Analysis Of Racism By De Genova

De Genova’ book was an interesting piece to read (not my favorite book that I agree with, but still interesting), and at times I felt frustrated (as a Mexican American) at the things that occurred. To start off, I read Part Two of the book and it had some interesting ideas. One thing that caught my attention right from the start was, “The racial factor, which ostensibly united them, was the center of their dispute” (De Genova 94). This passage was interesting to me because it clearly shows the complexity of a unifying force to challenge racism. The fight against racism in public schools was clearly what united them, but at the same time it seems they weren’t too happy with each other in the sense that they wanted to tackle this situation differently. …show more content…
Why I found this frustrating is because instead of unifying together to combat racism, different racial groups tried to separate themselves from African Americans to better themselves. I find this ridiculous because it’s like basically saying, “At least we’re not African American minority.” I find this disturbing because instead of forming an alliance, different groups turn on each other to better their own lives. As a Mexican American it makes me wonder where I fit in? My mother has a high influence of Spanish blood—she’s white skinned, but my dad is more on the Mexico native side with dark skin…so where would I have fit in? I’m not light skinned enough to be white, but I’m not dark enough to be dark skinned. I find it atrocious that as a minority group we try to distance ourselves from a group that has the same mission in mind; instead of unifying to combat our common mission, we segregate from each other because we feel “superior” than African Americans and because it would benefit our own selfish needs. “…it is tempting and sometimes …show more content…
I do not agree with all the steps that were taken during the court case, and I also don’t agree with some of the word choices in the book. I feel like this book included a lot of important information that makes it essential for people to fully understand racism, but the actions that people did at the time is something I don’t agree with. I don’t agree with different minority groups arguing over who is less of a minority; it seems ridiculous to argue who is more “white.” I think it’s awkward to make the American way the standard because it’s just enforcing the idea that white Americans are superior. Overall, I wasn’t a fan of the book, but it was interesting to read about these real life