Mexican Americans

The ethnonym Mexican American is the usual term of self description for people with strong ties to both the United States of America and Mexico. It describes both United States citizens of Mexican ancestry (14 million in 2003) and Mexican citizens who reside in the United States (10 million in 2003). According to the Pew Hispanic Center, in mid-2001, an additional 4.5 million Mexicans were residing illegally in the United States. Mexican Americans account for 64% of the Hispanic or Latino population of the United States. Settlement concentration is overwhelmingly found in the Southwestern part of the United States. However, there are isolated concentrations of Mexican-Americans near the Chicago area and in mostly rural areas in Florida and North Carolina. Growing populations are also present in other parts of the rural Southeastern United States, in states such as Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Alabama and Arkansas. In addition to the upper Midwest, Mexican American communities thrive in Chicago, Detroit, Kansas City, Missouri, St. Louis, Milwaukee and Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. A growing population is also present in urban areas such as New York City and Philadelphia. However, Mexican American citizens reside throughout the entire United States, and according to the U.S. census, about 26.5 million Americans listed their ancestry as "Mexican".

Economic and Social issues

The economy has long needed service workers, manufacturing workers, farm laborers, and skilled artisans. Mexican workers have usually met those demands for cheap labor. However, fear of detection and deportation keep many illegal immigrant workers from taking advantage of social welfare programs as well as interaction with public authorities and makes them highly vulnerable to exploitation by employers. Some employers, however, over the last decade, have developed a "don't ask, don't tell" attitude, indicating a greater comfort or casual approach toward hiring ethnic Mexican residents.

In the United States where Mexican Americans make up a significant percentage of the population, such as California and Texas, Mexican Americans almost exclusively occupy most blue-collar occupations, such as restaurant workers, janitors, truck drivers, gardeners, construction laborers, material moving workers, and other manual labor. In many of these places with large Latino populations, blue-collar workers are often assumed to be Mexican Americans because of their dominance in those occupations. Occasionally, tensions have risen between Mexican immigrants and other ethnic groups because of increasing concerns over the availability of working-class jobs to non-Hispanic ethnic groups. However, tensions have also risen among Mexican American laborers who have been displaced as a result of both cheap Mexican labor and racial profiling.

Social mobility

The U.S. Census finds increases in average personal and household incomes for Mexican Americans, among all Latinos in the early 2000s. U.S. born Mexican Americans earn more and are represented more in the middle and upper-class segments than most recently arrived Mexican immigrants. It should be noted, however, that Mexican Americans are not well represented in the professions. Some have argued that this precipitates the need for affirmative action for Hispanics in general and Mexicans in particular. Time will tell whether Mexican immigrants and second-generation children will advance upward in the socioeconomic ladder.

Discrimination and Stereotypes

Mexican Americans endured a high level of stereotypes, mainly negative enough to defame and insult a whole people in the media: As street criminals, poor drifters, "lazy peon" field workers, illegal "alien" immigrants or backward people). They are found on news reports, movies, television, comedy (offensive racial jokes) and music parodies. They amount to discrimination on Mexican Americans for most of the 20th century in obtaining employment, education, real estate and financial loands. However, some famous Mexican Americans like Chicano folk musician Lalo Guerrero made spoof of these stereotypes in a comical light, such as two of his songs "Yes, There are No Tortillas" and "No Chicanos on TV".

But, these assumptions came back violently and Mexican Americans paid the price in police brutality, physical harassment and run-ins with immigration officials, when in fact the suspect was actually an US citizen or here legally. Mexican Americans found themselves targeted by hate groups, from the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920's had a major influence in Texas; to the Neo-Nazis in the 1990's attacked several Hispanic individuals for looking "Mexican" or "illegal alien", but most victims are native-born citizens. The news media doesn't focus much on the impact of hate crimes against Mexican Americans, unlike the amount of attention on hate crimes on other minority groups.

