1.
Final Project: Race and Your
Community
·
Resources: Appendix A.
·
Write a 1,400- to
1,750-word autobiographical research paper that analyzes the influences of race
as it relates to your community. In your paper, write your first-person account
of how human interactions in your community have been racialized. For the
community, you may consider relations within your neighborhood, local
government, service groups, clubs, schools, workplace, or any environment of
which you are a part.
·
Answer the following
questions and provide examples:
o
Do members of your community look like you? In what ways do they
look the same or different?
o
How do leaders within your community treat people who are like
you? How do they treat people who are different?
o
How do other members of your community treat people who are like
you? How do they treat people who are different?
o
Do your texts or work manuals contain information by or about
people like you?
o
Do the local media represent people like you? If so, in what ways?
o
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?
o
If you could resolve any inequities within your community, what
would you change? How and why?
o
Which main concepts from the text relate to race? Apply some of
these concepts to your project.
·
Include the following elements in
your paper:
o
The thesis addresses racial issues in your local community.
o
The content is comprehensive and accurate.
o
The paper itself draws on your personal experiences with and
opinions about cultural diversity in your community.
o
Three sources are used, and one source is a community member,
leader, or representative from a local community organization.
o
The paper is written in first-person point of view, with an
autobiographical approach.
o
Text concepts are applied to your observations.
o
Assignment questions are answered.
o
The paper includes perspectives from supporting sources.
o
The conclusion is logical, flows from the body of the paper, and
reviews the major points.
o
Paragraph transitions are present.
o
The tone is appropriate.
o
Sentences are well-constructed.
o
The paper, title page, and references follow APA standards.
o
Rules of grammar, usage, and punctuation are followed.
o
Spelling is correct.
·
Post your
completed research as an attachment.
White
Racism
ETH125
Even
though Black Americans are among the most racially oppressed group in America,
White Americans can receive just as much racial aggression in a Black community
as a Black Americans in a White community.
You never think of White Americans as suffering too much racial
inequality or oppression. But in the
little community of Eatonville, Florida, which is a predominantly Black
American neighborhood, The Winter Park Housing Authority has an apartment
complex called Margaret Square. This is
an apartment complex which gives housing to low-income families; there have
been a few recent additions to the community since I lived there such as the
Community Service Center at Margaret Square which has an abundance of community
based programs, such as after school programs, summer camps, planning workshops
and resource assistance. This has been
put in place in order to enhance the life of the individuals who find
themselves in the low-income part of town.
This is a thriving community that takes care of each other and has
respect for the other individuals who live here. With one major exception, during my stay at
this complex I was victim of the worst racial aggression I have every faced in
my life as a White American.
The
complex is made up mostly of African Americans families with a few families of
White or Hispanic races. My family was
one of three White families in the complex.
I needed to interview for a place in the community with a background
check and employment verification. The
interview lady was of African American descent and was a courteous
individual. They do not discriminate
because of color, race or religion. They
only determine your need according to your employment and family size. The management staff was made up of a few
ladies of different racial backgrounds and was always sympathetic and kind. The community leaders were all of different
racial backgrounds as well as the local media and were nice and friendly and
very accommodating in their assistance with procuring an apartment in this
community.
It
was a whole different story after we moved in.
The community at large is African American and that included the local
elementary school. Eighty-eight percent
of students who attend Hungerford Elementary in Eatonville were Black Americans
while White Students are at five percent.
(GreatSchools.com, 2009) My
daughter experienced quite a bit of bullying at the school with such comments
as ‘cracker’ or ‘white girl’ in abundance.
In the complex there was not any overt bullying but little things like
items being thrown at our door, dead animals found on our doorstep, our back
porch furniture being moved across the back lawn, and flowerpot being
smashed. Management was very sympathetic
but ultimately could do nothing, or claimed they could do nothing. Same thing with the elementary school
teachers and staff, they did not witness the bullying and could not do
anything. The school was disposed to
making it a racial issue, I think due to the oppression faced by most Black
Americans in the past, they were reluctant to make it appear as though Black
Americans can commit racially motivated bullying in their school.
