Kevin Torres

Martin Espada's poems "The New Bathroom Policy at English High school," "Revolutionary Spanish Lesson," and "Two Mexicanos Lynched in Santa Cruz, California, May 3, 1877," all have the theme of racism against Hispanic people.

            The poem "The New Bathroom Policy at English High school" makes the reader think about how the principal is being racist and scared because he hears his name and that's the only think he understands. "So this constipates him" meaning this upsets him. What he does to solve the problem is to ban Spanish from the bathrooms. I think the principal acted like that was because he was scared because he didn't speak Spanish. This teaches me that some people use their power instead of talking to the person.

            In Espada's poem, "Revolution Spanish Lesson" he makes the reader thinks about kidnapping a bus load of Republican tourists. This makes me think the narrator is mad because his name was mispronounced. He begins the poem with "Whenever my name is mispronounced" and then he fantasy kidnapping the people that mispronounced his name.  The narrator just wants to feel as equal has everyone else.

            Espada's poem "Two Mexicanos Lynched in Santa Cruz, California, May 3, 1877" makes the reader think that Santa Cruz was a racist place. I say this because in the poem it said" When forty gringo vigilantes cheered the rope that snapped two Mexicanos into the grimacing sleep of broken necks." They did this because they thought that it was the right thing to do. It was not right because they did deserve civil rights. Instead they were killed without a trail. The other things  the vigilante do is they take a picture with the corpses hanging.  This is very disrespectful.  This shows the reader that every one's rights should be protected.   

In conclusion Espada's three poems are about the Hispanic people that did not have the same rights as other people. What I have learned for these three poems is that you should stand up for people that don't have a voice for themselves.