Racial classification of Mexican Americans in the USA

Americans of Mexican heritage, like other minority groups, are defined differently at various times in the United States. In the 19th century, they are classified as white and allowed to naturalize, based upon an 1848 treaty. In 1930, nativists lobby to classify them separately on the census, to limit their immigration and reinforce their distinctness from whites. During World War II, as demand for Mexican labor grows, Mexicans are again classified as whites. In the 1970s, they are reclassified as "Hispanics." As census historian Hyman Alterman notes, the definition depends on political climate: "It was not an accident that in the census of 1930, persons of Mexican birth or ancestry were classified as 'nonwhite'. This was a policy decision, not a mistake. "Mexican Americans have held different forms of status at different times throughout the history of the United States, and during most times of the history of the United States, Mexicans have been considered racially non-White." Mexicans are largely considered non-white today, however according to the U.S. Census criteria and other governmental legal construction they are 'legally' white ^[1] and in the last U.S census around half of them self-checked the box for white (in addition to stating their Hispanic national origin), though it is very possible that some who checked that box also had partial non-white ancestry. This American rule would place President Fox-Quesada whose parents are from Ireland (father) and from Spain (mother) as non-white even though the parents who were born in Europe would be white.

Despite their "legal" status today as white, and even their partial European heritage (see Mestizo), most Mexican Americans are seen as socially and racially non-White. Given that many Mexican-Americans with complete or predominant European features are not seen or even fit the stereotype "of a Mexican type", they are looked over as being simply White Americans- lowering the identifiable number of white Mexican Americans. This is the case with other White Hispanics. Many Mexicans view themselves, many times incorrectly, as distinctly non-white and proudly claim direct descent from amerindians, most commonly the Aztecs and Mayans. The Mexican flag contains the emblem-shield symbolizing Aztec heritage and was inspired by an Aztec legend regarding the founding of Tenochtitlan. [1] [2].

The 1930 U.S. census form asked for "color or race." The 1930 census enumerators were given these instructions: "write 'W' for White; 'Mex for Mexican [3], but from 1940 to the latter part of the century the instructions were: Mexicans.-Report "white" (W) for Mexicans unless they are definitely of indigenous or other nonwhite race. [4]

During the Great Depression anywhere from one to two million people were deported in a decade-long effort by the government to free up jobs for those who were considered “real Americans” and rid the county governments of “the problem.” The campaign, called the "Mexican Repatriation", was authorized by President Herbert Hoover and it targeted areas with large Hispanic populations, mostly in California, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Illinois and Michigan. Although President Franklin D. Roosevelt ended federal support when he took office, many state and local governments continued with their efforts. It left festering emotional wounds that for many have not healed. Estimates now indicate that approximately 60 percent of the people deported were children who were born in the United States and others who, while of Mexican descent, were legal citizens. Many of these people returned to the United States during the labor shortages of World War II. But racial animosity continued to a point racial violence against Mexican Americans took place, like in Los Angeles, June 1943 (see zoot suit riots).

Historically, they were sometimes permitted to intermarry with "whiter" people; were sometimes allowed to get citizenship upon arrival; served in all-white units during the Second World War; could sometimes vote and hold elected office in places such as Texas, especially San Antonio but found their rights restricted according to the social mores of the time; ran the state politics and elite of New Mexico since colonial times; and went to integrated schools in Central Texas and Los Angeles but were restricted to segregated schools throughout much of south Texas and California. These partial rights contrasted with outright discrimination and segregation of minority groups like Blacks and Asians in the areas where most Mexicans lived during the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. Racial segregation in law seized in the 1950's, but in some cases, by custom. An old habit in much of the Southwest U.S. where it's said Anglos and Mexicans appear to live in different worlds, just like Mexico and the U.S. are different countries.

In other U.S. regions, there was much less social stigma of intermarriage with Euro-Americans, mainly of ethnic communities who share the immigrant experience and both spouses are in the Roman Catholic church. In California, high rates of intermarriages involved Indian-American and Arab-American spouses are well documented. In California until the 1950's, Filipinos and other Asians were not allowed to marry Mexican-Americans because of the White Status held by Mexican-Americans. Today, the racial intermarriage trend with Asian Americans is notably commonplace, and are said to increasingly select Hispanic/Latino spouses.

Even when "legally" white, many Mexican Americans do have a mestizo heritage, a mixture of European and Amerindian. Together with the white population of Mexico, these mestizos constitute more than 75% of the country of Mexico, 10% being purely Amerindian and 15% white. Because of the Mestizo heritage of most Mexicans, the categorization of Mexicans is unique because it involves mixed ancestries (whereas Europeans are 100% White, and Asians are 100% Asian).

