Hispanic American Segregation

An ethic group I personally belong to is that of the Hispanic Americans. Hispanic

Americans include peoples native to North America as well as those who came to

America as early colonists. These colonists settled mainly in the area of the Western and

South Western United States. After these early colonists, Hispanic people have continued

to immigrate to America. The original Hispanic Americans were the America Indians

who lived in North America before the earliest recorded colonies. Hispanic peoples also

immigrated here from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Spain and other Latin speaking

countries. Manual Herrera Mata (my father) once said, “Being an American Hispanic in

the military in 1956 was hard. In my time most
people in the military were prejudice

towards Hispanics and African Americans.” He also stated, “The two ethnic groups had

to band together as family to survive the harshness of discrimination.” Well, times have

changed since 1956. Programs teaching diversity awareness have helped alleviate

prejudice and racism issues. Although such issues still exist towards American Hispanic

today, it is not done openly as it once was in the past. This essay will talk about how

Hispanic Americans still face prejudice and segregation today.
It will also address the

ways in which affirmative action has been an effective aid to Hispanic Americans and

Hispanic immigrants.

Most Hispanic communities are considered to be in poverty. With most Hispanic

Americans being classified as poor, education is becoming a problem within those

communities. Prejudice and segregation towards the Hispanic Americans is becoming

very apparent in regards to education.

Today, Hispanic American students are experiencing higher rates of segregation in

school systems than are any other group of students. A recent report of the Harvard

Project on School Desegregation to the National School Boards Association

describes the changing patterns of segregation and poverty since 1968. The study

found that segregation by race is strongly correlated with segregation by poverty;

and the study provides national data demonstrating that both African American and

Latino students are much more likely than white students to be in schools that are

segregated and poorly funded. Education Government (1996).

Statistics have proven that Hispanic American students are often held back in
school.

Part of the problem is that there are not enough resources to help Hispanic Americans

with the language barrier.

One of the most controversial issues in the education of Hispanic children is

language. The reason for this controversy is primarily political, rather than

educational, and reflects a public misunderstanding that bilingual and English-as-

a-Second-Language education methods are somehow a threat to American culture

and values.
In fact, the General Accounting Office (GAO) indicated in 1994 that

"the bilingual method" is the most effective for non-English speaking children. Education Government (1996).

Hispanic Americans are still faced with prejudice and segregation in an open manner in

regards to poverty and education. Poorer communities do not have the tax base to invest

in better curriculum and higher wages for teachers. The degraded standards of education

create a vicious cycle where people are stuck in lower paying jobs that maintain poverty

in the community. Better education means better jobs, more tax money, and increased

funding for developing the community.

Affirmative action is one method politicians have chosen to improve the standard of

living for minorities. The affirmative action plan gives minorities a better chance at

landing good jobs. The plan has met with some success but has also increased bad

feelings against minorities. Racism will best be defeated by education and

communication not by legislation.

"Affirmative action is not the cure, it's a remedy," says Edwin Garcia,
executive

director of the National Society of Hispanic MBAs (NSHMBA), based in Irving,

Texas. "Now more than ever, we need to look at a cure. We would not need

affirmative action if all students in grades K through 12 had access to quality

education." Hispanic Business (2007).

More people need to understood immigration and its role in developing the United

States. If we accept that this countries strength comes from the diversity of peoples and

cultures in it, we go a long way towards accepting those people. Education is the key.