are very involed with the whole voting process and are trying to get many non-English speakers to vote in the upcoming election.

Another note worthy group still unmentioned is the Congressional Hispanic Caucuss. Which aims to make improvements in the U.S. and Puerto Rico which affect Hispanic Communities. One of thier notable members has been Bill Richardson, who was the chair in 1984.

The groups I've mentioned didn't come about until 1976 which is perhaps the reason why we haven't heard much about them in class. We've seemed to be grogressing chronologically and seem to be at around the early 1970's at this point. The only reason I am introducing these two groups into the discussion is because, I've usually heard about them in the same context as the other groups like LULAC and UFW and would like to learn more about the histories of the two groups.

Discussion Questions from monday's readings

Who were the Young Lords and what were some of the things they did around the community? Why did they decline? What were some of their platforms?

What did the women in the Young Lords think about abortion?

Who is Cesar Chavez?

What was Alianza’s grito?

Who did the La Razas have tension with? Why did this party decline?

What was the significance of the Chicano Power?

What happened during the youth conferences?

How were women involved in some of these movements?

Reflection Post - Mexican-American War

In my reflection, I would like to discuss the Mexican-American War lecture by our guest lecturer Anthony Mora. I found that his lecture was quite outstanding and gave a lot of valid and interesting information about the Mexican-American War that is usually not seen in history books. He showed us how the Mexican-American War was much different than what U.S. historians have led us to believe and in fact, the war was not nearly as glorified and noble as our media has showed it to be. Although he made many good points and showed an abundance of supporting evidence, I felt that his lecture was too biased against the Americans and the way conducted ourselves during that time period. Yes, Davy Crockett was a Mexican citizen and quite possibly surrendered to the Mexicans, but Professor Mora did not give any information or evidence where Davy Crockett actually got his fame in America for his tremendous bravery and citizenship. Davy Crockett was not the only overly biased argument in his lecture either. The American army, he explained, did very horrible things to the Mexicans during the war, and he made it very clear that the U.S. government was not sensitive to any of the rights of Mexicans. I am no expert and I know very little about the Mexican War, but it just seemed to me that the only items he brought up bashed America, and he gave very little counter evidence to any of his points, of which, I'm sure, is plentiful. I thought his lecture was very informative and interesting, and it gave me a new look at the war, but I believe he could have done a much better job giving all the evidence.

Discussion Questions (Wednesday Reading)

Hey guys, 

Here are my question for Fridays discussion.

-What was El Plan de Atzlán's goal?

-How did El Plan de Atzlán differ from other Latino Organizations?

-Do you think the groups goals were good for trying to accomplish their specific task?

-Who is Joaquín?

-Do you think from the poem that Latinos preferred the Spanish Rule over the American?

-What is the authors disgust with the Anglos? (Side from the obvious stealing of the land)

-What do you think the overall message is of "Yo Soy Joaquín"?

-What were the main goals of the Chicana movement?

-Do you feel the men had a right to say that they were dividing the Chicano movement?

-How were Chicanas similar to the Anglo women and how did they differ?

-Do you think it was smart for the Chicanas to compare the Chicano men to that of Anglos in order to get their point across?

-What were the main objectives of the Workshops and what were some of their "rules"?

-What was the main idea from Notes from a Chicana Coed?

-What is the tone behind the Chicana in the poem?  Is she angry, passive, accepting of her treatment, ready to revolt...? 

Reflection Post

One of the readings that I found to be quite interesting is the one on LULAC. In the beginning of the article, it stated that LULAC was founded to "fight widespread discrimination against Mexican Americans". However, it seems to me that this organization was more for people who were "small capitalists, business managers, merchants, lawyers, doctors...", like it was for certain types of Mexican Americans, almost shutting out the people who were not as well educated or who do not hold a job with a decent wage--basically discriminating those who were not middle class or upper class citizens. I couldn't help but think that was a bit hypocritical. Here is LULAC, trying to fight discrimination against Mexican Americans, and the members are trying to stay away from the newer arrivals who threaten to "create a backlash" on the gains that were already made.
I feel like these members advocated the stripping of their Mexican culture that they grew up with, disregarding the whole "embrace your nationality" idea that we are so fond of today. They wanted equal rights and equal opportunity like the white Americans, and it seems like they thought that the only way to gain those rights was to become white-washed, brain-washed, and completely unaware of their own culture to be seen as worthy to be considered a true American. To me, I think this way of thinking is backwards. I would rather have a sense of who I am, an identity, a culture I can surround myself in than taking on a fake identity and trying to live a life that is portrayed through the media.