The
concept of a duel identity defining those Americans with ties to another
non-white nation, has grown to an extreme level of prominence as the United
States has come to be the mixing pot of ethnic and cultural identity. Labels
such as African-American and Asian-American, and their extremely common usage,
imply an inherent interconnection and overlap between the unique identities of
two distinctly different lifestyles. Yet, despite the fact that these
identification labels specifically implement the term “American,” history has
shown that this is not usually sufficient to prevent racial prejudice that
emphasizes the other identity referenced within the name. As George Sanchez
outlines within Becoming Mexican-American, the term Mexican-American
does not necessarily imply a cheerful blend of traditional Mexican cultural
ties with American adjustments. Rather, the distinct identity that is
Mexican-American is an internal tug of war between the two cultures that is
combined with a requirement of adaptability when facing discrimination and
prejudice. It is within Sanchez’s historical summary of the Mexican-American
identity that he clarifies an important notion: the coming of the term “Mexican
American” was not a natural process. Mexican migrants to the United States did
not blend their cultures out of comfortable cultural assimilation. The
stratification of Mexican-American populations by socioeconomic status in
combination with the racial prejudice facing them, forced upon Mexican migrants
the need to implement a sense of cultural moldability within their identity. In
this way, the obligation of responding and adapting to discrimination of
Mexican identity became ingrained within the Mexican American label. This not
only creates an internal tug of war of embracing either the Mexican or American
aspects of one’s identity, but it also creates a sense of instability in the
fluid change of Mexican-American identification. The result is a continued
struggle for Mexican migrants in the United States against ethnic discrimination,
of which is manifested in the contemporary issue of immigration.