Newsletter Vol. 1 Issue 23

Russell Lee / Dolph Briscoe Center for American History
 

This Holy Week, let us continue to hold those who are the crucified Christ among us today. 

Last week we explored the crucified Christ among us today as those in the Asian American/Pacific Islander community. In the wake of the murders in Georgia, a story broke about Mario González. Mario and his wife, Delaina Ashley Yaun, went on a date at Young’s Asian Massage. When the shooting began, Mario and Delaina were in separate rooms. As he left to check on his wife, Mario explained to the news outlet Mundo Hispánico that he was detained by law enforcement. Held for four hours, Mario was left wondering what happened to his wife and why he was detained to begin with. Later, law enforcement officials informed Mario that his wife had died. Mario is quoted saying “Maybe because I’m Mexican, I don’t know, because the truth is, they treated me badly.” In an attack that appears to be racially motivated, one is lead to wonder if the assumptions and actions of the law enforcement officials responding to the scene were racially motivated as well.

According to a Pew Research report, there are some 60 million Latinos living in the United States, accounting for 18 percent of the population. Yet anti-Latino sentiments remain.  According to Erin Blakemore in an essay entitled “ The Brutal History of Anti-Latino Discrimination in America”, “Since the 1840s, anti-Latino prejudice has led to illegal deportations, school segregation and even lynching—often-forgotten events that echo the civil-rights violations of African-Americans in the Jim Crow-era South.” Today, this anti-Latino prejudice is often conflated with anti-immigration sentiments. Anti-Latino prejudice begs the question “who is considered an American?”

Several weeks ago, we learned about white supremacy and its roots in Christianity through the Doctrine of Discovery. The Doctrine of Discovery was both a theological doctrine and a political doctrine. This shaped the colonial imagination (both theologically and socially), which set the foundation for the construction of our society. How has this idea of assumed White supremacy been sustained for some three hundred years? 

Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann argue that the construction of social reality happens through a process of externalization, institutionalization, and internalization. Individual values are externalized. In our historical context, White supremacy is externalized through colonization. This then adds to the creation of a society in which racism is institutionalized. Institutions self-perpetuate and influence individuals entering into their systems. The external idea of White supremacy is then internalized by all, White people and people of color, who enter into this constructed society. 

American institutions have had a generational legacy of disenfranchisement of the Latinx (Latinx is the use of inclusive language to consider all genders of those whose origins come from Latin America) population. Institutional racism has led to economic, housing, and education disparities for Latinx compared to Whites. When it comes to wages, Latinx women are most affected. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Latinx women earn just 53 percent of what White men earn. Note that there is a difference between wealth and income. Wealth represents a person’s savings and assets that can be passed down generationally. Homeownership is an important source of wealth, yet, only 45 percent of Latinx own homes compared to the 72 percent of White Americans. While the wage gap certainly contributes to the lack of homeownership, the United States has a history of prioritizing White homeowners through redlining and unfair mortgage loaning practices. When it comes to education, only 16 percent of Latinx hold a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent, compared to the 35.8 percent of White Americans. These disparities are a direct result of the racial hierarchy established at the time of colonization.

As Catholics, we are guided by the principles of Catholic Social Teaching which are rooted in our Gospel teachings. The first of these is the principle of the life and dignity of every human person. Pope Francis has repeatedly asked us all to consider the ways in which we can support human flourishing. While we must acknowledge and repent for our societal sins of the past, we must also set forth a new imagination of what this means and how it is practiced among us. Pope Francis asks, “what kind of church do we dream of?” As we enter into Holy Week, let us keep in mind that as we walk with Jesus, he walks with the poorest and most vulnerable among us. 

WATCH Video

Who comes to mind when you consider who an American is? What prejudices might be present in my imagination? 

What did I learn about Latinx in America? How did I feel as learned about comparative statistics? 

What kind of America and what kind of church do you imagine that supports the flourishing of all people?