Martin Espada

It has been a common occurrence throughout history for power to be abused at the expense of minorities. Martin Espada is an acclaimed poet known for writing about the societal struggles of hispanic people in the past and present. Three of his poems, “Two Mexicanos Lynched in Santa Cruz, California, May 3, 1877”, “The New Bathroom Policy at English High School”, and “Revolutionary Spanish Lesson” discuss the way in which minorities, specifically hispanics, have been abused throughout American history by people in power.

In “The New Bathroom Policy at English High School,” Espada tells the story of spanish speaking high schoolers who were banned from conversing in their native tongue after he believes that the students are speaking ill of him in the bathroom behind his back. This piece clearly shows how can and has been used in irresponsible and unjust ways. In the poem, Espada writes “The only word he recognizes/ is his own name/ and this constipates him.” The principal is so paranoid about his students gossiping about him in a language foreign to him that he decides to take away their free speech. This exemplifies how unfamiliar cultures will often trigger a certain fear in those who don’t understand them. People, like the principal,  in positions of power have the ability to act on that fear and satisfy their vulnerability. This is a clear abuse of privilege, as it is the right of the students in that school to speak in whichever language they choose, especially amongst peers, without repercussions from an insecure principle. An educator's job is not to be reassured that he is well liked, it is to protect and care for the students, making sure that they are educated in a way that the students are most comfortable. The actions of the principal in this story clearly exemplifies how Martin Espadas poem illustrates abuse of power.

In the poem “Two Mexicanos Lynched in Santa Cruz, California, May 3, 1877”, Martin Espada shows how abuse of power can be revealed not only in teachers or politicians, but in the everyday white person. In the piece, two Mexicans are lynched by a band of citizen vigilantes. Espada writes “ Remain the faces of the lynching party: / faded as pennies from 1877, a few stunned/ in the blur of execution/… but all crowding into the photograph.” This lynching party, comprised of caucasian townspeople, was given power to carry out what they saw as a twisted form of justice,by the government and by the apathy of everyone around them (among other factors). The murder victims did not have the privilege of the gang of vigilantes, for whom it was acceptable to kill on their own whim despite not having the right to alone decide the punishment of another person. This is therefore an illustration of an upper hand being smacked down on those of less advantage.

“Revolutionary Spanish Lesson” is yet another poem by Martin Espada that exemplifies the age long struggle between people with power and those without. The poems speaker describes a fantasy that is prompted by someone mispronouncing his name. “I want to buy a toy pistol/ put on dark eyeglasses/ push my beret at an angle/… hijack a busload of republican tourists/…” Espada then writes that he wishes to force these tourists to “chant anti-american slogans/ in Spanish.” Martin Espada is illustrating a way in which privilege manifests itself in ways that we don’t often see. It is the privilege of white people to not have their identity overlooked and blended into another, which is the case for many minorities. The mispronunciation of Espadas name symbolizes the erasure of his culture in America. In order to reclaim his culture, he makes it known in the only way many white Americans can understand, a common dramatic caricature of a hispanic person. This shows the way in which privilege is shown in ways other than what we may immediately recognize.

These poems are all references to societal power and how it is directed towards one group over another, to the other groups detriment. Race has long been a sensitive topic of discussion in America.  SInce its beginning, this country has been founded on the backs of minorities forced into submission by the luckier few. Espadas poems show how this is still pervasive today, the ways in which opportunity is taken from some so that it may overflow in the hands of others.