Mapping Latine Inequalities – Reading Responses

Mapping Latine Inequalities – Reading Responses

Author: Quiana Rodriguez

  • Week 12 Quiana Rodriguez

    Within the chapter 3 of Safe Space by Christina Handhardt there was a primary discussion about how gentrification negatively impacted a town. Throughout her writing there is discussion of the tension as “In a short time, gay residents in gentrifying areas began to report violence, and the scene became increasingly polarized between new gay residents and long term neighborhood members” (129). This connects to the idea of taking space and the intentionality in doing so. The issue stems from the fact that gentrification is rooted from displacement of communities of color and therefore even if there is a remodeling of the town primarily white people are benefiting. While LGBTQ people are able to make space for those of intersectional identity that are people of color it creates an awkward position as their identity group is being displaced. It is important to consider intersectional identities and the harm gentrification has as there are no resources for the families displaced and instead capitalization is prioritized. 

    The second reading That’s My Space by Roque Ramirez discusses the organization of gay Latinos that navigate spaces in California. One of the important discussions within the reading is how representation in numbers matters as well as the ethnic intersectional with sexuality for latinx people. Within the article it discusses the lack of representation and initial organizing and the work that needed to be done. For example in Diane’s experience “While supporting the UFW’s grape boycotts in the Bay Area and Los Angeles, she was surprised to discover that not all Latinos shared her political view” (238). It is important to understand while one may be of a shared identity group there can be different perspectives. Another note is that in the Latinx community there is a history of homophobia and sexism within the community that many people are combating today.

    Both of these readings discuss the importance of understanding people with different identities, navigating different spaces and having tough conversations. To have conversations is to get a deeper understanding of perspectives and it is important to call out problematic agendas that are homophobic, classist, or racist as only advocating for one community is unacceptable.

  • Week 13 Quiana Rodriguez

    Within the beginning of book, “Queer Nightlife” there is a breakdown about the planning, the formation of making space, and the outcomes of creating an inclusive space where queer nightlife is able to provide a space for members to be themselves. From the start of the book I found it interesting to learn about the ways in which expression through materialistic items lead to a form of going against the status quo or used as a tool to stand for oneself. Oftentimes in society perception is connected to ideologies, and intentional ways to express oneself openly as queer is a statement to claim space and embrace oneself. While there is a progressive movement that works to use fashion as a way to express oneself there are constraints that are explored within the reading. The book puts an emphasis on the planning that it takes to create spaces or movements of expression within the LGBTQ community as there is a conscious need to think about the safety of the people. It works to discuss the ways that some spaces are not as inclusive to the BIPOC community which relates to the two previous readings in class. I connect this to the other readings as the book shows how intersectional identities are a struggle to represent equally in some spaces. This connects to the socio-economic status and setting of queer nightlife spaces which can contribute to the high cost in events or lack of accessibility for community members that may have limited income. A quote that stood out to me was: “Indeed, queer nightlife venues have often been the target of police raids meant to manage aberrant bodies and desires, and gentrification efforts meant to ‘clean up’ neighborhoods  to make way for allegedly normative people and revenue streams” (5). This is important to understand as there is an interesting dynamic within law enforcement and queer spaces as we have seen within this reading and in the documentary that discusses housing displacement and claiming space. Overall, there are nuances when discussing the claiming of spaces and the usage of law enforcement as they have a history of discriminatory treatments to some identity groups that at times put their life in danger.

  • Week 11 Quiana Rodriguez

    After reading, The Question of Palestine and Understanding the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict I was able to analyze the two different strategic approaches to educating the audience on the history of Palestine and Israel from two different perspectives. The Question of Palestine by Edward Said took an approach that discussed the historical context of Palestine and how the usage of Western history records connects to the Zionist agenda as European countries have often taken part in failing to acknowledge Palestine and the native people. Edward Said, as a Palestinian himself, addresses at the start of the book that the intent is to educate people on a concept that has been misconstrued and connected directly to the effects of colonialism. On the other hand, Understanding the Palestianian-Israeli Conflict alludes to the understanding that the challenges within the situation have equal platforms of power and does not acknowledge the marginalization of the Palestinian people or the erasure of their history due to intention to invalidate the community standing. As a reader it is evident that the language of Bennis is less complex as the “conflict” is broken down into questions for an audience that may not have had experience learning about the topic. Quite often the author attempts to balance the situation in the book through claims including “The violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories has come from both sides” (Bennis 2). This wording alludes to the fact that a conflict as mentioned in the title is an equally challenging situation and does not fully address the difference in power and support between Israel and Palestine. While simplifying language to better educate an audience about a situation that they may not have been educated on in the past, it can often lead to a lack of historical context, leading to misinformation. This question-and-answer format is flawed as an audience can pick questions that interest them which can shape a misconstrued understanding of the history and overall ignore the full message Bennis is attempting to address in her piece. Said takes an approach that is from resistance from a system that refuses to unpack the large history and goes into detail about the history of Palestine to keep the records alive and to educate the audience of information that may have been hidden or switched around based on media, educational courses, or government perceptions.

