ernesto caravantes winter 2009 newsletter

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:

[email protected]
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.

ernesto caravantes winter 2009 newsletter

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