I am a mixed-race Hispanic from a small town in New Mexico and, no, I do not speak Spanish, I am not from Mexico, and I am not the first person in my family to attend college, but yes my parents are very proud.
Almost every time I meet a new person, I have a similar interaction that starts with a seemingly normal question: “What are you.” This question normally is just the beginning of the problematic questions and statements that follow:
Person: “So, where are you from?”
Me: “New Mexico”
Person: “ Oh so you are Mexican”
Me: “No”
Person: “But you speak Spanish, right?”
Me: “No I don’t, actually”
A little later…
Person: “Well your parents must be so proud of you for being the first person in your family to attend college”
Me: “Actually, both my parents and grandparents have advanced degrees.”
This interaction is seemingly harmless and riddled with good intentions, but in reality, the interaction is laced with assumptions and racist undertones. There is more to the Hispanic community in the United States than that which is covered by the mainstream media. Not every Hispanic is an immigrant, many of us have been here for generations. And just because I am from New Mexico does not mean that I am Mexican. In fact, most New Mexicans are not Mexican at all. To assume that I am based on the state I am from, in relation to the border, is a little racist.
To assume that I speak Spanish because I am Hispanic, is racist. Not every Hispanic speaks Spanish; in fact, for many families and communities, the language was lost in the fifties. During that time speaking Spanish in school or in public was a punishable offense that resulted in a beating. For many communities and families, assimilation was a requirement for survival. So no, not every Hispanic speaks spanish.
Lastly to assume that I am the first person from my family to attend college is insulting. Yes, my parents are proud of me for attending college, but to assume that they did not attend college is problematic. I am proud to say that my parents hold college degrees and are successful in their respective fields. Both sets of my grandparents have advanced degrees and almost all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins have some level of college degree. I am so proud to come from a family that values education and has pushed themselves and me to grow through education. To negate their accomplishments, based on a presumed background that you think I have based on my race, is insulting.
There may be more Hispanic first generation students enrolled in college than any other race, but there are still countless students that do not identify as first generation. First generation students might get the most attention both in mainstream media and academia, but they are not representative of all Hispanics.
These statements I addressed may seem harmless and said with good intentions, but they are still rooted in assumptions and are racist in undertone. I urge people to think about the assumptions you make about a person of any race when you are asking a new person about themselves. You know what they say about assumptions. They make an a** out of you and me!
