Institutuional Racism Essay - 1131 Words

Take a Stand and Deliver a message In the education system, students of color seem like they aren’t getting the same opportunity’s to succeed in school, compared to the white students. Ramon Menendez’ film Stand and Deliver reveals several issues on the subject of institutional racism as well as other matters which create a major struggle for minority students. Menendez depicts several characters in his film that illustrates some obstacles or situations students of color deal with on a regular basis. For example, Angel, a hard core gangster, is drawn between his success in school and his commitment to his gang. His friend Lupe dealt with situations at home which prevented her from studying and homework. Their other classmate Ana, deals†¦show more content†¦Passing a class without doing the homework is nearly impossible, and in Lupe’s case, a barrier that was hard to overcome. Homework was the last thing on her mind. Instead of having the free time to study, she took on the roll as head of the household by : cleaning, cooking, and watching over her siblings. These were just some of the things that would take precedence to her study time. Another obstacle Lupe dealt with was the lack of support from her mother. Towards the end of the night when it seemed as though this was Lupe’s only chance to study, her mom would come home exhausted and want to sleep. Causing Lupe to turn of lights and go somewhere else to study. Situations like these can cause not only Lupe, but other students to just want to give up. Although Ana was an excellent student, she also had difficult situations to deal with. Similar to her other classmates, Ana too had a lack of support at home. Her father owned a family business, and wasn’t a supporter of his daughter going to college. Ana’s dad mentioned that she would most likely drop out of college or get pregnant. Without the support of her family, Ana is less likely to graduate. Nonetheless, Escalante shows in care by going to speak with her father.