California's Diversity

California is an exciting place to live because of all the opportunities we have to meet people from different cultures and countries. In some schools students come from over 50 different countries and speak different languages. However, all students can find things in common that they enjoy doing together, regardless of their country of origin. At school, soccer, basketball, tag and jump rope are favorite recess games for lots of kids. Since in class all students learn English, it helps them communicate and find ways to work together.   Unfortunately in some schools there are still many divisions between different groups of students.   In others, teachers work hard to bring students together by celebrating different cultures.

After English, Spanish is the most common language that students speak at home. The families of some of these students can trace their roots back to before 1848 when California was part of Mexico. Most Latino families, however, have come since then, looking to better their financial situation   or fleeing wars in their home countries.

Many Latino families have not had the opportunity to learn English before coming to the United States. Also, because of discrimination many Latinos aren't able to get a visa that would allow them to work legally in the country. Because of this, many Latinos are obligated to work in difficult, low-paying and under appreciated jobs. However, without the hard work of these Latino workers, California's economy would come to a screeching stop.

Agriculture is one of the most important industries in California that completely depends on the very hard work of largely Latino farm workers. Inmigrant families from Mexico and Central America new to California make up the largest number of farm workers in California's fields, farms, orchards and packing plants. Without them, this important industry would fall apart.

Unfortunately, these dedicated workers often encounter a lot of discrimination. They are frequently paid low wages, exposed to dangerous chemicals and treated unfairly. Many people, such as Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta have stood up against these injustices to fight for farm worker's rights.

Latinos have had an important influence on California in many other ways. The varied cultures from around Latin America permeate the music, food, art and language of California. There have been many important latino politicians, businessmen, activists and artists in California's history.