LeslyHernandez

RepresentingHistories
Eversinceabouteightyearsago,theUnitedStateshasalwaysbeenledbyCaucasian
Presidents.Beingthatweareademocracy,wearegiventheabilitytochooseourpresidents.
SincepredominantlybothHispanicandAfricanAmericanshavedealtwithmanystrugglesits
importanttobeabletohavethatright.Withthepowerinourhands,wedecidedthatitwastime
forachange.BarackObamawasdeclaredthefirstAfricanAmericanpresidentin2008andsince
then,thishaschangedthedynamicsoftheUnitedStates.
With12.3%oftheU.S.populationisblack,and12.5%isHispanic,togethertheymake
upabout17.1percentofthepopulation(U.S.BlackandHispanicPopulations).Eventhen,
AfricanAmericansandHispanicshavealwaysbeenseenastheminoritygroup.Thisdatesback
towhenAfricanAmericansweremadetobeslavesandhadtoabidebytherulesoftheirowners.
However,theywerenottheonlyones.AtsomepointHispanicswereinasimilarsituationas
well.Theywerepaidlittletonothingtoworkinagricultureandthiswasseentomanypeopleas
"legalizedslavery".BothAfricanAmericansandHispanicshaveandstillarevictimsof
discriminationbecauseoftheirrace.Whetheritbebecauseofthecoloroftheirskinortheway
theyspeak,onmanyinstancestheydonotgettreatedequally.SomeHispanicsarenotfluentin
Englishandareoftenlookeddownonforthatreason.Peopletendtobelievethatifyoulivein
AmericayoushouldnotonlybefluentinEnglish,butthatshouldbetheonlylanguagetobe
spoken.Manyofthemarerefusedjobsorevenpaidatalowerwagesolelybecauseoftheirrace.
Thetreatmentbetweenthesetworaceshasalwaysbeenseenandwillprobablyalwaysbeseen

foryearstocomeifwedonothingaboutit.
Obamarunningforpresidencywasseenasagoodthingtomanypeople.Moresotothe
LatinosandAfricanAmericansbecausetheyhadbeenthroughsomuchalreadyandwerein
definiteneedofchange.That'sexactlywhatObamaspresidencydiditchangedthegame.
PeopleactuallyhadhopehewouldfollowthroughandmakeitasPresident.Thepeoplewere
readytoseesomeoneofcolorintheWhiteHouse.Tothemthismeantasocialandpolitical
change.TheybelievedthatwithObamaaspresidentitwouldhelpfixtheirproblems.Itwould
helpfixtheracismthatwasgoingonbecausesincepeopleweresoopentohavingaPresidentof
colortheywouldbeopentootherthingsaswell.BeingthatObamadidgrowuplikeother
peoplemadehimrelatableandevenmorelikable.Knowinghehadtostruggleinordertogetto
whereheismadehimagoodcandidatetothepeople.Itwasalmostseenasadominoeffect,they
knewthatiftheycouldgetanAfricanAmericanPresidentinthereitwouldbroadenpeople's
ideologyastowhatelsewecouldexpectinthefuture.
EveryonewhovotedforObamawasreadytoseehowhewasplanningto"save"
America.TheAffordableCareAct,whichisalsoknownasObamacare,wasoneofhisstepstoa
betterAmerica.ThisactprovidesAmericanswithaccesstoaffordablehealthinsuranceand
improvesthequalityofhealthinsurance.ObamacarehelpedmanyAfricanAmericansand
Hispanicsgethealthinsuranceforthemandtheirfamilies.In2013therewereabout44million
Americanswithouthealthinsurance,whichmadeuparound16percentofthepopulation.These
16percentweremainlyworkingfamiliesorpeoplewhodidnothaveenoughforhealth
insurance("WhatisObamacare?").Whenitcomestosomethinglikethis,peopletendtothink
thattheydon'tneedhealthinsurance,thattheywillbefineaslongastheyworkandprovidefor

theirfamilies.However,thatisnotthecase.Healthinsuranceisveryimportantespeciallywhen
childrenareinvolved,becauseitissoeasytobedeniedofanytypeofhelportreatment.Which
iswhyObamacameupwithObamacare,toensureeveryoneequalopportunitytobeeligiblefor
Medicaid.Thishelpedbecauseby2014lessthan13percentofAmericanswereuninsuredand
by2015thisloweredtobelow10percent(Obamacarefacts).
UnderObamatherehasbeenamajorinclineineducationaswell.Withthehelpofthe
NoChildLeftBehindactwhichwasfirstintroducedin2001,Obamahelpedreviseaformofthis
actandhaditpassedin2010.Theoriginalgoalofthisactwastoensureeverychildofanequal
opportunitytoeducationaswellasmakingsureeveryonewouldachieve.However,communities
feltasiftheywereaskingfortoomuchintheclassroom.Teachersfeltoverwhelmedwiththe
amountoftimethatwasassignedonpuretesting.Withthatbeingsaid,thisreformwasnot
givingbackthefeedbacktheyexpectedtosee.Thatiswhythisnewactreturnsallcontrolback
tothedistrictsandallowsthemtodecidehowtheyaregoingtoimprovetheirschools.Withthis
bill,wereaffirmthatfundamentalAmericanidealthateverychildregardlessofrace,income,
background,andZipcodewheretheylivedeservestomakeouttheirliveswhattheywill,said
BarackObamaatthesigningofthisbill.Obamahasbecomeveryinfluentialtomanykidsthey
donotseehimassomeonewhowasgiveneverythinghegot.Theyseehimassomeonewhohas
workedforeverythinghehas.Thatiswhyithasbeenbeneficialtohimthatheislookedfroma
differentviewpoint.Atthispoint,thenationalHighSchoolgraduationratehasbeenatits
highestwith81.4percentsincetheyear2013.Between2012and2013,graduationratesfor
Hispanicstudentsincreasedalittleoverfourpointsfrom71percentto75.2percent.AsforBlack
studentstheirpercentagepointsincreasedaboutfourpointstoo,from67percentto70.7percent

