Zoe Marie Martinez Nuñez
English 11000
Professor Jason Lobell
November 16, 2023
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The United States, founded on slavery and genocide, raises questions about the authenticity of its democratic promises. The freedom it promises is merely a trap into which most individuals fall. Where was the freedom in the country that kept slavery legal? When Americans claimed credit
for everything done by “outsiders,” was equality there? In the United States, people of color are less privileged, have harsher dealings with the criminal justice system, lack status, and are not afforded the same chances as their lighter counterparts, causing them to reside at the bottom of the
social hierarchy. Democracy is intended to be open and welcoming to all individuals. However, why do people of color are unable to have this privilege in the United States? Historical events like enslavement and immigration have influenced common perceptions to categorize “immigrants as outsiders wanting to take over the U.S.” or to categorize Black people as “dangerous,” which have made it challenging for people of color to advance. Laws such as the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and Stop and Frisk Policies are prime examples of ways that freedom and equality are kept
away from certain groups of people. Such evaluation brings up the following question: How does United States colonialism create generations of oppression and struggle of oppression and struggle for Black and Latinx communities? To adequately understand this, it is necessary to describe the
actions and laws against Black and Latinx communities and analyze their impact on today’s
generations.
It has always been believed that the beginning of the United States was on the fourth of July in 1776, Independence Day. However, this is not true. According to the 1619 Project and the Long Battle Over US History, the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in the English colonies in August 1619 could be considered the country’s origin. As a result, slavery has been the basis of traditions and institutions. Jones is introducing this new perspective of American history that has not been told before, and it may also make others see things differently. “Could be said to mark the earliest beginnings of what would become American Democracy” (Silverstein, 2021), being responsible for the continuing racial inequalities stemming from slavery too. Ideas like this were not taught in schools because of political leaders. They disagree with the 1619 Project because of the topics it embarks on. Some of these topics were how a certain race, ethnic group, or sex can be superior to another race, ethnic group, or sex. They did not want any kind of revolution regarding these topics. However, preventing these from being discussed in classrooms demonstrates their
intervention for people to learn the untold history. The belief “that the American flag wasn’t theirs, that their history as people began with enslavement and that they had contributed little to this country” (Silverstein, 2021) is not true. African Americans were the ones responsible for the
country’s wealth and democracy but were not recognized for it. Black people are viewed as second-class citizens despite being the true founders of the United States. The concept of American freedom has also been and remains fundamentally based on Black Americans. They contributed
more than any other group in this nation’s history, generation after generation: “It is we who have been the perfecters of this democracy.” (Silverstein, 2021). Overall, White people conceal the contributions made by black people to the nation.
Latinos struggle in American society just as much as Black people do. They may not share the same kind of experiences, but both suffered the same sentiment of a xenophobic and
discriminatory system. Unlike African Americans, Latinos were already present in the country. 1848 is an example of when the American narrative had Latinos as the main characters. Consequently, Latinos had to deal with several hardships during that time, such as being treated as
outsiders on their territory in the United States. Describing that time requires setting the appropriate context or working back to them to gauge the significance of this threshold and the trends that followed. In 1848, Mexican men and American soldiers engaged in a land battle in the same year,
with the Mexicans surrendering their share of the land to the Americans in exchange for the Mexicans now residing on American territory receiving citizenship. “The U.S.-Mexican War and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Spanish-speaking settlers confronted dramatic changes in their lives and their communities.” (Ruiz, 2006). With this, Mexico lost half of its national territory as well as 75,000 to 80,000 colonist citizens, the majority of whom lived in New Mexico. Later, “Mexicans is the U.S. side of the border became second-class citizens, commonly divested of their property, political power, and cultural entitlements.” (Ruiz, 2006). Mexicans were denied most of their rights and did not appear to be US citizens. The current situation of immigrants, who are mostly from Latin America, is like back then. When individuals from other countries come to the United States are deprived of their rights.
