- You know, I have to explain myself, like,
"Hello, I am a citizen, you know?
"I have the skills to do this job.
That's why I'm in this position, you know?"
[gentle music]
- Yoskar Garcia-Cervantes: Discrimination against Latinos
has been a persistent problem for decades.
Ever since large numbers of Mexicans
started coming to the U.S. in the early 20th century,
they have had to deal with unequal pay,
unfair work conditions, deportation,
language discrimination, and more.
These issues remain a problem today.
In addition to these injustices,
many Latino workers also face the risk of deportation.
Latinos coming to this country
with the hope of work and a better life
are not only denied career advancement,
but are often sent home
once employers have finished exploiting them.
Latino workers face these problems
regardless of their job,
from factories to fields to white collar office jobs.
They must also deal with discrimination
in everyday life outside of work.
For many Latinos,
as soon as someone hears an accent to their English,
they are automatically seen as inferior.
But discrimination is not limited to an accent.
It could be as a result of physical appearance
or simply speaking Spanish.
- Gisela Pena: The first big wave of Latino immigrants
to the country were Mexicans arriving
after the Mexican Revolution began in 1910.
Between 1910 and 1930, the number of Mexican immigrants
counted by the U.S. census tripled
from 200,000 to 600,000.
Many of them were at first welcomed as laborers
in the United States,
as they provided companies with cheap, abundant labor.
But once the Great Depression hit,
many were sent back to Mexico
because job opportunities disappeared.
Additionally, some Americans blamed Mexicans
for the economic disaster.
A second wave of Latino immigration began
in the 1940s and '50s.
Mexicans were no longer the only group,
as more Puerto Ricans and other Latinos began coming.
Starting in the mid-1960s,
Latino activists like Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez
began organizing and working to unite Latinos
to fight for things like better pay and equality.
Dolores Huerta was an advocate for farm workers rights.
This meant she fought for higher pay
and better working conditions for farm workers.
Thanks to her consistency,
she became a co-founder of the National Farmworker Association.
Cesar led successful boycotts and strikes that eventually led
to the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act in 1975.
This law would guarantee farm workers the right
to negotiate work hours,
working conditions, and wage to their employers.
To this day, this movement created the only law
that protects the rights of farm workers to unionize.
In Wisconsin, cities like Milwaukee, Kenosha,
Racine, and Waukesha drew large numbers of Latinos
looking for better job opportunities
in the 1960s and '70s.
By 1980, there were around 35,000 Mexican Americans
living in the state.
Today, around 63.7 million Latinos
live in the United States,
with around 447,000 in Wisconsin alone.
Of Beloit's 36,000 people, Latinos make up about 21%,
which is approximately 7,600 people.
Latinos in Beloit live an average lifestyle;
they work, pay bills, attend to their families,
and they repeat this cycle every day in order to make ends meet.
- Despite these numbers and the work by people
like Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez,
Latinos still face discrimination in work and life.
For example, Maria Delgado,
who worked at the School District of Beloit
as a school board member
and is now currently working at Rock County
as a Division Manager for Economic Support,
has faced discrimination in and out of her workplace.
- I have actually had clients tell me,
"Why don't you just go back to your country?"
Like, "You should not be having that job.
"That's a government job.
That should be for someone, you know, that is a citizen."
And, you know, I have to explain myself like,
"Um, hello, I am a citizen, you know?
"I have the skills to do this job.
That's why I'm in this position, you know?"
But I've actually been discriminated myself.
I've been discriminated a lot based on my accent.
At one time, I was in a restaurant
with my kids, with my children,
and we were all speaking Spanish.
And a gentleman that was sitting, like, in front of us
kept on complaining that
the restaurant should not be servicing people
that doesn't speak the language
and just complaining about us that we were speaking Spanish.
I do feel like I have to work, like, double
in order to feel like I'm where I need to be.
And it is a struggle.
- Despite the continued discrimination,
the increase in diversity in workplaces and public spaces
means Latinos no longer feel alone in their struggle.
We share the same background, same experiences,
and will often have someone to relate to.
Due to the growing numbers of Latinos in Beloit,
there are special events for Latinos
that anyone could attend.
There are more small-owned Latino businesses,
and there are more Spanish speakers available
to Latinos in Beloit.
As long as we're doing work we enjoy,
we should focus less on proving ourselves to others
and feeling comfortable with who we are and what we do.
[gentle music]