Photograph of a ‘No Place for Hate’ event at an Alliance College-Ready Public Schools school. Credit: Alliance College-Ready Public Schools | Courtesy
By Starr Tailor and Stacy Serrano López
Often, narratives about Hispanics and African Americans are reduced to stereotypes, suffering, and savagery. Alliance College-Ready Public Schools helps students explore and celebrate their identity through curriculum, culture, programs, and community, while also understanding the connection between race and identity.
As an anti-racist and pro-Black organization, Alliance helps students develop a sense of belonging and self-confidence, enabling them to navigate unfamiliar environments with cultural pride.
This commitment to identity and community is reflected in extracurricular activities such as Empowerment Against Latino Struggle at Alliance Health Services High School. Members explore the diversity of Hispanic communities, actively support local providers of goods and services affected during ICE raids, and learn how to assist Latino communities. Furthermore, their goal of collaborating with the Black Student Union highlights broader efforts to forge solidarity across cultures, reinforcing the importance of unity.
Jesús Ortega, an English teacher at Alliance Health Services, and Olga Bernardes, an immigrant from Belize and grandmother of an Alliance student, exemplify how education impacts academic and social life.
When Ortega was asked what it means to him to be Hispanic, he responded candidly: “There was a time when I was ashamed to be Hispanic because I was exposed to industries dominated solely by white people, including perspectives in history class or movies without ethnic representation.” He added that, in retrospect, “being an immigrant was bad when I was younger because we were perceived as criminals or as unintelligent people.”
Honoring our heritage and forging paths
Although times have changed and inclusion and equality are valued more, negative ideologies still persist.
Alliance recognizes the importance of diversity, and schools contribute in many ways. Teachers adjust lessons so that students see themselves reflected in them. Classes and programs such as Ethnic Studies, Changemakers, the Black Student Union, and No Place for Hate emphasize cultural pride and create a welcoming and inclusive environment on campuses.
When asked why pride in identity is fundamental in the fight against racism, Ortega shared that “it’s important to be aware of what our ancestors faced and overcame. When we take pride in our cultures, we recognize our ancestors, who managed to persevere despite harmful ideologies and negativity, and follow in their footsteps.”
However, later generations tend to adapt to new environments. Ortega recalled what his mother told him: “Look at your father, he works for minimum wage and sacrifices so you can go to university,” reflecting a mindset rooted in survival and upward mobility.
Although this mindset emphasizes resilience and taking action, it is sometimes intertwined with biases internalized through cultural norms and social influences. In Hispanic culture, colorism and Eurocentric beauty standards persist, reinforcing hierarchies that exalt proximity to whiteness.
On the other hand, media stereotypes regarding Black men and women establish harmful perceptions that precede the community. The ability to “pass as white” and the pressure to conform can perpetuate subconscious anti-Blackness. When communities focus on survival and opportunity, these dynamics often go unnoticed, leading to a neglect of the importance of engaging with and understanding our heritage to challenge racism rather than contribute to it.
However, with his father’s sacrifice and his mother’s motivation, these words became Ortega’s “yes we can” and his motivation for the hard work and long hours he invested in his future, which were well worth it when he became a first-generation graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles.
Olga Bernardes also experienced great economic hardship in Belize. After emigrating to the United States, she became a nurse, which allowed her to support her family back home.
Thanks to the contributions and migration of Ortega and Bernardes, current generations can now enjoy the progress that previous generations did not. By embracing their heritage, their cultural expectations, and those who came before them, they can change, grow, broaden their identities, and shape those who will come after them.
Education: the path out of poverty
Education remains fundamental to these changes. Ortega added that “in our community, education is the most important way to improve one’s economic situation.” This conviction spans generations, and Bernardes firmly believes it is the key to escaping poverty. “My mother used to tell me, ‘In the future, even to sleep, you’re going to need a certificate, so you have to go to school!’”
Alliance’s commitments help ensure that students are no longer “the only ones,” but part of many, by preparing a generation that represents change for their families and communities.
Alliance schools are shaped and supported by staff and students who work to evaluate practices and policies. Through these efforts, student identity contributes to their community. In this way, student identity becomes a tool against racism and a source of empowerment, transforming the “I” of individual growth into the “we” necessary for community change.
Students Humberto Jesús Carlon, Zoe Fiscal, Rudith Rivas Guerra, Esmeralda Ajpacaja Juárez, Ashley Munguía and Luna Reyes-Esquivel collaborated on this article.
Please find the Spanish version of the article on LA Opinion.
