What the Cultural Chica is about...

Vicente, Thank you for your heartfelt words. I began to respond as a comment, and then realized the response is better shared as a blog post. Also, this may answer some questions by readers who wondered if The Cultural Chica was going to look just like The Tamale Chica Chronicles. The answer to that is yes and no...

The Cultural Chica blog is a little like The Tamale Chica Chronicles, except it goes beyond Chicago, and with more of a focus on culture. This would be popular culture (like the soda pop story), as well as the culture of non-western European Americans here. In short, it's about what it's like to grow up non-white in Chicago.

El Guapo gave me the idea about that last item, and he is contributing his experiences growing up as an American of Mexican descent in Chicago.

Kokeshi Doll will tell stories of growing up non white, and Asian American during a time when we had strong anti Asian and anti-Asian American racism, no doubt the by product of having over 30 years of war with Asian nations. Her experience will also be a Chicago perspective.

And hopefully interspersed in a way that won't interfere with these voices, I will bring in the laws, histories and social moires of what was going on in pre Millennium America in the USA, to act as a backdrop. We can see how the history of these changes set the foundation for the racism we had at one time, which was "legal." If we think about this, it is easier to then understand how there has always been such an undercurrent of racism here, versus in other nations. And again, the fact that we've had changes is also testament that this social experiment called the United States of America has shown more dynamics for change than any other large nation of this size.

We want to keep it positive, but we also don't want to gloss over the blood of all those who were a part of changing the way we look at race in the US, from the non-white standpoint.

Similarly, and hopefully in a post in the future, I hope to acknowledge the many Americans of white ancestry, who fought against discrimination and helped give all who had no voice a voice, who with their greater numbers and social activism, helped removed legalized racism (i.e, the laws of our nation that clearly discriminated against those of non white ethnic backgrounds).

Many of our fellow Americans were also ostracized, suffered great discrimination themselves and often lost their lives, so that others who made this nation their home for generations could also call themselves Americans. It is also because of these people that the protection of the laws we now know would be extended to all in our Constitution and Bill of Rights unites us all, as one people. I want to also honor the memories of these great human beings as well.