Oral History!!!

Yesenia, 19
Yesenia was born in Chicago’s West side Humboldt Park area to a Spanish speaking mother. Yesenia’s parents are from Puerto Rico and they only speak in the native tongue of their ancestors. She has an older sister and one young brother that she has contact with. Yesenia is one beautiful young lady, who has an outstanding fashion style. She definitely stands out in a crowd. She also has a personality that will light up anybody’s day. Yesenia has always been a quiet type of person until we began high school. She found this amazing young man that became her boyfriend. The reason he changed her life so much was don’t only because he became the first man she in loved with but because they came from two different cultural backgrounds. An in today society cause many difficulties.

Why did life and your idea of a friendly culture change?
I would say Life changed for the good because I met an amazing person. However like all good things it has its ups and downs. For example something good would be that I’ve got to experience new things like going to an all black church it was definitely different from my church but I felt welcomed. A down part would be the looks we get from people. Sometimes we come across some ignorant people that laugh and make comments.

What are some certain situations where you experienced this behavior?
Well not too long ago we were at the movies and there was a group of young black girls that were all talking but as soon as we walked pass they all turned to stare and whispered then laughed. It was very ignorant of them and it made me mad but "I let it go."

Do you think society is scared of diversity or is it a culture issue?
I would say don’t accepting diversity is more or less a cultural issue. Because within cultures it is harder for people to accept their ethics involved with another ethic. Overall I don’t think there is a society issue with diversity but more a thought of fear influenced by society to don’t accepted diversity so easily.

Going back to the young lady’s you had the encounter with, do you believe they did not like you because your boyfriend was black or because they were bigots?
I believe it was because they saw me with him. They were probably just mad because they do not like to see their young men with someone of a different ethic. But in our case I only get that reaction from females because the males don’t look at me like that, if anything they’ll try to get my attention. Same goes for my boyfriend he says that he sometime gets looks from Hispanic boys. He feels like they don’t like to see their women with someone of another ethic. This brings me to the conclusion that it is something that has to do with a cultural issue.

Has being in an interracial relationship helped you become more confident and courageous?
I would say it’s made my skin tougher because if you’re willing to put up with peoples comments good or bad then that means you must really love that person because you’re willing to face whatever adversity is thrown your way. Some people feel like they are look down upon by their own culture I have a friend that was in an interracial relationship she’s black and the guy is Puerto Rican but she broke up with him because she felt embarrassed every time that people looked at them and whispered things. She admitted that it was wrong of her but that she’d rather date within her culture to avoid feeling uncomfortable and embarrassment. Looking back at the beginning of my relationship I was a bit skeptical because I had no idea how my family was going to take it especially since it was the first time I was bringing someone home. But as time went on and our relationship continued I fell more in love with him and realized that what everyone else thought did not matter because I was happy.