Who Are US Latinas/os? An Inauguration Day Reflection

Abstract

Who Are US Latinas/os? An Inauguration Day Reflection Lorena Gauthereau (bio) On Friday, January 20, 2017, the US Presidential Inauguration Day, many universities and social activist groups across the United States organized varied events. At Rice University, in Houston, Texas, students, faculty, staff, and alumni alike participated in “Onward! An Inauguration Day Teach-in,” a day of roundtable discussions and breakout sessions focused on educating and engaging the Rice community on politically charged topics. The event was proposed by English professor Lacy Johnson and co-organized by Johnson and anthropology professor Zoë Wool. “Onward!” was inspired in part by an opinion piece written by Rice University president David Leebron, which appeared in The Rice Thresher at the start of the Fall 2016 semester. In the article, Leebron urged students to participate in difficult conversations concerning topics of politics and religion. Such discussions, Leebron stated, “can form an incredibly important part of an education, and enable us to truly benefit from all the forms of diversity in our community” (Leebron n.p.). The goal of the teach-in was to “offer resources through which new infrastructures for dialogue, education, understanding, and engagement can emerge. Our intention is to help all participants thoughtfully contemplate the implications of the new federal administration across a wide range of domains by putting this moment into broader historical, social, and political context. Our hope is that new ways forward will emerge” (Rice Responds). One of the breakout sessions, “Who Are Latinas/os?” was led by Rice Associate Professor of Chicana/o and American Literature José F. Aranda Jr. During this session, Aranda touched on various topics, including national statistics; the diverse socioeconomic, political, and cultural background of US Latinas/os; immigration; language; religion; and racial discrimination. The students, staff, faculty, and alumni who attended this event participated in conversations about community and cross-cultural awareness. I participated in the event as well, and, after the discussion, I prompted the attendees to write a reflection on an index card, which would then form a line in a collaborative poem. I gathered the unsigned cards and organized them in what I felt was a cohesive manner. I limited my editing to organization and creating line breaks in order to preserve the rawness of the moment and the poem’s polyvocality. [End Page 199] The following poem is the result of the collaborative work of Rice community members who attended the session, including undergraduate and graduate students, staff, faculty, and alumni. In its honest roughness, this poem conveys the discomfort, the sorrow, the optimism, the confusion, and most of all the desire to connect that pulsed through this group of people. The collaborative nature of the poem weaves together political thoughts and personal worries. It infuses policy with personal experience. Who Are Latinas/os? Who are Latinas? Who are Latinos? I am not safe to be myself,I’m safe to be like everyone else.No puedo ser,I’m safe to be like everyone else. “MEXICAN” should not be a slur. I love my culture andSometimes I just wantTo share itWithout someone thinkingI’m the typicalHispanic stereotype.It’s not a stereotype.It’s my culture.And I’m not afraid to share it. Oh you’re not from here?I didn’t think you wereIllegalYou speak English so well! My family is from the United States.I am Chicana. [End Page 200] LATINO + HISPANIC RIGHTSAREHUMAN RIGHTS Why is it that myliminality,duality,my white motherand my brown fatherspell outnullnessinauthenticity? Geography matters.Unity matters.Uniqueness matters.We matter. We long to reach out toConservative Hispanics who feel like theyhave todistance themselves from“dirty Mexicans.” I am more than aPhysical representation ofA percentage and aCulturalSocialAssumption ofMy people. I am more than theDaughter of peopleWho risked their livesTo give me aBetter future,But I am proud ofOur history. [End Page 201] SOMOS UNIDOS.We need education onShared experiences,Understanding.We need to unite. When I joined my high school soccer team,the locker room divided within the first weekbetween...