On a trip conducted at the close of 2016 for my Central American Studies class, I went to MacArthur Park in Los Angeles to gather information, photographs and interviews from immigrant food vendors that worked in the vicinity. This was such an insightful and unforgettable trip because I was exposed to an active environment filled with people that work so hard to pay rent, provide for family and make a living for themselves. I felt that with recent events, it is important to show why we need to protect our immigrants and support them in the inevitable challenges our current administration will try to pull.
One of the most memorable talks I had was with a woman named Rosa, primarily because we were able to understand our individual pursuit of happiness, even if they were occurring on different paths. She sold fruits across MacArthur Park at a lucrative corner on Alvarado Street and was happy to hear how I was getting my education. As our talk progressed, it felt less like an interview and more like a conversation. Everyone has a story and to hear Rosa’s personal trials and tribulations taught me so much more about social environments and public spheres. People say seeing is believing but I think it is much more than that. Seeing is soaking in every aspect of what is happening and utilizing that information for the better.
America is built on the notion that anybody can come here no matter what origin and have the opportunity to follow aspirations that can be accomplished. We pride ourselves on the so called American Dream which is why I find it unfathomable how people are willing to contradict this ideology in an effort to indirectly feed privilege. Immigrants thrive and contribute to society by claiming the city on a daily basis and it should not be condemned just because they are selling food on a street. The preconceived notions of crime, dirt and laziness are detrimental to a large part of the population in both external and internal ways. This divide in effects happens when society places a long lasting stereotype that connects with the perspective assimilation immigrants must mentally battle for years. The right to the city belongs to everyone; limiting this is a harmful way of excluding a group that is already ostracized for simply being born in a different country.
The truth of the matter is immigrants have to work harder to make a title for themselves alongside the assumptions and violence that will try to bring that status down. We need to view food vendors just as we would a person sitting in a cubicle eight hours a day. We need to do better and stand alongside our brothers and sisters that are being attacked and separated in silence. Immigrants make our country strong. They allocate diversity, cultural principles and inclusivity into our country. To ignore everything aforementioned is not only unethical, but unAmerican.
