Ethnic Groups And Discrimination

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Ethnic Groups and Discrimination ETH/125 Cultural Diversity 2/5/2012 Jose Rodriguez Ethnic Groups and Discrimination Filipino American history began on October 18, 1587 when they immigrated to the United States. Filipinos were the first Asians to cross the Pacific Ocean as early as 1587, fifty years before the first English settlement of Jamestown was established. From 1565 to 1815, during the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade, Filipinos were forced to work as sailors and navigators on board Spanish Galleons. (Espiritu 2003) In 1763, Filipinos made their first permanent settlement in the bayous and marshes of Louisiana. As sailors and navigators on board Spanish galleons, Filipinos -- also known as "Manila men" or Spanish-speaking Filipinos -- jumped ship to escape the brutality of their Spanish masters. They built houses on stilts along the gulf ports of New Orleans and were the first in the United States to introduce the sun-drying process of shrimp. Living in the United States, Filipino immigrants experienced racial discrimination from others, as well as themselves. Many Filipino immigrants who immigrated to the United States in the first wave discriminated against new waves of Filipino immigrants. They had also had to find out how they fit in to American society, and keep their own cultural identity. Many newcomers had to live life as a minority by being one of few Filipinos in their area. For some, making the move over to the United States opened them up to many negative experiences, because discrimination and loneliness, and exclusion clouded their daily lives. Most of the Filipino immigrants faced segregation in the United States. They were forced to live together and stay in groups together. This was sometimes very hard because there were some areas with very few Filipinos. Filipinos also faced racism like any
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