For the People: A Reflection.
I’m a minority.
Ok, I’m a circumstantial minority. I’m a white guy in San Antonio, Texas working for a company founded, run, and predominantly staffed by Latinos. Living in this city for most of a decade and being surrounded by a people and culture not inherent to my background provides a perspective on certain things that I might not have developed elsewhere. I find that unconditionally positive. Living in the Alamo City, or living and working with its people, will never confer ethnicity upon me, though. I am not, nor will I ever be, Latino. I will always experience some of the aspects of life here as an outsider.
Hispanic Heritage Month is being celebrated in the United States right now, having started on September 15th and ending October 15th. As someone without a corresponding experience to compare , I recently asked some of my friends and coworkers how they felt about Hispanic Heritage Month. Were they happy? Proud? Embarrassed? Insulted? Did they view it as an important and honorable recognition of the Hispanic contribution to our American culture, or did they feel it was an empty gesture that people used as an excuse to get drunk on margaritas and stuff themselves with burritos?
Unsurprisingly, I was given different answers. A few of the people I spoke with said that it seemed ridiculous. That it was hypocritical, given the critical eye cast upon many Hispanic Americans wrongly suspected of being “illegal.” One of my friends suggested that the month was celebrated so that whites didn’t feel guilty for treating Latinos poorly for eleven other months of the year. One person told me that she thought singling out Hispanics for one month reinforced the idea that they were a subculture deserving of marginalization.
Growing up in south-eastern Virginia, I often heard similar statements regarding Black History Month from black kids in my classes. It was also common during my southern youth to hear white people speaking their own opinions on the occasion. I heard people asking why it was necessary to focus only on black people for an entire month, when the rest of the time was divided amongst all races. I heard complaints of “unfair” because there was no corresponding “White History Month” in which we could celebrate our racial pride while excluding all others. Clearly, these critics missed the point of the observance. I mean, we’re on all of the money. You know what I’m saying?
A Latino friend here in San Antonio shared with me his positive opinion of Hispanic Heritage Month, and I think his opinion applies also to the observance of other culturally-centered celebrations. He said that even if it is only for a month, it’s a spotlight on the contributions and accomplishments of a specific group, and that may help someone within that group to feel inspired. The more pieces of yourself that you find in your heroes, the more likely you are to see greatness in yourself.
Hispanic heritage is an integral part of American history. The Age of Discovery launched ships from Spain and Portugal that brought Europeans to the shores of this continent, and began (for better and worse) the blending of Spanish and Native cultures throughout. Perhaps more direct acknowledgment of the Spanish and Spanish-American contribution to the national fabric is in order, and maybe that acknowledgment will come to life as our nation steadily grows a few shades more brown. I think, though, that Hispanic Heritage Month is not about equal time. It’s not about a need for fairness. It’s an opportunity for all of us, Hispanic or not, to look at the accomplishments and examples of those who came before us, and to find parts of ourselves reflected back.
I find sometimes that the reflection is a little different than I would have imagined.
As an outsider, I’m pretty comfortable with that.
Jake Negovan strives to shine a light on truth and hypocrisy when the mainstream media overlooks those small details. “…For the People,” Jake’s column, is his platform to address the issues that our country faces as we continue growing toward a society of equality.
