Race and Your Community - Term Paper Example

Interview How difficult is the racial problem in the community of Sioux Community member: Of it is not as difficult as in the South of the country. The South has always been characterized by more complicated and political life than the rest of the country. Recently deceased Lester Meddoks, being the owner of a restaurant in Atlanta, expelled from the black, threatening them with an ax handle. This is a lot of writing, and Meddoks bought a reputation that helped him become governor of the state. However, in this post, he consistently advocated the equality of African Americans and appointed them to high positions in state government. Here we did not have such cases and the atmosphere is more friendly, though it is still difficult sometimes. - There are some politicians who are famous for taking part in the racial problems, but probably, in the South of the country. Right? Community member: Recently deceased at the age of one hundred years of American policy Strom Turmond, for many years in the Senate representing South Carolina, in the 40-ies, in the responsible positions in state government, was an active opponent of the law dealing with equal status of white and black Americans. However, in the future, moving from Democrat to Republican camp, he became an equally strong advocate of this law. And Lester Meddoks, and Strom Turmond claimed that they were not racists, but fighting for individual rights and autonomy of the states against federal government interference. But they seemed not to understand that the system of defending racial segregation, which they defended, violates the constitutional rights of African Americans. These cases are fauos all over the USA and we can learn from them much. - What are other experiences that you know? Community member: Maynard Jackson who died recently, the third prominent politician, who can not mention in terms of the history of the relationship of black and white race, because he was the first black mayor of a major southern city of Atlanta. The authors of editorial writing that Jackson has become a symbol of the collapse of the ideology of segregation. During his tenure as mayor of Atlanta Jackson has strengthened the economic position of black residents of the city. - Do you discuss the racial problems at your place? Community member: Discussion of the relationship of different races is usually limited to the rights of individual ethnic groups. They express the view that the Americans will make great progress in this matter, if completely forget about the color of their neighbors. - What about Latino Americans in your place? Community member: Latino in the U.S. represent the most rapidly growing ethnic group. From April 2000 to July 2002 of their number has increased by 9,8%, it rose to four times faster compared with other ethnic groups. Since 1980, the number of Hispanics doubled. The Census Bureau reports that 40 million Spanish-speaking residents of the United States are the largest ethnic minority in the number of countries and here also. - Are Latino Americans concerned about the racial problem? Community member: A recent survey showed that many Latino not identify themselves to a certain ethnic group, as happens with some other ethnic groups, in particular, with the Arabs living in the USA. There was a time when the country was clearly divided into two categories, white and black. Now the situation has changed, stressing that this is largely contributed to inter-ethnic marriages. - What do you think about America today? Community member: Modern America is different than half a century ago. Then 87% of the population was Caucasian, 10% - of black, and the remaining small portion consisted of Asians, Hispanics and American Indians. Racial Influence in My Community Living in this complicated world I always paid attention to people, to their inner world and personalities and I have understood that being so different and individual we all have much in common. We can feel and that is the most important feature that relates people who live in different countries, eat different food, wear different clothes, have different color of skin and like different things. My community is various but living together in this world we try to interact and understand each other in the best way we can. Every community is different. Some are large, and others are small. One community can be 200 years old and another may have been started just 10 years ago. But all communities have much in common. All communities have places where people live. Communities also have stores, schools, and places of worship. Most communities also have people who make laws and perform legislative function. Communities are started for different reasons. Some are started where there is a good farmland for growing crops. Many communities are started near the transportation centres. Communities also grow because of the jobs they offer. Of course many people in my country think that the ideal place to live is a village set in attractive countryside. To those living in towns villages conjure up images of peace, a slow pace of life, pretty cattages and a country bar. But living in a village may be inconvinient, especially for people without a car, as many village shops have been forced to close and public transport services are limited. Most people now live in towns, in city suburbs or in larger villages, which have become dormitory communities for nearby towns. I was always interested in my local community history that is made up by people who have lived here, important events that have happened there, and even old buildings. All these things helped to develop our community. There are two opposite points of view about the community development. One of them says that everything is governed by ideas (religion, revolutionary ideas, etc.) and it helps to organize the community life. The second point denies the considered plan and affirms just to start struggling. My hometown of Sioux City, Iowa, is located in northwestern Iowa. Although this community of about 80,000 people is predominately white, there are substantial African American, Hispanic, and Asian populations, and a small number of Native Americans. In the 1970s through 1990s, local meat processing plants brought in many workers from Mexico as cheap labor. As a result, there was increased competition for jobs, and various neighborhoods saw a sharp increase in the number of Mexican American residents. Shops and restaurants owned by Mexican-Americans sprang up to meet the demand for specialized goods and services. Throughout my childhood, I often heard disparaging remarks toward minorities, which seemed to increase as the minority population boomed. In Sioux City, minorities seem to be