One of the first concepts we discussed in this class was the notion of identity, introducing the importance and relevance of understanding identity through the scope of the LatinX perspective. We were also encouraged to think about our own identities, to establish some perspective and connection to the themes and social frameworks that would appear throughout the class. Our class is about average sized I would say, but significantly more diverse than most classes at Cornell. As one might expect, there are a lot of Hispanic and Latino students in our class – many with very relevant backgrounds and experiences to the class concepts/materials. When we first began talking about our own identities in the beginning of the semester, it reminded me of being in middle school almost a decade ago.
While the overlap between Tompkins Square Middle School and Cornell is small, being in this class, hearing my classmates backgrounds and family histories, made me think of some of my experiences in middle school, which had a large Latino population. I went to middle school in the Lower East Side of New York City, which has historically been a influential area for Latino culture. I grew up however in Brooklyn, so going to middle school in the L.E.S. was somewhat of a change of pace for me. While to a much different magnitude, I then also had to think about my identity as it related to Latino culture.
I always loved sports growing up, and so did just about every other boy in my grade. I always bonded with my peers and classmates through sports, and without me realizing sports became a way for me to learn more about Latino culture, especially as it existed in the L.E.S. . I remember thinking that it was crazy that there weren’t many Latino NBA players because all the best players I had ever seen were either Puerto Rican or Dominican. Sports became a part of my identity, a way for me to express myself while also learning and experiencing the stories of others.
All this to say, I wanted to display the importance of Latino identity in sports for my final project in this class. I highlighted some of the first Latino athletes to appear in major sporting leagues and competitions in the United States, like the NBA, NFL, U.S. Open, etc. I wanted to exhibit this through a large sized baseball card format, with images of the athlete on the front and more information about them on the back. Engaging in this research and creative design was a cool way for me to wrap up this class, and share ways that I was most connected to Latino culture.
Isaiah Gray
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