Everyday Injustice by Chávez Maria;Feagin Joe R.;Feagin Joe R;

Author:Chávez, Maria;Feagin, Joe R.;Feagin, Joe R; [Chávez, Maria]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Published: 2011-07-14T16:00:00+00:00

Balancing Civic Commitments to Both Cultures

One of the themes that came out of the Latino focus groups was that while Latino attorneys are embracing new civic opportunities to become involved in their communities, they are also in a new position, as professionals from a racial and ethnic community, to contribute to positive change in the Latino community at large. This is both good and bad. This group of Latino professionals clearly understand that there are many needs facing the Latino community; however, they are often pulled in many directions with their professional responsibilities, their civic commitments, and the pressing needs of the Latino community at large. The issue of how to balance participating professionally in both the Latino world and the mainstream world is a difficult one for many Latino attorneys. Though some of the focus-group participants quoted in Chapter 3 vocalized that they were weary from fighting for acceptance and had decided to retreat from mainstream organization participation, many of the Latino respondents recognized that they had an important role to play in both communities. This focus-group participant represents these views with the following comments:

I work a lot with Hispanics, and part of my work is working with people who are only Spanish speaking and assisting them—so it’s very important to me to do that. But I’m also interested in getting into mainstream organizations, and they are welcoming me because they see me as bringing this diverse viewpoint and trying to—I try to go both ways. I try to bring Hispanics to mainstream things. I try to get those mainstream things to promote Hispanic goals, and I guess, at this point, I see it as part of my identity. I’m an American and I’m also Hispanic, and I think they go together well. So, I do Hispanic organizations, but I have a lot of others too.

This respondent felt positively about her work in both mainstream groups and with Latino organizations. Her role as a bridge to both communities was one she was not only proud of but saw as her responsibility as a Latina professional. However, another focus-group member talked about how community involvement often became a difficult balance:

I think that another factor that goes into involvement or lack of involvement—certainly can play into it—is where you are working and what kind of support you’re getting. . . . I mean, at my previous firm, I can tell you that there would have been no support whatsoever for even me having this kind of discussion . . . as you’re sitting there as an associate and you’re moving up, trying to get to that magical carrot of partnership, there’s a lot of pressure to play the game and rock the boat selectively. And it’s really a tough one, but I mean you know it was tough enough that I left the firm over it! But it’s just a piece of it that becomes a constant conflict that becomes: “I do this, I’m jeopardizing my career. I don’t do this, I’m not being true to myself.

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