  • Quiana Rodriguez- Week 10 Post

    The article “Digital Nomads and Settler Desires: Racial Fantasies of Silicon Valley Imperialism” by Erin McElroy discusses and critiques the methods that digital nomads navigate spaces that work through a capitalistic society and fail to consider the impacts of the community. One of the key points in the article is the idea that digital nomads have a high priority of freedom of mobility, however many of the owners of the companies are limiting the freedom of the community members due to their companies leading to displacement of families. To view large companies as a method of colonialism is plausible as they are able to gather information across cultures and monetize it, and overall take over a space that may have once been occupied by another. 

    An important company discussed in the article is the impacts of Airbnb as the mission drives off the ability to temporarily occupy spaces across the globe. This idea of promoting freedom is appealing to many as it is a highly used app within the industry today, however there is no consideration of how this affects the housing status to community members as they have to find ways to afford high cost housing prices. Companies including Airbnb, while they can expand accessibility for some it instills a level of disconnection to the community members residing in these homes. The author noted “These magical abilities to transgress time and space, arguably a dream of any empire, were constructed through colonial sexual and racial fantasies”(235). This quote is impactful as it stresses one to consider the origins of digital nomads and the way everyone in society navigates spaces that are not their own or a system that prioritizes monetization over the advancement for all community members. Acknowledging the history of the U.S. and its discriminatory policies and colonial mindset is important to understand as we have done in our class as it provides context for the ways large companies strategize today in prominent areas including Silicon Valley. Failure to understand the historical context and the present situation can lead to lack of accountability for the effects companies have in the present day especially when it regards technical advancements. 

  • Quiana Rodriguez Week 7 Response

    The reading, South Central Farmers and Shadow Hills Homeowners: Land Use Policy and Relational Racialization in Los Angeles explains the dichotomy in land usage and advocacy within two different identity groups. The central argument within the piece uncovers how current policies that affect how land is utilized and navigated is dependent on historical context. In the past, land distribution and accessibility were catered to White people and ensured that the land accessible to people of color, primarily Latinx communities in Los Angeles was embedded with uncertainty. An important concept includes: “The racialization of space achieves its own momentum, setting the geographic framework within which activists struggle to maintain or improve their social status and  quality of life” (171). This emphasizes that mobilization becomes difficult when systematically intentional barriers are placed to cause challenges when attempting to amend policies that disregard the communities established in land spaces. The comparison in socio-economic status between South Central Farmers and Shadow Hill is important to understand as it relates to the segregation Los Angeles has between the communities established there. This connects to the intentions to ensure that community groups are not integrated but separated by space. These discriminatory actions are focused on creating towns, cities, and areas of living/working beneficial for White middle-upper class people and disregarding the experiences of Asian, Brown, and Black people who live in Los Angeles. It was evident that areas with a large population of people of color were correlated to underfunded areas, lacked essential resources, and were isolated from successful areas. To ignore the dichotomies and refuse to question the establishment of land is a failure to understand how the United States attempts to maintain a separation of people in inexplicit ways. This connects to the dangers of gentrification as this initiative that is portrayed to focus on technology advancement, remodeling, and creation of a better place of living in actuality invests in a cheap area, displaces community members, and creates spaces for those that are wealthier. The context of advancements hides the harsh histories and present-day situations of housing displacement, barriers to community spaces/mobilization, and stories of those directly affected by unjust policies.