under-represented in media and local politics (with some exceptions), and there is a good deal of informal segregation. Although racism is less overt and less institutionalized than it was in the 1950s and before, I believe that it is still alive and well in Sioux City; in fact, I believe that it has been somewhat aggravated by the influx of minorities over the past few decades, even as racism has become less socially acceptable. There is even racism among minority groups, such as violence breaking out between rival Black and Hispanic gangs. In this paper, I will describe the racial environment of my hometown, and make suggestions for improving race relations. As Sioux City becomes increasingly diverse over the next 50 years, promoting racial healing and harmony will be crucial for my hometowns well-being. My community is a small world with its laws and traditions. Living in community I have understood that the most important thing is to feel that you are not only a member of community but also an integral part of it. I must say that it is a great problem especially if you differ from other people and feel that they treat you in unusual way. I have never experienced this because I look like many members of my community. But I met people who had problems because they were treated differently. Though to my mind everything depends on breeding. It is a task of every parent to bring up a child in such a way so he can respect the people of other race, nation and belief. The reason of the racial problem in the community I live is public consenescence and openness of country boundaries. It is a well-known fact that society is really getting older. With further developments in medicine more and more people can expect to live a long time. This means that senior citizens (people about 65) may become a more powerful group, but it also means that services for them will need to improve. I must say that the leaders of the community pay a great attention to this. They take care of elder people and their well-being. For people who have enough money from their pension and who are in good health, the years of retirement may be an opportunity to do some of the things they did not have time for when they were working and bringing up family. Some people take courses, some go on more vacation, others do voluntary work and continue to use the skills they learned for their job. Public transport, theatres, and sometimes restaurants give discounts to retired people to encourage them to go out. Usually senior citizens are expected to be active, if their health permits, and the sight of a 70-year-old lifting weights in a gym is not uncommon. Many elderly people, however, have a more difficult age. Those who rely on social security have to spend most of their money on food and heating and have little left for luxuries. Others have poor health and can not move around easily. Many are lonely. Usually such people get apartment in a retirement community, where they are near people of their own age and where there is somebody nearby to provide help if they need it, and it does not matter what color of skin they have. Formally the leader of the community treat everybody equally, but actually the difference is vivid. People who differ from others can face some difficulties sometimes. We live in the society which is made up of people from many different racial and cultural backgrounds. The mainstream includes white people whose ancestors were from Europe. This mainstream group is of mixed origin, but consists entirely of white people. Other racial or cultural groups that are present in smaller numbers are ethnic minorities. (Garwood, Gardani, Peris (1995). The term mainstream and ethnic minority point out and reinforce divisions in society, whereas the phrase multicultural society suggests that the different groups are part of a whole. Society is divided with some groups receiving better treatment or having more opportunities than others, but many attempts have been made to reduce discrimination and to increase harmony and understanding between people from all cultural backgrounds. Thoughout the history, minority groups have always faced prejudice. During the main period of immigration, each new group of immigrants was treated with suspicion by those already there. The groups that suffered most were those whose color or physical features were most distinctive. Black people, now widely called Africans, who had been brought as slaves, suffered both on the account of their color and because of their former status. These people are still discriminated against and may be under-represented in certain jobs. After World War II, considerable progress was made to improve the position of minorities. The civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s brought about changes in the law that improved social conditions for minority groups, especially black people. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was created in 1965 to make employers follow laws forbidding discrimination at work. (Garwood, Gardani, Peris (1995). I must admit that minorities are in much better position now than in the beginning of the century. There is also respect among many white people for the good things that cultural diversity brought. But discrimination is still present. Black people earn less money, on average, than Whites, and have shorter lives. It is a well-known fact that people of different races trust each other less than as if they belong to one. White people do not like the idea of social support because they see their destination in helping the minirities. Discrimination is a negative process which takes place not only in my community but all over the world as well. The media sources state that the balance of multicultural societies is changing now. The African and Hispanic populations are growing faster than the white population. Ethnic minorities feel considerable pride in their cultural origin and keep alive their traditional festivals and practices. But, provided that there is no serious decline in the country’s economy, racial harmony amongst the majority of the population seems likely to continue. Many members of my community have ancestors who were immigrants. Usually the word immigrant has a positive meaning here. People are proud to say that their ancestors were immigrants who came with very little and built a better life for themselves. Though immigration is a very important problem now. It is strictly controlled. Normally, only people from European Union and certain Commonwealth citizens can get permission to live here. The right to stay may also be given to people from other countries who have special skills, and to asylum seekers and refugees. From time to time there are reports immigrants entering the country