Often, the narratives of Hispanics and African Americans are reduced to stereotypes, suffering, and savagery. Alliance College-Ready Public Faculties helps students explore and celebrate their identity through curriculum, culture, programs, and community while understanding the connection between race and identity.
As an anti-racist and pro-Black organization, Alliance helps students feel belonging and self-confidence, allowing them to navigate unfamiliar environments with cultural pride.
This commitment to identity and community is reflected through extracurricular activities such as Empowerment Against Latin War on the campus of Alliance Health Services High College. Members explore the diversity of Hispanic communities, actively support local providers of goods and services affected during ICE raids, and learn how to help Latino communities. Additionally, their goal of collaborating with the Black Student Union highlights broader efforts to forge solidarity across cultures, reinforcing the importance of unity.
Jesús Ortega, an English teacher at Alliance Health Services, and Olga Bernardes, an immigrant from Belize and grandmother of an Alliance student, exemplify the way education impacts academic and social life.
When Ortega was asked what it means to him to be Hispanic, he candidly responded: “There was a time when I was ashamed of being Hispanic because I was exposed to industries dominated solely by white people, including perspectives in history class or films without ethnic representation.” He added that, in retrospect, “being an immigrant was bad when I was younger because we were perceived as criminals or as unintelligent people.”
Honor our heritage and forge paths
Although times have changed and inclusion and equality are valued more, negative ideologies still persist.
The Alliance recognizes the importance of diversity, and schools contribute in many ways. Teachers adjust lessons so that students see themselves reflected in them. Classes and programs such as Ethnic Studies, Changemakers, the Black Student Union, and No Place For Hate emphasize cultural pride and create a welcoming and inclusive environment on campuses.
When asked why pride of identity is essential in the fight against racism, Ortega shared that “it is important to be aware of what our ancestors have faced and overcome. When we take pride in our cultures, we recognize our ancestors, who managed to persevere despite harmful ideologies and negativity, and follow in their footsteps.”
However, later generations tend to adapt to new environments. Ortega recalled what her mother told her: “Look at your father, he works for minimum wage and sacrifices so you can go to college,” reflecting a mentality rooted in survival and upward mobility.
Although this mindset emphasizes resilience and “pulling yourself together,” it is sometimes intertwined with biases internalized through cultural norms and social influences. In Hispanic culture, colorism and Eurocentric beauty standards persist, reinforcing hierarchies that exalt proximity to whiteness.
On the other hand, media stereotypes regarding black men and women establish harmful perceptions that precede the community. The ability to “pass as white” and the pressure to conform can lead to the subconscious continuation of anti-Blackness. When communities focus on survival and opportunity, these dynamics often go unnoticed, neglecting the importance of engaging with and understanding our heritage to challenge racism rather than contribute to it.
However, with his father’s sacrifice and his mother’s motivation, these words became Ortega’s “yes we can” and his motivation for the hard work and long hours he invested in his future, which were well worth it as he became a first-generation graduate of the College of California, Los Angeles.
Likewise, Olga Bernardes experienced great economic difficulties in Belize. When she emigrated to the United States, she became a nurse, which allowed her to support her family in her country.
Thanks to the contributions and migration of Ortega and Bernardes, current generations can now enjoy the progress that previous generations did not enjoy. By embracing their heritage, their cultural expectations, and those who came before them, they can change, grow, expand their identities, and shape those who come after them.
Education: the way out of poverty
Education remains classic for these changes. Ortega added that “in our community, education is the most important way to rise economically.” This conviction spans generations and Bernardes firmly believes it is the key to getting out of poverty. “My mother told me that ‘in the future, even to sleep, you will need a certificate, so you have to go to school!’”
Alliance commitments help ensure that students are no longer “the only one,” but part of many, by preparing a generation that represents change for their families and communities.
Alliance schools are formed and supported by non-public members and students who work to evaluate practices and policies. With these efforts, the student identity contributes to its community. In this way, student identity becomes a tool against racism and a source of empowerment, transforming the “I” of personal growth into the “we” necessary for community change.
Students Humberto Jesús Carlon, Zoe Fiscal, Rudith Rivas Guerra, Esmeralda Ajpacaja Juárez, Ashley Munguía and Luna Reyes-Esquivel collaborated on this article.