  • Quiana Rodriguez Week #6 Response


    Through the readings Lighter Shade of Brown and How to Kill a City San Fran there are discussions about the ways that gentrification directly affects the demographic of cities and how the change in composition connects to the way systems ensure that Whiteness is prioritized. Within both of the readings there is discussion of previous California cities that were predominantly non-White and through efforts of remodeling of the city there has been a decrease of a diverse population. There is a polarizing perspective where White people view this as a method of integration while people of color view this as a threat to communities already established. How to Kill a City San Fran showcases a creative film in which the creator is attempting to convey a message through art expression in order to provide a new perspective to gentrification. While gentrification initiatives focus on the advancement of technology, an increase in finances for the city, and new opportunities, the film discusses the erasure of identities that occurs through these initiatives. Gentrification tactics refuse to acknowledge the realities including: “ There’s little neighborhood-level data on evictions, but between 1990 and 2011, the number of Latino households fell by 1,400, while White households increased by 2,900” (Moskowitz 131). Both these articles emphasize that gentrification efforts fail to discuss the realities of the people displaced. A difference in these articles is discussion of gentrification by the Latino community as they are hopeful that investment in the city can provide more resources which increases the chances of upward mobility. A concept distinct in the Lighter Shade of Brown article is “Gente-fication”: “Gente-fication is primarily understood as economic and racial uplift and, simultaneously, an alternative to white-led gentrification” (Huante 9). This discussion of some of the Latino support for this initiative is related to the differences in racial identities the Latino population is composed of and how it creates a variety of perspectives in the diaspora. While the pan-ethnicity known as Latinx is racialized in various points of history it is important to acknowledge that there have been times in which some Latinos attempt to assimilate to Whiteness in the United States in order to be able to mobilize or due to sentiments of exclusion due to being Latinx. This connects to an important and complex topic that at times some Latinx people can benefit from White privilege.

  • Quiana Week 4 Reading Response

    After reading Still Falling Through the Cracks: Revisiting the Latina/o Education Pipeline I learned and explored how the climate of education for the Latinx population connects  to the current efforts to increase Ethnic Studies in the U.S. education system and modify a system that creates educational barriers. It is evident that the disconnect with Latinx people having access to equitable education is due to an unwelcoming environment, systemic inequalities, and a lack of a diverse curriculum that makes it challenging for the Pan-ethnicity to feel supported in their education. The reading states: “Schools must create an ethos that encourages Latino Students to believe that their schools care about their academic needs and  their aspirations to be successful” (8). Many times there is a discriminatory analysis towards the diaspora when explaining why there is a significant educational gap, which fails to acknowledge how the educational system sets students of color to fail due to discriminatory policies and limited resources depending on the county. A solution discussed is the initiative to provide studies that educate students about their culture as it empowers students and through programs that personally guide students through their educational journey there can be an increase in achievement (8). An important analysis in the reading included “Research has found that students of color on college and university campuses continue to face incidents of racial/ethnic harassment, bias, and discrimination” (13). This connects to the formation of Latinx Studies at Emory University as students came together to advocate for programs that are inclusive of a diverse student body. In addition, these barriers in our education system continue to be seen today as universities including Emory continue to take actions that do not take into consideration all voices and at times create an environment where marginalized communities are targeted, an example being arrested students on campus. While this study was conducted in 2010, it is relevant to today’s climate in education. It is necessary to continue these conversations and have communities come together to advocate for one another. Changes in policies will only occur through the uplifting of voices of different perspectives and research that focuses on the gaps within Latinx education is an example of useful information that can shape implementation of programs/systems that can bridge the inequities.

  • Quiana Rodriguez Week 3 Response

    Within Whiteness as Property there are discussions of the two cases,  Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education, the malleability of identity in the United States, and how policies through history reinforced an environment of racial discrimination. In the piece, it becomes evident that Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education are cases that demonstrate the United States attempt to implement change that works toward racial equality but due to vague language and lack of actions that work to create equitable change, society remains stagnant and people of color continue to face racial discrimination embedded within the society. This connects to the idea that “Whites have come to expect and rely on these benefits, and over time these expectations have been affirmed, legitimated, and protected by the law” (1713). Instead of creating a system in which all are uplifted and receiving the same resources, historically and in the present the United States has created a system in which those that are White are able to benefit the system more due to decades of racial discrimination. Along with discussion of specific cases, Harris discusses how identity is interpreted differently throughout time, especially racial identity where depending on the identity groups you have to prove your identity in order to access or be prevented from having access to resources (1714). The government’s intention of categorizing humans in order to decide the access to resources connects to the principle that Whiteness as Property means that policies and implementation of policies work to aid White people and it becomes an asset that those not of the racial identity group can access. These observations by Harris are important to understand due to it currently affecting present day life, the way different identity groups navigate, and to be informed of new policies that dismantle this racist agenda or support it. One of the topics I enjoyed reading in Harris’s writing is the discussion of affirmative action as she connects the historical connections of White privilege and its intent to “remove the legal protections of the existing hierarchy spawned by race oppression” (1779). It is an important topic especially due to recent government actions to eliminate affirmative action which opens a conversation about different methods to approach ways to implement changes in the system that benefit racial equity.