Challenging Nativism

Abstract:

This paper surveys the history of nativism in the United States from the late nineteenth century to the present. It compares a recent surge in nativism with earlier periods, particularly the decades leading up to the 1920s, when nativism directed against southern and eastern European, Asian, and Mexican migrants led to comprehensive legislative restrictions on immigration. It is based primarily on a review of historical literature, as well as contemporary immigration scholarship. 
Major findings include the following: 
• There are many similarities between the nativism of the 1870-1930 period and today, particularly the focus on the purported inability of specific immigrant groups to assimilate, the misconception that they may therefore be dangerous to the native-born population, and fear that immigration threatens American workers. 
• Mexican migrants in particular have been consistent targets of nativism, immigration restrictions, and deportations. 
• There are also key differences between these two eras, most apparently in the targets of nativism, which today are undocumented and Muslim immigrants, and in President Trump’s consistent, highly public, and widely disseminated appeals to nativist sentiment. 
• Historical studies of nativism suggest that nativism does not disappear completely, but rather subsides. Furthermore, immigrants themselves can and do adopt nativist attitudes, as well as their descendants. 
• Politicians, government officials, civic leaders, scholars and journalists must do more to reach sectors of society that feel most threatened by immigration. 
• While eradicating nativism may be impossible, a focus on avoiding or overturning nativist immigration legislation may prove more successful.

Young, J.G. (2017). Making America 1920 again? Nativism and US immigration, past and present. Journal on Migration and Human Security, 5(1), 217-235.

Persist & Figure it out

Free Adult

we have a natural thrust to grow and develop.
unless we get in our way.
what usually gets in our way is fear.
but fears are learned and may be unlearned.
the hardest part of growing up is not the growing part but the conquering of fears.
fears can be a motherfu#@er (and not in a good way).
it may seem easier and less scary to play the child and victim forever.
but the freedom of adulthood far outweighs the responsibilities and the work to overcome fears.
the woman in me remembers the good times past and the lessons learned.
it's a beautiful life.

our choices, our consequences.
cause and effect.
sow, reap.
truth and freedom.
adult.

Deep Dialogue

"Founding itself upon love, humility, and faith, dialogue becomes a horizontal relationship of which mutual trust between the dialoguers is the logical consequence (Freire, 2007, p. 91)"

Stories, Narratives, Medicine, Paradise

"Stories are habitations. We live in and through stories. They conjure worlds. We do not know the world other than as a story world. Stories inform life. They hold us together and keep us apart. We inhabit the great stories of our culture." (Mair, 1998, p. 127 via Platt, 2012). "The shared stories of a culture greatly influence the thinking and behaviors of its inhabitants. Many cultural conflicts in the world arise from a lack of understanding of the stories held outside one's own culture (Platt, 2012, p. 355)."

Familismo

"One of the primary values across Hispanic American groups is the value of familism (as opposed to the European American value of autonomy), which carries the expectation and sense of obligation among family members that the family will be the primary source of support, both instrumental and emotional, as well as the center of loyalty and solidarity (Negy & Woods, 1992; Staples & Mirandé 1980; Vega, 1990)."

Lindahl, K.L., & Malik, N.M. (1999). Marital Conflict, Family Processes, and Boys’ Externalizing Behavior in Hispanic American and European American Families. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 28(1), 12-24.

Sunday Morning Affirmations

"Self-affirmations invoke what has been termed--the Whispering Self (Purkey, 2000; Shaw, Siegel, & Schoenlein, 2013)... Self-affirmations are a brief psychological intervention based on the idea that 'people are motivated to maintain self-integrity' (Cohen & Sherman, 2014, p. 336)... the three principles of Self-Affirmation Theory as the need for children and adults to:
a) perceive themselves as 'good persons;'
b) feel that they are adequate enough to be considered moral and adaptive within a given domain, and;
c) 'act in ways worthy of esteem or praise' (p. 336)." 

From "A Case Study of Self-Affirmations in Teacher Education" by Scott Robinson in the Journal of Invitational Theory & Practice, January 1, 2014

Self-affirmations are the things that we tell ourselves about ourselves, others and the world.
Trauma can distort these messages from, "I am good, competent, worthy" to "I am bad, incompetent, helpless."
But what is learned can be unlearned and transformed.
We have the power to return home to our wholeness, integrity and worth - to the birthright of our worth.

Sunday morning has always been a sacred time for me. On this fine late-Spring Sunday morning, I leave you with some of my favorite affirmations.

• "I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
• If God is for us, then who can be against us?
• El respeto a los derechos ajenos es la paz.
• Continuously contemplate yourself as being surrounded by conditions you wish to produce.
• Make a shift and catch yourself when you're focusing on what has already been and move your inner speech to what you intend to manifest. 
• Become conscious of the energy levels of your acquaintances, friends and extended family. 
• For as you think, so are you.
• Mighty oaks from little acorns grow.
• Let go of everything you fear to lose.
• Optimistic visualization combined with prayer and faith will inevitably actualize achievement.
• I'll act on my inner intuition impulses to create the work and relationships of my dreams.
• Believe and succeed. 
• A great idea and great faith.
• Put it in God's hands.
• Shift your mind from fear to faith - stop creating the object of your fear and instead actualize the object of your faith.
• Fill the mind with thoughts of faith, hope, courage, expectancy.
• God is now filling my mind with courage, peace and calm assurance.
• God is now protecting me and my loved ones from all harm. 
• God is now guiding me to right decisions.
• God will see me through this situation.
• I believe I am always divinely guided. 
• I believe I will always take the right turn of the road.
• I believe God will always make a way where there is no way.
• If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, nothing will be impossible to you.
• Fill the mind with thoughts of God's power, God's protection, and God's goodness.
• Body, mind, and spirit work harmoniously for continuous energy.
• Ask for what you want - be willing to take what God gives you. It may be better than what you ask for.
• Throw your heart over the bar and your body will follow.
• Attitudes are more important than facts.
• Remember that God is with you and nothing can defeat you.
• Muddied water. Let stand. Will become clear.
• Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid.
• Spiritual joy will release charm and loveliness in you.
• Ask for the ability to do your best and to leave the results confidently to God.
• To become a happy person, have a clean soul, eyes that see romance in the commonplace and a child's heart

My First

The benchmark for scholars and a requirement for tenure is the accumulation of peer-reviewed journals - that is, evidence that you are adding to the knowledge base in your academic discipline. Check out the abstract of my first at the link below:

Family Communication Styles and Resilience among Adolescents

I'm working on five more manuscripts with colleagues this summer:

1. Pilot Evaluation of the Back to Basics Parenting Training in Urban Schools (Acuña & Martinez)
2. Trauma Informed School Systems (Kataoka, Acuña, Vona & Escudero)
3. Minority Male Mentoring (M3) Multi-Tiered Intervention Model for College Success (Acuña, Martinez, Ricks & Swain)
4. UNAM-CSUN joint MSW degree (Acuña & Bartle)
5. Housing Instability among Transgender Women (Ross & Acuña)

It. is. happening. 

Thank you, Yesus!!