The Office of Special Programs and Cultural Series hosted a seminar titled, “Brown vs. Black,” promoting educational awareness of ethnic similarities between the African-American and Hispanic community on Feb. 5.
Junior education major Rachel Madison introduced Dr. Neil Foley, an associate professor of history and American studies at the University of Texas, as the keynote speaker for the seminar held in the Juvenile Justice Auditorium.
Foley philosophized and spoke on the great division that drew similarities between African-Americans and Hispanic societal behavior, mentalities, and work ethics.
Foley said, “Every other ethnic group has made it on the backs of African-Americans through the hardships their race has endured. From slavery to Jim Crow laws, Blacks paved the way through hardship for other ethnic groups to enter America. However, the thing that African-Americans have to realize is that Hispanics go through the same thing in their countries. Separated by darker tones, and social statuses, blacks and Hispanics are very much the same.”
According to Foley, the Hispanic race is one of the fastest growing minorities in United States. Foley also noted that the Census analysis in 2006 stated that the Hispanic population jumped to 15 percent, a whole three percent more than the 12 percent population of African-Americans.
Prairie View A&M University President George C. Wright said, “Our students on campus need to know how the black experience correlates with experiences of the Hispanics. This seminar enlightens students to see the struggles of another ethnic group and how it’s the same as the black experience.”