March on Washington Against Racism; Not Enough Hispanic History in Texas Schools

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March on Washington Against Racism; Not Enough Hispanic History in Texas Schools

MTV launches new Arabic channel
MTV has recently launched a new service, MTV Arabia, estimated to reach to out to 36 million households. The service will provide Arabic music videos along with current MTV programming that has been adapted for Arab viewers. CBCNews.ca.

Reagan’s True Legacy Revealed By Racist Rhetoric
Paul Krugman opines in the New York Times that Ronald Regan’s contribution to conservatism should not gloss over the ways in which the Republican party’s hero used racist rhetoric and images of the “welfare queen” to sway Southern white men to the party. New York Times.

Lack of Hispanic history in schools worries some
Although Texas’ public school system is 45% Hispanic, state officials believe that the state’s school curriculum is not providing students with enough on the historical contributions of Hispanics. El Paso Times.

In U.S. Name Count, Garcias Are Catching Up With Joneses
According to a new study released by the United States Census Bureau, for the first time ever, two Hispanic surnames have made listed in the top ten most common American surnames. Although Smith remains number one, Garcia (number 8) and Rodriguez (number 9) have made a significant jump from 2000. New York Times.

Hate Crime March Held At Freedom Plaza
This past Friday, civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King III led a crowd of thousands; mostly black, marching from Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C., calling for an end to racial discrimination and hate crimes within the country. NBC4.com.

Posted at 7:59 AM, Nov 19, 2007 in News | Permalink | View Comments

Comments

Isn't part of the difficulty of "Hispanic" history in schools is that "Hispanic" describes people who speak a language and doesn't really describe a people?

For instance, "Hispanic" people are Native (indigenous), black, mestizo, white, mulatto, Asian, and all other combination of races who have ancestral and linguistic ties to Spanish speaking countries. That covers a lot of humans.

Would a Hispanic-American history course be focused on Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Peruvians, etc.? How would the course handle the brutal racism that white Hispanics practiced and continue to practice against those perceived as non-white in their culture? In Mexico, it's common to use the word Indian ("indio") as an epithet to imply stupidity and laziness. In Latin America, people don't consider themselves "Hispanic" with all that implies in the U.S. Many American Hispanics would be considered white in their ancestral countries and be afforded all privileges the color caste provides.