LATINA/OS TAKE CENTER STAGE: CENSUS 2000

BY STUDENT

In 2001, Latinos in the U.S. were the largest growing minority. Latinos had ‘taken the center stage’ because as a fast growing minority, experts started examining Latino life as if they were the ‘cool new thing’. Immigration is, and always has been, a hot issue. From the Chinese Exclusion Act to the Mexican border, U.S. citizens have been concerned with increasing immigration. The increasing growth of Latinos in the U.S. started early, when the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo annexed Mexican territory and its inhabitants. From the 1800s to 2000, the Latino population has increased dramatically. By 2050, Latinos are predicted to make non-Latino whites a minority (Davis 2001, pg 8). Mike Davis mentions that New York City has as many Puerto Ricans as San Juan and as many Dominicans as Santo Domingo. To put the growing Latino population into perspective, Latinos as a minority will contribute to two/thirds of population growth (Davis 2001, pg 8). Latinos are working in the U.S. and contributing to our economy both inside and outside the U.S. However, they are still racially profiled, living in deplorable conditions and aren’t getting recognized as the hard working people they are. I learned a hard work ethic from my father, who never relaxes for more than half an hour. He is the hardest working man I know. He wakes up at six in the morning to dig ditches from seven to three, works twenty-four hours overtime on weekends, and still finds the time to remodel our home. With Latinos like my father who bust their behinds for their jobs and their families, why are they still seen as lazy? Why are Latinos working so hard for companies that pay them close to nothing and leave them with environmental problems?

Some of the Latino population passes through the Mexican border for work. They come from their own cities to their U.S. sister cities to work in factories. Two of the largest sister cities, El Paso/Ciudad Juarez and San Diego/Tijuana, have a maquila dominated economy. Mainly Mexicanas work in maquiladores, or sweatshops. They do not earn enough in the sweatshops and in turn, have to make up for the money they need. Some sell candies on work breaks and some sell things on the weekends during flea markets (Davis 2001, pg 30). Women are working in actual sweatshops but aren’t being paid enough for their hard work. In addition to working in sweatshops, people also have to deal with the environmental problems that the sweatshops create. Davis states in Magical Urbanism, “U.S. firms are estimated to ship thirty times more hazardous waste southward than Mexican firms send northward” (pg 34). A waste recycling company was exposed for dumping hazardous chemicals in the sewer lines after a sewer in Tijuana exploded (Davis 2001, pg 34). The hazardous waste that maquiladores dump has contributed to babies being born with brain deformities (Davis 2001, pg 34). Latinos work in hazardous conditions and live in hazardous conditions as well. The poor living conditions affect the health of many Latinos that have nowhere else to live but in impoverished cities. Latinos live in areas with no running water and poor sewage drainage, but no one discusses that. As long as they’re working and making other lives easier, it’s like people don’t really care.

Even though Latinos are taking the center stage, they’re still invisible. Their hardships are overlooked. No one complains about immigrants when Latinos are doing cheap labor, or working as landscapers or maids. Latinos are the ones doing jobs that other people would view as beneath them. They’re working long days to support themselves and their families, but their efforts go unnoticed. It’s sad to see that Latinos are so hard working but they don’t get the credit or respect they deserve.

Works Cited:

Davis, Mike. Magical urbanism: Latinos reinvent the US big city. New York: Verso, 2001.

TRANSNATIONAL URBAN LATINIZATION

BY STUDENT

As the world we live in becomes a more complex, socio economic tools such as National and transnational networks; which are relationships between nations using cities as "ports" and using their locations to help provide services to firms markets and economies in some cases. What is the relationship between these national and transnational networks and latinization? Latinization and these networks have a causal relationship. Latinization is caused by national and transnational networks because  cities are used  to maintain a Balanced primate type system which has the basic model of having a country's jobs and firms are in one located in one city which most commonly the country's capital. If we use New York City as an example it follows with this same pattern even though it may not be the nation's capital. 

