to take what they were given and make the best of it. Through various organizations such as Alianza Dominicana, Inc., the Community Association of Progressive Dominicans, The Dominican Women Development Center, and Mano y Mano, along with such caring and passionate political leaders as Guillermo Linares, and Adriano Espaillat Dominicans have taken a giant step in the right direction for breaking negative stereotypes and making their presence a positive one here in America. As a person of color, I can deeply sympathize with what Dominicans are going through today. I also stand and applaud them for their courageous efforts to turn a bad situation into a good one. I think an important thing we as Americans can do to ease the problems Dominicans or immigrants to this country in general is to make them feel welcome here. First we must understand what it is they go through when coming from another country to live here, and adjust to a new language. Classes like Sociology 140, are a great start to understanding different people and the problems they face. But I don’t think we should stop there. Take a history class different from your own background. Expand your horizons and don’t limit yourself to what you see around you. Become a global citizen and become involved in different organizations, or start an organization in your community to help new immigrants cope with living in a new country. If more people would take the time to better understand what, where and why different groups have the problems that they face, they would understand that they share many of the same problems. A shared understanding, or a single thread in common is sometimes all it takes to bridge a gap between nations, and to see beyond your own line of understanding. If everyone just took time to try one of these simple suggestions, as a nation we would be much stronger and more unified. We can come together through our differences. A simple, over used state...
