EXCERPTS FROM STUDENT PROJECT #2

The Neighborhood

If Esperanza were describing my neighborhood when she said, "All brown all around we are safe," she would mean African American people. I say it because in my neighborhood we are basically African American people. In Esperanza’s neighborhood most everybody was Mexican.

I think that Esperanza feels safer when she is with her own race. We feel safe with people who look like us because we speak the same language and slang’s. We African American people have a way of dressing alike, eating the same foods, and liking the same cultural activities. We do not feel that anyone should dislike us because of who we are, or because we have a lot in common.

If, I were with a lot of people from another ethnic group, I would feel uncomfortable, because of racism. In my neighborhood, I have been treated unkindly, because I was from a different ethnic group. This is probably because some people do not want to take the time to learn about other people, from a different race, before judging them.

My First Language

Once, I was criticized for using my first language in public. I felt badly because that is the language that I know best. I objected because I did not want to be treated differently. I do not like discrimination, because it is unfair.

I did not appreciate the teacher for suggesting that I should always speak Standard English. I felt that he had no respect for my first language. I thought that the teacher was being unfair.

If nobody understood my first language, then I guess that I would understand my teacher’s request. However, I thought she was discriminating against me. If I am not allowed to speak my first language, how do I communicate with the older people in my family and neighborhood community?