Por que no estan en la escuela

I attended a conference last week where the topic was Race and Sexuality. It was put on by the local STD clinic, Planned Parenthood, and other health related groups. We had lots of interesting discussions about race and how it impacts our access to care, especially for sexual health concerns.

During one exercise we had to list stereotypes people have given to certain groups. (Please note these were stereotypes being discussed by a group and not personal opinion.)

We talked about Asian people being good at math, black people being athletic, etc. etc. Since we have a very strong Latino population here in San Diego, we spent a long time discussing people who speak Spanish and the sometimes negative feelings it brings about in others. Sentiments such as “You live in America, you should speak English” were brought up and the concern that when someone switches to another language, it’s because they are talking about YOU.
Lastly we talked about young black women – their attire, lack of ambition, and that they are typically loud. It was a very powerful presentation considering we had plenty of students in attendance that dispelled those myths…

So 30 minutes later I am at lunch by myself across the street from where the conference is taking place. Next to me are two older Mexican women eating and talking. In front of us are two black high school girls that are ordering. I am on the phone with a friend while the girls are ordering and my friend asks “who is yelling in the background?” As the girls continued to talk and order, I hear the women next to me say, in Spanish, “Why are those girls so loud? Por qué son esas chicas tan fuerte? Why aren’t they ever in school? Por qué no están en la escuela?”

Classic.