My father lives in Mount Vernon, which is a suburb from New York, is about an hour-long drive from Manhattan, it has a population of 67,292. Although, my dad lives in Mount Vernon he always has to make his way into the city in order to work. He operates a jewelry store in midtown near the diamond district. Cities like New York City become Latinized because as more Hispanics move into certain areas due to their proximity to job centers their culture will usually follow. Neighborhoods such as Washington Heights or Dyckman in New York City are saturated with Hispanic culture, whether it is in food, clothing, or services such as tank shipping. Since, my dad lives in the suburbs of New York and is relatively far from the city he always has to commute into the city to work because cities are a hub for service related businesses and firms. One of main reasons the population in NYC is so dense is because it is one of these centers. The new growth within a city means that the city has something that is creating jobs therefore these cities become destinations for migrants to either live or similar to my dad’s case, start a business.

National and transnational urbanization and latinization have a close relationship. Cities like New York City provide the space and opportunity, which are essential conditions to have a balanced primate system within an urban environment. Migrants from Latin American countries find the opportunities in cities like this which are always in need of construction, renewing or maintenance of infrastructure. NYC is home to some of the United States and the worlds most important and powerful economic service firms which play in key role in global economics. These include large accounting firms like Ernst and Young, The New York Stock Exchange, Wall Street, Goldman Sachs and other investment banks that act as bridges between nations. The Federal Reserve is one of the most important banks in the nation that manages the nation’s wealth and serves as the country’s central bank. By having a stable central bank such as “The Fed” transnational business can conduct in confidence. By centralizing economically essential firms as well as services in general within cities,  national and transnational networks via urbanization maintain an inter-locking relation with the latinization within cities throughout the country and the world. 

Sassen, S. (2000). Cities in a world economy (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Pine Forge Press.

Current Mount Vernon, New York Population, Demographics and stats in 2014, 2015. (n.d.). Retrieved October 22, 2015.

Recent Developments. (n.d.). Retrieved October 22, 2015.

TRANSNATIONAL URBAN LATINIZATION

BY STUDENT

Many have regarded the United States as the land of opportunity. The “American dream,” founded upon an idea that has been conceived since the founding of this nation “that all men are create equal” has drawn people from all over the world. Promises of upward social mobility, equality, and rights have been a leading cause of immigrants coming to the United States to settle down in hopes of a better life. Waves of immigrants coming from many different countries throughout history have caused cities to grow. In past few decades there has been a large influx of Latinos to the United States. As more immigrants from Latin America make their way into the United States, government officials debate on what measures should be taken to control Latino immigration. Several politicians have taken an aggressive stance against immigration, cracking down on unlawful entry into the United States. On the other hand, in the last 50 years Cuban’s were subject to relatively loose policies on immigration, policies that some would say promote transnational Cuban migration. This in turn has lead to a substantial increase in Cuban immigrants settling in US cities.

Immediately after the Cuban Revolution, US political relations with Cuba deteriorated substantially. The new Cuban leader, Fidel Castro, adopted a Marxist-Leninist model of development, which directly contradicted US ideas of democracy. The United States responded by taking a strong political and economic stance against the Castro’s Regime and established an embargo against Cuba. However, the clash of political ideologies between the United States and Cuban leaders has aided Cuban citizens in obtaining legal permanent residence in the United States. In 1966 the United States passed the Cuban Adjustment Act (CAA) which till this day states that Cuban citizens and natives who have been present in the United States for over one year can legally apply for a green card for themselves, their spouses and immediate family members. Under the Clinton administration a revision of the CAA, called the “wet foot, dry foot policy,” allowed anyone fleeing Cuba to be eligible to receive permanent residency in the United States as long as they weren’t discovered in the waters between the nations.  

Due to these policies, Cubans have more easily been able to get citizenship, which is a possible reason for why Cubans have the highest percentage of Latinos with high school education and are among the highest percentage of home owners. Cubans’ socioeconomic status also contributes to their strong presence in the US Government and their influence on US cities. The current mayor of Miami is a Cuban native. Over 70% of Cubans currently reside in metropolitan areas such as New York and Miami. Despite only having a population of about 1.2 million Latinos and its geographical location, Miami is regarded by many as the “Capital of Latin America.” Songs such as Gente de Zona’s “La Gozadera” about Latin America and Latinos include the US city of Miami. This shows that Miami is not only viewed by the United States as a Latinized city, but that Miami in itself has transcended national boarders to be considered by Latinos from other nations as one of their own cities. The Cuban population has had a significant role in Miami’s international presence as a Latino city.

