Hearing Their Voices

In their stories many people talked about how they felt like they were seperated from the "natural born American citizens". Many immigrant Americans were discriminated against becaues of negative stereotypes about their ethnic groups. This discrimination agains them made many people feel like they weren't true Americans. The idea of being true Americans were very important to some people. One man named Augustus Martinez even talked about Americanization classes his FSA group made to not only bring the community together but help their younger members integrate better into American society.

I believe that the main reason the Great Depression was harder for Immigrant Americans was because they felt like they weren't true Americans or at least some people made them feel like that. In this interview with Martinez he goes on to talk about how the Mexican people were discriminated against in the FSA camps. He addresses a belief that the American people had of Mexican immigrants in that area at the time: that they didn't want to work. When they were simply trying to make better lives for themselves and their families.

There were many false ideas about immigrants going around at the time. People though immigrants from Eastern Europe were uneducated and stupid and wouldn't contribute to the betterment of the country. They believed that the Irish were drunks and going to bring the country down. It was beliefs like this that made it so hard for immigrant Americans at the time. I can only imagine trying to get a job when it's already so hard to find work and having your possible employeer think you're stupid and incapable because of your ethnicity.

Despite these false beliefs immigrant Americans pressed on and worked as hard as they could to better their lives and the lives of their families. They pushed on despite the discrimination they faced though they recognized that it was there. In the interview with Martinez he addressed the discrimination his people felt but also talked about how the American Government said that they are all equal despite their races.

That part of his interview allowed me to see how despite their struggles Immigrant Americans still had hope for better lives. They continued to work hard and make better lives for themselves. I think this shows just how strong these people were. They continued on despite the hate and despite the struggles.

This is a photo of Mexican-American children in El Rio, California in 1941. They stand under the sign outside an FSA camp for Mexican migrant workers, similar to the same situation Mr. Martinez was in.

Another photo of Mexican Migrant workers at an FSA camp in El Rio California.

A photo of Charles Todd, the man who recorded the interview with Martinez, sitting by the recording machine with several Mexican Americans at an FSA camp in El Rio, California.