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| Deportation, Mexican Repatriation, Mary Cummins, Maria Rivera, color |
My grandmother was born in Mexico City in 1899. She came to the US in 1902 with her father and brothers. She became a US citizen in 1922 and married a natural born US citizen in 1928. My Nana told me about the Mexican repatriation of the 1930's. Some of her relatives who were also US citizens were sent to Mexico including their children who were born in the US.
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| Mary Cummins, Maria Rivera, Mexican American, US citizen, Mexico, California, Repatriation, Deportation |
The repatriations frightened my grandmother. She had light olive skin, dark eyes and dark hair. She started using an old time fade cream to lighten her skin. She wore light face makeup, light gloves and light hosiery. She wore hats and used umbrellas so she wouldn't tan. She learned English at the same time she learned Spanish, French and German as a child so she didn't have an accent. Still she didn't speak Spanish outside of the house. She always only wore 100% American fashion and styles. She made sure everyone called her Mrs. Mary Cummins and never Maria Rivera. I believe it's also the reason she married a super white blonde guy with white blue eyes which is why I'm so light. She valued light color because of the discrimination against people with darker skin, hair and eyes. She feared darker relatives being taken away.
My Nana carried all those fears and behaviors from Repatriation until the day she died at the age of 91. I was told not to speak Spanish outside of the house because she didn't want people to think I was a Mexican. She told me to stop dying my blonde hair darker. The only time I'd wear Mexican clothing was when we were in Mexico visiting relatives for the holidays. Then we could relax, speak Spanish, eat Mexican food and wear Mexican clothing.
What's happening today is another repatriation. Many US citizens are being deported. Others are leaving on their own just from the fear of being deported. The government is looking for any tiny mistake on citizenship applications to boot people out of the US. Some have lived here since they were babies. Some are married to US born citizens. Some of their children were born in the US.
During the 1930's repatriation politicians told the public that Mexicans were taking white citizen's jobs. That was the reason why Mexicans, Mexican Americans should be kicked out of the country. The real cause of the difficult economic times was of course the Great Depression. When they deported the Mexicans, Mexican Americans, the economy got even worse.
The deportations today are just like the Mexican repatriation of the 1930's. We are destroying people, their families and causing major economic hardships in the US. We're losing major consumers of US goods. US Latinos including undocumented workers purchase over 4 trillion dollars worth of US goods. They also make up most of the workforce in construction, hospitality, home care and agriculture industries. US citizens own these businesses. They're now going out of business. More US citizens are losing their jobs.
After the 1930's repatriation tanked the US economy and WWII the US had to start the Bracero program to bring Mexican workers back to the US as laborers. Will we be doing the same after these recent deportations destroy our economy? People keep getting brainwashed by corrupt politicians. We never seem to learn from history. My grandmother raised me as my mother. This is why I speak up for immigrant rights and have participated in the marches and demonstrations.
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| My Nana and I at Pt Loma Fort Rosecrans Military Cemetery in San Diego, California |
#Deportation #repatriation #mexico #mexican #MariaRivera #marycummins
Mary Cummins of Cummins Real Estate is a certified residential licensed appraiser in Los Angeles, California. Mary Cummins is licensed by the California Bureau of Real Estate appraisers and has over 35 years of experience.
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