My only desire was to learn of the people who came before me. To be proud of the individual I am and who I seeked to be. Being raised in New York allowed me to educate myself and interact with different cultures and people from various ethnicities. All my life I thought I had an inclusive knowledge of various ethnicities and their struggles.Till I realize that I had never learned of the impact the hispanic community had on the development of the United States. My unknowledgeable understanding of the struggles of Minorities, is representative of a more comprehensive problem that occurs within the educational school system of the U.S.
As I mentioned before I grew up in an extremely diverse community, however not everyone is fortunate enough to be surrounded by different cultures and ethnicities. Due to the environment I was raised in I thought I would receive an inclusive educational curriculum, however that wasn’t the case. I was fifteen when I first learned about the “Chicano Movement” which can be referred to as “El Movimiento.” As a Mexican- American it was astonishing to have never heard of a movement that advocated for social and political empowerment, especially since it was my own community that had to endured decades of discrimiation in southern areas of the United States. At seventeen I learned about the Tulsa Race Massacre this was a year after I had finished my US history curriculum. Although the Tulsa RAe Massacre is known as one of the deadliest riots in U.S history it was never mentioned during my segregation unit. Who was supposed to tell that the worst incident of racial violence that has ever occurred in the US, was also the least known.
My lackluster knowledge of the struggles that my community and other minorities, represents how the educational school system of the U.S. has failed us. The lack of representation of individuals from various ethnicities and racially distinct groups in American textbooks and their achievement; reveals how students have trouble identifying the significant role they have on society.
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