"Green Card for a Cuban Native or Citizen", United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, accessed October 27, 2015, http://www.uscis.gov/green-card/other-ways-get-green-card/green-card-cuban-native-or-citizen

Sylvia Rusin, Jie Zong, and Jeanne Batalova, "Cuban Immigrants in the United States", Migration Policy Institute, April 7, 2015, accessed October 27, 2015, http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/cuban-immigrants-united-states

Gustavo Lopez and Eileen Patten, "The Impact of Slowing Immigration: Foreign-Born Share Falls Among 14 Largest U.S. Hispanic Origin Groups", Pew Research Center, September 15, 2015, accessed October 27, 2015, http://www.pewhispanic.org/2015/09/15/the-impact-of-slowing-immigration-foreign-born-share-falls-among-14-largest-us-hispanic-origin-groups/#diverse-origins

TRANSNATIONAL URBAN LATINIZATION

BY STUDENT

Being born in the city of New York has had a great impact on me because I was able to see the differences of growing up here in the US and what its like to grow up in Mexico. Being the daughter of two Mexican parents has made me realized I was blessed. Growing up in Manhattan allowed me to experience different establishment of cultures. In Manhattan, I lived by what was know as “Mexico land” which was in 116st from Lexington avenue to first avenue. Many people didn’t like to live there because a lot of Mexican immigrants lived around those streets, throughout time they began to “Mexicanize it” by having more restaurants with Mexican food, placing plazas on the weekends, and having a Cinco de mayo and the Mexican independence day parade there. Latinos have slowly established their different cultures and traditions in many cities and have influenced the people around them. By noticing this how has transnationalism urban latinization continued to impact the lives of people today?

While watching the Sixth Section in class, the documentary talked about how a group of Mexican men who had came to the United States had started el Grupo Union. This group was formed to make a change in Mexico, they wanted to make their country back home a better place. They began to save up money to send back to their country to build a stadium, they tried to get a well that would supply water since there was a drought and bought an ambulance to help transport the sick. I was really amazed that other people do this because I thought that my family were the only ones that did this. It has become like a family group and what they do is save up money from their paychecks to send to Mexico, they are trying to make their hometown a better place so that in the future they can go back to a better home. My family has been saving up money for almost 4 years now and every year they send to Mexico to repair or build something. In the pueblo they have a big festival in may and it is use to collect money to start a school band, to repair the school, and even the house they are building in Mexico. I never understood at the beginning why they would send so much money, why not invest it in a better living here. As they got more involved in the rebuilding of their hometown, my mom began to explain that her goal was never to stay here in the US to live but to come for like three years to make money and then go back to Mexico with all the money she made and live in peace. That obviously didn’t work out she’s been here for twenty-three years and she can’t wait to go back, since she hasn’t been able to she my grandparents. Watching the film has allowed me to see the connection that although many have become accustomed to the life in New York City their heart is still back in their home country and you will allows try to make it the best it can be from building new places to creating a better life there.

In the interview with Alex Rivera, he states “Reality sets the stage for transnational movement. There’s a message constantly being sent into the immigrant community of not being wanted. One response is transnational organizing: “I’m going to organize and send money. I will become powerful there, where my family is. I will become powerful somehow.”(Decena 2006) I agree with his statement because being illegal in the US you automatically have lost most of your rights. Not being able to vote takes away the opportunity of expressing your opinions, not everyone thinks the same way. Many immigrants leaving in the US always seem to be scared they believe that if they commit a small mistake they can be sent back home. Many of them have their mind set to making money for a better life and having their family living better. Manhattan has become a place were Mexicans can come together and feel like they are back home but also working together to better their country. Many live the American lifestyle but the Mexican blood runs in their veins.

