Race and Class Bigotry
A few days ago, I was riding my bike home from the public library in the Near East Side in Columbus, Ohio. I love this ride because I ride leisurely and I never come back the same way. I ride through the streets and alleys like a child exploring. I appreciate the experience fully. Those who know me, know this is how I live my life, being in the present moment.
Somewhere between Bryden and Oak streets in an alley, I noticed a car coming out of a garage onto the alley in back of me. When the driver blared his horn several times, it became apparent that the driver did not appreciate a bicycle slowing him down. As he passed me, I noticed he was a white male and he looked directly at me and yelled something like, "Quit blocking the road you Fucking Mexican".
I have 'internalized* my racial identity (William E. Cross: Stages of Identity) and have a strong sense of who I am as a Latinx and a POC. But every time I hear a derogatory reference to my ethnicity it is shocking and piercing. This time even more so since it was in my neighborhood. I was very upset and angry and yelled back at him as he sped ahead. I rode home and pretty much forgot about it because I have encountered this type of reference to my ethnicity all of my life. It is a constant reminder of race and class in our society, even in seemly safe spaces and neighborhoods. It was a reminder that we do not live in a post racial society.
The very next day, my partner Nick and I met a friend for conversation and drink at a local establishment not far from where we live. We were having a good time and at some point I excused myself to go to the restroom. The restroom was busy and I started looking at the art display in the hallway. As I was doing this, another male patron started to talk to me about the art. He had moved into the neighborhood recently and was considering buying some of the art for his new home. We chatted in a very friendly way as we continued to view the art which we both appreciated.
He shared that he loved living in "Olde Towne East". I told him that I live in the neighborhood and like it as well. He continued: "I love living in 'Olde Towne East' because it's about community and people working together for common good." Then he stepped closer and looked at me in the eye and continued; "There's only one thing...the Blacks have to go".
I was floored and my heart sunk. Suddenly, I did not know where I was. Like being a stranger in my own home.
He continued..."Don't you agree? They (Blacks) are in my neighborhood and they are nothing but trouble, we can't have them here".
My first instinct was to engage and push him on his statement. I said something like, "No I don't agree with you". He moved closer to me and began to further explicate his point. I quickly realized this was not the time or space to engage him. I began to feel unsafe at a local business in my neighborhood that I have been to many times where I have always been treated with respect. I found a way to excuse myself and returned to my table. I decided I would get a picture of him and my immediate reaction was to expose his face and comments somehow.
Within hours of each other and in the neighbor I've lived in for 16 years, I experienced bigotry towards me and towards who I am as a Person of Color.
I thought long and hard about how to share my experience. I have a responsibility to do so and I did have a picture of him.
I decided not to use a picture of this man and use a picture of the recently painted mural on the side of another local establishment. Choosing this mural was purposeful because I wanted to point out the meta systemtic issue: racism, classism, bigotry. For many in this neighborhood, the well branded name: "Olde Towne East", is a constant reminder of this. Many of us prefer to use "The Near East Side" when referring to our neighborhood. Historically, this is more accurate and comes without the Anglo-Saxon version of the spelling of Old Town. Many good people, even those who see themselves as "progressive" don't recognize or understand this fully.
Re-naming and re-branding is often the beginning stages of gentrifying a community.
It's important to make clear that the use of the, "Welcome to Olde Towne East" mural in the meme is not specifically related to the business owner (s) who commissioned it or the artists who painted it.
The Responses
The next morning, I went to my local coffee shop to start my day. I immediately shared the story with a friend that I know well. He listened and the first thing he said to me was, "I just heard the same thing other the day at a local bar from someone that I know!"
My white anti-racists friends remind me that white people say these kind of remarks often within each other, as though it's okay. It's like men making sexist remarks and jokes with other men. As a man, I hear sexist remarks often.
Olde Towne East Neighborhood Association (OTENA) focused their response on being "sorry" this happened and about the mural. They also believe they speak for the entire neighborhood.
Many were upset that I didn't specifically call out the man who made the comments. Pointing out that it was one incident only.
We prefer to have a villain or a "one bad person" because it's easier and it gets everyone else off the hook. This effectively disregards the systematic and institutional roots which enable these sentiments. This man is only one of the many faces of bigotry in our neighborhood.
THE ENCOURAGING NEWS was that most people who commented on the incident were appalled and understood if for what it was. They were white, black, brown, queer, straight, neighbors, renters, homeowners and a diverse cross section of community members. They also understand the incident in a historical context. They understand the ugliness of that specific experience but also understood gentrification and it's race and class implications on a neighborhood.
Moving Forward
So what do we do now? There should be some forward moving action, otherwise it's just pointing out what we know is out there.
Here are a few thoughts and forward moving questions that come to mind:
- First and foremost: How do we come together in conversation?
- How can art move us forward? What would a community mural look like that reflected the diverse community in its fullest?
- What would an ongoing campaign to address bigotry look like in the Near East Side? How do we use existing events to message this? (HotTimes, Music in the Garden, Community Yard Sale, Holiday Events, Tour of Homes, etc.)
We are here together and as delightful yet painful as it is, we have to own the community in the fullest, even the areas that we need to work on. Only then can we move forward. A Diverse Community? We have it! ----- Racism and classism? That's here too!
How do we make this real in the community we live in? How do we heal and move forward? How do we enter the community consciousness?
These are the questions I want to work on.
Count me in! How about you?
