I am grateful to grow up in a professional world that now embraces Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion as honorable aspects that comprise the workforce.
But that wasn’t the case for my parents. They stepped into the work force with interviewers not intrested in their name because the first question asked would be, “do you speak English?”.
My parents had to assimilate by white-washing their identities. It was beneficial for them to use their light tonned skin to their advantage but when they spoke their disadvantage can be heard by their accents.
My father learned quickly that he was better off not speaking when pulled over for being a Mexican driving a van in California. The cops would look at him and think, “white..you get a pass”. Let it be known to the reader that my father has never received a traffic violation in his 25+ years of driving.
Now, my parents hardly ever tell me stories about the prejudice they encountered in the U.S because Mexican culture does not reward people who complain especially complain about the inventiable. This happens to everyone they know. They are not special. It is the cost of the American Dream.
My narrative is diffrent because I was taught in English. My mind is English dominant meaning that my thoughts, dreams, and preferred default language for communication is in English.
This is why when my 7th grade computer teacher expressed his suprise by saying to me, “Wow, you speak great English” caught me off guard. I later encountered him again in high school since his son was in the same high school swim team as me. In sum, he made sure that I wouldn’t take a dating interest in his overweight hairy white boy of a son. As you can tell I was neither a fan of him or his son.
At that time subtle racism was unbeknownst to me since I wasn’t accustomed to knowing the signs of racism. But as I grew up, I picked up the nuances in the way people treated others. It was a change in people demeanor from being free flowing to constrictive and judgemental.
This is where the main issue arises. The dehumanization of others. It becomes a human paradox because we must work together to accomplish greater things outside of ourselves.
Back to the topic at hand, I appreciate the efforts put forth by organizations that open opportunities of working collaborations with employees from diffrent races. I get to be my best Chicana self by openly rolling my R’s and eating my burritos with pride. Most importantly I get to introduce my name and my English is hardly questioned. I also get to embrace my other employees from diffrent backgrounds and get to enjoy the delicious authentic foods they bring for lunch. Lucky me!
Of course, there is still room for improvement in the workforce. There needs to be a focus on addressing the hierarchical structures. We need D.E.I to be present in leadership roles because change occurs from the top and then carries to the down.
It’s cringe to say that but I know the dismantling of capatalism won’t happen overnight but this is a start.