Race_and_Your_Community

I am an African American woman and I live in a community that consists of a Hispanic majority. I have lived in Norcross, Georgia since August 2010. I moved here because the rent was cheaper for me to pay when I lost my job in April. In my apartment complex, I do not see many African Americans that stay here, nor do I rarely see other races on this side of town. Do members of your community look like you' In what ways do they look the same or different' When I moved here, I was very uncomfortable because I felt that I was out of my zone, meaning that there were not many that looked like me in general. All of my neighbors are of the Hispanic or Latino race. When I come outside, people look at my son and me strangely as if we do not belong. Little do they know that is the way I feel as well' The people in my community are no taller than 5’5” and they have dark hair and complexions. There is a saying that people in certain races look alike, in my case the kind of do. All the community stores that are near my home are in Spanish from the grocery stores to the local Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant. The patrons in my neighborhood do not seem to take any pride in it because they litter it up and walk away. How do leaders within you community treat people who are like you' How do they treat people who are different' When I was doing research on local community leaders and leadership programs, I found that there were not any in my area, and the ones that they have listed are miles away. The local Boys and Girls club is on the other side of town and I found out doesn’t even service the school my son goes to. I don’t know what I would do if I needed to use them for afterschool because I would have to drop him off and pick him up on my own. Even the school that my child goes to is twelve minutes away from home, and there are two schools that are closer than that. How do other members of my community treat people who are like me' How do they treat people who are different' Well from my aspect I feel unwelcome here. The apartment management consists of Hispanics, Latinos, and Puerto Rican descents. I get the feeling that when I come into the office, they tend to try to avoid helping me or put me toward the end of the line for service. I have submitted maintenance requests and when I go in to check on the progress, they tell me the work orders have been closed out, but no work has been done. I feel that they have a prejudice against me because I want the things that are broken fixed. But when the Hispanic groups come into the office, they treat them a whole lot differently than me. They take their time with them and assist them however then can. Being that I am originally from the South, I have never felt this type of prejudice before. I moved from Texas and most of all the races got along. But down here it is very different. It feels like they are the majority looking down on the minority. When I first moved in, there were people that were tagging the complex on a nightly basis. It had gotten so bad that they had to hire a security service to patrol at night. Do the local media represent people like me' If so, in what ways' Yes, the local media represents African American people like me daily on the news, but it is mostly in a negative light. There are plenty of news stories about African Americans that have been shot, killed, committed a robbery, or is doing time in prison. Atlanta’s Mayor is Kasim Reed. He is an educated man that strives to make Atlanta a better, safer place to live. He is always doing things in the community. He has even been seen on the City trash trucks helping to pick up the trash. Mr. Reed goes to bat for the citizens and stays involved with the community. He has a quote that he uses very often "We need to make sure we aren't a city that isn't too busy to love." (Reed, 2010) What are some similarities and differences between you and the people who are in leadership positions in your community' Do you think minority group interests are represented within your community' Similarities I think that Mayor Reed and I have are that "We cannot face our future if we are facing off with each other." (Reed, 2010) I believe as well as he does that we cannot grow as a community or as a country if we continue to look down our noses at people that look different from us. We are all here and must learn to co habitat with one another. The difference between the Mayor and I is that he is in a greater place to do something about it than I am. All I can do is deal with my current situation until I am able to do better for myself. I will not allow myself to resort to treating them the way they treat me because then I will be no better than them. The only minority groups that are represented in this community are the Hispanic and Latino races. If you could resolve any inequities within your community, what do you change' How and why' Some inequities I would change in my community would be that the stores and restaurants would not all be in Spanish. I would like for other businesses to come out and build in this area to bring the value up. These things could be one of the major factors that are driving other races away from moving in this community. I feel that this side of town is segregated and it is time to put an end to that. I also would like to form a committee that would promote awareness about keeping the community clean. Just because times are hard does not mean we have to live that way. Let’s take pride and keep the community safe and clean for our children to come home to and play. I also suggest that we could get together in the community and have monthly get-togethers so that we could learn about whom we are living next to and who is in our community. Let’s get to know one another and stop the negative thoughts that we may have, because truly we are going off of stereotypes and are afraid to meet people who are different from ourselves. In conclusion I would like to say that my community may not be where I am most accepted but for now it is my home. No matter how the other race passes judgment on me because I am not like them, I will not allow it to change who I am. Race is nothing but a color or different ethnic background. In order to change one’s perception of you, you must show them that it is ok to be different. You never know what new and exciting things you could learn about a person and the paths they have had to cross to get to where they are. Someone once told me “You are never to judge a book from its cover, because you will miss out on all its goodness on the inside.” Though are true words to live by and I hope that one day this community will see that it has potential to be a nice neighborhood. We have to take the first steps in making it happen because if we don’t believe it no one else will either. References Stirgus, E. (2010). Atlanta's new mayor: ‘Make sure we're not a city too busy to love'. Available: http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/atlantas-new-mayor-make-266830.html. Last accessed 26 Sept 2010. Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta. (2010). Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta. Available: http://dogood.ajc.com/nonprofits/boys-girls-clubs-of-metro-atlanta. Last accessed 26 Sept 2010. Schaefer, R. (2006). Racial and Ethnic Groups. 10th ed. United States: Prentice-Hall. 182-207. Schaefer, R. (2006). Racial and Ethnic Groups. 10th ed. United States: Prentice-Hall. 208-233.