Political issues

The turnout among Mexican Americans is low (less than 40% vote). Of those who vote, large majorities vote for Democratic candidates in most states except Texas (where the Democrats win narrowly). In the 2004 presidential election, in the western states, exit polls showed that "Latinos" (nearly all Mexican Americans) comprised 13% of all voters. They split 39% for Bush and 58% for Kerry. In California alone they comprised 21% of the voters and split 32% for Bush and 63% for Kerry. However in Texas where the Republicans made a strong appeal, they comprised 20% of the voters and split 49% for Bush and 51% for Kerry. Senator Octaviano Ambrosio Larrazolo, elected in New Mexico in 1928, was the first Hispanic to be elected to the United States Senate; Ken Salazar, Democrat of Colorado in 2004 became the first in recent decades. Both men came from old Hispanic families and neither was a product of the 20th century immigration. Traditional Mexican communities take conservative positions on social issues such as abortion and homosexuality, and show strong loyalties to the traditional version of the Roman Catholic Church, though there is a growing evangelical Protestant group. Under George W. Bush the Republican Party is trying to make inroads with Mexican American voters, but a strong nativist undercurrent in the GOP is making Bush's efforts controversial in his party. The LULAC is an important political organization for Mexican Americans, though it also represents other Hispanic Americans as well.

In 1999, California voters elected Cruz Bustamente as the state's first Latino lieutenant governor (Bustamante is of Mexican descent) since 1877. Re-elected with running mate state Governor Gray Davis in 2003, Bustamente lost to Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 2003 statewide recall election.

In 2005, Antonio Villaraigosa became Los Angeles' first mayor of Mexican descent since 1871. His style in the tight election campaign earned Villaraigosa a place in city hall, and his wildly optimistic speeches has energized the city's racially diverse voter base.

Culture

The proximity of the two countries, a continuous influx of new arrivals, concentration in predominantly Mexican barrios and colonias and Spanish-language media enable Mexican immigrants to maintain ties with relatives in Mexico and the Spanish language to a degree not possible for previous immigrant groups with their respective countries of origin and native tongues.

The trans-nationalism and biculturalism of many Mexican Americans in the four border states indicate the ethnic group has little interest in abandonment of Mexican cultural heritage and a gaining only a strong loyalty to American society (although it should be noted that many Mexican-Americans are fiercely patriotic for the US). There are many more Mexican Americans whom shown their opposition on what unchecked illegal immigration has done to their communities and the country.

This has led to controversies starting in the late 20th century and continuing to this day about Mexican Americans and assimilation. Some are appreciative of the new cultural contributions Mexicans are making (e.g. food, music and style), but want Mexicans to learn how to speak English fluently, use English in public conversations with native English speakers, and abandon their political affiliations with Mexico. Others believe Mexicans must abandon most of their cultural heritage (or assimilate) in order to be considered "Americans". There is some heavy criticism of ethnic acculturation was set up by "liberal" policies and social mores, and the Roman Catholic church was accused to promote Hispanic cultural identity in their immigrant constituents.

Some Mexican Americans want to continue to preserve and pursue bilingualism (whether or not this implies the retention of the language at home or in public is unknown), observe Mexican customs (this could imply varying degrees of participation, from celebrating Mexican Independence (September 16) to observing traditional Mexican customs with respect to gender, family, faith and community) and maintain dual identity. Historically, the experience of other immigrant groups has proven that assimilation is inevitable, especially in terms of language. Since Universities, the business establishment and the professions conduct their business in English, knowledge of the English language is absolutely necessary if one wants to move up the social and economic ladder.

Indeed, studies show that by the third generation, 2/3rds of all Mexican Americans will only speak English at home. Also, while the proximity of Mexico may allow for broader social contact between Mexican Americans and Mexico, it should also be noted that the United States is a globalized country where interaction with the mainstream is inevitable for those who desire upward mobility. Whereas in 18th and 19th centuries, certain groups (e.g. Germanias), could form pocket communities and prosper, today's interdependent society does not allow that to happen.

