CAUTIOUSLY CELEBRATING THE LATINIZATION OF CITIES

BY ERIC

Being from Coney Island in Brooklyn there are a few areas by my house that are referred to as Latinized other than Sunset Park and Washington Heights. Although my small part of New York City doesn't have any there must be thousands throughout the country. I for one am a huge supporter of the "anything"-ization of cities throughout the country. This country has been known as a Free country since it was established as a country so that anyone would be willing to make the U.S.A. their new homeland for a pursuit of happiness and that's what I believe, that no other country but ours has a sign on it that says "Hey you, you should totally live here if you want to be free and live a more awesome life!". That being said, I don't really think that the U.S. guaranties this. A good example would be the U.S. cities or neighborhoods that Latin American immigrants first moved to in the late 1900's. These immigrants came here for the ability to become whoever they wanted. Sadly enough, they were met with segregation and areas that were impoverished and overpopulated. They were then given the opportunity to work but due to circumstances dealing with the labor force, they had to work even harder than those already established in America. 

Luckily for me, the area I'm from is culturally diverse unlike many other parts of the country. Most of my friends since childhood are not the stereotypical white male as some would assume just by looking at me. Majority of them till this day are Black and Latino. Since moving up to Albany I've noticed that most of the friends I've made have been of a race other than White. This isn't something that was instilled in me by my parents, but going to public school in New York City definitely helped shape my opinion on other cultures and ethnicities.  

There will always be people who disagree with other cultures and migrants, especially when they move in large numbers, into an area. Mike Davis, the author of Magical Urbanism states, "As Cecilia Menjivar emphasizes, if ‘immigrants do not have access to desirable goods and information (or to people who control them), their ties, no matter how strong, may not yield any benefits.’ A great example of this is what was talked about in class with the town of Prince William County. The native residents were predominantly Caucasian and really could not find it in themselves to accept the ever growing Latino population moving into their neighborhoods. That led to the collapse of the community in terms of protesters picketing outdoors, boycotting the business ran and used by these "foreigners", town meetings that were hard to fathom, and just the very blatant racism that took place overall. Nothing good came of the town residents’ inability to welcome Latino new comers. That being said, these are the reasons why I believe "Cautious" is the right word to use in regards to celebrating the Latinization of U.S. cities. I am a huge advocate for the cultural impact of Latinos, and all other cultures for that matter, in the country. Unfortunately, there are still many American citizens who feel that my views are skewed.