The
other two white families reported similar incidents, but nothing was ever done
to help them either. One of these
families had told me of a previous tenant in a white family that had similar
issues. That particular tenant had gone
the extra step to involve management and the police and ended up getting their
cars vandalized and the apartment broken into.
In the end they had moved away due to these issues because management
would not or could not do anything about it.
Neighborhood meetings were littered with people that had an obvious
distaste for white families in their neighborhood. In my experience no Black family in the
complex became a victim of any of these annoying incidents. After a few meetings it was clear to me that
any White family was not welcome in their neighborhood and there were some that would do anything to
make them leave, and if these families did anything to drawn the attention of
management or law enforcement, you could suffer worse incidents.
Community
leaders along with the Elementary School teachers and staff were all courteous,
but it was obvious the local people did not want White Americans in their
neighborhood and make it difficult for even my daughter to go to their school. The incidents at the school were of such
small degree as to be unworthy of the local media or police department,
especially since there was no proof or witnesses who would backup my daughters
account.
Of
course, you could take your issues up the chain to the members of the board
that regulate the Housing Authority.
There are some White Americans who serve on the board but seemed even
more disinclined to feel sympathetic to our plight as members of the minority
races, and still little was done to alleviate the issues at hand. It appears as though the general consensus is
that any White American family who found themselves in such dire straits as to
find themselves in this community was only due to their own laziness and/or
wrongdoing and deserved no sympathy from any management or board members.
The
few Hispanic families in the complex seemed to have fewer problems if any, than
the White families. They did not feel as
welcome as the Black families did but seemed to encounter less resistance,
possibly due to the fact they are another minority and suffered their own
oppression at the hands of White America.
In conjunction their children also had fewer problems at adapting to a
predominately Black Elementary school and did not suffer as much teasing or
bullying as White children. There is of
course, some teasing considering that most schools have at least a few children
who do not discriminate their teasing to any one race.
The
Black Americans in the community, on the other hand, appear to have little
problems that do not relate to living in a low-income section of town and seem
to adapt better than the White families.
All the Black members of the community got along great with each other and
there are plenty of opportunities for assistance to rebuild their lives. There are the same opportunities for non
black members of the community but those families did not get along as well
with the neighborhood. The African
American members of the community have been in this area for several
generations. They all take pride in
their community and it shows very well that they care and some even thrive in
this small community. Some thrive so
well as to have no desire to leave this community and only strive to make it a
better place to live and grow. They like
the feeling of others around them of the same race and feel as though members
of other races are interfering in their culture and habitat. Most feel that we, as White Americans, are
intruding on their last frontier and taking what little they have made for themselves. The community leaders are more excepting of
individuals of other races within their community but ultimately do little to
assist in alleviating the hostility of the ‘native’ inhabitants.
My
theory for this behavior is that most minority individuals have a hard time
accepting and believing that white families might be or even could be just as
poor or oppressed as they are and reject their inclusion in the same
opportunities that in their eyes were created for them only. They feel as though including other races,
especially White Americans, in their opportunities takes away from a Black
family that could be helped instead. I
feel, the only way we can resolve these inequalities is through education. We need to educate everyone that oppression
is not limited to race or color. There
are all types of oppression and until we learn that our differences make us
unique and fun we are never going to all get along. We need to learn to embrace our differences
and the differences of others. I believe
the place to start is with the children.
Teach children tolerance and acceptance of other races and show them
that each individual can contribute in a unique and beneficial way regardless
of race or color. Only on our outside do
we show any differences at all. There
are many things that make us all similar, our love for our families and
communities most of all. Teach them there is only one ‘race’ of
people, the human race, and we are all needed to make this world a beautiful
place to live.
References
Great Schools (2009) ‘Hungerford
Elementary School’ retrieved from www.greatschools.org on Jan 2010
CSC (2009) “Board and Staff” Retrieved
from www.cscfl.com on Jan 2010
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