Being Poor & Mexican-American in the United States
Growing up Mexican-American in the United States was growing up to be White. I was raised In South Texas, in a predominantly brown town, but let’s be real…the town was run by the minority White folks. So, to say that I fully embraced my culture, my history, would be a lie. I was more White than I should have been. From the time I was born, the society in which my ancestors fought in wars for tried to rid me of my heritage. Forget that my Great-grandfather, grandfather, and father were veterans and saw bloodshed for this country and forget that my ancestors where here long before Texas became Texas. None of that matters when you are growing up brown in America. Why is that? Why are our White brothers and sisters so scared of allowing us an equal playing field? Stop right there if you think we have always had equality because if you do, you are sadly mistaken. Let me give you a brief history of my family’s field and you decide if I have had an equal chance at life. Were opportunities the...