Ma Josa Shenica Bernal

Dr. Laurel Sprague

HON 1000: The City sec. 520
30 October 2015

Essay 1

Growing up in a Mexican-American household in San Antonio, Texas, I had

always felt conflicted with my identity and had a difficult time accepting where my family
came from. From looking at the mirror every day, going to school, or playing with the
other kids, I questioned who I was as a person and my ethnicity. You might wonder what
made me think this way, and to be honest, I wondered the same exact thing while
growing up. Life was definitely far from easy. I am Lucas Hernandez and I would like to
share with you my lifelong journey of figuring out my identity while overcoming
challenges and obstacles along the way.

It all started when the adults around me started discussing the term segregation
with each other. Being seven at that time (in 1905), I had no idea what this meant and
how it would significantly alter my whole outlook on life. All I remember during that time
was how excited and happy I was to attend my first day of school and to be able to meet
and make new friends. Though, little did I know that my appearance of being colored

Ma Josa Shenica Bernal

Dr. Laurel Sprague
HON 1000: The City sec. 520
30 October 2015

gradually affected the way I was treated and looked at. When I first got to school, I was
surprised to see only students with the same ethnicity as me. I was confused and
curious to why this was happening so I asked my parents about it. Apparently, our
school administrators saw us as inferior and how we are unable to blend in and
assimilate to the American culture (Donato). So many thoughts and questions ran
through my head while my parents explained this to me. What had we done so wrong
that we were getting treated like this? Is it because of the color of our skin? If so, why
does that even matter?

Being segregated, my cousins and I were only able to attend escuelitas or little
schools. Going here gave mexican-american children like myself, many educational
opportunities as well as keep up with mexican culture and traditions (Barrera). Though
maintaining and learning more about our familys background and culture, I was still
slightly conflicted with the whole situation of being separated from our White peers; It
was still hard to grasp at that time why the separation was needed. All I knew was that
mexican-americans were legally White but socially "colored" in their schools and
communities (Donato). In addition, it was also during that time where my cousins and I

Ma Josa Shenica Bernal

Dr. Laurel Sprague
HON 1000: The City sec. 520
30 October 2015

were called dirty and unhygienic by some white parents while we played with their
kids (De Len). These events had caused me to be even more distant to accepting who
I was and my ethnicity.

Though being distant, I was still grateful that I was able to attend a school where I
got to learn general science, reading, writing, mathematics, grammar, etc. (Barrera).
Having been experienced segregation and discrimination, I knew one thing that kept me
motivated to the path of self discovery and gaining success which was through
education. Education was my only source of determination and motivation besides my
family, which is why I value it a lot. Due to this, I wanted to further my education by
attending a regular high school along with my best friend and cousin, Lucas Hernandez,
who also valued education. Lucas and I knew that until inequities in education and
employment are resolved, Mexican Americans will not be able to obtain the skills and
resources necessary to rise to more appropriate levels in American society (Worldmark
Encyclopedia).

Ma Josa Shenica Bernal

Dr. Laurel Sprague
HON 1000: The City sec. 520
30 October 2015

Not having enough luck though, my desire of continuing my education was not
fulfilled. Lucas and I were still determined to have a brighter future so we decided to find
a job in order to help out and sustain our families needs and necessities. We started off
us becoming unskilled laborers working mostly on farms and at railroads (Worldmark
Encyclopedia). My father and Ti Julio (Lucass father), both worked on the railroads
together. Lucas and I saw how hardworking and devoted they were so we decided to
work with them in the railroads when we were about 17 or 18 years old. Many of us
experienced labor segregation, so these menial jobs were the only ones available to us
(De Len). Even though I experienced another yet instance of discrimination and
segregation, I was even more determined to pull myself up and work extra hard.

After many long, dreadful hours of working on the railroads for about a year and a
half, new opportunities finally started knocking at our doors. Around 1918, the city of
Detroit in Michigan started to enter the industrial revolution and the demand for labor
significantly increased (Arteaga). One day, while Lucas and I were on the railroads, a
recruiter from Detroit, who worked at the Ford Motor Company came all the way to
Texas to visit different railroads and offered job opportunities found in Detroit. Lucas and

Ma Josa Shenica Bernal

Dr. Laurel Sprague
HON 1000: The City sec. 520
30 October 2015

I saw this as such a great opportunity to finally escape the discrimination and racism we
faced for so long. While being excited for this lifetime opportunity, the recruiter handed
out the Ford Manual. The manual made us more excited to the idea of moving to Detroit
because it talked about how the company simply wants their employees to have the best
living and working conditions (Ford Manual).

Arriving in Detroit, I saw it as a city and a place where simple opportunity and
hope resides. I thought to myself how Detroit was definitely the ideal place for me to
continue my path of self-discovery as a mexican-american. The city used to be only full
of European immigrants but by the 1920s, there were about 4,000 mexican citizens
living there (Arteaga). On our first day of working there, Lucas and I were astounded
and surprised by how diverse and unified the workers were (Diego Rivera Mural).
Different types of background and ethnicities worked together in harmony. Who would
have imagined that Detroit used to be thought as being the last limits of civilization to
now being this diverse place where people from different backgrounds are united and
together (Pierson).

Ma Josa Shenica Bernal

Dr. Laurel Sprague
HON 1000: The City sec. 520
30 October 2015

Detroit was not only an immigrant city but it was also a magnet for native-born
Americans from other states (Martelle). Because of this, different backgrounds settled
in neighbors based on their ethnic group. As for us mexicans, the Mexicantown was
formed. Many businesses such as restaurants, barbershops, grocery stores, etc. were
opened (Rodriguez). Being in a community where our cultures and traditions were
maintained, Lucas and I decided that it was time to bring our family here with us. Once
they got here, they brought with them their family values, faith, and a strong work ethic
(Rodriguez). Simply living in a city full of hope and opportunity with my family, I was able
to finally be comfortable to express who I was and be proud of my ethnicity despite the
hardships and challenges that I faced in the past.

Ma Josa Shenica Bernal

Dr. Laurel Sprague
HON 1000: The City sec. 520
30 October 2015

Works Cited

Arteaga, Adonia, Nicole Cervantes, Britanni Hernandez, Viviana Lopez, Efran Merchn,
Emelia Mondragon, and Maria Cotera. "History of Latinos in Michigan." History of
Latinos in Michigan. 14 Dec. 2007. Web. 17 Oct. 2015.
Barrera, Aida. "THE "LITTLE SCHOOLS" IN TEXAS, 1897-1965: Educating Mexican
American Children." American Educational History Journal 33.2 (2006): 35-45.
ProQuest. Web. 9 Oct. 2015.
De Len, Arnoldo. "MEXICAN AMERICANS." Mexican Americans. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.
Donato, Rubn, and Jarrod S. Hanson. "Legally White, Socially "Mexican": The Politics
of De Jure and De Facto School Segregation in the American Southwest." Harvard
Educational Review 82.2 (2012): 202,225,325-326. ProQuest. Web. 13 Oct. 2015.
Martelle, Scott. "Chapter 7: A Great Migration." Detroit {A Biography}. 1st ed. Illinois:
Chicago Review, Incorporated, 2014. Print.
Mexican Americans. Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life. 2nd ed. Vol.
2. Detriut: Timothy L. Gall and Jeneen Hobby, 2009. 364-372. Online.
Pierson, George Wilson. Tocqueville in America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1996.
Print.
Rivera, Diego. Detroit Industry.
Rodriguez, Maria. Images of America: Detroit's Mexicantown. Arcadia, 2011. Print.