Reflection Essay: Study of American Immigration and Ethnic History

While I learned many things in this class, I thought it was especially interesting to learn about immigration, given that I am the descendant of American immigrants. While I understand that this was primarily a history class, immigration is something that I’m personally very passionate about and view as more of a current topic than a purely historical one. In Week 3, I read a reading called Del Rio and the Call for Migrant Justice by Alicia Schmidt Camacho. This reading was about how the militarization of the Mexico-U.S. Border is inhumane and perpetuates racist systems. Especially since moving to Texas, I’ve heard a lot about the U.S.-Mexico border, and this reading helped me understand the historical context behind the contemporary aspects. I think that when reading news about the border crisis, it’s easy to forget that the people facing abuses on TV are real people with the same goals and dreams as most of us, and the only thing that separates the people at the border from the people watching the border on TV are our circumstances of birth. From this reading, I learned that the brutality at the border isn’t just a recent issue that migrants have faced, as Texas Rangers were essentially a historical antecedent to Border Patrol. Looking at the contemporary border issues, I think it’s important to keep in mind that dismantling border violence systems will necessitate addressing the history of violence against people deemed “foreign”.

I also read a Week 11 reading called “America has harvested immigrant labor while rejecting immigrants for more than 100 years” by Natalia Molina and David Gutierrez. The authors’ main argument is that the U.S. only accepts immigrants when they are useful and immediately rejects immigrants as soon as they aren’t, which is an immoral system. In the early 1900s when the U.S. needed more workers, Mexicans received exemptions from immigration quotas. However, as soon as the economy collapsed, even Mexicans who had become citizens were deported. In some form, this has continued to happen, with Mexican laborers only having the right to work and no other rights in terms of healthcare and other things.

I also really enjoyed learning about Selena Quintanilla. I watched a TV show about her once and her life seemed really interesting so it was cool to hear about it from a more realistic, historical perspective. One of the readings called Latinas in the United States - Theater was interesting to read. I had never thought about how various cultural factors influenced the role that women played in the arts. It was interesting to hear that even before Selena, who was considered one of the pioneering Tejano women in arts, there were many women on the stage or operating stages making their own way in life. I’ve often read about “forgotten” historical figures who were overshadowed by greater figures; for example, I once read a book about the contributions of African-American women to the civil rights movement that were largely ignored while men like Martin Luther King Jr. got credit for their achievements. I was glad to read that even though they might not have gotten the credit they deserved, women in theater and other arts had been able to forge their own paths and at least gain recognition in the encyclopedia excerpt I read.

I grew up in a heavily-white city in a heavily-white state, so until coming to Texas, there were a lot of cultures I wasn’t aware of. I’ve always loved history but this class helped me reevaluate how I link history with the modern world around me. I had never heard of Juan Crow, for example, and it made me reconsider how I thought about modern immigration. Within my own family, I think I’ve become more interested in my family history and the things my parents faced in India and the U.S. In general, as I grow older, I notice more about the way people treat my parents. I really want to look more into the history of Asian immigration in the U.S. I know South Asian immigration is a relatively new phenomenon in comparison to Mexican immigration into the U.S., but I think it would help provide context to my parents’ journeys. I really enjoyed taking this class and being challenged to grow in my understanding of historical and modern relationships. I think I got a lot out of it and it made me more interested in my own background. I’m especially looking forward to a day in which students can take a class like this one about the history of Asian Americans in the U.S. and learn about their own backgrounds.