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Mexican American Equality

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Two score and thirteen years ago, President John F. Kennedy stood before the American people, on the verge of a civil rights upheaval, and declared a self-evident principle of this great nation, namely that “…the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened” (1963), further substantiated by the premise that the foundation of this country lies on the principle that all men are created equal. It is a country established in defiance of despotism, and has been hitherto a symbol for equality elsewhere, so long as we are reminded of this fact and provide no exception. It is the duty of the American people and all men (“men” herein referred to as gender inclusive) who ascribe to these principles, to defend it at any …show more content…

This demographic is no longer an outside observer of the society in which it lives, but rather an active and important participant of said society. Though this case demanded that Mexican-Americans be included in the Civil Rights movement, it is not as groundbreaking as we may desire it to be, perhaps due to bias. Discrimination upon gender and, as relevant, race had been brought before the Supreme Court decades before Hernandez v. Texas. See Minor v. Happersett (1875), Leser v. Garnett (1922), Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), Brown v. Board of Education (1954). There is no question to whether there was discrimination, but to attempt to hold equal standing as these aforementioned cases is on the verge of disrespectful. One fruitful effect that can be attributed to this case, however, besides morale, is the inclusion of all ethnicities under the protection of the Fourteenth Amendment, expanding its application from Whites and Negroes, …show more content…

The distinction made by Hernandez before the Supreme Court is such that although the State may classify Mexican-Americans as “Whites,” the difference in treatment renders them worlds apart from Caucasians. Ironically, it was necessary for Hernandez to make this distinction in order to be treated as an equal. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that the triumph of intellect over power is essential to our survival as a species. Undeserving patriotism aside, America is the only country since its birth that has repeatedly said that we can do better; it is inherent in our being. When we fight for our rights as men, we don’t defend a piece of paper or land but rather the ideas they were founded on and so long as we hold sacred and undeniable the principle that all men are created equal, America will never

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In her speech, “For the Equal Rights Amendment” Shirley Chisholm addresses her views on securing women’s equality to ensure women have better opportunities. She is an American politician, educator and author that became the first black woman elected to the United States Congress. Chisholm supports her claims about equal rights for women by using examples of statistics to prove a point. Her purpose is to persuade her audience that women in America are neglected by equal rights and excluded from things that men are not. Throughout her deliverance she expressed an inspiring and informative tone to uplift her audience so that Congress can make a change for women.

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The Chicano movement derives from early oppression of Mexicans. Robert Rodrigo, author of “The Origins and History of the Chicano Movement” acknowledges that, “At the end of the Mexican American war in 1848, Mexico lost half of its territory to the United States and its Mexican residents became ‘strangers in their own lands.’” In stating this fact, Rodrigo exemplifies the United States’ relations with Mexico, that, ultimately, led to their oppression. Moreover, these early relations led to social injustice for the Mexican community. Carlos Muñoz, author of The Chicano Movement: Mexican American History and the Struggle for Equality reports, “As a conquered people, beginning with the Texas-Mexico War of 1836 and the U.S. Mexico War of 1846-48, they have

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Many people think the most predominant social injustice in the 1960’s revolved around racism, which was mostly true. But few realize that gender inequality was a much more harmful than racism in aspects such as employment, family life, and government service, where women were disregarded and underpaid. To notice the differences between discriminations in gender and race, one would have to fall into both categories as Shirley Chisholm had, the first African-American Congresswoman. Having experienced this disadvantage, Chisholm directed her career in a different direction. On August 10th, 1969 in Washington D.C., Shirley Chisholm made history by addressing gender inequality in her speech, “For The Equal Rights Amendment”.

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Despite major advances in civil and political rights, our country still has a long way to go in addressing the issue of gender inequality. Many of the achievements that have been made for women’s rights in the 20th century have been under attack by the Republican Party — denying women control over their own bodies, preventing access to vital medical and social services, and blocking equal pay for equal work. “When it comes to the rights of women, we cannot go backwards. We have got to go forward.” As president Senator Bernie Sanders will; fight for pay equality for women, expand and protect the reproductive rights of women, only nominate supreme court justices who support ROE V. WADE and the productive rights of women, make quality childcare and Pre-K available to all Americans, increase the minimum wage to $15 and hour by 2020, raise the tipped minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2023, Provide at least 12 weeks of paid family leave, 2 weeks of paid vacation, and one week of paid sick days to American workers, expand the WIC program for pregnant mothers and infants, make healthcare a right, and expand social security.

