Racism In Latin America

December the 6th, 1865 marks the end of slavery and white supremacy. A glance at the 21st century America manifests otherwise. Racism is an ongoing issue that contributes largely to class boundaries within significant aspects such as economy, education and society of the United States, making people of color inferior to white people. The key components that construct a country into greatness are economy, education and society. The inequality and injustice present in these interlinked components, bound by social class hierarchy, can lead to desisting the full potential to be a globally respectable nation.

Throughout the films La otra conquista, The Mission, Camila and Embrace of the Serpent, depicts Latin American society during and after colonialism. The impact that colonialism left on Latin America, continued to prosper once colonialism had ended, known to many as “coloniality”. The objective of these films were to show the legacy that colonialism had left behind. There are many forms of colonialism throughout these films, ranging from the first encounter in La otra conquista, to already knowing the colonizers in Embrace of the Serpent. In this essay, it will discuss and explain the types of coloniality that were still prevalent throughout Latin America.

Wright continues the telling of this historical event, under the topic of Fidelismo and the radicalization of Latin American politics. The combination of Castro’s actions and Che Guevara’s calls for revolution in the western hemisphere had a direct and profound effect on Latin American politics. This powerful force came to be known as Fidelismo and broken down to its core “it was simply the attitude that revolution should be pursued immediately” (Wright p. 39). On of the most noticeable symptoms of Fidelismo was an intense growth of demands for change. Wright notes that during this time, the intensity of political activities in many other Latin American countries increased, especially after Castro’s victory. This dynamic came about as new

In the struggle for Latin America Independence, the peninsulares who were born in Spain and had major power of Latin America. The Creoles who were born in Latin America, but with the ancestry of the Peninsulares, had lower power than the Peninsulares.Why did the Creoles, which were dense populated and most were officers at the time lead the revolution? The Creoles lead the revolution because the Creoles had a massive economic issue as well as a fight for political power against the Peninsulares and the issues of the social classes.

Frederick Douglass addressed the graduates at Western Reserve College on July 12, 1824. Douglass speech used a formal tone with advance word choices to target his educated audience. In his speech “The Claims of the Negro Ethnology Considered”, he makes two main claims challenging the claims of white men. One, black people are humans and should be treated as humans. Douglass explains that black people possess all the qualities that qualify someone as human. He continued to explain that white and black people, in America, come from different backgrounds, they both share the same origins. Therefore, America denying black people rights granted to all humans is immoral. His second claim is that white people separate black people from humanity in

The United States has always displayed a rich diverse culture, even before it gained its independence from Great Britain in 1776. European colonists were not the first groups of people to have lived in the America, as many indigenous groups have occupied this land hundreds of years before colonization. These indigenous groups played a major role in the makeup of Latin America and Caribbean, which is what made the Americas so diverse during the time of colonization. Academics Juan Gonzales and Paul Ortiz contribute to a current school of thought that discusses the role Latin and Caribbean Americans had in the development and liberation within the United Sates and across America. Many academics in this school of thought draw upon events like

The film “No Mas Bebes” documents stories of individuals involved in the Sterilization of racial minorities in Los Angles. These individuals range from the women whom got sterilized, the whistleblower Doctor, the Doctor in charge of the board, and the Lawyer hired for the Lawsuit against the hospital. In the interview, all of the women whom got sterilized did not give proper informed consent to get sterilized. They were put under pressure by the Nurse or the Doctor and unknowingly gave their signature, the papers were written in English not Spanish. The whistleblower expressed how prior to working for the hospital, he never was exposed to such a degree of racism. He also talked about how he was going to lose his job because he gave patient information to a third party, leading to the

Braford E. Burns began writing The Poverty of Progress as a historical essay arguing against the “modernization” of nineteenth century Latin America. Burns argues that modernization was preformed against the will of the majority and benefited a small group of Creole Elite, while causing an exponential drop in the quality of life for folk majority. Burns supports his research through a series of dichotomies.

José Martí was a brilliant 19th century writer, poet, political and revolutionary leader, and Cuban intellectual; however, above all else, José Martí was a proud Cuban citizen. Though born to two Spanish parents, Martí never waivered in his identity as a son of Cuba, and he would spend—and eventually give—his life fighting for the cause of Cuban independence. Martí loved his native country, and desired freedom and pride for all Cubans. Never was this more apparent, than in his poem, “Versos Sencillos” (Excerpts from Simple Verses). The resistance from oppression infused with Cuban patriotism prevalent in this piece, is central to Marti’s message and to the Cuban Revolution as a whole.

Revolutions were significant events in history that dramatically affected the rights of the inhabitants. The Latin American revolution as well as the Haitian revolution were led to gain independence from the colonial power of France, Spain, and Portugal. The Latin American revolution led by Simon Bolivar and the Haitian Revolution have both similarities and differences as they both started due to the want for political, economic and social changes.

In Latin American Revolution before the revolution there were four main social classes; on the bottom there were the slaves and the Indians, then there were the Mulattoes (who were of African and Spanish descent) and the Mestizos (who were of Spanish and Native American descent), then the Creoles (who were of pure Spanish blood, but were born in America), and at the very top there were the Peninsulares (they were of pure Spanish descent and were born in Spain). The Creoles lead the fight against Spain because they wanted higher social status within their own lives, more political control over their own lives, and they were tired of Spain having total control over their economy.

The Cosmic Race, by José Vasconcelos, is about the new race that will arise in Latin America from the mixing of all races and the society they’ll create. It is an extremely influential essay in Mexico and still widely regarded today. In the The Cosmic Race it is said that America is the ancient home of the now lost Atlantean civilization (Vasconcelos 7). The downfall of the Atlanteans spawned four races: the Indian, the Black, the Mongol, and the White (Vasconcelos 9). Latin America, the essay argues, will be the homeland of the new Neo-Atlantean race as it already the racial melting pot of so many races (Vasconcelos 17-18). This essay, both intentionally and unintentionally gives us a glimpse of contemporary Latin American race relations,

Source: Boundless. “The Functionalist Perspective.” Boundless Sociology. Boundless, 26 May. 2016. Retrieved 13 Jun. 2016 from https://www.boundless.com/sociology/textbooks/boundless-sociology-textbook/race-and-ethnicity-10/sociological-perspectives-on-race-and-ethnicity-83/the-functionalist-perspective-484-6546/

The Spanish exploration and colonisation made both a positive and negative impact on Latin America. The arrival of the Spanish explorers to the new world made a big change and they are the reason Latin America looks the way it does today. However these people were ruthless and were the tyrants of the new world. One of Spain’s major foreign policy objectives since the advent of democracy has been to increase its influence in Latin America. Spain has had interest in this area due to historical ties and a common linguistic, cultural and religious heritage (Countrystudies.us, 2017).

The Catholic Church was a great power ruling many civilizations in Europe during the period between 1492 and 1830. Therefore, the role of the Catholic Church was of utmost importance to the colonization and development of Latin America as it was a great force in Spain and Portugal. Despite the peaceful teachings of the Church, greed and a hunger for power led them to make decisions harming Latin America and Christianity, rather than thriving it. In this paper, I will show that the Catholic Church is significantly responsible for the colonization and development of Latin America through, the Christianizing mission, the Treaty of Tordesillas, and the Spanish Inquisition.