Race and My Community

Taylor Lyman
ETS Final Project
December 13, 2013
Race and My Community I have wondered what it would be like if everyone in my community was the exactly the same as the next person. When I think about this I wonder how it would be different if we were all exactly the same race, from the same cultural background and the same ethnicity. Throughout my local community, Henderson, Nevada, many differences can be seen and I am thankful for that. The cultural differences and many races and ethnicities make this community what it is. Henderson is second largest city in Nevada with over a quarter of a million inhabitants, second only to Las Vegas, Nevada. Henderson’s population is made up of four different races making the total 267,270 people. There are over 210,000 Caucasians, over 15,000 African Americans and more than 35,000 Hispanics. As in many US cities, the gender balance is fairly even at 49.1% male and 50.9 % female community members. (cityofhenderson.com) I have noticed that members throughout my local community generally are Caucasian and look like me, this is because my race and my skin color make up over 70% of the entire population of Henderson. I have not experienced the leaders of my community treating people differently based on race, ethnicity or cultural differences but I imagine it happens. In researching where to rent an apartment I looked for a location that was near my work and college and was in an area where people were most like me. That doesn’t mean I am biased in my opinion due to the population facts of Henderson. I do not feel I would be comfortable living in an area where I was completely different in cultural background. I would be able to adjust to living in areas where there were many races and ethnicities represented but I like to be nearest to people who share my same cultural background and my religious beliefs. This has been true throughout my life as I am originally from the Midwest, in particular - Denison, Iowa. There are some things that are very different about Iowa and Nevada, yet some things that are very much the same. The population make up of my hometown in Iowa is much the same with 70% of the population being Caucasian, although vast majority of the remaining 30% of the population are of Hispanic descent. There are a few African Americans and Asian Americans in my hometown as well, much like here in my new local community of Henderson. The major difference is only in the quantity of people as there are only 12,000 people living in Denison, Iowa. That is a huge difference for me to adjust to culturally but I feel I have adjusted well to my new setting. One cultural concern I had was finding a Christian church that met my needs and expectations after living in the Midwest and attending a parochial school for part of my education and attending Christian churches all my life. I did find a church I like very much in Las Vegas not too far from where I live. This church fits the need of Christian but it sure was a cultural shock to go to a church with ten to fifteen times more attendees than my hometown church! The Henderson City Council members and the Mayor Andy Hafen, are all Caucasian but I do believe that is representative of the community with nearly 80% being Caucasian in our city. The Council has 4 member, two females and two males, which is also representative of the gender make-up of Henderson. I think that my local media represents everyone pretty equally. For example: if a person commits or is involved in any way of a crime, the local media is going to broadcast the story whether or not the criminal is Caucasian like me or any other race/ethnicity. When I watch the local news as I do most days, I see the broadcasters representing different races and ethnicities as well. This is also much the same as my hometown City Council which is made up of Caucasians and one Hispanic member and representatives of the news media in the cities of Omaha, Nebraska; Sioux City, Iowa; and Des Moines, Iowa are all much the same with various races/ethnicities represented. In my larger community of the United States I see the demographics of the governmental agencies and news media much more broadly representing the many races that make up our nation. I do feel very strongly that all minority groups throughout my community are represented in some way or another. There are a lot of activist group activities and mission statements that have successfully been completed and a lot, if not all, have been continuing to proceed over the years. Block parties for example, is a personal favorite on encouraging neighbors to interact and be comfortable regardless if another person in the community or neighborhood is a different race. I knew my neighbors in Denison, Iowa, quite well and sharing food and fun is one way to bridge cultural gaps as we did with our Hispanic neighbors.
Another personal favorite of mine is joining the program called Henderson Shines. I could resolve some and if not all inequalities within my community by taking part and encouraging others to participate in Henderson Shines. The 2013 Henderson Shines program allowed over 600 people to drop off unwanted items that could contaminate our environment if left to rot, things that could be recycled, or just get rid of what would be an eye-sore in the community. This information is also from the Henderson website at cityofhenderson.com: “The Our Henderson Sustainability Program encompasses a variety of efforts to conserve energy and water, promote recycling, enhance the built environment, reduce air pollution, and increase transportation options. In all of these efforts, the City of Henderson is working together with our residents and businesses to ensure a high quality of life in our community. Our Henderson. Our home. My responsibility.” I think this is a great motto to live by in any community. This encourages us to take a personal stake in our surroundings and helps to create collaboration with neighbors.
I would be able to help resolve any differences in my community by bringing everyone together to help in the Neighborhood Cleanup Program too. I think that this would help other members see that we are not all that different from each other. I can show everyone that no matter what race someone is, we all have trash that needs taken out, we all need to eat, and we all need to give back to our community. This could be an opportunity for myself and people within my community to see past the skin color and see that there are things in common between numerous cultures. (A Place to Call Home, 2013) When I was a student at Denison Middle School we had a Spring Clean Up each year in which all 350 students were split up into groups to go out into the community to clean and help elderly people. Although I did not receive a grade for this project I do feel that it helped build a sense of civic responsibility and community service to build pride in my surroundings as it did for most of my fellow students and friends. The month before I moved to Nevada I was part of a church event called Love Denison that did much of the same things as Spring Clean Up except we also had groups visit nursing homes and decorate doors, groups passed out business appreciation bags of snacks to business owners along Highway 30, and painted all the structures at the baseball fields for youth programs. These opportunities in my past have helped me become a much stronger volunteer and community activist. Most recently I was part of the Life is Beautiful festival near Fremont Street in Las Vegas which is part of the Downtown Renovation. I got to work alongside other volunteers to complete a mural that represents the cultural differences coming together for a common goal. I enjoy seeing that mural and I hope it gives everyone a sense of pride in that area as well. I want members of my community to grasp the idea that two or more people are always going to be stronger and more efficient than one person who refuses to see past another member’s skin color. One of the main concepts in our text that relate to race is Chapter One: Exploring Race and Ethnicity. In this chapter I learned about unequal treatment towards minority groups. Also stated in Chapter One is “Minority women are more likely to be poor.” (Schaefer, 2010) I am Caucasian and I am not the wealthiest in my community. I believe that I can get whatever I set my mind too and so can everyone else regardless of race, ethnicity, or cultural beliefs. If one person could start a small neighborhood activity to bring everyone together and then if another would do the same thing inside the same neighborhood as the first, slowly the entire community would come together.
In conclusion, I am grateful to be part of several communities that represent the melting pot idea of the United States. These communities have shaped me into being a nice neighbor, a caring church member, a concerned activist and a generally well-rounded student. The experiences with different races, ethnicities and cultural components have only added to the shaping of my character.

Sources Cited www.cityofhenderson.com/community_development/demographic_profile.php Retrieved December 13, 2013 http://livability.com/henderson/nv/facts Retrieved December 13, 2013 Schaefer, R. T. (2012). Racial & Ethnic Groups. New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.