Jimmy Carter once said, “I say to you quite frankly that the time for racial discrimination is over.” Many people are the world wish this was true but each day, it is encountered. People who have lived in the United States for hundreds of years are discriminated against because of their skin color and culture. The poet, Martín Espada writes about these injustices in his poems,”Revolutionary Spanish Lesson”, “The New Bathroom Policy at English High School”, and “Two Mexicans Lynched in Santa Cruz, California, May 3,1877”. In all of his poems, Espada shows these injustices by exploring the role of power.

In schools, the principal has the highest point of power and every decision generally weighs on him or her. “The New Bathroom policy at English High School” includes that power role of the principal. In the poem, the principal bans the speaking of Spanish in the bathrooms because it makes him uncomfortable. “The only word he recognizes/ is his own name/ and this constipates him.” The use of the word “constipated” shows how when the boys speak Spanish, the fear of the unknown stops the principal from understanding what he wants to understand. “So he decides/ to ban Spanish/ fro the bathrooms/ now he can relax.” This shows how by taking away the boys freedom of speech, the principal can relax knowing that he now has the ability to understand. He shows the boys that he has the power by taking away a basic right.

In the poem, “Revolutionary Spanish Lesson”, there is no set position of  power. The role shifts as the subject shifts. “Whenever I hear my name mispronounced,/ I want to buy a toy pistol”. This line is very relatable because many people have encountered this anger. When something as personal as your name is mispronounced, you can feel weak. However, the poem displays the discrimination of more than just a name. It displays the constant miscommunication of personal and meaningful aspects of life. The power in this poem overlooks how meaningful these things are to those they are addressing. “Hijack a busload/ of Republican tourists/ from Wisconsin,/ force them to chant/ anti-American slogans”. This shows the feeling the subject has when the person of power abuses their authority.

“Two Mexicans Lynched” has a clear position of power. The fact that the subjects of that power are no longer living, enhances it. The quote, “more than floating corpses/ trussed like cousins of the slaughterhouse,” shows the stakes of the situations and the complete abuse of power because death is the tipping point. “But all crowding into the photograph” shows how the authority figures are proud of what they did. They don’t see their abuse of power and of others’ culture.

“The New Bathroom Policy”, “Two Mexicans Lynched”, and “Revolutionary Spanish Lesson” show the discrimination of the subject through the position of power. They do this through the portrayal of feeling, the banning of a basic right, and the proudness of the authority figures. All three poems present a strong situation through the position of power.