"The browning of America"

After googling "the browning of America", I found it very interesting to know more about what others think about our diversity expanding in America. In one of the articles that I read it said that the majority of children under age 5 are of color. While reading this article I liked the quote that said, "the USA is being transformed by immigrants who do not share American values, and who have high rates of illiteracy, illegitimacy, and gang crime, and they will vote Democrat when the Democrats promise them more food stamps." I foud this very interesting for two reasons: 1) What values must one have to be considered "American"? Citizenship?Native? 2)The quotes specifices food stamps because they are talking about people of color, but we should also encounter those who are of color and who have been successful because of a higher education.
It's disappointing when people start pointing fingers without knowing the economic situation of others. Yes, there are people who are of color and who need food stamps, but there also is whites who live off of food stamps. Just because the minorities are the majority should not mean we need to put them down in the way that society is. It also mentions gangs: Gangs are worldwide and people involved in gangs are of all different ethnicities. It is not just the minorites who are involved with gang crime. We all have different opinions of the "American" values, but to many of us it simply means that if you were not born here in America, you are not American. To me American values are Freedom, Equality, freedom of religion, etc. We have the statue of liberty who represents "liberty", but where do we leave all of this?

The second article that I looked at said, "having a minority majority means positive things in America", more progressive views on social and politicial issues (immigration reform, education reform, & civil rights). I agreed to this because as minorites we are more aware of things, like the differences in our lives vs. our parents and where they came from. We know we have the opportunity to rise in our education and more than anything we are aware that together we can all make a difference in America. Although it will be tough becasue there will always be people who will challenge the minorites, it is still possible to overcome all the obstacles thrown there way.

Boat People

The poem was very powerful and after reading it several times I was able to feel the disappointment in the writer. The author felt that by coming to America they would all be treated the same and they would have freedom, but because of there socio economic background and skin color they didn't have that freedom that they came to look for. Instead their people were looked at as they were worthless and no one that should fight for rights here in the U.S. I really enjoyed the part where it says. "what American didn't get here somehow...?" it made me think of all the other immigrants that come to the U.S. by boat or any other way. The author mentions that they didn't come with drugs in their bags, but they just wanted to work hard and be prosperous. The words of the author made this poem vivid, in the way that I can close my eyes and see the difficulties and sadness these people had. All because they came from Africa they were treated less, because they were black they were sold or held back at one point.

The Video also was powerful and sad at the same time. When she talked about the man who wanted asylum and instead got arrested. It's just amazing that we had and still have discrimination because of the color or your skin. Although today it isn't as it was before, but still there are many people who face issues on a daily basis because there are many racist people in our society.

Ch.15

In this particular chapter I found it interesting to read about "immigrants always having the dirtiest jobs". I have always heard that but I would not have expected to have been said in this book. Immigrants did not mind doing the dirty jobs, because all they wanted is to get paid and save money for their families or to build a better home in their country. Todays immigrants are said to bring badly needed professional skills to the the U.S.For instance, in many public hospitals we will see Asians working and part of the reason is because a-they are needed and b-they bring that educational background with them from their country.

When Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba more than 150,000 Cubans came to the United States running away from Castro and the changes he was going to do. Many people ask "how did many of these immigrants arrive to the U.S?" There was not any direct flights to the U.S. so many of these people came through small boats or they took other routes like through Mexico or Europe. Many Cubans and their descendants are in Florida or Miami. They have a high population of their people their and the roots of these people have increased over time. 

The New Asian Immigrants Ch.14

It was interesting to read about the different Asian groups and the differences between each group. Between 1952 and 1960 45,000 Japanese immigrated to the U.S. and it was quite shocking to me that 85.9% of that population were females. From this population, the majority of women married a non-asian man who was a current soldier or a former soldier. It brings me to think that many of these women wanted to either be able to stay in the U.S. by marrying a non-asian or they wanted to better their lives in the U.S. by getting married to someone who was a soldier. By 1965 the Immigration Act was passed and we would have thought that this would increase the population of Japanese coming to the U.S. But it did not increase, instead it decreased and the numbers show that at the beginning of previous years the numbers were high and then it slowly decreased. As I kept reading I was amazed to learn that Japanese American income was higher than most Americans. I came to the conclusion that it might have been because most Japanese did not come with kids to America or they did not have concerned about younger children or families.
Where as the Chinese population have been increasing every decade. Many of the Chinese came to the U.S. with their children and the majority of their population represents the kids that came along with them. So we see the difference: Japanese came ready alone and Chinese brought their families with them. Obviously it was much more difficult to be successful and get a good job because they also had to be watching out for their little ones and money had to go towards the kids or their education if they wanted to pursue higher education. In this chapter it also says that Chinese people who came to the U.S. were much younger in age compared to the Japanese. And according to data, Japanese had higher education than the Chinese did.

Martin Luther King

MLK was a great person who many of us have learned about starting in elementary school. It brings me to think that his work was worth it because today we have a President of color and in MLK days that would have definitely not been accepted. It brings me to think that because of a mans great work and fight racial discrimination, today we live in a society where we are built up of many different cultures and people of all kinds of skin color.

Dr. King said, "We are not advocating violence. We want to love our enemies. I want you to love our enemies. Be good to them. This is what we live by. We must meet hate with love."Although whites didn't like African Americans, Dr. King did not hate them, rather her wanted to be at peace with them. His speeches, his work, and everything that he did is today remembered and because of that there are many of us that believe in social change, social diversity and that all our dreams can indeed come true. No one can stop you from speaking your mind on a particular topic, you can do just about anything you set your mind to. Just like Dr. King was murdered for supporting a strike for the rights of others, we to can today keep making change happen. He wasn't only a social activist, but her was also a brave man who did not care what others thought about him, the color of his skin, etc. He did not give up because he wanted to be heard and he wanted to see change!

Cesar Chavez

I have always heard a lot about Cesar Chavez and it is great to know that we acknowledge people like him because he was not scared to speak out for his community, for his people. Through the years, individuals have shown that a single man can make a difference. Men who, when committed to a cause, will rise up with honor, integrity, and courage. Cesar Chavez was that kind of man, with his work he was able to rise and help others just like him. In the article we read Chavez points out and says, "the Catholic Charities agencies of the Catholic Church has millions of dollars earmarked for the poor. But often the money is spent for food baskets for the needy instead of for effective action to eradicate the

causes of poverty." This shows us that many times it isn't food that the people in need want, it is support from people like the priests. Same goes for many other issues, sometimes it is not about the money, rather it is about the issue/concern that people want others to know about. In Chavez's time period he wanted support from the priests so that they could have support in their battle to be acknowledged so that there could be social justice, social change in the community of field workers. Instead they were getting other people who were non priest to help them and that is not what they wanted. Field workers wanted the spiritual help and many did not understand why and how it would hep them. Coming from a Mexican family, I know that we believe in our traditions and that God will help us and guide us in needy times. Chavez makes many good points when he also says, "it is not just our right to appeal to the church to use its power effectively for the poor, it is our duty to do so". 

            This article brought me to think about many of our issues today. For example, our battle for unemployment. Many people are out there looking for jobs and they are not finding any, but they are immediately sent to the office of workers comp so that they can get there unemployment money. Instead of being heard they are just giving the money and that is not necessarily what many of unemployed people are asking for. Just like Chavez said that many people don’t need the food, money, etc. but they are fighting for those who really do need it.