Work cited:

Decena, Carlos Ulises, and Margaret Gray. "Putting Transnationalism to Work." 2006.

https://blackboard.albany.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-1951496-dt-content-rid-8928134_1/courses/2159-ALCS-283-10080/decena_sixth_section_2006.pdf

TRANSNATIONAL URBAN LATINIZATION

BY STUDENT

Many Latinos come to the United States for job opportunities to support their families. I can relate to this on several standpoints. My grandma came to the United States when my mother was very young to find work and make enough money to give her family a better lifestyle. She left my mother with her mother for a few years and made enough money to bring them over to New York to live here for good. Although my grandmother was here illegally at the time, she found a well-paying job and eventually got her papers to become a legal citizen. This is a concept of Transnational urban Latinization, remittances to be exact. This is when people go to work in another place because of opportunities, and then either go back to their homeland or send it to their family at home in order to support them financially. This has been going on for decades and is still happening even today. Many politicians including Donald Trump, who is currently running for President, don’t necessarily like this concept because it is bringing many illegal immigrants to our country. However, other politicians believe that the work these people are doing for our nation is work that most Americans don’t want to do anyway, so they feel as though they should be considered citizens simply because they are willing to do the work.

I see this concept happen with my uncle as well. My uncle is 100% Italian and owns a landscaping company. This might be stereotypical but he hires many Latinos to do the work for him and pays them off-the-books in cash. Most of the Latinos he hires are actually related and all want to eventually transfer their money back home to their loved ones. Although paying his employees off-the-books is technically illegal, he is willing to give them good pay for their work because his wife, who happens to be my biological aunt, went through the same thing as my grandmother so he understands the “struggle” and what they are trying to do for their families. Some people, however do not see this in some migrant workers throughout the nation. Many people that undergo this lifestyle of labor are paid very poorly and treated poorly as well. They are taken advantage of because they ultimately don’t have the right to stay in the country based on the law. So employers will take advantage of them, paying them below minimum wage and giving them brutal hours but the workers don’t care as long as they are getting enough to support their families. “Mexicans were commonly treated as disposable workers” is a quote taken from Migrant Imaginaries that really got me thinking (Camacho 2008). It’s sad to think that these people who are doing extremely hands on, tough work are thought of this way because most Americans truly wouldn’t want to do it themselves, even though most of the time it is a task that needs to be done.

A very similar concept also occurs in the film by Alex Rivera that we watched in class. The migrant workers came to work in the States and worked a ton but seemed to enjoy doing it as they worked together with other Mexican migrant workers. They ended up saving enough money to build a baseball stadium back home where friends, family and people from the community were able to play and watch the sport that they all loved to play as a pastime. It was the first baseball stadium built in the area and everyone told them that they didn’t have enough money, time or workers to build it yet they were able to without a problem. This goes to show that when you put forth your time and energy to do something you want, you are able to. I truly believe that although what many of these people did was illegal, they did it for a good cause in helping their families and communities by doing something positive. Transnational urban Latinization is still going on today and there are definitely pros and cons to it, but it is safe to say that the pros may outweigh the cons.

Works Cited

Camacho, Alicia Schmidt. Migrant Imaginaries: Latino Cultural Politics in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands. NYU Press, 2008.

Decena, Carlos Ulises, and Margaret Gray. Putting Transnationalism to Work. Duke University Press, 2006.

TRANSNATIONAL URBAN LATINIZATION

BY STUDENT

Latin Americans have been transferring their culture from their native land to communities in the United States for a long time now. It can be seen from many different communities, big or small such as California, Miami, and San Diego etc. Even smaller communities are starting to see an increase in the urban transition of Latin American people along with its culture.  As a Latino, our culture is something of upmost importance. We are proud to show off our heritage and publicly demonstrate our culture to the world. Growing up in a small, mostly white town known as Cortlandt Manor, it was only natural to see what lies beyond its boundaries. Just a five minute car ride away from home lies Peekskill, a city of rich history when it comes to its advancements and the residents who have inhabited the area throughout time. While at first being a predominately white community, over the years the transnational urban Latinization of Latinos in Peekskill took over. With this being said, how has the transnational urban Latinization of Latin American culture in the United States been represented in Peekskill?

