Jaylynn Lyons
I found Gloria Anzaldua’s, “To live in the Borderlands means to you” to be a compelling poem expressing the hardships of fitting in and being accepted. Anzaldua describes the Borderland as a place where individuals have many ethnicities but aren’t accepted into any of them. The citizens that live in the Borderlands are “neither hispana india negra española ni gabacha, eres mestiza, mulata, half-breed caught in the crossfire between camps while carrying all five races on your back not knowing which side to turn to…” (Anzaldua, 118). I believe the poem in written in two language to convey the idea that people who live in the Borderlands know different languages. This concept can intensify the notion that numerous cultures are found in the Borderlands. The poem communicates thoughts of minority women and how they will not be left out of women’s rights movements. This correlates with the concept that woman cannot fail to notice all of the races that comprise her being. Lastly, this poem shows that mixing cultures while keeping your own identity is acceptable, however, you have to fight for it.
In Laina Dawes’ interview, Zapata (who was brutally murdered) had friends who created “Home Alive, a nonprofit organization that promotes alternative methods for women to protect themselves within the community” (Dawes). Student from the University of Washington, Rozz Therrien says, “There was no sense on how the community responded outside of her friends, and how it felt during that time” (Dawes). Moreover, Michaels explains how it is “really weird [that] there was this lack of history talked about that no one of our generation knew about” (Dawes). In this interview, women empowerment is undermined. An interviewee proclaimed that some people may misunderstand self-defense as teaching women to beat up someone. To combine these thoughts, women promoting self-defense and the people who lived in the Borderlands were restrained. Needless to say, it comes across that people are apathetic towards these conceptions.
Many musicians have had a voice in promoting human rights. “Same Love” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis immediately popped into my head since it is covering all concepts of equality whether it’s your religion, gender, or skin color. Another song that came to mind was “One Love” by Bob Marely. This song conveys the idea of world peace and shows oppression and injustice in his lyrics. There are so many artists that use their music to intensify opinions on human rights and current social issues. It is important to bring these matters into the light so that people can be educated and speak more about human rights.
Gloria Anzaldua “To Live in the Borderlands” (PDF)
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