Throughout my life, I have been told that I sound like something other than I am.  What am I? I’m Mexican by blood though American by birth.  I have been told that I sound “white.”  I’ve even been told that I sound Canadian (I’ve only been to Boblo and Niagara Falls) or even a bit like a New Yorker (never been there).  The funniest thing is when a brother’s ex said that it sounded like I still had a bit of my Mexican accent.  I didn’t think so until I heard myself in a recording.  Yeah, I could hear it a little bit.

This whole topic came back to me when I was on Facebook (http://www.thetakeaway.org/blogs/takeaway/2010/jul/14/what-acting-white/) and heard about Stuart Buck’s book “Acting White.”  While I haven’t read the book, the title really piqued my attention.  For me, the title brings to mind perceptions of who we are or are supposed to be, what we sound like, what we act like or what we’re supposed to look like.  Truthfully, rarely is being told that you “act white” a compliment.  Rather it is an indictment on your sense of identity.

According to the Pew Hispanic Center (http://pewhispanic.org/reports/report.php?ReportID=115), nearly 9 in 10 (89%) Latinos 16-25 say that higher education is important for success, yet only about half (48%) say that they, themselves, plan on getting a degree.  Only 48%? This is ridiculous.  We, as a community, need to celebrate success, which is heavily based on higher education, and not judge those that wish to get there. Instead of tearing them down, we need to bring them up.

There is a reason that we picked Mi Estilo.  When we gave our idea a name, we wanted to provide a forum to legitimize our experiences as well as those of our readers.  More importantly, we celebrate those people that are trying to do something with their lives and kick things up to the next level. Calling someone “white” and indicting their identity should never be a consideration.  Doing something with your life should be.

Author: José A. Rodríguez