Latinos and Negro Rights
1) From League of United Latin American Citizens, “World War II and Mexican Americans” (1945)
Founded in 1929, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) campaigned for equal treatment for Americans of Latino descent and their full integration into American life. Soon afer the war ended, an editorial in its publication LULAC News condemned continuing discrimination, reflecting how the war sparked a rising demand for equal rights among many minority groups.
2) From Charles H. Wesley, “The Negro Has Always Wanted the Four Freedoms,” in What the Negro Wants (1944) In 1944, the University of North Carolina Press published What the Negro Wants, a book of essays by fourteen prominent black leaders. Virtually every contributor called for the right to vote in the South, the dismantling of segregation, and access to the “American standard of living.” Several essays also linked the black struggle for racial justice with movements against European imperialism in Africa and Asia. When he read the manuscript, W. T. Couch, the director of the press, was stunned.
Questions
1. What evidence does the editorial offer that Latinos are deserving of equality?
2. Why does Wesley believe that black Americans are denied the Four Freedoms?
3. What differences and what commonalities exist between these two claims for greater rights in American society.
What evidence does the editorial offer that Latinos are deserving of equality?
Discrimination is in most occasions fueled by differences in race, language and nationality. People tend to discriminate those who are different from them, as it is these differences that make them feel superior to others (Chong and Nopo 3). For instance, the black populations in the United States have historically been discriminated due to their skin color. However, the discrimination against the Latinos lacked grounds of justification. The editorial in the document assesses the possible grounds for the discrimination of the Latinos and does not find any among them that is befitting the discrimination. The assessment of the possible grounds of discrimination is used as a justification as to why the Latinos deserve equal treatment with all the other American citizens. The editorial outlines that the Latinos have the same nationality, race, language, loyalty and ability as the other Americans (League of United Latin American Citizens 1). The absence of a parameter to justify the discrimination against the Latin Americans makes them equals to other Americans and deserving of all the privileges enjoyed by the American citizens.
Why does Wesley believe that black Americans are denied the Four Freedoms?
What differences and what commonalities exist between these two claims for greater rights in American society.
Works Cited
Chong, Alberto and Hugo Nopo. “The Mystery of Discrimination in Latin America.” Journal of Economia 8 (2008): 1-4.
Fazzi, Dario. “Engel, Jeffrey A., editor. The Four Freedoms: Franklin.” European journal of American studies (2017): 1-5.
League of United Latin American Citizens. “World War II and Mexican Americans.” (1945): 1.
Wesley, Charles H. “The Negro Has Always Wanted the Four Freedoms.” What the Negro Wants 1944.