When many people around my area including myself speak about Peekskill or think about Peekskill, the busy city-like center of town is what pops up into the mind; crowded streets, stores after stores, traffic lights after every block. Along with that is a huge population of Latinos. It wasn’t until a couple of summers ago when I actually went to see the outskirts of town; which lies wealthier neighborhoods and residences in which consisted almost entirely of white people. Before then I didn’t even know it existed. In the center of town, it clear to see how Latin Americans represent their culture. Through street shops, wall graffiti, family restaurants, stores etc.; they have marked their territories and represent their cultures through them. In the film, Sixth Sense by Alex Rivera, Mexican Immigrants who migrated to Newburgh made it their own. The newly built baseball stadium that they created helped their struggling community find a foundation and through the stadium they were able to elaborate and provide for themselves as well as send money back to Mexico for support. Latinos who live in Peekskill show the same idea through their own businesses, restaurants and stores. One example is a little supermarket known as “La Placita”. The market is a hot spot in the center of town and is famous for its discounted prices on foods and goods and is flooded with Latino and African American consumers. Through my many times of being there, it was extremely rare to see a white person shopping and or working there. Around the time of “Cinco de Mayo” banners are posted everywhere around town including the surrounding towns about the parade that is held on Peekskill’s Main Street. Through Carlos Decena’s article, “Putting Transnationalism to Work”, we read about his interview with Alex Rivera who created the Sixth Sense film.  Alex Rivera states, “Through a cultural project, you find power and visibility. Starting with the cultural, the cosmetic, these groups raise the image of their town and find power.” (Decena 2006) Transnationalism and power is shown through “La Placita” and the Cinco de Mayo parade as it gives them a voice and representation.

                 

Throughout observation it’s clear to see this increase in Latin American population in Peekskill is due to opportunity and survival. The lower cost housing in the middle of town is where they reside, meanwhile, the whites reside in either the outskirts of town or have moved to nearby towns including mine. The stores and businesses in which these Latinos have started represent their given opportunities here in the United States. The transnational Urban Latinization of Latin American Culture has been shown in Peekskilll and I believe that the population of Latinos in Peekskill will continue to increase as well as opportunities for newer residents. 

Work Cited:

Decena, Carlos Ulises, and Margaret Gray. "Putting Transnationalism to Work." 2006.

https://blackboard.albany.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-1951496-dt-content-rid-8928134_1/courses/2159-ALCS-283-10080/decena_sixth_section_2006.pdf

TRANSNATIONAL URBAN LATINIZATION

BY STUDENT

As countries and individuals become more connected, we can truly see how globalized our world has become. National and transnational networks have emerged that have allowed us to get a sense of what is really going on around the world.  What exactly is transnational urban Latinization and what role has it played in changing the lives of many as we know it? When I was 15 years old I moved to Greer, South Carolina to live with my Aunt. The south is heavily populated with Hispanics, even during the time I had lived there, and I had even made a lot of friends in school where most were in fact Mexican. Something I witnessed was how all of the construction workers were mostly Hispanic and were being paid “under the table” or getting paid covertly. I remember befriending a girl named Daniela who had a father working in construction being paid money under the table and she had opened up to me about her home life and life in Mexico, although she was born in the U.S., her father was not. She had always told me she had more family, older siblings, in Mexico and that her dad would send money to Mexico, but at that time I did not understand fully what this meant to her extended family or father. I did not stay in South Carolina long, only until I finished my sophomore year of high school but looking back and taking many Latin American and Caribbean classes, this memory opens my eyes to the realty of transnational urban Latinization.