Music

Tejano music is a unique musical style developed by Mexican Americans like Freddy Fender in Texas. Tejano is a blend of traditional Mexican forms such as the corrido and Continental European styles introduced by German and Czech settlers with modern forms of rock, jazz, and classical.

Lalo Guerrero was known as the father of Chicano Music and Selena the queen of Tex-Mex or Tejano Music. Rock music has had its share of Mexican American artists, Vikki Carr, Los Lobos, Richie Valens, War, Tierra, The Iguanas, Ha*Ash, Jaci Velasquez, Suzanne Vega, Linda Ronstadt, Santana, The Plugz, Los Cruzados, Los Lonely Boys, and Bobby Pulido, to name a few.

Theater, film, and television

George Lopez, Victoria Wyndham, Eva Longoria, Jessica Alba, Charisma Carpenter, Edward James Olmos, Salma Hayek, Ricardo Montalban, Jay Hernandez, Alexis Bledel, Sara Paxton, Linda Carter, Joanna Kerns, Maricella Ibarra, Richard Montoya and Anthony Quinn are some of the notable American actors with Mexican heritage.

In the past, actors like Anthony Quinn who played a Greek (in the title role in Zorba) did not emphasize their Mexican roots.

In Mexican American communities across the U.S. there are movie theaters that offer a variety of Spanish-language movies from Mexico and Latin America.

Visual art

Chicano Art, is noted for the folk influences from Mexico, characterized by vibrant colors and striking imagery. Artist John August Swanson is a painter whose art reflects these influences.

Cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz's work reflects the Chicano consciousness and expresses it in his editorial cartoons.

Painter Gilbert "Mag" Lujan paints murals and cars depicting whimsical scenes from urban Latino life.

Surrealist painter Gronk is a well known artist and illustrator, and was a member of the pioneering performance art troup Asco in the 1960s-1970

Literature

There is a depth of literature in this community. Authors like Tomás Rivera exemplify the field. Author and poet Gary Soto's published works are frequently studied in American public schools.

In 1970, a groundbreaking autobiography and political novel, Chicano, written by journalist Richard Vasquez, looks at the cultural history, political issues and personal problems of Mexican Americans of the 1960s.

Many Mexican American writers fall into the Indigenismo and Americanismo schools.

History

Main article: History of Mexican-Americans

Between 1845 and 1854, the United States acquired half of the territory of Mexico. Eighty thousand Mexicans lived in these annexed areas at the time. These new Mexican Americans often worked as railroad crew, general laborers, ranch hands, farm workers, farmers,domestic servants and laundresses.

During the Great Depression, the Repatriation Movement caused much hardship for Mexican Americans. After World War II ended, the Bracero Program was soon introduced. This program made it easier for Mexicans to come to the United States, but it often lead them to be exploited by their employers. César Chávez lobbied to end the Bracero Program. Later he helped found the United Farm Workers movement.

According to Andrés Manuel López Obrador, mayor of Mexico City, the main reason there have not been bursts of social unrest in Mexico is due to Mexican migration to the United States. Mexico has been the single largest contributor of immigrants to the U.S. At least four million Mexicans immigrated to the United States in the 1980s: 45% of the nine million immigrants who entered the country. During the 1990s, approximately five million Mexicans immigrated to the United States. In 2000, Mexican immigration is estimated to have been 350,000 and the most recent estimate (2004) is 500,000 per year.

Mexican American neighborhoods and communities

Neighborhoods in many cities across America have developed significant and/or growing Mexican American populations. A few of these neighborhoods are:

Southern California, especially the Los Angeles metropolitian area

East Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
South Central, Los Angeles, California
Pico Union, Los Angeles, California
City of San Fernando, Los Angeles, California
Montebello, California
South Gate, California
El Monte, California
Pico Rivera, California
Whittier, California
Azusa, California
San Gabriel, California
Maywood, California
Rosemead, California
Downey, California
Chino, California
Colton, California
La Habra, California
Echo Park, California
San Pedro, California
Compton, California
Lynwood, California
South Gate, California
Norwalk, California
Santa Fe Springs, California
Bell Gardens, California
City of Industry, California
La Puente, California
West Covina, California
Baldwin Park, California
Long Beach, California
Pomona, California
Long Beach, California
Huntington Park, California
Anaheim, California- west-central sections.
Orange, California, in the El Modena district.
Santa Ana, California- highest Latino percentage of any US major city.
San Bernardino, California
Riverside, California
Logan Square, San Diego, California
City Heights, San Diego, California
National City, California
Chula Vista, California
Imperial Beach, California
El Centro, California
Calexico, California
Brawley, California