illegally hidden in lorries or ships. Many are deported, and though it is possible to apeal against deportation it may take several years for a case to be decided. (Oxford Guide to British and American Culture) It is a fact that there are a lot of people in the area I live who have illegal status and they are really afraid to be deported because they earn here much more in comparison they earned in their country. Though some of them have relatives and children who stayed at the country they came from. Illegal immigrants cause a great problem for citizens because sometimes they agree to work for lower wage than citizens do. Of course it is very profitable for the employer but bad for the citizens who stay unemployed. The members of my community are not very consistant in their attitudes towards immigration. They are proud of their own ancestors who were immigrants, but want to keep other people out. The mainstream culture is still that of white people whose ancestors came from northern Europe. There is a fear that people from other cultures may change our country in the ways we do not want. Many people believed that immigrants should not cling to their original culture but should become part of our culture. (Project on Structural Racism and Community Revitalization) More recently, there have been great efforts to integrate people from ethnic minorities into local communities and to develop a multicultural society based on equality and acceptance. Many people in my community say with pride that there are no class differences in here, but it is not really true, to my mind. Class differences exist but social mobility is possible with hard work. Here people consider that everything is based on people’s ability, provided they use enough effort, to reach any goal is not to reach the upper classes, and most people like to think that they are middle-class. The key to class system is money. Anyone can live in a pleasant house in a good area of town and send their children to a top university if they have enough money. Money is obtained through hard work, and so high social class is seen as a reward for effort. People who improve their social position are proud of being self-made men or women, but those who come from rich families are thought to have an unfair advantage. Sometimes it can be difficult to know what social class a person belongs to. A person’s accent does not usually indicate class, merely the part of the country they come from. Even people with a lot of money send their children to state-run schools, and people who do blue-collar jobs encourage their children to get a good education and to become lawyers, doctors, etc. During the 1980s differences between rich and poor became greater, and in some very poor areas the quality of education is low, making it more difficult for people to move into higher class. Social mobility is easiest for whites. People of other ethnic origins, particularly Africans and Hispanics, still experience strong discrimination, and are treated worse and given fewer opportunities than other people of similar ability. Gender problem is very important and current nowadays. Women are becoming more and more independent today. They take part in all spheres of life and sometimes they are more successful than men are. Sometimes women gamble on discrimination now and it helps them to occupy good positions at life and at work. Women were always struggling for their rights and now they begin to get everything they wanted. It does not give positive results often. The number of divorces increases every day and one of the reasons for this is that women are not satisfied with their family life. They want to be more independent and they don’t want to stand anything that they don’t like. It is an often case when woman does not take care of her children, usually her goal is to be independent and strong. Women are not family oriented any more and besides they are loosing their feminity. To my mind it is a result of gender discrimination. Women were discriminated for many years and now they want to be equal with men and have the same rights and responsibilities. Very often we see a man living with his two children and taking care of them. He brings them to school, then he goes to work and picks them up on his way home. He cooks dinner for them and helps to do their homework. I have a neighbor who has such way of life, and I must say that looking at him I think that men seem to be discriminated by women. My community seems to be very peaceful during the religious holidays. Such great religious holidays as Christmas and Easter keep people together. Church is the only place where nobody is discriminated in my community, even if you have other belief. We are all equal before God. We are all created by God and must have equal rights. (Diversity and Community) If I had enough power to change something in my community I would make changes at school. Racial and gender discrimination starts in childhood. It is very important to pay attention to breeding. We should do our best for our children to understand that all people are equal and it does not matter what color of skin they have. Very often children take parents’ opinion and view to a problem. That is why school teachers have a great mission - to help child to understand that friends are not chosen by color of skin or gender. I would suggest teachers to explain the importance of inner world of any person. We are human beings and there can not be any contradiction between us. It is a human nature to be a part of a family (I mean a group of people), big or small. Everybody lives in a group the whole life and it is very important to feel that you are a part of this group. I would say that my community is rather friendly and we don’t have some big problems of racial character. Life seems to be peaceful here. We don’t have any incidents of racial or gender character here. On the contrary we have many mixed marriages and I must say that such marriages are very stable and live long time. Though some people consider mixed marriages to be intolerable. Researching the problem of racial influence in my community I have understood that this problem will always exist and it is very difficult to solve it, though we must do our best to contribute to friendship and peace between people of different color and gender. References Christopher Garwood (1995). Guglielmo Gardani, Edda Peris. Aspects of Britain and the USA. Oxford University Press. Diversity and Community: A Multi-Religious Statement on Social Responsibility in the Context of Ethnic, Cultural, Racial and Religious Diversity in the United States Oxford Guide to British and American Culture. Oxford University Press. 2000. Project on Structural Racism and Community Revitalization Read More