There is a Darryl Coley song that starts: What’s in a name? Does it really matter? What’s in a name? Who really cares? While I know that this is a Gospel song
therefore talking about Jesus, I’ve wondered how this translates in the secular
sense in America. Though there has been
a long history of people changing their first names on resumes from ethnic
sounding names to “white” sounding names and getting more hits, what about last
names?
Since living in Houston for a little over a year now, I’ve
had many up close and personal experiences with people of Hispanic and Latin
decent—from the Spanish speaking service workers at various restaurants to the
English speakers with thick accents in government positions and Corporate
America. It wasn’t until I met one of my
current co-workers with the last name Gonzalezz (yes, it has two “z”s) that I
realized the difficulty of the Latin and Mexican American struggle here in the
US.
My co-worker comes in early every day and leaves later than
everyone else but is still unsure of himself.
I remember having a team meeting once where he had a panic attack. He doesn’t usually talk much in the team
meetings and I wondered after his attack if he might have been overwhelmed with
not understanding the subject matter. Sometimes while writing emails and such, he
asks me to proofread them to make sure they sound correct. It takes him forever to write them too.
I wonder if this struggle is akin to the African American
struggle just after Emancipation. While
there are no lynch threats and they’ve never been counted at 3/5 a person,
Enrique has an eagerness to learn. I
find it frustrating sometimes when I have to explain simple things to him. After all, he moved here when he was 10. Sometimes, I wonder why he didn’t do better
in school. Then I am reminded of the
current state of the American school system and how students are often passed
up for good behavior and are not necessarily taught.
I also wonder what can help.
Before moving to Texas, I believed part of the media stereotype that
Mexicans don’t want to participate in American culture. I thought they were just here to make money to
send back to Mexico and have lots of babies.
Since moving to Texas, I realize this isn’t completely true. They want the American dream as well and,
like Blacks, face barriers to entry.
During President Obama’s second administration, I changed my voting
classification from Independent as it had been since I registered at 18, to
Democrat and I plan to vote Democrat in the upcoming election. I am anxious to see how both Democratic
candidates will vie for the minority vote.
While Hillary Clinton has absolutely done the work to be our next Commander-In-Chief,
neither candidate has announced their plans for America’s minorities…
Are you listening?