Elsewhere

Mission District, San Francisco
Richmond, California and San Pablo, California-23rd Street
Oakland, California
Pilsen, Chicago
Mexicantown, Detroit, Michigan
Beechview (Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania [5]
San Antonio, Texas
El Paso, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Spring Branch, Houston, Texas
Northside, Houston, Texas
6th Ward, Houston, Texas and South Houston, Texas
Baytown, Near Houston, Texas
Bakersfield, California
Fresno, California
Salinas, California
San Jose, California
Yuma, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Denver, Colorado
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Gainesville, Georgia

File:Cesar-chavez-USPS.jpg

Cesar Chavez

Regions with large Mexican American populations across America.

Southern California

Northern California

Southwestern US

Smaller communities with large Mexican American populations across America.

Indio, California and neighboring Coachella, California
Parlier, California- highest Latino percentage in California
Calexico, California
Oxnard, California
Santa Maria, California and neighboring Guadalupe, California
Guadalupe, Arizona
Crystal City, Texas
Victoria, Texas
Alice, Texas
San Diego, Texas
San Marcos, Texas
Sonora, Texas
Little Mexico, Texas near San Angelo, Texas
Natalia, Texas
Cotulla, Texas
Laredo, Texas
Fabens, Texas
Eagle Pass, Texas
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Columbus, New Mexico
Nogales, Arizona
Somerton, Arizona
San Luis, Arizona
Las Animas, Colorado
Trinidad, Colorado
Irving, Texas
De Soto, Texas
McAllen, Texas
San Benito, Texas
Harlingen, Texas
Brownsville, Texas
Orem, Utah
Passaic, New Jersey [6]
Bridgeton, New Jersey [7]

References

Chavez, Linda. Out of the Barrio: Toward a New Politics of Hispanic Assimilation Basic Books, (1991)
De La Garza, Rodolfo O., Martha Menchaca, Louis DeSipio. Barrio Ballots: Latino Politics in the 1990 Elections (1994)
De la Garza, Rodolfo O. Awash in the Mainstream: Latino Politics in the 1996 Elections (1999)
De la Garza, Rodolfo O., and Louis Desipio. Ethnic Ironies: Latino Politics in the 1992 Elections (1996)
De la Garza, Rodolfo O. Et al. Latino Voices: Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban Perspectives on American Politics (1992)
Arnoldo De León, Mexican Americans in Texas: A Brief History, 2nd ed. (1999)
Erlinda Gonzales-Berry, David R. Maciel, editors, The Contested Homeland: A Chicano History of New Mexico 2000, ISBN 0-8263-2199-2
Nancie L. González; The Spanish-Americans of New Mexico: A Heritage of Pride (1969)
Hero, Rodney E. Latinos and the U.S. Political System: Two-Tiered Pluralism. (1992)
Garcia, F. Chris. Latinos and the Political System. (1988)
David Montejano, Anglos and Mexicans in the Making of Texas, 1836-1986 (1987)
Pachon, Harry and Louis Desipio. New Americans by Choice: Political Perspectives of Latino Immigrants. (1994)
Rosales, Francisco A., Chicano!: The history of the Mexican American civil rights movement. (1997). ISBN 1-55885-201-8
Smith, Robert Courtney. Mexican New York: Transnational Lives of New Immigrants (2005), links with old village, based on interviews
Suárez-Orozco, Marcelo M. And Mariela M. Páez. Latinos: Remaking America. (2002)
Villarreal, Roberto E., and Norma G. Hernandez. Latinos and Political Coalitions: Political Empowerment for the 1990s (1991)

External links

^ Ian F. Haney-Lopez, white by Law: The Legal Construction of Race (New York: New York University, 1996), Appendix "A".

[1] Ian F. Haney-Lopez, white by Law: The Legal Construction of Race (New York: New York University, 1996), Appendix "A".

[1]