Dr. Rafael Vásquez, co-author of the book Culturally Responsive Schooling for Indigenous Mexican Students, and Salvadoran-born writer William Pérez, found that among the social and educational experiences of young indigenous immigrants in the United States, in the rich and diverse Oaxacan community, many young people have declared that they do not want to live.
At the conclusion of a panel of young Oaxacan professionals who spoke about the racism and “institutional” discrimination they have experienced since emigrating from Mexico and which is repeated in the United States, Dr. Rafael Vásquez said that, despite the fact that nearly twenty indigenous languages are spoken in Los Angeles, linguistically they feel isolated.
“The Oaxacan community has already opened a linguistic and cultural space that connects with the celebration of its Latin and Hispanic heritage, but their experience of living in Los Angeles is also particular, where those who are from the state of Oaxaca are ignored,” said the son of Oaxacan migrants originally from Guezh Bac (Tlacolula de Matamoros).
The book’s authors highlight the multilingual and multicultural diversity of Latin American immigrants and explore how policymakers and educators can effectively support multilingualism, ethnic identity development, and the educational success of indigenous students.
However, in uncovering the social and educational experiences of young indigenous immigrants in the United States, Vásquez said that racism against Oaxacans still exists.
Discrimination in Mexico and the US
“It’s not something new in the context of Los Angeles, in schools,” he told La Opinión. “In the work I’ve done with my colleague [William Pérez]when speaking to young people, they themselves have discussed instances where they have been belittled for speaking their language or for the perception that they cannot speak Spanish well, because of their color or skin tone.”
In particular, many young people from Oaxaca do not like the use of the term “Oaxaquita” nor do they take it as a sign of “affection.”
On the contrary, they associate the word with discrimination towards their parents, both in Mexico and in the United States.
“It’s an existing wound that comes from their parents and that reopens when someone expresses that way toward them,” said Vásquez, who received her doctorate in education from the University of Claremont Graduate School of Education in Claremont, California.
Discrimination against Oaxacans is not just a problem in Mexico, but is also faced within the communities of origin.
“In the United States we have a different context where patterns that occur in Mexico are reproduced,” said Professor Gaspar Rivera-Salgado, director of the Center for Mexican Studies at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). “But there are also possibilities of breaking that pattern.”
Especially in Los Angeles, where an estimated 400,000 to 600,000 Oaxacans live, change can be achieved on the basis of a vocabulary that highlights the cultural richness and unique identity of the Oaxacan people.
The professor acknowledged that, over the years, the community of Oaxacan origin has been subject to discrimination, not only in the workplace, but also their children in schools where they have been victims of harassment.
The audio scandal of 2022
“The sad recordings [de 2022] “Those who emerged from the political leadership of Latinos in Los Angeles still hold a feeling of discrimination and racism,” Rivera-Salgado said.
However, the Oaxacan community is not just a passive victim, but is becoming visible in politics and culture, showing that there is an indigenous pride that sets it apart because it speaks 17 different languages and has a distinct history that makes it no more or less than other communities.
At the panel “Oaxacan Discrimination in the City of Los Angeles and its Schools,” which was part of the activities for Oaxacan Heritage Month, the speakers recalled that in 2012, a group of students belonging to the Mixtec/Indigenous Community Organizing Project (MICOP) of Ventura County held a conference to launch the “Don’t Call Me Oaxaquita” campaign.
Following the scandal involving Los Angeles politicians, the event drew national and international attention because the use of these words attacks Oaxacans for speaking their native languages.
Rafael Vásquez, William Pérez, immigration attorney Naomi Cruz, and doctor and anthropologist Noe López recalled the “racist, insensitive and inhumane” comments made by Nury Martínez, former president of the Los Angeles City Council, former councilman Gil Cedillo, Kevin de León, and former president of the County Workers Federation, Ron Herrera.
“Political activism is essential to change things,” said William Perez, a professor in the school of education at Loyola Marymount University, as a solution to institutionalized racism.
“When we talk about those three councilors who made the comments [racistas]They came to their positions at a time when California experienced racist laws such as Proposition 227, 187, or the “English Only” law. [English Only]“ , he recalled. “Those three laws were the perfect trifecta of exclusion, marginalization, oppression.”
“The platform was created for leaders like [GiL] Cedillo, [Kevin] De León and the racist mentality stayed there and they passed it on against the Oaxacan community,” he added.
Recognize the problem
Experiencing sustained racism and discrimination such as that which has been done against indigenous peoples is not something that is heard only once or in isolation, believes Professor Gaspar Rivera-Salgado, director of the Center for Mexican Studies at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA).
“Within the dominant culture, both in Mexico and in the United States, the cultural message in the media and in history, if you are indigenous, you are worthless in this process,” Rivera-Salgado said.
“After being told this a lot, people tend to internalize this racism and it’s a constant reminder of where you are in this racial hierarchy,” she said. “It’s a process that psychologists call trauma, particularly when you go through an experience where you’re vulnerable, powerless, and where you psychologically accept that constant racism and discrimination.”
For this reason, she considered that, when someone in the Oaxacan community speaks about the fact that the wounds of racism never heal, “it is because this is experienced on a daily basis, and then the person has to develop psychological resilience, where there has to be a process of not only ceasing to be a victim, but of becoming an agent of social change.”
She said that a doctoral thesis by Professor Brenda Nicolas, a graduate in Sociology and Latin American Studies from the University of California, Riverside, who was born and raised in downtown Los Angeles, speaks specifically in a doctoral thesis about the psychological effects of racism and the discrimination suffered by young indigenous people from Oaxaca.
“The problem is serious, because all this leads to depression and the desire not to continue living and to suicidal thoughts,” he said. “This is a national issue and must be addressed urgently.”
Oaxacan Heritage Month Activities
Sunday, August 11: Guelaguetza Oro Festival.
Time:10:00 am
Location: Edward Vincent Park Jr.
700 Warren Lane, Inglewood, CA 90301
Sunday, August 17: Miss Oaxaca
Time: 4:30 pm
Location: Dolores Square.
125 Paseo de la Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th August: Oaxaca Cup
Location: East Los Angeles College
Time: 8:00 am to 8:00 pm
1301 Cesar Chavez Avenue, Monterey Park, CA 91754
Organized by: Raza Unida Basketball Club