Gomez-Williams 1

Xitlali Gomez-Williams

English 10

Ms. Tesch

17 March 2017

Freedom for All

Many know what it is like to live in a world where what you look like and where you

Running, an autobiography by
come from determines the opportunities you receive. In Always

Luis J. Rodriguez, Luis faces many types of discrimination based on his ethnic background.

Always Running begins with Rodriguez coming to the United States from Mexico as a young boy

with his family. As the story progresses, we see Luis grow up in East Los Angeles, an area

surrounded by gang violence. At twelve years old, Luis eventually joins a gang, and as he grows

older, has to make a choice if he wants to stay in a gang, or develope his learning in politics and

social justice. Always Running gives the reader a deeper look into the injustices Latinos face in

the United States, and teaches one what it is like to be a Chicano living in East L.A.

Protesting for your rights is legal, as per the first amendment, except this right is often

infringed upon for people of color. When people of color protest or engage in activist activities,

it is often misconstrued by the police, and called a riot by the media. We see this in the story,

when, as a teenager, Luis begins to get involved with To.M.A.S., a programme created to help

Mexican-American Students get fight for their rights in their schools, and general counseling in

whatever problem a student might have, in high school. Luis protests by staging walkouts, and

writing plays about Chicano injustices. In one part of the novel, Luis is involved in a protest

against the Vietnam War, called the Chicano Moratorium Against the War, a protest for
 Gomez-Williams 2

Latinos to show that they did not support the war in Vietnam. The author writes, Bodies

scurried in all directions. Through the tear gas mist, I saw shadows of children crying, women

yelling, and people lying on the grass, kicking and gouging as officers thrust black jacks into ribs

and spines...Later that night, we were piled into all black, caged buses and taken to the Los

Angeles County Jail, the largest in the country, then to juvenile hall and again to the county jail.

At one point, officers sprayed mace into the windows of the bus while we sat, chained to one

another. Our eyes and skin burned as we yelled, but no one could hear us... In the county jail,

deputies placed us in with adults - with murder, drug and rape suspects. We werent old enough

to be incarcerated there, but they didnt care this. There was an uprising in East L.A. and we

were part of it. (162) Luis is violently arrested with other boys under the age of sixteen for

participating in the protest, and thrown into jail with adults who have committed heinous crimes,

all for peacefully protesting. The people who were not arrested were still assaulted by the police,

no matter the age or gender. This example shows us how the system does not care about Latinos,

and does not dwell on who they are hurting when it comes to people of color. Even doing

something as unharmful as protesting for ones own right, this is seen as a crime if you are

brown. Though media likes to make it seem as if the Latinos are the aggressors, Always Running

helps one understand that Latinos are not the aggressors the media portrays them to be. Because

of being Latino and protesting, Luis and many others are viciously arrested. This is just one

example of the injustices Latinos in the United States face.

Even if you are respected in your home country, once you enter the United States, there

are often very little job opportunities for immigrants from non-European countries. In Mexico,

Luis father was a well respected high school teacher, but in the United States he can only find
 Gomez-Williams 3

jobs that reduce him to an Overblown janitor. In the beginning of the novel, Luis is explaining

the challenges his father faces in the workforce due to the fact that his father cannot speak fluent

English. The author writes My dad looked like a lowly peasant, a man with a hat in his hand -

apologetic. At home he was king, el jefito - the word. But here, my father turned into

somebody elses push-around. Dad should have been equals with anyone, but with such bad

English... (136) Because of his lack of English fluency, Luis father, who is equal with his

employers on an academic level, cannot do anything else but be pushed around for small

mistakes, because he is not able to communicate in the dominant language. Knowledge is power,

and it is a tool to keep only certain types of people in power, while suppressing others. If you

cannot speak English in the United States, but want a job, there are very little high-paying

options for you, even if one were in a highly respected position in their home country.

In the United States, the police are supposed to protect and serve the people. However,

for people of color, many have found that they need protection from the very people sworn to

protect them. In the novel, readers witness how Luis has been thrown in jail because of police

officers in disguise calling him and his friends racist names, and when his group went to

retaliate, they were imprisoned for attempting to fight law enforcement. In this part of the story,

Luis explains how corrupt the police force is, and how they often are the ones to start problems

in the barrio. The author writes In the barrio, the police are just another gang... Shootings,

assaults, and skirmishes between the barrios are direct results of police activity. Even drug

dealing. I know this. Everybody knows this. (72) The reason violence and gangs in barrios are

so prominent is because the police have historically acted as aggravators, and have caused

trouble in the community. The reason why the police have attempted to disrupt communities of
 Gomez-Williams 4

color is so the police can be seen as doing good and arrest people for actions caused by the

police. For example, one of the main reasons gangs even exist is because police brutality made

people feel unsafe, and people wanted a form of protection catered to their own people. It is not

always true that the police are here to protect and serve us, even when that is their job. It makes

one feel unsafe in their own skin, because they do not know if they will be the next targeted, for

something they did not ask for or can change. Police brutality is another form of oppression

Latinos face in the U.S.

Latinos in the United States face many injustices, and Always Running gives the reader a

first hand look into this reality. Even doing something perfectly legal such as protesting, is a

viable reason for Latinos to be arrested. Even if one has a highly educated position in their home

country, if they are an immigrant in the U.S. there are very little job opportunities for them.

Though the police force is supposed to protect the public, they are often seen doing the opposite

of that and harass people of color instead. Though the United States claims to be a place with

Freedom for all they only mean freedom for some, and Latinos are not included in those few.