Planteamiento del problema

“People are trapped in history and history is trapped in them.” – James Baldwin (1955) History and Culture: The Tails of a Kite

In understanding communities, it is necessary to explore the relationships that construct their ever-evolving situations. Examining the policy, history, and culture through which communities birth their ways of doing is important in fully contextualizing the ongoing fruition of complex community occupation. The senior center is no exception in its connection to a continuing political and cultural history in the United States. Histories of race, culture, and immigration and national, state, and local level policies pervasively steer the center’s programming and personal relationships. Much like the tails of a kite, although moving forward with the community, these aspects continue to influence the center’s direction and movement. These communal relations emerged from and were identifiable in explicit and implicit habits across the community. Spanish speakers managed these

relationships in the outside community and the moment they walked through the front door of the center.

Race, Culture, and Language

Identity and “Hispanic Culture”. The United States was formed on a foundation of structural racism and has intertwined race into countless structures, cultural norms, and social systems. During this study, racism and anti-immigrant sentiments had flared and were

especially those of darker skin tone, into specific social narratives and political relationships. They often face discrimination and injustice (Bailliard, 2013a) as well as complex navigation of generalizing constructs such as “Latinos,” “Hispanic,” or sometimes “Mexican.” Spanish speaking consultants vocalized both identification with and separation from a generalized “Latino” or “Hispanic” culture. They expressed pride in their countries of origin and worked to disentangle themselves from the generic “Hispanic” or “Latino” vernacular. They also described a general “Hispanic” culture both in the United States and in their countries of origin. In our conversations, Marta seamlessly navigated these identities as she commented on Hispano-American culture in relation to general comportment and understandings of older adulthood,

“Pues tú sabes la cultura hispanoamericana en general, somos gente más tímida. No somos tan abiertos y tan dado a integrarnos actividades. Somos un poco, pienso, no es timidez. Es una cuestión -cultural, de que los viejos ya se quedan en casa a cuidar nietos. Y pues, ya, ellos no tienen otra cosa que hacer más que esperar cuando se van. Entonces, eso es triste porque pues la vida no se acaba cuando llegues viejo. Hay infinidad de actividades que se pueden desarrollar, pero culturalmente, en nuestros países así funciona. Cuando estás viejo ya estás como arrumbado como mueble en tu casa porque no existen estas clases de programas allá.”

[Well, you know the Hispano-American culture in general, we are more timid people. We are not so open and so given to integrate into activities. We are a little, I think, it's not shyness. It's a cultural issue, that old people are already staying at home to care for grandchildren. And then, they have nothing to do but wait when they leave. So, that's sad because life does not end when you get old. There is an infinity of activities that can be developed, but culturally, in our countries this is how it works. When you are old you are already like a piece of furniture in your house because there are not these kinds of programs there.]

Later she sought to celebrate the diverse cultures within the “Hispanic” world:

“Vi que alguna vez celebraron el año de la hispanidad, el día de hispanidad. Y pues que interesante, porque pues, son culturalmente… pues tenemos una diversidad enorme en nuestros países, en el mismo país, en el mismo país. De donde yo soy, en el norte, de una región a otra es una cosa increíble.”

[I saw that they once celebrated the year of Hispanidad, the day of Hispanidad. And well how interesting, because well, they are culturally… well we have enormous diversity in our countries, in the same country, in the same country. Where I am from, in the north, from one region to another is an incredible thing.]

While these two perspectives were not in contradiction, it seemed Spanish speaking immigrants were regularly navigating the generalizing nature of social constructs such as “Latino” or “Hispanic”.

Another such moment occurred when Spanish language students from a local

university visited Spanish speakers at the center. It was the first day that these students were attending the social group and therefore Carla was interested in orienting them to who was present in the room. Carla seemed to preemptively move to contradict the homogenizing of the Latinx community through pride in the diversity of people attending:

“Carla asked each older adult participant to introduce themselves, where they were from, and their age. Going around the table, each participant named their country of origin and age. When Esmeralda introduced herself she declared, ‘I am from Colombia, the happiest place in the world.’ There was an eruption of laughter and comments about Colombia from other participants. The introductions continued… Then a man from Colombia shared that he loved the many days of fiestas they have during Christmas

time. Someone said, ‘That must be why it's the happiest place in the world’ and all the participants laughed again. As each participant had introduced themselves, Carla noted their age and country of origin on the whiteboard in the classroom. Colombia (2), El Salvador, Puerto Rico (2), Bolivia/Perú, Venezuela (2), México (3). After the

introductions, Carla turned to the students, gesturing to the long list on the board, and emphasized that they had the opportunity to hear many different accents and experience many different cultures in the space. She drew a basket on the whiteboard and wrote the word Hispanic in it,

explaining that in the US people often lump all these cultures together into “Hispanic”, but in this room they celebrated and discussed their differences quite often. She drew smaller circles within the basket and wrote the number 23 under it, informing the students that there were 23 different Spanish speaking countries in the world.”

