Race and Your Community

Axia College of University of Phoenix

Race plays a role in the ongoing interactions in my community. Since my community is diverse in terms of race ranging from Filipino, Chinese, Mexican, Black, and White, there is a large impact in how relations are managed through neighborhood, local government, service groups, clubs, schools, and the workplace. Asians are more predominant in my community, which is located near San Francisco, California. The surrounding cities make up the Bay Area and it seems the community and the events that take place around it have been racialized. I’ve personally witnessed the many effects of race in my community.

The people in my community do look like me since many of them are Asians. There are other races but the majority of my community is filled with the Asian race. I am Filipino, so I tend to look like the other Asian races. Many, if not all, are black haired and dress accordingly to the event such as for school or work, or parties. I speak English and I notice the majority speak English. There are some Spanish speaking people in the area however it is not as dominant. My community can be described as middle class affluent and the differences of the community are not as drastic. Many people are professionals and highly educated, with schools accomplishing higher goals. The biggest differences I’ve seen in my personal experience are the personalities associated with each race. I noticed not all Asians can be friendly. The community seems very haughty with an emphasis on the younger generation. The older crowd of the community is very friendly however I noticed the younger teens have little or no respect for their elderly. Though I am young I am not one of those who treat the elderly with disrespect; I tend to be talkative and friendly with the older people. They treat me with a friendly attitude.

The leaders of the community also treat me with respect. I noticed the leaders are not necessarily all Asian and respectable to everyone but those to who are in a higher level of education. The leaders of the community are image oriented and treat those who don’t have a great “image” with less respect.

Though I am self employed now, I still remember how the work environment was when I was an employee. It seems like the work environment was just as diverse the neighborhood that lived in. Many types of Asians and other races were there. The work manuals and papers had examples of Asian people such as their pictures. It seemed like the average person was depicted as an Asian American.

The high school I graduated from also had many types of races with the majority being Asian Americans. Everyone treated each race equally however I did notice a segregation of groups because of race. For example, all the Filipino Americans would hang out in one area, while the African Americans would hang out in another. I don’t think there was any racism per se in my high school but it is more of familiarity in terms of which person to be friends with. I always had different friends of all colors and races, so it didn’t apply to me personally however I did see among other individuals a lot. The clubs that were available after school also was primarily targeted for a specific race. For example, the FAA was a group known as the Filipino Affirmative Action, where every single member had to be Filipino American. There were other groups that did not target a specific race but a hobby such as golf. The point was that there were still these groups that made others feel left out because some didn’t have their own group that represented their race. There was no Australian American group. My school did not have the friendliest of crowds with many being prejudice to other races. I had a good personal experience however the same couldn’t be said to others who did not know how to handle the differences of people.

There are many things I would like to see change in terms of my personal community. I’ve actually talked to a couple of people in the community who could be of help such as the associates in the chamber of commerce. I’ve actually talked to them because I was interested in starting a business and wanted to know programs that could help minorities like me. Even though the majority population in my community was Asian American, we were still considered minorities. I asked him what can be done so those are more people of minority can be encouraged to start their own business without being feared of what others might think. He replied that more events should be held at public libraries that will guide others with an emphasis on minorities in becoming small business owners. The library since then has held small seminars though not much attended, it is growing and I believe the community can become more confident in helping those who were of minority succeed. I would also change the social aspects of the community. I think more events should be held maybe in parks to provide the socializing of the community. Even though it is a big city, I still think there are many ways to bring our cultural diversity together. The local newspaper we have is a great place since articles are written talking about the new things of the city however it doesn’t necessarily provide the sense of welcome. The newspaper should promote a stronger sense of family within the community and it could do a better job.

I am happy with my community how it is but I think we can all strive to be stronger. One of the few things I’ve seen improves our sense of family ties is when a tragic event occurred years ago when a couple of teenagers died in a car accident caused by drunk driving. It was one of the worst things that happened but it some blessing, I noticed more people as a community become less aggressive and car accidents actually decreased within the city and its surrounding neighbors. The community mourned over their deaths and it was all over local news and it brought those who wouldn’t be together, closer. Life became more sacred and it affected a large number of people.

I’ve seen many racial problems that were found in the text that I can relate to when it comes to comparing it to my community. It wasn’t necessarily a problem but more of a situation. Asian Americans can be categorized as one group; the situation was some did not see themselves as Asian American. Indians and Filipinos probably didn’t see themselves as Asian like a Chinese or Vietnamese person would. I can tell this was a situation by personally talking to Indians and my fellow Filipino peers, because many do not necessarily 100% agree that they can be categorized as Asian. I am Filipino but had no problem calling myself an Asian. Another situation I’d constantly see especially when attending high school was the lifestyle most people lived. Many people had similar lifestyles and religion. It seemed like everyone attended the same Church every Sunday. There was actually a Church called Saint Anne, and it was filled with people who attended my school. A concept that I see the text mentions was the “model” minority. The “model” minority of my community was debatable. I cannot really put a “model” on how a typical person in my community was other than what race they are most likely to be. The individualities stood out if you talk to each person in our community. The closest thing to a model of our community was a well educated Asian American who had wife/husband and two kids. Many are hard working and participated in social activities within their communities especially in regards to their children schooling.

References

J. Brown (personal communication, May 01, 2008)

Axia College of University of Phoenix. (2008). Asian Americans: Growth and Diversity.

Retrieved May 31, 2008, from Axia College, Week Eight reading,

aXcess, ETH125—Cultural Diversity Course

Web site.

_______. (n.d.). City of Alameda California. Retrieved May 31, 2008, from

http://www.ci.alameda.ca.us/