A recent article in the New York Times titled ”In New York, Mexicans Lag in Education” was a wake-up call for many in the Mexican community, informed its author Kirk Semple.

“It created a reaction, like, ‘I got to do something now,’ ” said Angelo Cabrera, founder of MASA-MexEd, a Bronx-based non-profit promoting higher education in the Mexican community of New York City.

Mr. Cabrera received calls from Mexican American professionals from across the United States interested in supporting his cause. Lawyers, bankers, students, teachers, and a freelance marketing specialist were among a few of those that have reached out to help, reported the New York Times.

The fact that this article spurred so many into offering support to the organizations already working with Mexican students in the New York City area is great; however, it missed a big point crucial to understanding why so many Mexican students were not graduating High School or attending college.

“Unfortunately, despite an already large and strong Latino infrastructure in NYC (among Puerto Ricans and Dominicans), Mexicans have still found themselves to be outsiders, calling into question the whole idea of Latinidad,” commented a reader on Think Mexican’s Facebook page.

The Mexican community in the New York City area is almost entirely from an Indigenous region of Mexico called “La Mixteca.” For some families, English is a third language. As the Facebook reader pointed out, it’s very likely New York’s public school system is failing to meet the needs of Mexican students by applying an educational model designed for Puerto Rican and Dominican students.

It is precisely this type of misclassification that too often shapes the discussion on the Mexican community in the United States. In New York City, its effects are simply more visible.

Also worthy of mention is the author’s liberal use of the dehumanizing “illegal immigrant,” at times, used almost interchangeably with Mexican. (Read Informate’s blog post on this article and its comments.) The pervasive use of such language in the United States gives many the excuse to espouse racist and bigoted comments, which leads to some Mexican students choosing to leave school and insulate themselves amongst family and friends.

The Mexican community of New York City is a source of pride for many of us. Supporting the organizations serving our youth and helping to turn around our community’s lagging numbers in education should go without question.

Here’s a list of the organizations tutoring and mentoring Mexican students in New York City. For those outside of the area, please consider making a charitable donation before the end of the year. 

Mano a Mano: Mexican Culture Without Borders

Arts & culture organization offering classes in Ballet Folklorico and Nahuatl

http://www.manoamano.us/en/index.html

Asociación Tepeyac

Offers tutoring for students and English classes for parents

http://www.tepeyac.org

New York State Youth Leadership Council (NYSYLC)

Mentoring program for undocumented youth

http://www.nysylc.org

Mixteca

Offers an after-school tutoring program in Brooklyn

http://mixteca.org/mix/

Mexican American Student Alliance (Mex-Ed)

Offers an after-school tutoring program in Manhattan and the Bronx

http://masany.org/new/

Photo: Brian Harkin/NYT