Diversity Immersion Project: Journal 1
For this assignment I’ve chosen the Mexican and Mexican American communities. I currently work and reside in Watsonville, CA, an agricultural town with a large Latinx (namely Mexican) population. I’ve chosen this group because it is a demographic different from my own and because they account for a substantial portion of those being served by local state and community agencies.
I currently work at a private substance use rehabilitation center where the clients either pay privately out-of-pocket or have insurance policies that allow for out-of-network coverage. The result is a client demographic that is largely white with financial means (i.e. not representative of the city). Because of this my professional contact with the Mexican community has been limited despite being a majority population in Watsonville.
I was born in San Francisco, CA and grew up as a second-generation Filipino-American. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area afforded me the privilege of being exposed to numerous cultures and ethnicities. However, although the Bay Area prides itself on inclusivity and diversity, it is not without discrimination and racial injustice.
As an Asian-American I have experienced discrimination and microaggression from various racial/ethnic groups, including Mexicans/Mexican Americans. Conversely, I understand that there are members of the Asian community who also harbor prejudiced and racist attitudes toward other racial/ethnic groups. Growing up, I sometimes heard racially tinged resentments being expressed by my aunts or uncles regarding issues such as illegal immigration and gang activity.
My goal is to increase my understanding of the Mexican community in order to resolve possible misconceptions I’ve inherited and to become an effective social worker in my current environment.
Ivan Carnice 