Rafsan Chowdhury

Assignment: Peer Interview Essays

9/7/2020

The peer I interviewed to learn more about them and their community is Ivanna Dominguez. Born in NYC and raised by Dominican parents, she grew up in Washington Heights in the Bronx. At 9 she moved to the South Bronx and this is the community that she feels the closest to. Having stayed there for 10 years now, she said in her interview, “At first, I did not like it just because there wasn’t that sense of home since they weren’t as many Dominicans. Moving to the Bronx allowed me to associate with many other people from different ethnicities, cultures, and religions which I could not really experience in Washington Heights. Being Hispanic, she has faced discrimination and stereotyping based on physical appearances like your hair or skin color, speaking a different language, or even the foods you eat. As a female, she has also felt like a member of a marginalized community because of sexist men that objectify women.

Following the rest of the interview questions, Ivanna said she believes that everyone should love whoever they want regardless of gender issues. I agree with this statement, people should respect each other’s genders and should not ostracize others for loving someone or looking a certain way. Being Hispanic she has faced discrimination for speaking a different language, looking a certain way, or for the foods she eats. I myself have faced all these forms of discrimination. During EID a Muslim holiday, I would get looks when I would wear cultural clothing. I asked Ivanna what her major was, and she told me at the moment she is inclined towards becoming a Special Education. She said, “I just want to be able to provide an environment where kids with disabilities are treated fairly and don’t have to feel like they are different all the time. Teaching allows me not only to educate them but give them a safe and comforting environment.” This is pretty respectable, and I admire her for it. Growing up she was also in the same boat as me. We are both parts of the lower middle class or the working class. Money was not always a constant flow and we would have to make sacrifices. And just like her, having friends in the same situation that understand the struggle helps because they can relate also. When asked about religion or beliefs, Ivanna said she grew up Catholic, but later, she stopped believing in Catholicism because it was just something imposed on her. She said she still believes there might be a God out there, even though she does not believe in a specific religion. I have the same experiences, I grew up Muslim, but hated that I was forced to be that way and I decided one day to just stop. For 4 years now I didn’t believe in any religion, but I still think there might be a higher power out there or possibly a God. The place she lives in is predominantly a mix of African American and Hispanic people. The community is mostly made of people that are low-income families, there are also some homeless people there. Growing up in a similar circumstance in South Jamaica, I saw a lot of police brutality, discrimination, and crime as poverty is a big indicator of crime. It was something like her I had to adapt to. Those crimes are also related to Police brutality because the majority of people committing crimes are minorities which most police officers are discriminatory against. It’s just a vicious cycle that needs to change. Her brother has faced troubles with the police because the color of his skin is darker than the rest of the family. My family has never faced troubles with the police, but that is because my parents have just taught us to never really interact with them or have any involvement in activities that might get me involved with them. My parents and the world have taught me that being someone of darker skin color will not always give me the same treatment as others with the police and to just be always aware of this. Lastly, she told me she is the type of person to always look out for others also struggling, she is motivated and righteous. Everyone should be respected equally because we are all humans in the end. She is motivated because she wants to lead a good life of wealth and prosperity but also a peaceful one.

Growing up, my parents because of their background have said to always be aware of Hispanics or black people because they have bad morals or something. I myself, having grown up in the U.S. never believed something that ignorant. I want others to treat me the way they want to be treated, as a human, and with some degree of respect. I have faced discrimination and I never want to be discriminatory to others. Somethings I was not that surprised about are the drugs and violence that follow with living in low-income areas. I myself have lived in a low-income area for 12 years and I have seen all kinds of drug usage or just straight-up violence between some of my peers, etc. Another thing I can relate to is the way some men in my community disrespect women or objectify them.

I don’t really have any stereotypes towards Hispanic people, so my experience has not differed anything in terms of my perspective. Regarding problems like sexism from men in the community, this can be fixed with programs implemented in schools in the community that gear to help young men learn how to treat women, etc. In my high school, there were talks about boys not knowing their boundaries sometimes and there was even a case of a male harassing a female that was brought to court. This led to two programs being formed GEM and BAM, Girls Empowerment Movement, and Boys Action Movement. These programs were created to educate and loosen the tension between both sides. Regarding Hispanic advocation in the community, I’m not sure how to help as I don’t have enough experience with that topic. The best way to change the world starts with our youth as they are the leaders of the future and changing their minds can change the days of tomorrow.

My peer’s community is not that different from my community. The only difference is that my community has slightly more African American people than Hispanic people and there has been an increase in Bengali people in my area. I would say being Dominican in South Bronx she is part of the marginalized Dominican community in a larger predominantly African American and Hispanic community. I feel the same way, although there are some Bengalis in South Jamaica Queens, we do not really have a community and it really doesn’t feel like a home as I don’t have any connection or attachment to other Bengalis.