The idea of transnational urban Latinization exists in many forms, including remittances, which is money that is worked for in a country such as the United States that is sent back home to a country of origin, like Mexico, to help family members back home who suffer economically. As we read in Carlos Decena’s article titled “Putting Transnationalism to Work,” the author interviews a man named Alex Rivera who has a film called “Sixth Section” that focuses on the labor and lives of many Mexican immigrants in the city of Newburgh, New York. Upon getting to the United States by hiding in a van, Rivera discovers something more than he had ever thought, that using his labor in the U.S. made him able to help work at diminishing his hometown’s poverty in Mexico (Decena 2006). This interview discusses something very important and vital to the idea of transnational urban Latinization, which is the remittances that Rivera had sent home in hopes of fixing his small hometown. He, along with many other migrants, had come together to form “Grupo Unión” which was committed to saving money while working in the U.S. and sending what was earned back to their hometown to regenerate and revive it (Decena 2006). One quote that stuck out to me during this interview was When Alex Rivera more or less revealed why exactly it was that this group of people got together to commit to what they were doing, it says “One response is transnational organizing: “I’m going to organize and send money. I will become powerful there, where my family is. I will become powerful somehow.” It is a process of becoming powerful in the context of being told to disappear (Decena 2006). This quote puts into perspective how these migrants had to overcome their identity, or lack thereof, and come together to create this new ideology of saving their hometown and their families, showing to us how transnationalism at play works!

Money had been sent back home frequently enough and at large amounts and they were able to fund the making of a baseball stadium to begin generating the economy and bring their hometown back to life! There was a point in the interview that they had even had an ambulance in their hometown that was secured for them, and even though many had seen it as just an ambulance, Grupo Unión had seen it as an accomplishment (Decena 2006). This correlates with my story of Daniela’s family and high school experience because although I do not know the past of her father, you see two very similar stories by the same group of people working to get by in life not only for themselves but for others. This gives us an understanding of the importance urban Latinization plays when crossing borders! These “hometown associations” have compelled cities across borders and created direct economic advantages that have created this transnational urban Latinization, in turn changing the lives of those sending and receiving remittances, and the origin and sending counties, as well!

WORKS CITED:

Decena, Carlos Ulises, and Margaret Gray. "Putting Transnationalism to Work." 2006. Accessed October 13, 2015. https://blackboard.albany.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-1951496-dt-content-rid-8928134_1/courses/2159-ALCS-283-10080/decena_sixth_section_2006.pdf.

TRANSNATIONAL URBAN LATINIZATION

BY STUDENT

As countries and individuals become more connected, we can truly see how globalized our world has become. National and transnational networks have emerged that have allowed us to get a sense of what is really going on around the world.  What exactly is transnational urban Latinization and what role has it played in changing the lives of many as we know it? When I was 15 years old I moved to Greer, South Carolina to live with my Aunt. The south is heavily populated with Hispanics, even during the time I had lived there, and I had even made a lot of friends in school where most were in fact Mexican. Something I witnessed was how all of the construction workers were mostly Hispanic and were being paid “under the table” or getting paid covertly. I remember befriending a girl named Daniela who had a father working in construction being paid money under the table and she had opened up to me about her home life and life in Mexico, although she was born in the U.S., her father was not. She had always told me she had more family, older siblings, in Mexico and that her dad would send money to Mexico, but at that time I did not understand fully what this meant to her extended family or father. I did not stay in South Carolina long, only until I finished my sophomore year of high school but looking back and taking many Latin American and Caribbean classes, this memory opens my eyes to the realty of transnational urban Latinization.

