So Mexicans Are Taking Jobs Poem Analysis
The United States in the 1970s was full of controversy. Riots, protests, and strikes were appearing all over the news throughout the nation, and the discrimination against Mexicans and Mexican Americans in the workforce was finally coming to light. During this time, Jimmy Santiago Baca wrote about some of these issues in his poem "So Mexicans Are Taking Jobs from Americans." The poem speaks volumes to what was occurring in America. Although the title may give one impression of the poem, the true meaning lies within its satirical message. Through elements such as the poem’s historical context, the literary devices, and the narrator’s ability to evoke sympathy, we recognize that the poem’s true message is to communicate the discrimination against
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The poem was published in 1977, right in the midst of many disputes about workforce labor laws and contracts regarding the Mexican and Mexican American workers. After keeping quiet, the Mexicans finally stood up and began to speak against the pressure of low wages and poor working conditions; however, their voices were generally ignored until civil rights activist Cesar Chavez came along. According to Give Me Liberty!: An American History, “Beginning in 1965, Cesar Chavez . . . led a series of nonviolent protests, including marches, fasts, and a national boycott to California grapes, to pressure growers to agree to labor contracts with the United Farm Workers Union (UFW)” (Foner). Cesar Chavez’s boycott of California grapes brought the discrimination against farm workers to light and inspired many Mexicans nationwide to stand up for their rights (Foner). Cesar Chavez once said, "However important the struggle is and however much misery, poverty and exploitation exist, we know that it cannot be more important then one human life," and with this inspiring quote, he inspired Mexican farm workers to fight for equality with passion, passion not unlike what we hear in the narrator’s voice ("UFW: The Official Web Page of the United Farm Workers of
The poem was published in 1977, right in the midst of many disputes about workforce labor laws and contracts regarding the Mexican and Mexican American workers. After keeping quiet, the Mexicans finally stood up and began to speak against the pressure of low wages and poor working conditions; however, their voices were generally ignored until civil rights activist Cesar Chavez came along. According to Give Me Liberty!: An American History, “Beginning in 1965, Cesar Chavez . . . led a series of nonviolent protests, including marches, fasts, and a national boycott to California grapes, to pressure growers to agree to labor contracts with the United Farm Workers Union (UFW)” (Foner). Cesar Chavez’s boycott of California grapes brought the discrimination against farm workers to light and inspired many Mexicans nationwide to stand up for their rights (Foner). Cesar Chavez once said, "However important the struggle is and however much misery, poverty and exploitation exist, we know that it cannot be more important then one human life," and with this inspiring quote, he inspired Mexican farm workers to fight for equality with passion, passion not unlike what we hear in the narrator’s voice ("UFW: The Official Web Page of the United Farm Workers of