Racial Issues in San Antonio, Texas - Report Example

Racial Issues in San Antonio – Texas Order No. 269550 No. of pages: 5 1st 6530 "If you are a young African-American male in Texas, three things are certain: you will die, you must pay taxes, and you will be racially profiled."                          ---State Rep. Senfronia Thompson Racism has been an ugly scar on society ever since its inception and continues to be a festering wound contributing to an uncivilized world. Though racism has been thought of having been wiped out, the true state of affairs is that it is here to remain. Racism has deep seated pockets around the world which continues to raise its ugly head ever so often. It is a well known fact that racism cannot be put to rest once and for all because of its strong foundation. Many countries around the world suffer a lot due to racism and Texas is no exception because it is in the centre of a human rights struggle ranging from immigration and religion to freedom associated with lesbian, gay and bi-sexual transgender. In addition to these issues, the issue of racism seems to be ever present. The impact of racism and violence has led to a growing awareness among different groups of activists who have fought for the violations of human rights among different communities. Organizations in the community – ACLU One such group is the ACLU in Texas which is an active organization that spearheads the diverse and multifaceted campaign against racial profiling. The organization is currently striving in its fight against racial profiling by educating the masses of its adverse impact on human rights and making the people aware that it is possible to reduce and finally put an end to racial profiling in Texas. The State of Texas has defined racial profiling as “A law enforcement initiated action based on an individual’s race, ethnicity, or national origin rather than on the individual’s behavior or on information identifying the individual as having engaged in criminal activity.” (John C. Lamberth, 2004) The tools advocated for this issue is through mobilization from the grass root level, educating the public and by passing much sterner legislative laws. The ACLU continuously enrolls volunteers into its organization and uses them in various ways to eliminate racism and violation to human rights. Some of the targeted groups with regard to color and ethnicity are African Americans, Hispanics and Blacks. Reconquista Today, the Reconquista holds a much different meaning because it reflects the explicit agenda of M.E.Ch.A. (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan) Originally, it referred to the effort of 700 years to once again Iberia from the Islamic Moors, but now it is to retake some land which belonged previously to Mexico by the U.S. Some of these places are Texas, Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico and some parts of Colorado. The key method used for the “reconquista” is demographic in nature involving both legal and illegal immigration from Central America and Mexico and also due to accelerating birthrates among the non- white Hispanic population, which would reduce itself to a small minority and gradually be voted out of power. Though such an act is non- violent, yet slowly, it would force the African- Americans, Native – Americans, Asian – Americans, and the European – Americans, out of Aztlan. The group that is behind and supporting the neo – Aztec movement are a corporate funding group made up of affluent white men. The Reconquista can in no way be called and integrationist group, but rather one could refer to it as a separatist and racial group. The translation of the M.E.Ch. A’s motto, is as follows - Everything for the race. Nothing outside the race. MEChA’s Ideology The roots of this Chicano student group goes way back into the 1960’s when it began on the campus. It is a strong nationalist body of people who openly declare their hate jealousy and discrimination against the Jews and the Whites. MECha is a selfish, racist group of people who only are about the few followers who go by the Chicano philosophy. They are a group of people who claim o be discriminated against, but they themselves show bad discrimination against others. One of the main ideologies of this group is to regain their “homeland” which is in reality a delusion. Their next demand is that the government should take care of all their needs in order for them to lead a “full life.” Such an ideology goes to show how lazy and foolish they are. Another primary goal of this group is to make progress with their political party called “La Raza Unida” (RUP) founded by Jose Angel Gutierrez who was a professor at the University of Texas, Arlington, in addition to being an extreme racist. He has passed harsh racial remarks like -“We have got to eliminate the gringo (white man), and what I mean by that is if the worst comes to the worst we have got to kill him” (source: www.stoptheinvasion.com/racism5.html), and also the following remark - “Our devil has pale skin and blue eyes” (source: www.mayorno.com/villar.html) Plan of San Diego In 1910 northern Mexico witnessed a revolution and federal authorities in the state of Texas feared that it would spread among the Mexican and Mexican – American people who lived in the valley of the Rio Grande and who outnumbered the Anglo population. The revolution resulted in an influx of illegal immigrants in addition to a good number of political refugees who had a great influence on the valley population. What erupted was a Mexican Revolution which in turn gave an opportunity for a group of people who started a movement called “Plan of San Diego” a revolutionary manifesto which was signed in Texas in 1915 to bring about some drastic changes on the political and economic fronts. This resulted in the formation of the “Liberating Army of Races and Peoples” which was primarily made up of African – Americans, the Japanese and the Mexican – Americans. There were two other plans in San Diego which emphasized on “liberation” and the establishing of the “Republic of Texas.” The tactics used by these groups was guerilla warfare which they made use of to disrupt communication and transport facilities and massacring the Anglos. Even long after these plans were abandoned, it continued to create ripples of racial antagonism for a long time after that. Racism has been part and parcel of San Antonio, Texas and it doesn’t seem to be coming to an end. People are often discriminated and penalized because of the color or their skin or come from a different country. Racism has become so commonplace that it exists everywhere, people talk about it all the time, but even though a lot of groups are fighting against it, it still lurks in dark corners only to raise its ugly head now and then. Not all white people are racists or support racism, in fact there are the majority of people who openly say how detestful it is to ill treat human beings of a different class or color just because they are a bit different. Other hate groups are the Klu Klux Klan and white supremists who remain in pockets in Texas. The population in San Antonia is mostly Hispanic and so they do not experience much of the KKK. But this group is full of hatred and racial intolerance and they make a hell of people wherever they go. They are kind of heartless and would stop at nothing if they find people going against their beliefs. On a broader platform racism does not only pertain to Black or Hispanic people, but it could happen anywhere and affect anyone at any time. Racial segregation and racial discrimination are seen a lot in places of employment and other public places such as schools and colleges. The problems suffered by these targeted groups are something that is highly painful and robs people of their identity and confidence. It makes them feel like outsiders or outcasts and their efforts are never recognized which results in compounding the problems further. Various Organizations are still striving hard to put and end to racism and help people to live under equal terms while treating each other like human beings and nothing more. References ACLU of Texas – Projects – Racial Profiling www.aclutx.org/projects/racialprofiling.php Charles H. Harris III and Louis R. Sadler, "The Plan of San Diego and the Mexican-U.S. War Crisis of 1916: A Reexamination," Hispanic American Historical Review 58 (August 1978) Friedrich Katz, The Secret War in Mexico: Europe, the United States and the Mexican Revolution (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1981). James Sandos, Rebellion in the Borderlands: Anarchism and the Plan of San Diego, 1904-1923 (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1992). John C . Lamberth, (2004) Racial Profiling. Temple University, Philadelphia. Kristen Lucero. MEChA: Racists, Selfish, Jealous. The racist and anti-semitic roots of MEChA’s ideology. The Irvine Review. (2005) Nightmare Racism and open call for revolution. www.infowars.com/articles/immigration/deisyseis_partone.htm Read More