March 30, 1923
Dear Diary,
I
just returned home from my classes, my "Americanization" classes, and
today I could not have been more frustrated by them. My instructor spent today focusing on teaching us the
English vocabulary for words used at a laundromat. We did not learn words to use for working in an office or
even for navigating public transportation. We learned words that we would use while working at a
laundromat, doing someone else's laundry.
When
I first came to the United States three years ago, my neighbors read to me from
English newspapers. Many of these
papers documented the women's suffrage movement around the country. Nineteen-twenty was the year when women
in the United States gained the legal protection of the Constitution concerning
their right to vote. It was a
tremendous occasion. I remember
seeing photographs of women holding signs, standing up for their rights. I thought that this was the type of
information I would be learning in my Americanization classes. I thought I would be learning about
America's history as a place of opportunity and advancement. However, the longer I have attended
these night courses, the more disillusioned I have become with America. They do not think we realize what they
are doing by only teaching us vocabulary and skills that will make us more
productive in low-class jobs. They
do not think we understand that they are training us to be their servants. We do understand. Me and the other women in the class are
very aware of what position these so-called "liberal" women are
affording us. We have been given
access to the lowest rungs of American society.
It
is laughable to look at the contradictions in these women's actions. They have spent decades fighting for
women's suffrage, especially here in the West. They spout rhetoric of equality and rights. But are we, Mexican women, not women
too? Why are we not allowed access
to the same opportunities? They
teach us childish poems during our classes - "In the morning the women get
breakfast./Their husbands go to work./Their children go to school./Then the
women get their houses in good order...." (101-102). They believe our highest capabilities
to be taking care of household duties, and many Anglos think that we are not
even capable of this much. This is
not to say that taking care of my family is not important to me. It is extremely important. Back in Mexico, we learned that family
was the most important thing in life besides God (30). I still abide by this belief. However, I do not think I should only
learn how to be American in a certain way. I do not think it is right that I am only allowed access to
the parts of being American, how to do household duties and rear a family, that
are convenient and helpful to the ruling classes.
My
daughter is two. Soon she will
enter the public school system. I
have heard some people are trying to argue that "needlework instruction
should replace academic courses for Mexican girls as early as the third grade
in school" (104). My
daughter, an American citizen by birth, might be denied the same opportunities
as her Anglo counterparts because, according to the "reformers," her
Mexican ancestry gives her inherent needlework skills and means she has limited
educational capacity. I fear that
she will have less opportunities here than she will have in Mexico. That is why I will soon ask my husband
to repatriate. With our experience
in the United States, hopefully our position will be better back in our home
village.
- Ana
Photo: The photograph Ana saw in the newspaper.
(Photo from: http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/on-this-day/July-August-08/On-this-Day--19th-Amendment-Gives-Women-Right-to-Vote.html)
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