Amalia Ortiz’s book Rant. Chant. Chisme. provides struggles that modern generations of social justice against racial discrimination. Among the poems from the book is “these hands which have never picked cotton” which inspires the readers to carry out movements to achieve social justice for Mexicans in different ways. The message the poem tries to convey can be understood by reading, but its purpose is greatly appreciated by analyzing its content carefully. For instance, in the beginning of the poem the speaker is a teenager whose father emphasizes that modern generations of Mexican immigrants take their status for granted, and choose to ignore their ability to help other Mexicans who struggle in America. One significant factor that triggers …show more content…
One particular way for modern generations to begin to enforce social justice is by defying the rejection against their cultural identities. Unfortunately, as easy as it may seem, it is harder to carry out a change of perspective with Mexican Americans. They are the first ones to put Mexicans down out of fear of association with them. Current studies from the article “Bullying of Mexican Immigrant Students by Mexican American Students: An Examination of Intracultural Bullying” by Julian J. Mendez, Sheri Bauman, and Raphael M. Guillory support this claim with a study of a Hispanic public school in the state of Washington. The study shows the factors that push Mexican American students to become bullies against Mexican immigrant students who practice or resemble their culture. Surprisingly one of the influences that encourages discrimination against Mexicans is the stereotype of racial superiority for being born in the United States. More specifically, this shows as Julian Mendez explains, “Isabel did not understand why her friend made a derogatory slur toward a Mexican immigrant who had done thing