Impact of Latinx Studies

              

- NBC Latino/ IBOPE Zogby Survey

              This week in class we wrote about the significance of Latinx Studies in Schools. It made me think about what exactly Latinx Studies means to me. Latinx Studies is something that I enjoy, it is relatable, the struggles Latinx people have faced in the U.S. and continue to, are the same struggles my family and I have faced. I grew up in a community which was heavily populated with Latinx individuals. I have seen the struggles of family friends needing a car to go to work but not being able to get a license because they are undocumented. I have witnessed from experience American citizens exploit undocumented workers. Just two months ago, while sitting in a worker’s compensation court, I witnessed something that baffled me. A man who had just arrived from Latin America, got referred to work for an American. He got picked up at the worker’s meeting point and taken to the job site. While at the site, the Latinx man (whom I choose to not identify), fell from the roof. He smashed his head in, was unconscious and bleeding. The American who was the boss of the work site put him in the pick-up truck, took him to a road and left him on the side of the road. This man was bleeding and unconscious, did not speak a word of English, and was unaware of his surroundings. Someone eventually found him and called the paramedics and the police. Today, the man is partially disabled, he cannot live or care for himself on his own. The lawyers and court systems were not able to do anything to help this man, because the employer who picked him up and left him on a road is still unidentified, and the man was not able to identify. This unfortunate event is another example of the struggles Latinx individuals face in the U.S. that go unnoticed. Therefore, Latinx studies in important to have in schools. If Americans were educated on ethnic studies, they would be more sympathetic to people who don’t look or talk exactly the way they do. There would be no bullying or hate crimes. Latinx studies is important to me because it will reduce the ignorance and arrogance that some Americans have towards people who are not a part of the dominant culture. It also educates us on how to deescalate certain bad situations that can be directed towards Latinx individuals. It also helps those who are also Latinx to not assimilate and take pride in their culture and themselves wherever they go. Having to hide who you truly are to be able to assimilate to society sounds like a whole lot of oppression and bullying.