Carla’s intention was to educate the students about cultural diversity within the group, but also in the greater Latinx community. As I watched this process unfold in the social group, I saw each older adult sit up and proudly state where they were from. The importance and significance of both demonstrating unity as Spanish speakers while also demonstrating pride in their cultural origins was evident.

Spanish speakers were met with generalized views of “Latinos” or “Hispanics” during everyday life at the center. Staff often suggested Cinco de Mayo, a “Latino” holiday, as a cultural activity for Spanish speakers. This Mexican holiday, however, is not celebrated by most other Spanish speaking countries, and especially not with the fervor of the United States. These assumptions of generic cultural identities were not limited to staff. As

Francisco described an interaction with an English-speaking participant, his tone was one of both perplexity and unfortunate acquiescence:

“Hay un americano moreno que me ve y trae su botella de salsa y me dice [in English] ‘Amigo, traigo salsa’ y digo ‘Ok’”

[There is a black American who sees me and brings his bottle of salsa and says to me [In English] 'Friend, I bring salsa' and I say 'Ok']

The other participant assumed because Francisco spoke Spanish that he had a special interest in salsa. Franciso was confused by the other participant’s statement, but offered the story to me with recognition that this happens frequently. While these attitudes and ideas are not malicious, they do reveal assumptions that were held by both Spanish-speakers and non- Spanish speakers about “Latino” or “Hispanic” people within the community. These assumptions are tied to the long history of structural racism and immigration within the specific context of the race-based culture of the United States. Prejudice, stereotypes, or seemingly benign cultural habits related to race permeated even the smallest interactions

among patrons in the center. These interactions highlighted differences Spanish speakers felt from the community and concurrently homogenized the group into “Latinos”.

English: The Default Language. Both staff and Spanish speaking consultants often assumed English should be default for communication among community members. This assumption stems from a historical privileging of English in the United States, intimately connected to its systems of structural racism. English-speaking privilege masks or neglects the consideration of opportunities for other ways of doing or communicating, further fostering the default status of the English language. For example, the following are comments made by staff in relation to language barriers:

“I’m not fortunate enough to learn Spanish”

“And it’s unfortunate, if you will, that more of us don’t take the time or can’t commit to [lowers voice a bit] learning multiple languages.”

“Ryan: How do you think that would look? How do you think they would come to the staff?

Staff: I don’t know because I don’t speak Spanish, but I want them, if they have a complaint, I want them to be able to learn how to voice it, or how we can help…” Staff often assumed Spanish speakers could use English-based systems such as the daily schedule, the senior centers program guide, or even requesting information from the front desk. Occasionally, after suggesting these information access points, they realized their inaccessibility for non-English speaking participants. Lizzy, the bilingual nutrition coordinator, notably challenged this assumption during the community mapping activity,

“I mean if it was already in their language, it would be simpler.”

While many of the staff may have agreed whole heartedly, the cultural expectation and privileged status of English as a default language hindered their attention in providing information in the preferred language of participants.

The default to English was also prominent for Spanish speaking older adults. This reality offered evidence that the effects of structural racism impacted not only English speakers, but immigrants entering into those systems as well. Immigrants are encouraged to relinquish their native language under pretenses of policy or functionality. Marta suggested why learning English was so important,

“Por eso es que empezamos la clase de inglés, o sea. Porque si no sabes el idioma, ¿qué haces aquí entre un montón de gente que no te van a entender o que no te puedes comunicar? Y sí, sí es importante que estamos en un país dónde el idioma oficial es inglés. Todo el mundo hace fuerza por aprender. Yo pienso que es muy importante eso.”

[That's why we started the English class, that is. Because if you do not know the language, what are you doing here among a lot of people who will not understand you or who cannot communicate? And yes, it is important that we are in a country where the official language is English. Everyone makes the effort to learn. I think that is very important.]

Spanish speaking consultants often situated their inability to speak English as problematic, rather than identifying a gap in service provision in the center. It was assumed that English was the official language of the United States, when in fact it is not. Nearly all the Spanish speaking consultants expressed an obligation to learn English in order to access services more effectively. However, Esmeralda expressed frustration with this expectation,

“Esta gente no cree que ese viene por estos hispanos que no saben inglés. ‘Vamos a colocar ese en español.’ Nada. Vaya a mirar a la puerta dónde nosotros entramos. Todo en inglés. Y eso que dicen varias… puedo leer. Pero otros nada. No sabe qué dice…“

[These people do not believe that it is for these Hispanics who do not know English. ‘We are going to hang that in Spanish.’ Nothing. Go look at the door where we entered. Everything in English. And several say ... I can read. But others nothing. One does not know what it says...]

