Race and My Community ETH/ 125 Axia College Craig Lowrie

I am a Caucasian male of Scottish and English descent. My parents were both born and raised in Michigan. Each had minimal experiences with diversity when they were younger. I grew up in the Ypsilanti, Michigan and lived in predominantly white neighborhood. Even though I have not been discriminated against, I believe I have spent the most of my life oblivious to the stereotypes and discrimination minority groups face today. My school had some African Americans who attend it, but again the majority of students were white. In 2000, I moved to I moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan. It is the second largest city in Michigan. At the 2005-2007 American Community Survey 3-Year Estimates, 68.7% of the population were white, 21.8% black or African American, 16.4% Hispanic or Latino, 1.9% Asian, 1.5% American Indian and Alaska Native and 8.7% belonged to another race (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Rapids,_Michigan). I purchased my first home in a predominantly Caucasian neighborhood. Once I had a family of my own, we continued to live and socialize with Caucasians. I did not intentionally socialize with only Caucasian Americans because I feared or disliked minorities. I believe it was because our neighborhood was not very diverse and I did not attempt to seek friendships out. I primarily socialized with friends within our neighborhood. Like myself, my daughter attended Collins Elementary, a predominantly Caucasian school. In 2010, I moved to Jupiter, Florida with my wife and daughter. I believed I was relocating to a more diverse and culturally mature community. The racial makeup of the town is 94.86% White (89.4% were Non-Hispanic White), 1.22% African American, 0.19% Native American, 1.12% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 1.37% from other races, and 1.12% from two or more races. 7.33% of the population is Hispanic or Latino of any race

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter,_Florida). In the beginning, Jupiter, Florida was an enjoyable place to live. Within my neighborhood, the majority of residents are Caucasian. However, I was happy to also learn that African, Hispanic, and Asian Americans did reside in our neighborhood also. I originally believed that everyone within my neighborhood got along. Everyone appeared to be very neighborly to each other. As my family settled into our new neighborhood, my wife began meeting other ladies within our community. She began inquiring about the elementary school are daughter was zoned to attend. The school was Jupiter Elementary. Everyone she spoke with did not have favorable opinions of the school. She learned that most of the children in our neighborhood did not attend Jupiter Elementary. The parents were sending their children to private schools, schools of choice or charter academies. One lady told my wife that Jupiter Elementary was not white enough and went on to inform her that all the poor went to Jupiter Elementary. This disgusted my wife. The next day, my wife went online to read more about the school. On the Jupiter Elementary homepage, my wife found a parent review section. One parent stated that, I love this school! They are organized, the children have a dress code and are encouraged to succeed. I could not ask for a better school (http://www.greatschools.org/school/parentReviews). Another parent wrote, Great school, good education, the best teachers, and the best treatment not only for kids but for family members as well (http://www.greatschools.org/school/parentReviews). The section listed 10 comments, and all were positive but one. After concluding her research, she enrolled our daughter into Jupiter Elementary the next day. Daniel Smith is the Principal at Jupiter Elementary. Principal Smith was proud to say that Jupiter Elementary received a GreatSchools Rating of 7 out of 10 and explained that the rating

provides a summary of a the school's test performance. He explained that, it did this by comparing the Jupiter Elementary state standardized test results to those of other schools in Florida (personal communication, December 22, 2011). Each grade and student category is assigned ratings. Student categories are gender, ethnicity, or other student group. I asked Principal Smith what he thought was the greatest challenge Jupiter Elementary faced that other schools in our community may not face. He stated that, Jupiter Elementary School does have many children from non-English speaking families where at home help with homework is difficult (personal communication, December 22, 2011). To address this, communications are sent home to parents in both English and Spanish. Also staff member at school are bi-lingual and able to assist both English and non-English speaking students. I personally commend our faculty at Jupiter elementary for their dedication to all the children at this school. Greater efforts should be made to educate people on diversity. This should not just occur in our schools, but through media and leaders in our communities. Our local media perpetuates minorities in a negative light, focusing more on criminal incidents than achievements occurring within our communities. I have heard neighbors make comments regarding Hispanics. They see a story on the news about illegal immigration and automatically assume all Hispanics are illegal. They make stereotypes about Hispanics claiming that they should go back to their own country. One acquaintance of mine went as far to say that they are mooching off the rest of us hardworking Americans. When I asked him to give me an example of what meant, he responded, come on man, you know what I mean. This person is no longer an acquaintance and does not represent my opinion or view. Since relocating to Florida, I have come across more employment ads that make language a requirement of the position. Employers are not allowed to discriminate against a job applicants

ethnicity; many employers within my community are still able to do so under many other excuses, such as not being sufficiently qualified, not having enough experience or not speaking enough either language English. My wife has worked in human resources for over 11 years. When she began her job search, she received calls to conduct telephone interviews for potential employment. The first question she was asked is, do you speak Spanish. She does not, but has offered and wanted to take the initiative to learn the language. Most employers did not consider her past the phone interview. My employer has several Guatemalans that work for our company. The majority is here on Green cards, speaks decent English, and is in the process of applying for permanent citizenship. Jupiter, Florida is home to the 102nd highest percentage of Guatemalan residents, which made up 1.09% of the population (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter,_Florida). Before coming to work with us, some had difficulties finding employment despite having their degree. To support their families, they had to accept a lower-paying job with us. My boss offers all potential employees with no experience a starting wage of $12.00 an hour. The Guatemalans candidates graciously accepted employment. It surprised me to learn that when same offer was presented to Caucasian applicants, most declined employment because the starting wage was too low or the job has too many physical demands. Caucasian Americans accused Hispanic Americans of mooching and being lazy, yet mainstream Americans have this entitlement attitude. American Society dictates that I am a member of mainstream society. Mainstream Americans are that part of American society which is normal, is not deviant because of ethnicity, religion, lack of religion, culture or values (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mainstream_America) I have not encountered constant stereotyping, racism and discrimination as member of subordinate groups have. For a majority of my life, I have been raised and resided in

predominantly Caucasian communities. Today, I continued to reside in a community that does not come out and make obvious racial statements, but discriminations can be read in their actions such as where their children attend school and why. I do not feel separation of communities and neighborhood is healthy for anyone. If I were given a chance to overturn the inequalities present in my community today, I would do so by embracing individuality and celebrating differences. I believe that education, support from our community leaders, and positive media support will minimize stereotypes and racist attitudes that have been plagued upon minorities for decades.

References Wikipedia. (2011). Grand Rapids, MI. Retrieved December 1, 2011, at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Rapids,_Michigan Wikipedia. (2011). Jupiter, Florida. Retrieved December 1 ,2011, at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter,_Florida Jupiter Elementary School. (2011). Retrieved December 1, 2011, at: http://www.greatschools.org/school/parentReviews.page? id=2211&state=FL#from..HeaderLink Interview with Daniel Smith. Retrieved: December 1, 2011. Wiktionary. (2011). Mainstream Americans. Retrieved December 14, 2011, at: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mainstream_America