Racism Against Hispanics in America

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Racism and Identity in America, Option 2
One of the main challenges facing American society is racism. While the country is a multicultural society comprising of individuals from different cultures around the world, minority groups often face discrimination in form hate crimes and racist comments. Although the issue of racism affects all minority groups in the country, when it is discussed, the focus is on how African Americans are unfairly treated. Other minority groups that potentially face discrimination the country apart from African Americans include Asians, Pacific Islanders, Hispanics, and American Indians. This essay examines the discrimination facing Hispanics in regards to rental housing market, language, and skin color.
A long history characterizes discrimination against Hispanics in America. According to an article by Gamboa, at the end of the Mexican-American war in 1848, the extensive Mexican lands became part of the US. Gamboa reports that the inhabitants of the lands were guaranteed full American citizenship through the Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty. However, the protections that were accorded to inhabitants of the former Mexican lands were ignored as their status and landholdings were taken away from them by white settlers who considered themselves to be superior. Therefore, the issue of discrimination against Hispanics in the US started a long time ago in the mid-19th century. One senator at the time, John C. Calhoun, was against the incorporation of the new lands into the US because the country was “a government of the white race” (Gamboa). This discrimination continued for the next two centuries and as informed by Gamboa, the Latinos are told today that they have to assimilate to attain more rights. While the majority of them are born in the US and others have a family history that can be traced back to centuries in the past, they are still asked where their families come from. According to Gamboa, the Hispanics are underrepresented in the government workforce, film, high tech jobs, and they are facing an increasing rate of hate crimes. Therefore, throughout history up to today, Hispanics face discrimination. Given these facts, the discussions of racism and discrimination in American should take into consideration the experiences of Hispanics.
Hispanics in the US experience racial discrimination in the rental housing market. As informed by an article by Rose Kelly, the Hispanics in New York City are 22% less likely to have their calls returned by landlords than whites. Furthermore, the article notes that they are also 49% less likely to receive an offer compared to whites. These shocking statistics prove that apart from African Americans, Hispanics also face significant levels of discrimination. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that many of them use half of their income on rent because of the high cost of housing in the city. Another key related issue is on home loans. According to the article by Gamboa, compared to whites, Hispanics are four times more likely to be denied home loans, representing the largest disparity in the nation. While such exclusion may not be obvious or intentional, it is still discriminatory. It is discrimin...