In the final analysis, it could be said that both these minority communities have had their fair share of oppression from the mainstream American establishment. Thomas Almaguer is right when he talks about how the “color bar” had virtually pushed these communities to the fringes of social and political landscape. Of course, there have been some improvements in the political scene for these communities, starting with the late 1960’s when segregation was abolished and all citizens given equal rights. Of late, California has seen some Latino entrepreneurs successfully running businesses, bringing prosperity to themselves as well as creating job opportunities for others. This is a positive development, although there is a lot of work to do before one can see radical changes in the social, cultural and political status for these communities.
Already, there is greater representation for the minority communities in the Congress and the Senate. This trend needs to improve further in the coming years. With the recent rise in prominence of politicians like Barack Obama and Bobby Jindal, racial and ethnic minorities can anticipate a fairer deal for them in terms of just legislatures and policies. Both the Latinos and African Americans can take heart from the success of the Italian American community, which rose from being confined to the underground during its early years to tasting its share of success within the mainstream. The chief example of this success would be Rudi Giuliani, the former New York mayor and an Italian American. A more striking example is the successful election of Arnold Schwarzenegger as California’s Governor. So banking on continued progress, the minorities in America can look forward to a day when terms such as “color bar” and “segregation” become archaic and obsolete.
Reference:
The Latino History Project, accessed on 26th May, 2008, from <http://www.museumca.org/LHP/nar_intro.htm>