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8/14/2019 Ernesto Caravantes Winter 2009 Newsletter
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2 0 0 9 W I N T E R E D I T I O N
ERNESTOCaravanteszClipping Their Own Wingsz
A reflection on the past, present and future of our youth...
S E A S O N S G R E E T I N G S A N D A H A P P Y N E W Y E A R !
Nearly six years ago, I set pen
to paper and began to write a
book. As a Mexican-American,
I felt that something needed to
be done to help the
plight of Latino
students who drop
out of school in
droves. I wanted to
help culture to
which I belong.
When nearly half
of the Latino stu-
dent population
drops out of high
school, the entire
country suffers as a
result. These former students
end up committing violent
crimes, joining street gangs, or
end up having several childrenout of wedlock. They also end
up going on public assistance.
You and I as taxpayers end up
footing the bill. It drains the
national and state economies of
valuable resources. However,
when I decided to write Clip-
ping Their Own Wings, I
wanted to approach this prob-
lem from a different angle. I
focused on the culture, and
took the bold
position of stat-
ing that it was
the culture that
was at the heart
of the problem.
In so doing, Iput forth my
proposition that
the culture val-
ues other things
over and above
education. I was
not stating that
the culture couldnt care less
about education, but, rather,
that other things, such as sheer
survival, and family cohesion,pull rank over education. My
books message was not placing
any value judgment on this
matter. We all have to survive
and most of us place strong
importance on family values.
However, for some cultures,
On Friday, February05th, I will have the
pleasure of speaking withsome promising leaders
of tomorrow at theChinatown Service
Center in Los Angeles,California.
nnn
Chinatown Service Center
February 05, 2010
4:30pm
Los Angeles, CA
Newsletter
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education is more important
and more of a priority than it
is for others. Plain and simple.
And for those of us who are
able to study the panoply of
cultures living in our modernsociety, this should be rather
self-evident.
I then decided to take an even
more discerning view of the
Mexican-American culture. I
put together the series of essays
that I compiled and published
them as the book, The
Mexican-American Mind. It
came to attention of my read-ers that I was using words such
as lazy, or ignorant. How-
ever, what was less known was
that I was using terms to de-
scribe other peoples percep-
tions of the Mexican-
American culture. Those terms
are not necessarily representa-
tive of my own views of the
people who comprise the cul-
ture. Many of my readersmade the mistaken assumption
that because such terms were
being used in my books, they
must be some indication of
how I personally view Latin
Americans in general, and
Mexican-Americans in particu-
lar. Naturally, this caused much
indignation, which I com-
pletely understand. Those are
harsh terms. It is only naturalthat intelligent and hard-
working Hispanic readers
would feel incensed at seeing
such adjectives being placed so
strategically in front of their
ethnic category.
Like with any large group of
people, one is going to see the
bell curve of mental and intel-
lectual abilities in the Mexican-
American population. On one
end of the curve will be theoutliers who are incredibly in-
telligent. On the other end will
be the outliers who are in-
credibly slow. As usual, the
bulk of the population will be
somewhere in the middle.
Thus, when I am speaking or
writing in such over-reaching
terms to describe a very large
population, I use terms that
attempt to capture, as accu-rately and as candidly as possi-
ble, public perceptions and
popular stereotypes. Many of
these perceptions and stereo-
types are unfair and unpopular.
One cannot describe the entire
population by only looking at
the bottom of the barrel.
My books were written with
the intention of examining, ascritically as possible, only the
sub-population of Mexican-
Americans that are dropping
out of high school in record
numbers and plaguing our so-
ciety with violent crimes. In the
course of doing this difficult
work, I undertook the unpleas-
ant task of reviewing popular
perceptions and prejudices to
see if they had any validity ortruth behind them. However, it
was not my intention to mix or
tangle my personal views with
the views that other people
have of this culture. I am very
proud of my heritage and want
to help Latin Americans in
general, and Mexican-
Americans in particular, in any
way I can through my work.
There will be times when my
work will force me to confront
the divergent attitudes in soci-ety with a critical eye and an
even more critical mind.
Even if I must stand alone, the
importance of achieving my
goals is worth the effort and
the criticism I will receive.
Connect withErnesto Online:
Webernestocaravantes.com
Blog:
ernestocaravantes.blogspot.com
Invite Ernesto...
Special EventsCollege / University,Conferences, Forums
Contact:
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.ernestocaravantes.com/http://www.ernestocaravantes.com/ -
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Ernesto to visit
Chinatown Service CenterWe are certain that Mr. Ernesto Caravantes' mission to motivate success in minorities will have thecritical ability to lend a hand in assisting our community to bridge the cultural gap. ~ CSCLA
ERNESTO IS SCHEDULED TO SPEAK AT THE CHINATOWN SERVICECENTER IN LOSANGELES ON FEBRUARY 05,2010.
I am honored to be invited to speak at the Chinatown Service Center for Los Angeles, says Ernesto. My
presentation will be part of the centers Bridging the Gap (BTG) project, which strives to create social change in
the community of Chinatown by building positive relationships between the disconnected cultures and people ofChinese and Hispanic descent.
Ernesto will highlight the commonalities between the two cultures, share his experiences of growing up, and
educate the youth that as minorities, they have to empathize and help each other.Chinatown Service Center (CSC) is a non-profit social service agency that provides services to the disadvantage
immigrant population in Chinatown and other nearby areas. It is the largest human service organization in the
south of California that provides services in Spanish and various Chinese dialects. CSC's organization mission is
to provide outstanding services and advocacy that promote better quality of life and equal opportunity for
immigrants and other communities.
The community of Chinatown is diverse and yet divided, despite the common backgrounds of our immigrant
residents, says Senior Program Assistant Specialist Danee Prasert. As a social service agency, Chinatown
Service Center (CSC) would like to see the community become more solidified through stronger race relations.
We hope that Mr. Ernesto Caravantes' visit to CSC's Youth Center (and essentially, the community of
Chinatown) will help enlighten our youth generation to increase empathy and respect for one another's cultures.
We are certain that Mr. Ernesto Caravantes' mission to motivate success in minorities will have the
critical ability to lend a hand in assisting our community to bridge the cultural gap.