Edgar Primo

Oral History of George Baez
Struggle through Racism

I interviewed my uncle George who is my mothers brother. He live in new york now with his family and runs his buisness. He was born in mexico and was raised there until the age tewnty-five. He deicded to come to the U.S

Well I was born in Monterrey, Mexico September 15 in the year 1967. The circumstances when I was born were very difficult for many reasons. One of the reasons was that my parents didn’t have a steady job so I kept worrying about that. Or sometimes would find a job and a month later lose it. So it was hard for them because having me meant having more expenses in order to take care of me. They soon found a job that was steady and had a good salary.

Another way that the circumstances were bad when I grew up were that the neighborhood where I was growing up had a high rate of crimes going on. There were different kinds of crimes like robberies being committed to people’s stores and kidnaps also happening to the people who had money. There were times that my father would come home and tell us how these people stole his money or anything with value on him. These circumstances made us move to a different place.

So we moved to the Puebla, Mexico where they bought a house with some savings they had. There I got enrolled in school and I was really excited to go to school and meet other kids my age. I remember the first day of school my mom fed me breakfast, cleaned me up and dressed me. She was so happy to see me going to school. She walked me to school but my father didn’t seem excited or at least happy about me going to school. He was always unhappy for some reason. That first year was really nice for me. I learned and played but it ended which I wasn’t so happy about because I did enjoy school.

Next year came and I went to school but one day when I came home my Father had left with al his belongings for ever. I didn’t see him a lot. Sometimes he came by to see how I was. But him leaving really affected me and my mom. I was just 6 years old but understood that I had to be the man of the house, in order for me to help my mom out. I still went to school and worked hard to make my mom happy. I always tried to make her happy anyway I was able to. Everyday after school I would get home and clean the house until she got home from her job. She worked so hard to have money to pay for school and any other expense there was.

Soon I had grown up and finished high school my mom was very proud of me because she didn’t finish high school. I finished high school with honors and that certainly made my mom feel very proud of me. After finishing school I looked for a job and helped my mom. She told me that I should do something with my life and not just work for the rest of it. So I agreed with my mom and I still worked and went to school at night. It was kind of hard but I knew that doing this would help me and my mom have a better future. So I took up another class at a college. I kept working in order to pay for my classes and help my mom. The classes I took were to be an accountant. I decided to become an accountant because I guess since I was little I helped my mom with money issues and enjoyed doing it. So why not take up a career doing something I like to do.

I finished the class sooner than expected and immediately went out to look for an accountant job. I did find one that I worked at for about 6 years. Working there was ok. The salary was good but it seemed as if I was never going to be a better accountant. So I talked to my mom and decided to move to the United States. She agreed with me. I wanted her to come with me but she decided to stay in her house. So I packed up and said bye to my mom. Tears came out as the cab pulled outside and I walked in. I couldn’t imagine not seeing my mom everyday and telling her how much she had done for me.

I arrived to New York and started looking for a place to live. I couldn’t find anything and for a week I had to live in a hotel. I found many places were they had empty apartments but overtime I called to ask about it they would send someone to show me the apartment. As soon as he saw me he would decline the apartment to me. This happened one after another so I started figuring out that it had something to do about my race. One day I was eating lunch and this person of my same race started talking to me and I talked back. At a point in the conversation I told him about my problem and he understood my situation.

He told me how hard it was for him to settle down due to all the racism going on. So he rented me a room in the apartment he rented. He also ask me if I had a job and he told me about an opening they had in a restaurant as a dishwasher. So I took it as an alternative until I found a job as an accountant. On my free time I looked for a job as an accountant and explained to them I went to school and had six years of experience. They always denied the job to me for some reason. There were two times when I figured that it had something to do with my race. Cause one time I asked for the job I wanted and the guy said no we don’t like your kind to be accountants just delivery guys.

I was so mad and told myself not to give up. So I kept looking for that job and there was this one time that as soon as I said I’m looking for a job he said no we don’t need no more delivery guys. Even before I told him what kind of job I wanted. I felt like giving up but told myself that I needed to succeed for me and to make my mom proud. So there was this one time when the restaurant I worked in the boss needed an accountant quick for some issues. I told him that I could help him if he wanted. He looked at me and said, “Do you know anything about this”? I responded, “Yes I am very experienced in being an accountant”. I did the stuff he asked me to do and he was so impressed with my work that he hired me immediately as his new accountant for his chain of restaurants.

That same day I called my mom and told her the good news and she was really happy. The salary I had was very good so I moved to an apartment for myself and thank the guy that let me live with him and was such a big help. A few months past and I decided to get my citizenship. It was a really long process but I got it and went to Mexico to visit my mom and gave her some money I had saved up in order for her to stop working. She didn’t want to take it but I told her that without her being so hard working and thoughtful I wouldn’t have anything. She finally took it and we both started crying because we felt so happy. I stayed in Mexico for a week and had to come back to continue my life. A few years past and I got married and had two kids. I had saved up enough money to buy a business so I bought one. It’s a grocery store that my wife runs and I still work as an accountant. I didn’t forget about my mom. I still visit her once a while.

Now I work as an accountant run my own business and made it threw racism. I never let it bring me down because the mean words just made me keep on trying and I can say that thanks to persevering I now am a successful person. I also live with my family in Queens and running a business gives me something to do. I guess I could have never come this far without my moms help. Even if my father did leave me I still got to be somebody in my life. So I still send money to my mom in Mexico as a token of how much she has done for me. This is how I have been affected by racism as a grown up trying to have a career.