One In A Million: Maria Therry

Contents:

1.Introduction

2.Daily Life/ School

3.Community

4.Learning English and Staying Connected to Mexico

5. Discrimination

6.An Experience with racism

7.Citizenship

8.Closing statement

My Grandma, also known as Grandma Wita to friends, family and acquaintances, is 88 years old and one of the most caring, sincere, creative and accepting people i know. She raised four children and kept a beautiful home. I hadn't known much of her history or background and this was a chance for me to get to know her on a more personal level as well as learn about the history of my Latino roots. I chose to name my project "One In A Million" because it expresses who she is as a person, as well as her experience with immigrating to the United States.

Introduction and some family background.

-Here my grandma introduces herself and her family.

Daily life / School

-My Grandma has alway loved to learn new things so it doesn't surprise me that she loved school. She loved to volunteer at my cousins Elementary school when he was young.It was funny to see all the connection she had, like her godmother was the principal of her school! Luckily, my Grandma never experienced anything like the racism and segregation in schools in California, "Though Mexican students were encouraged to enroll in school they were subjected to racial discrimination. Prior to attending class they were required to bathe and showers constructed especially for them. Moreover, they were segregated in separate classrooms are forced to attend classes in a bungalow located adjacent to the main school."(Menchaca and Valencia, p238).

Community

-My grandmother also talks about her mother, father and her community.

Learning English and Staying Connected to Mexico

-Here my cousin Shane chimes in and asks our Grandma how she was able to learn English and how she stays connected to Mexico. My Grandma has always been very smart, sharp, and has never been able to sit still! She loves to keep busy by cooking and cleaning, she loves to keep everything in her house perfect. She is constantly cleaning her house and there is never dirt or dust anywhere! It is so funny to me that Mexicans were thought to be dirty, especially with my Grandma being the way she is, everything from her carpets, walls, counters and furniture is white and looks and is kept very pristine."Mexican students were characterized as dirty, dull, un-Christian, and lacking any social etiquette." (Menchaca/Valencia). It is very unfortunate that during the time of segregation people were not able to see what amazing people Mexicans are, in one of our academic journals we read, "Anglo-Saxon Ideologies on the Segregation of Mexican" written by Martha Menchaca and Richard R. Valencia, it is mentioned that Mexicans were portrayed as lazy and not very intelligent, "Mexicans were often characterized as "simple-minded," "carefree," "indolent," and "halfway between savagism and civilizations."