“The Chinese Exclusion Act” of 1882 describes the laws and conditions that took place after the act was approved regarding the Chinese immigrants that came before and after the act. The Senate and House of Representatives convened and voted to suspend the entry of Chinese laborers into the United States beginning on the 90th day. During this suspension, it was not lawful for any Chinese laborers to come after ninety days to remain in the United States. Asian immigrants with their actions were introducing new ideologies to Americans, most Asian women “who were accused of introducing venereal diseases and debasing and corrupting white American manhood and to demean the ideals of domestic nurturance and moral uplift embodied in white American womanhood.” (Sang Hea, 2012). The American population did not want these foreigners to change what they already constructed, so to maintain their ideologies “articulators of anti-Asian sentiments have averred threats to the system in the form of unfree labor must be excluded or deported.” (Sang Hea, 2012). They wanted people of color out to avoid the risk of ideas and practices such as socialism, communism, and fascism damaging the purity of the nation’s ideology and politics. Overall, to drive foreigners out of the country, Americans feel intimidated by them destroying what they have built. Therefore, they use all necessary measures to accomplish so.
As already mentioned, people of color are barred from the system since it does not acknowledge them as a part of it. As a result, it is difficult for them to advance since they do not
have the same benefits as others. Resistance to the deaths of Black individuals in the Dominican Republic who form part of a large-scale movement against statelessness. These individuals remain “undocumented” and deprived of their rights since the Dominican government does not recognize
them as citizens but as foreigners. As a result, racist and discriminative laws targeted at Black individuals are the reason for the emergence of the Reconocido movement. “Black Dominicans of Haitian descent struggle to be recognized by the Dominican government which will not grant them citizenship despite being born in Dominican territory.” (Estrella, 2020). These individuals were just
there. In addition to fighting for legal recognition, they are also fighting for their lives due to increased death rates brought on by systematic racism that keeps Black Dominicans of Haitian heritage outside of the Dominican Republic. Discrimination towards a race and ethnic
group revolves around stereotypes or rumors about them being dangerous. “They referred to themselves as zombies because they did not exist legally and were denied access to government services, even though their physical presence as Black people made them highly visible, undesirable, and dangerous within a Dominican society that had labeled them as Haitians and refused to accept their claims to Dominican identity.” (Estrella, 2020). Blacks and Latinos are often
targeted by the government since the stereotype of them being the ones who commit most of the crimes persecute them. It is highly typical for police to suspect that people of color are involved in crimes such as robbery, drug dealing, or owning a gun illegally.
The “stop and frisk” policy is how Blacks and Latinos are often targeted by the police since the stereotype of them being the ones who commit most of the crimes chase them. The author selected their central argument because it is quite common for police to infer that people of color
are behind in crimes like robbery, drug dealing, or murder attempts, among others. The “stop and frisk” is considered to prevent crime, but it is also used to target blacks and Latinos, which also violates their civil rights. “Mostly consisted of what the NYPD calls the Roosevelt Corridor, which at the time consisted mostly of the impact zone in the multi-ethnic, heavily Latino neighborhoods of Jackson Heights.” (Garcia, 2013). Areas that are deemed to have high crime rates are where police officers conduct the majority of stops and frisks. Black and Latino neighborhoods are designated as “gang zones,” and police officers believe that their presence helps to reduce violence in these areas. Many people of color are often the targets of police officers when looking for
crimes. Sadly, this is a stereotype developed from slavery. It also reminds me of Black people being arrested in the past for minor charges. “We all deserve to live free from harm, crime, and danger. But we also deserve to live in a place without harassment from the police regardless of our
physical appearance.” (Garcia, 2013). Overall, the continuous disdain for people of color is due to false misconceptions that harm their reputation, forcing them to lose their rights as individuals in society.
To sum up, everything that has been stated so far, although American democracy exemplifies freedom, it is not intended for people of color. Measures such as the Chinese Exclusion
Act, and “Stop and Frisk” humiliate these populations by depriving and violating their civil rights, making it impossible for them to advance in the country. In addition, they are rarely credited for their contributions to the nation. As demonstrated, the tyranny and prejudice against Blacks and Latinos continue. Even while things are no longer what they once were, there are still remnants. People of color have been and will continue to be treated as outsiders in the United States because American democracy, which was founded on colonialism, has manifested in generations of oppression and struggle, which are still prevalent today.
