Race_and_My_Community

Race 1 Race and My Community Lisa Morris ETH125 April 20, 2010 Avis Davis Race 2 I come from a community of approximately 190,000 people. The town I live in, Moorhead, MN is directly across the Red River from Fargo, ND. Moorhead’s population is approximately 36,000 and Fargo’s population is approximately 154,000. We have two universities and one large private college, along with two business colleges and a technical school located in our cities. While I was growing up, the only cultures other than my own that I was exposed to were Hispanics and American Indians; even that exposure was limited. I suppose my family was considered “middle class” when I was growing up, although we certainly do not fit into the “middle class” by today’s standards. Most of my town’s Hispanic and American Indian population were located on the north side of town, while I grew up on the south side of town. Once I got to High School, there was more diversity among the students because students from both sides of town attended the same High School. I admit to having prejudices against Hispanics while I was growing up. We had a big influx of Hispanics every summer in the form of migrant field workers. It seems that the petty crime rate would rise every year with the arrival of the migrant workers. There were more vandalisms, thefts, and break-ins. My family would hold a garage sale every year and we would catch Hispanics stealing from the sale at least once a season, sometimes two or three times a day. We never caught a Caucasian stealing from our sales; but is this because we watched Hispanics closer or because they were the only ones stealing' Hispanics would come in large groups to the sales. They all spoke Spanish amongst themselves and were not friendly. I was actually quite intimidated by them, and yes, fearful as well. I do not remember thinking that they did not have a right to be in “my” town; but I do remember thinking that they should be friendlier and at least Race 3 speak English when interacting with people like myself. I felt that the Hispanics in my community were rude and took advantage of everyone else. When I was 17 years old, I became friends with an American Indian girl whom I met at my workplace. She and I became very close and one day she invited me to play volleyball at a park with her family. There were several people from her family there. They were playing volleyball, picnicking, and having a good time. I first noticed that they were not very receptive to me when she introduced me but it did not bother me too much. Once we started playing volleyball, many of them would tease me when I missed the ball. They would say things like “What’s the matter white girl'” I realized before long that they did not want me there and I left. I felt bad and not a little bit confused. I couldn’t understand why they would treat me that way when I was a friend of Sandra’s. It hurt at the time, but looking back on the incident, I think it was a lesson learned about what it feels like to be prejudiced against. During my teenage years, there got to be more and more Hispanic families living in Moorhead full-time. Nowadays they are a large part of my community. Even though times have changed and Hispanics are more a part of our neighborhoods, workplaces and schools, they are still over represented in arrests. We have had several large drug busts in the past few years and the majority of the people arrested are Hispanic. We also have had an influx of African Americans from the Chicago area; they are over represented in the drug war as well. I used to work as an emergency dispatcher for local law enforcement and I know that many of the African Americans that came to my community were looking to recruit new gang members, so it really is no surprise that we saw a rise in crime committed by African Americans in our community. Race 4 In 2003 there was a study done by Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) regarding racial profiling and the Moorhead Police Department. The study did not offer any concrete conclusion about whether the Police Department really engaged in profiling or not, but it did find that, “Latinos and blacks were stopped, searched and arrested more often than Caucasians during traffic violations in Moorhead in 2002” (Anderson, 2003). Mark Hansel, professor of sociology and criminal justice at MSUM, who was paid to analyze the results of the study, says that, “The analysis shows all other ethnic groups are stopped a few percentage points more frequently than Caucasians, compared to their proportion in the population” (Anderson, 2003). Hansel adds that factors such as vehicle condition and driver behavior were not tracked and could be the reason for the stops, as opposed to what the driver looked like (Anderson, 2003). When I read this study I was not surprised at the results, but I was surprised that some people in my community made such a big deal out of the results. The study was inconclusive, it seems that it could be spun either way; supporting racial profiling, or showing that racial profiling is not a problem within the Moorhead Police Department. What the study did not mention, is that many of the stops took place in middle of the night, some in business districts and many in residential neighborhoods. If I were an officer on patrol and I saw a vehicle driving slowly down a street at 2 a.m., I would observe the vehicle and more than likely initiate a traffic stop on the vehicle. It would not matter to me if the driver or passengers were Caucasian, African American, or Hispanic. The logical conclusion is that most people that are cruising neighborhoods at that time of the morning are up to no good. One cannot accuse the police of Race 5 racial profiling if it just so happens that the driver is not Caucasian. Several of the searches and arrests that the study refers to took place in this manner. The population of ethnic minorities has doubled in the last decade in my community (Gunaratne, personal communication, April 20, 2010.) As I mentioned previously, my interaction with people of different races when I was growing up was limited to Hispanics and American Indians. My community has seen an influx in people of other races recently. We have refugees and immigrants from several countries making their home in Fargo-Moorhead. The program, Cultural Diversity Resources (CDR), is headed by Ms. Yoke-Sim Gunartne. I spoke with Ms. Gunartne on the phone and discussed race relations within the community. She states that CDR is committed to “Developing initiatives that improve racial awareness and understanding” (Gunaratne, 2010). CDR uses staff members and volunteers to hold cultural diversity workshops at the request of any group in the community. CDR holds monthly discussions for parents and teachers who are interested in learning more about diversity issues related to public education. CDR has enlisted the services of bilingual translators, and they are the contact point for any other agencies needing a translator. CDR also provides housing and employment referrals to minority people needing them (Gunaratne, 2010). I had no idea this agency existed. I mentioned this to Ms. Gunartne and she explained that their agency is busy providing services to other community agencies and schools, but that they hold a “Cultural Diversity Awareness Week” each year that is open to the public. I plan to attend some of the events this year with my young daughter. I think it will be interesting and informative. Race 6 According to a report published by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights in 2001, Moorhead had a long way to go in establishing equal rights for all residents. The report found that many white residents of Moorhead assume that all citizens in our area, regardless of skin color, are offered equal opportunities in housing, education, and employment; but that people of color feel they are being discriminated against (Short, 2001). The Commission recommends that the City leaders, who are white, take steps to rectify any perceived differences between races (Short, 2001). I would like to see that as well. Doing research on race relations in my community has opened my eyes to things that I did not realize were taking place. I believe that education is the key to understanding others. I hope that the “Cultural Awareness Week” events will be better publicized and will continue to attract more residents of my community. I don’t think it is fair to say that many white people do not attend these events when most of us do not even know they existed. As Fargo-Moorhead becomes more diverse, I believe the younger generations are learning more acceptance than I did. Race 7 References Anderson, J. (2003, July 29). Minorities stopped more often. The Forum. Retrieved April 20, 2010, from http://in-forum.com Short, C. (2001, January 31). Race report blasts Moorhead. The Forum. Retrieved April 20, 2010 from http://in-forum.com