Equality for All

Lorena and Myles are on two opposite spectrums of each other, one, a struggling hispanic woman trying to achieve the American dream, while on the other hand, Myles is an activist for human rights. What they both have in common though, is their compassion for helping others who are shunned, hidden from the world. These undocumented individuals that these two care for do not have any sorts of rights at all. In Sabrina Needs Her Identity Back, Sabrina tells us about how her mother first worked in a factory making clothes, where she only made 10 cents per garment saying, “My mom got paid ten cents per pair if pants, or ten cents per sweater, so she had to make hundreds and hundreds of pieces of clothing for it to be even worth it for the day” (Sabrina189). Sabrina learning at a young age how hard it is to make a living in the U.S being undocumented allowed her to be an avid speaker for these types of injustices. On the other hand Myles wants us to be more aware of our decisions as humans if we should be purchasing things that are made by slave labor for example. Myles says, “It could have to do with your social philosophy and how you make decisions about buying something that was made by slave labor, or from a company by J.P Stevens that has resisting unionization, or from South Africa” (Myles138).

The social issues that both are engaged in is humanitarian issues that are still brought forth in this world, but is made under the table. All the issues are evident in people, but we chose to look the other way. As Sabrina mentioned, Many undocumented workers work day in and day out to provide for their struggling families living in America. The illegal immigrants understand that if they stop working, they could be sent back to Mexico or easily replaced with another worker. Sabrina helps to fight this when a worker dies from heat exhaustion from overworking saying, “…Three men who had passed away from heat exhaustion, one right after the other. We were basically representing that if the law didn’t pass, then when the workers walked toward the field, they were walking to their deaths” (Sabrina200). This is important to Sabrina because she witnessed her parents work day in and day out just to provide for her family. Social Issues that Myles is engaged with is educating other into being more aware with the social atrocities that are going on in the world at the moment. Myles talks about the potential of growth in people. People need to experience democracy for them to truly build on themselves saying, “People have the potential for growth; it’s inside, it’s in the seeds. This kind of potential cannot guarantee a particular outcome, but it’s what you build on” (Myles133.)

In our generation, I believe we are being more educated in many things that others may not have known back then. For example, in San Francisco, this city is very environmentally friendly and people living in the city are being educated on how to reduce waste, carbon footprint, and reusing. In other states like Chicago for example, they might not have the same rules and regulations that San Francisco has on their environment, so they are not much aware of being ecological.