Esmeralda explained that working to provide for her children and family had precluded her from learning English. She felt she “had no right to my language” in the center and went on

to compare this to being required to speak English for the citizenship exam. The senior center’s community functioning was imbued with the assumption of English as a default language. Staff and Spanish speakers reinforced this assumption through their everyday routines and occupations.

The “Hispanic” Family. While challenging generalizing assumptions, Spanish speaking consultants also highlighted broad cultural understandings of “Hispanic” families. As Marta alluded to earlier, consultants discussed the commonly held belief that older adults in Hispanic families were expected to care for grandchildren. Both the assumption and actual implementation of caring for grandchildren emerged as factors influencing participation for many Spanish speaking consultants at the center. For Lizzy, the bilingual nutrition

coordinator, this belief justified her perceived lack of interest in the senior center from Spanish speaking older adults,

“Nunca habido una barrera porque siempre desafortunadamente no hay muchas personas que están interesadas porque el problema es que, para venir, por ejemplo, a comer tienen que tener 60 años mínimo, entonces en esta cultura las personas de 60 años están en su casa cuidando sus nietos.”

[There has never been a barrier because unfortunately there are not many people who are interested because the problem is that to come, for example, to eat they have to be at least 60 years old, then in this culture the 60-year-olds are at home taking care of their grandchildren.]

The matter-of-fact manner in which she stated this opinion was surprising to me, especially for an employee who works in the aging field. She was over 40 herself, and it seemed that it was a given that Hispanic older adults were destined to care for their grandchildren.

At the same time, many older adult consultants expressed concern about this

expectation or saw it as a barrier for participation in activities they might enjoy at the center. Linda felt it was an injustice,

“…a veces uno de los hijos, como gente hispana, ‘bueno tu te quedas aquí a cuidar a mis nietos porque yo voy a trabajar’ o porque ellas nos dan la obligación de cuidar a los nietos, la obligación de los quehaceres de la casa y uno pues si uno si pues ya de ya, ‘ya aquí, no más, me quedo, y ya haciendo el quehacer y todo. Pero uno no piense que ya uno ya crio uno de los hijos ya hasta allí, no, más, la obligación de criar a los nietos y hacer el quehacer de la casa. Yo creo que ya es injusticia… está bien ayudar con lo que uno pueda, pero no para nos tengan a dentro de la casa o no salir estos programas que ustedes tienen. Perdón, Ryan porque le digo yo soy muy… a mi me salen las cosas. Es lo que yo siento.”

[... sometimes one of the children – as Hispanic people – 'well you stay here to take care of my grandchildren because I'm going to work' or because they give us the obligation to take care of the grandchildren. The obligation of the chores of the home and ‘yes, yes, yes, and that's it, now here’ – nothing more, I stay, and I'm doing the chores and everything. But one doesn’t think that one already raised a children and it stops there. No, more. The obligation to raise the grandchildren and do the chores of the house. I believe that it is injustice ... it is good to help with what one can, but no, to have us inside the house or not to leave for these programs that you have. Sorry, Ryan, because I tell you, I'm very ... things come out of me. It is what I feel.]

Carla, the volunteer leader of the social group, also discussed this injustice with me during a conversation. She described a form of “double-negligence” that might occur if the needs of the older adults and the children were not met appropriately. She believed there were safety concerns for both children and older adults when the older adult was not capable of reacting to or communicating safely in dangerous situations. Further, the child may not be able to appropriately call for services if something befell their grandparent. She hoped to contradict this ageism and stigma by educating older adults about their rights.

Whether they agreed with this expectation or not, multiple older adults identified caring for grandchildren as a limitation to older adults’ participation. Marta described how this affected her schedule and prevented her participation in activities at the center,

“…por ejemplo, ya quisiera participar ahorita ya, no puedo participar en los paseos y eso porque yo tengo la limitación del tiempo. Yo a las tres, tengo que estar en mi casa porque en las tardes me encargo de mis nietos…”

[...for example, I would like to participate now; I cannot participate in the field trips and that's because I have the time limitation. At three o'clock, I have to be at home because in the afternoons I take care of my grandchildren...]

When asked why he thought other Spanish speakers were not coming as often during the week, Francisco gave this reasoning,

“Pues, yo pienso que la mayoría están ocupados o tienen que cuidar a los nietos”

[Well, I think that the majority are busy or have to care for their grandchildren.] And finally, in the past year, Carla’s youngest grandchild was born. Several times during the study her care for the grandchild was identified – by her, Spanish speaking consultants, and staff – as a major reason she was unable to spend as much time supporting the older adults at the center. Because she cared for her new grandchild, she was only able to stay until midday on Thursdays rather than the whole day. Additionally, other participants were more reluctant to ask her for help. The understanding that Hispanic older adults would be responsible for caring for grandchildren was pervasive and significantly related to the participation and presence of Spanish speaking older adults at the center.

Cultural norms and historically situated belief systems are inextricably tied to the functioning of communities and their members. Race, age, language, and cultural privilege