My name is Genesis pronounced with the accent on the é in Spanish. NO my name is not Henasis or Hennessy. It is Genesis. Growing up I never thought that the names people gave me instead of my own would hurt the way it did in college. I was always called “Gen,” “Jenny,” “Bible” (Get it? Haha). And the craziest name, “Jennifer.” That’s not even my name!
I come from a Latino community and from the city of Chicago. I hardly ever faced discrimination or racism in the big city, which is one of the most diverse, yet most segregated cities. I had faced moments where I was in a predominantly white room, but I had many other people who came from similar backgrounds to help me feel better. I’m at a predominantly white college now, and when you walk around the campus you won’t see many minorities the way I did in Chicago. Back home, I was part of the majority, here I’m the minority.
Never would I have thought that I would be at an all-girls, Catholic, non-diverse, and private school. When I got on campus and officially moved in, I loved it! But things took a turn when I saw that racism and discrimination occur at my school. As I was in a classroom taking a survey, a question asked, “Is English your primary language?” I was hesitant to answer yes or no because my first language is Spanish. I timidly raised my hand and asked my peer mentor if I should answer yes or no, and she asked, “Do you speak it at home?” I said yes, to which she said I should check the no box. And as that scenario happened, most of the girls in the room turned to look at me. Whether it was to see who I was or why English isn’t my first language, I will not apologize for Spanish being my first language.
Later as the week went on, I saw the looks girls at my school gave my friends and I for speaking Spanish when we are together. Often we sit together and rant about what racist acts we face throughout the day. Not throughout the week, but how many we face in a day alone.
Some racist or discrimination acts are “simple” as "I like your accent," or "I wish I could tan like you." Some people say these things without realizing how offensive they are. Rarely do you stop and think how hard it is to grow up being shamed for speaking a language other than English, and how hard it is to adopt to a culture you weren't raised in.
My skin color is not seasonal and after your tan leaves I will still be brown and I will still be discriminated for it. The most offensive comment is, “Why are they talking in Spanish?” Never mind the fact that you are eavesdropping in conversations, as a matter of fact, why are you so intimidated by another culture? Why should we have to conform to a race because you don’t understand? Some of these people don’t bother to learn about our culture and simply say, "Go back to where you came from."
Well take a look at the map above, Mexico had most of the land in the U.S. The U.S. is created by immigrants, the Europeans came to this country and stole it from the Native Americans. People should say, "We should give the country back to the Native Americans.
Schools
like ours were not created for people like me. These schools were
established for white students, and even now you can still see the
barriers between students of color in these types of campuses. I remind
myself everyday I am a woman, I am Mexican, and in college despite the
systematic obstacles placed in my way.
Yes my fellow Latinx women, you can too! My name is my identity, so please do not get my name wrong. Do not strip me of my identity more than I already have been.
So to all my Latina mujeres in a predominantly white institution, I dedicate this article to you.