The idea of transnational urban Latinization exists in many forms, including remittances, which is money that is worked for in a country such as the United States that is sent back home to a country of origin, like Mexico, to help family members back home who suffer economically. As we read in Carlos Decena’s article titled “Putting Transnationalism to Work,” the author interviews a man named Alex Rivera who has a film called “Sixth Section” that focuses on the labor and lives of many Mexican immigrants in the city of Newburgh, New York. Upon getting to the United States by hiding in a van, Rivera discovers something more than he had ever thought, that using his labor in the U.S. made him able to help work at diminishing his hometown’s poverty in Mexico (Decena 2006). This interview discusses something very important and vital to the idea of transnational urban Latinization, which is the remittances that Rivera had sent home in hopes of fixing his small hometown. He, along with many other migrants, had come together to form “Grupo Unión” which was committed to saving money while working in the U.S. and sending what was earned back to their hometown to regenerate and revive it (Decena 2006). One quote that stuck out to me during this interview was When Alex Rivera more or less revealed why exactly it was that this group of people got together to commit to what they were doing, it says “One response is transnational organizing: “I’m going to organize and send money. I will become powerful there, where my family is. I will become powerful somehow.” It is a process of becoming powerful in the context of being told to disappear (Decena 2006). This quote puts into perspective how these migrants had to overcome their identity, or lack thereof, and come together to create this new ideology of saving their hometown and their families, showing to us how transnationalism at play works!

Money had been sent back home frequently enough and at large amounts and they were able to fund the making of a baseball stadium to begin generating the economy and bring their hometown back to life! There was a point in the interview that they had even had an ambulance in their hometown that was secured for them, and even though many had seen it as just an ambulance, Grupo Unión had seen it as an accomplishment (Decena 2006). This correlates with my story of Daniela’s family and high school experience because although I do not know the past of her father, you see two very similar stories by the same group of people working to get by in life not only for themselves but for others. This gives us an understanding of the importance urban Latinization plays when crossing borders! These “hometown associations” have compelled cities across borders and created direct economic advantages that have created this transnational urban Latinization, in turn changing the lives of those sending and receiving remittances, and the origin and sending counties, as well!

WORKS CITED:

Decena, Carlos Ulises, and Margaret Gray. "Putting Transnationalism to Work." 2006. Accessed October 13, 2015. https://blackboard.albany.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-1951496-dt-content-rid-8928134_1/courses/2159-ALCS-283-10080/decena_sixth_section_2006.pdf.

DEINDUSTRIALIZATION AND CRIMINALIZATION

BY STUDENT

During the 1970s, drug abuse was declared a public enemy by former President Nixon, which was the start of the infamous war on drugs.  The intention of the war on drugs was to have a zero tolerance attitude toward any possession and use of any illegal substance in the United States.  The war on drugs was implemented to protect the nation from illegal drug abuse and to punish those responsible for distributing them.  However, it can be argued that this ‘war on drugs’ was one of the examples of deindustrialization and criminalization of people of color in the United States.  Although the war on drugs was decades ago, it still remains relevant in today’s society especially regarding the topics of deindustrialization and criminalization.  In places like my neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY, the evidence of criminalization against people of color is relevant the same as it was during the war on drugs decades prior.  

According to Gilmore, the stem of deindustrialization and criminalization is what is called the Prison Fix.  The Prison Fix explains the idea that during the 1970s, there was such a high surplus of capital in the nation’s budget, which proposed the idea to build prisons in underpopulated areas.  This building in the underpopulated areas was such a good investment in the eyes of the capital because now with this investment, more money will come out of the land than what was put in.  With the building of jails and prisons, new commodities will be introduced to this underpopulated area.  The building of jails will bring new jobs for people in surrounding areas, thus creating more residents in the area which increases the value of the area. Also, local towns will increase in tourism bringing more money to small businesses and communities.  Overall, these building of jails and prisons would bring a lot of positive results in these underpopulated areas.  But before all this could have begun, the prison needed one main component to start running: prisoners.  This is where the issues begin. 