(Burke).Althoughitdoesntseemlikemuchthedifferencebetweenfourpercentagepointscan
behundredsofstudentsandwithanincreaselikethat,itcanonlygethigher.
In2014,ObamacommencedMyBrothersKeeper,aninitiativethataddressesall
opportunitygapsfacedbyboysandyoungmenofcoloraswellastoensurethattheseyoung
peoplecanreachtheirfullpotential.Thiswasmadesothattheseboyscanhavesomeonewho
willhelpthemandwhowilllookoutforthem.MyBrothersKeeperfocusesonsixmilestonesin
apersonslife,allofwhichbasicallyensureyouofasuccessfulfuture.Theyareseenasgoals
thatoneshouldaccomplishnotonlyforthemselves,butfortheirfamiliesaswell.Beingthat
Obamacamefromadifferentculturalbackground,hewasabletorelatetotheseyoungmen.He
knewwhattheyhadgonethroughandhadevengonethroughhimself.Thatiswhatinspiredhim
tocomeupwithMyBrotherskeeper,toallowyoungmenwhowerejustlikehimmoreoptions
intermsofsucceedingandhelpthosewhoarehavingahardtimegettingwheretheywanttobe.
Thisalongwithhelpofparentsandteacherswillgivetheseyoungmenthetoolstheyneedtodo
wellinlife.HavingsomeonesoinfluentiallikeObamareachouttochildrenisveryimportant
becausenotonlydoesitboosttheirdrivetosucceedbutitletsthemknowthattheydonothave
todothisalone.MyBrothersKeeperisnotafederallyfundedprogram,whichmeansthatall
thistimeandeffortwassomethingthatPresidentObamareallyneededtoconsiderbefore
comingoutwiththisplan.Withthatbeingsaid,nootherPresidenthasdonesomethinglikethis
beforewheretheyinteractwithchildrenandyoungmenthisway.
PresidentObamahasmademanyaccomplishmentsfornotonlyHispanicsandAfrican
Americans,butthewholeUnitedStates.However,hissecondtermisshortlycomingtoanend
whichmeanstherearenewcandidatesnowcampaigning.DonaldTrump,arepublicanisrunning

forPresident,andfromthelooksofitiswinningontheRepublicanside.Trumphascomeup
withanImmigrationreformthathebelieveswillmakeAmericagreatagain.However,Ibelieve
itwilljustmakeAmericaworse.Thethreecoreprinciplesofhisreformareanationwithout
bordersisnotanation,anationwithoutlawsisnotanation,andanationwhodoesnotserveits
owncitizensisnotanation.Withthatbeingsaid,Trumphascomeupwithsomerealsolidplans
ifelectedPresident.Lookingbackatthosethreeprinciples,hehassaidthatifelectedPresident,
hewillensurethatMexicopaysforawallthatseparatesthemselvesfromus.Trumpclaimsthat
MexicohasbeentakingadvantageoftheUnitedStatesbyexportingcrimeandpovertythatgoes
onintheircountryillegally.Firstofall,Mexicoisnotgoingtopayforawallsimplybecauseit
justwouldnotmakesensetobuildthiswallthatheisaskingfor.Trumphasmanyplanswith
howhewantstogoaboutimmigration,oneofthemanyimportantonesbeingthathewantsto
endbirthrightcitizenship.Endingbirthrightcitizenshipwouldnotgiveautomaticcitizenshipto
childrenofillegalimmigrantsbornhereintheUnitedStates.Thiswouldhugelyimpactmany
peoplebecausetheUnitedStatesisseenasthelandofopportunity,whichisthemainreason
parentsbringtheirchildrenhere.ChildrenthatarebornherelookattheUnitedStatesastheir
homeandtheyshouldnotbestrippedofthatluxury.IdonotthinkthatDonaldTrump
understandswhatheistryingtodototheUnitedStatestherearemanyHispanicswholivehere
intheUnitedStatesthathavecomebecausethisisafreecountry.Peoplecomeheretoescape
fromwhattheyhavebeenthroughandforsomeonetocomeandtrytotaketheirfreedomaway,
doesntseemright.
IthastakentheUnitedStatesalongtimetogettowhereitisnow,thatiswhyIfeelthat
isisveryimportantthateveryonegooutandvoteiftheycan.AlthoughDonaldTrumpbelieves

thatheisdoingeveryoneafavor,inrealityheisnot.ItwouldgreatlyaffectmanyHispanicsina
negativeway.TherehavebeenmanyralliesandevensongsmadeaboutDonaldTrump,andthey
arenotpositive.BarackObamahashelpedAmericainmorewaysthanone,anditwouldbe
shametolettheseeightyearsgotowastebecauseofwhatTrumpistryingtoaccomplish.For
thatreason,Ibelieveitisveryimportantthatwedonotallowsomeonewiththoseintentionsto
becomePresident.Whetherwelikeitornot,therewillalwaysberacismanddiscriminationno
matterhowmuchpeopletrytoclaimwearepastallthat.

WorksCited
Carroll,Joseph."PublicOverestimatesU.S.BlackandHispanicPopulations."
Gallup.com
.N.p.,18May2016.Web.
IsTrumpright?ALookatWhatObamasDoneforBlackCommunity.
Nbcnews.
Ed.
LaurenBurke.N.p.,AugSept.2015.Web.11Apr.2016.
WhatisObamacare?
ObamacareFacts.
N.d.Web.11Apr.2016