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We are Humans too, Right? For decades, women have been discriminated against due to limited job opportunities, low wages, and minimal acceptance to colleges. As an educated congress woman Shirley Chisholm was motivated to make changes in discrimination against women. In the early 1950’s Chisholm was accepted to Brooklyn College, New York, studied education then transferred to Columbia University for her master’s in Elementary Education; A few years later, she also served resolving issues regarding the Vietnam War, the National Organization for Women, the Bureau of Child Welfare.

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Ethnoracial equality is a concept that is being explored in the book as it explores the struggle in the United States to accept the incorporation of historically disadvantaged immigrant groups. The future of their incorporation is dependent on their representation and participation in relation to their coalition building in the fight for ethnoracial incorporation. The book examines post-1965 immigration and the ways immigration has evolved the demographics of the United States. The book primarily focuses on the recent immigration of minorities and their political incorporation as well as their history of racial segregation in conjunction with ethnoracial politics. The book provides a clear discussion of immigration, race, and ethnicity.

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For generations now, powerful and brave women in the United States have cajoled citizens, members of Congress and government officials to ratify a Constitutional amendment that states “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” In 1923, during the 75th anniversary of the 1848 Women’s Rights convention in Seneca Falls, women’s rights activist Alice Paul created the “Lucretia Mott Amendment” which would grant men and women equal rights throughout the United States. On March 22, 1972, the amendment now titled the “Equal Rights Amendment” passed the U.S Senate and House of Representatives and was to be sent to the states for approval. However, once the seven-year deadline on the ratification process came to an end in 1979, the amendment’s proponents lacked the ratification by 38 states and thus the proposed 27th amendment for equal rights was terminated. The ERA advocates continue to work together and utilize each other's resources in hope to finally pass the bill.

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814 Words | 4 Pages

Susan B. Anthony, a woman who was arrested for illegally voting in the president election of 1872, in her “On Women's Right to Vote” speech, argues that women deserve to be treated as citizens of America and be able to vote and have all the rights that white males in America have. She begins by introducing her purpose, then provides evidence of how women are citizens of America, not just males by using the preamble of the Constitution, then goes on about the how this problem has became a big problem and occurs in every home in the nation, and finally states that women deserve rights because the discrimination against them is not valid because the laws and constitutions give rights to every CITIZEN in America. Anthony purpose is to make the woman of America realize that the treatment and limitations that hold them back are not correct because they are citizens and they deserve to be treated like one. She adopts a expressive and confident tone to encourage and light the hearts of American woman. To make her speech effective, she incorporates ethos in her speech to support her claims and reasons.

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Phyllis Schlafly started the campaign of ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment in 1923 and I am beyond certain that the ERA activists today will not stop until it is ratified and accepted into the constitution. At the end of ERA battle, Sonia Johnson made an incredible and uplifting statement for all women. She said, “I am sure I am not the only feminist who is occasionally clear-sighted enough to be grateful to Phyllis Schlafly for making us have to fight so hard for the Equal Rights Amendment. Whether in the end this amendment is the way women will achieve legal equality or not, it is still true that the struggle over its ratification has provided the greatest political training ground for women in the history of the world”

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Even though women’s rights have come so far, there is still inequality in American society, and societies all over the world. In some places in the world it seems that women’s right have stayed the same throughout the years, and haven’t changed the least. I do believe that the only way for equality to be achieved in America is by showing people that there still is an inequality in our society. There are many that think that we are a perfectly equal society, but the fact is that women make less money then men do for the same job, there is also racial, sexuality, and gender discrimination that occurs, and as long as these problem persist we cannot call America a nation that everyone shares the same

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Through the tremendous struggle men of color were able to legalize their human rights. On the other hand, women still faced inequalities, stereotypes, discrimination and segregation in society. Many women played important roles in the civil movement, but were often overshadowed by men, who still get more attention and credit for this success. Many women experienced gender discrimination after the civil rights movement which, lead to the pursue of women’s rights, the fight for the idea that women should have equal rights as men. Over time, this has taken the form of gaining property rights, the right for women to vote, reproductive rights, and the right to work for equal pay.

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According to Webster dictionary a democracy is “a government by the people”. This is the type government the United States has. The U.S government is built on maintaining and enforcing order and equality in a democratic format. With order and equality comes conflict and compromise among the people. John Locke once said “citizens have the right to rebel against a government that does not respect the rights of its citizens”.

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