The government wants to portray the prison system as a system of rehabilitation and protection against criminals of all types of offense backgrounds from the functioning community.  However, some evidence can make one question the true motives behind the building and running of jails and prisons in the United States.  According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, from 1978-1988, the population of State Prison Inmates went from 300,000 to 600,000.  By 2000, the rate was almost at 1,200,000!  However, with such a high jump in prison population, criminal activity seems to have been declining during these years.  How is this possible? This stems the idea of criminalization.  The need for prisoners in these newly built prisons brought about harsher sentences for drug offenses ranging from 2-10 or more years for small drug offences.  And the racial demographic of the majority of the arrestees during this time: people of color, mainly African American males.  Why you may ask?  Many factors could include the socio-economic status as well as low educational attainment.  It can be argued that low socio economic status and lead to a higher tendency to commit crimes.  If someone is charged for a crime, even a small offense charge, the lack of educational attainment could possible make the one charged not aware of certain rights they possess, such as the right to remain silent or the right to an attorney, even if they cannot afford one.  Because of these factors, it is easy to over charge people in this demographic, thus the high prison rates of people of color.  Sadly, this only creates the never ending cycle in communities like Brooklyn, New York where this is prevalent.  So many children are growing up without their fathers in their lives, not because of abandonment, but for being incarcerated. This lack of male role models in communities such as this has been shown to lead to high crime rates among the youth in this community, thus having this cycle continue.  That is why the “war of drugs” and the deindustrialization and criminalization has such an impact on today’s society.  It is important that the country takes a look at their policies and realize that the capitalist functioning of our society it not benefiting us as whole, but only the very few and wealthy.  It is important to help all in society, no matter the race, socioeconomic status or other factor but just as human beings.

DEINDUSTRIALIZATION AND CRIMINALIZATION

BY STUDENT

Growing up I was raised in Mamaroneck, New York, which is a predominately white town. In the last U.S. Census (2010) the population in Mamaroneck was made up by 65.3 percent White only, 24.3 percent Hispanic or Latino, 4.9 percent Asian only and 4.1 percent Black or African American only (U.S. Census 2010). Growing up in this environment there was always a tension between a police officer and me while we were talking. Even though the population was mostly White when someone was accused of a crime it was more than likely that the individual was either Latino or Black. I always wondered why this was. Why is it that even in a mostly White neighborhood the crime rate is always centralized around minorities such as Latinos and Blacks? Media is what has lead to people centralizing crime around these minorities. When it comes to minorities who have already committed crimes they were lead there by social labeling.

Being a Latino teenager in this neighborhood I always felt like I was being watched at all times because of the color of my skin. It’s almost as I was part of the broken window in that town. A big part I think that led to people to was media. When watching the news or reading a news article about crime its always focused on the minorities. It was either that a Latino or Black person killed someone or robbed a store; rarely to never did I ever see or read about a White person being called out on the media unless they were someone that was relevant to pop culture. When seeing this I think it puts an image in people heads that all Latinos and Blacks are same in the way they act in society. I find that people connect the race to crime; just because you’re part of the race you’re connected with crime (Muhammad, 2010). Just walking around my neighborhood, being Latino you were automatically being watched by police. In my case police officers thought I was getting into trouble by sitting outside my on my steps and would tell me I couldn’t sit there even though I lived there. When it came to a White person if they sat on the steps it was fine even though they didn’t even live there. It’s preconceived ideas that lead people to judge. The Way that the police officers saw it is that I was Latino and since people like me have been seen doing wrong I’m automatically involved in no good.

Social labeling leads many people to take place in crime. In the symbolic internationalist theory of crime, the labeling theory plays a big role; you label someone under a certain category and soon enough they will be what you make them out to be (Mooney 2013). If your always making out someone to be a criminal they will eventually believe it and fall into it because you were able to change their perception on themselves. In my neighborhood I’ve see this with people that I used to know. They could’ve been a good student in school that rarely if ever got in trouble but because they lived under a stigma that they were going to eventually mess up they eventually did. They either started using drugs or they got caught up in something that they shouldn’t have. While it doesn’t seem like a big deal social labeling has a big role in the criminalization of Latinos and Blacks. Imagine if we lived in a world where labeling wasn’t a thing would we still have as many minority criminals as we do now?

Work Cited  

Mooney, Linda A., David Knox, and Caroline Schacht. Understanding Social Problems. 9th ed. Stamford: Cengage Learning, 2015. Print.

Muhammad, Khalil Gibran. The Condemnation of Blackness: Race, Crime, and the Making of Modern Urban America. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2010. Print.

United States Census Bureau. "Mamaroneck (village) QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau." Mamaroneck (village) QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau. N.p., 24 Sept. 2015. Web. 06 Oct. 2015.