Abstract
Rochester is the third largest city in the state of Minnesota, United States of America. The city has a population of 106769 people going by the 2010 census in the United States (Green 2004). It has been voted as one of the best and safest place to live in the country. It is said that Rochester is free from the various vices that are found in many large cities in the world that make life difficult for some people. Some people claim that the city of Rochester is even free from racism, one of the greatest problems facing people in all the cities in the country. However, most research has shown that this is not the case and as this paper describes, it is evident that racism remains a problem in the city of Rochester just like in any other city. This vice is very rampant in schools, neighborhoods as well as different social places. Recently there has been an emergence of various rival groups affiliated to different ethnic groups which have been causing disturbance in the city.
The city of Rochester is home to different ethnic groups. It therefore goes without saying that not all my neighbors look alike. This is the same case in my school and all the other schools in the city. A visit to one of the parks in the city brings together people from different races and ethnic backgrounds. For instance, going by the 2010 United States census there are about 83,260 white people representing 82.0% of the total population in Rochester (Green 2004). The Asian community alone is 6,693 in number which is about 6.6% of the total population in the city. The total number of the African Americans is about 5,021 i.e. 4.9% of the total population. Hispanic is represented too by a total of 4,060 or 4.0% of the city’s population. Those individuals who have two or more races constitute a total of 1,992 or 2.0% of the population. Other race alone constitute of 283 (0.3%) while the American are 224 or 0.2% of the total population in the city of Rochester. The native people of Hawaii as well as other immigrants from the pacific islands are the least totaling to about 167 which is close to 0.2% of the total population. Obviously all this ethnic groups are represented in our school creating a very diverse cultural disparity. However, even if all these people come from different ethnic background and therefore expected to behave in different ways, they have somehow managed to adapt to the city life and thus synchronized to fit in the new setting. The children in the neighborhood play together without realizing that they are different.
The leaders in our community are either unable or ignore racist groups that harass other people and distribute hate messages that fuels racism. Such groups include the All American Boys that has been reported to beat immigrants and disrupt peace in the city based on ethnic grounds. The leaders have however shown mixed reaction towards people who of different race from them. For instance, recently there has been a reported increase in the number of Somalis in the city of Rochester (Hein 2006). This is as a result of the civil in Somali that erupted in the early 90s. Some leaders have out rightly disagreed with the idea of settlement of this group in the state of Minnesota. Lewiston mayor is one of these leaders who have publicly criticized the steady increase in the population of the Somalis in the region. The sentiments of the Lewiston mayor were quickly supported by a certain group in the area that believes in white supremacy. Such leaders have been influencing largely the way people in the city as well as other parts of the country think about the immigrants. We the students have also been greatly affected by the same and this has seen the relationship between students from different ethnic background worsen. I have experienced this first hand when we once disagreed with one of my colleague in school and she referred to me by my ethnic origin. I was so annoyed because I personally believe that all people should be treated well irrespective of their ethnic affiliations.
However there are leaders in the community who believe that people should not be victimized or discriminated against on the basis of where they come from. They have publicly announced this as a way of enlightening the people in the city to shun from the behavior. Many campaigns have been conducted in schools as well as various parts of the city of Rochester and the larger state of Minnesota. I personally support the move because I feel that it will bring a great change in the way people think and treat each other. Racism affects a person’s life because he always lives in fear of being attacked or embarrassed in public. I would not want a person to go through such inhumane treatment because no one choses his race. A number of rallies have been held in the city by different anti-racism groups as a way of trying to show support to the Somali immigrants. This people contribute to the economy of the country because they work and are taxed and therefore should not just be seen as intruders (Mitchell 1999).
The city of Rochester have been voted as the best city to live in the United States of America but this does not mean that it is free from racism, one of the major problems in the country (Hein 2006). The fact that the whites constitute to more than 82% of the total population in Rochester makes life for other races including the African Americans and Asians Americans very difficult. This is the case in all the neighborhoods and schools although different schools have tried very hard to control the discrimination among the student. Various groups even in our school have been formed to try and engage people from different backgrounds to work together and show them the effects of racism. There have been cases of violence towards various ethnic groups especially the Somalis. I think this is because being Muslims they are taken to be terrorists affiliated to the global terror groups of Al Qaida and the Al Shaabab that is based in the country of Somalia. A racial group called the All American Boys (AAB) has been for a long time terrorizing people from other ethnic backgrounds other than whites. They have been reported to harass the Somali immigrants in schools and also waiting for them in the streets and beat them up. This has instilled fear among the African Americans, the Asian Americans as well as the Muslim communities in the city.
People from all ethnic groups are well represented in the various schools in my region. They are therefore able to write texts and other reading materials. For instance, there are various books that have been written by people of different races highlighting their ordeals, experiences and relationship with people from other races. People have also done very useful research on racism that has made some of us change our attitude towards people of the different race. However, there have been cases where by racist groups have been writing and distributing hate materials a practice that have fueled racism. This is mostly attributed to the All American Boys. The electing of Barrack Obama as the country’s first African American president also in a way changed the mind set of people that black people or any other race other than whites are not intelligent or competent enough to handle various posts in the country. Though not to the maximum or required levels, people from all races are represented in academics as well as research work apart from cases of racial discrimination at work and various learning institutions.
Though the area is mostly inhabited by the whites, the local media has been working very hard to represent and air the views of all the groups living in Rochester city. The media has also been very helpful when it comes to airing the tribulations of certain ethnic groups. It informs the authorities and the general public of the problems facing the residents of the city. Some of the issues that have been disclosed by the local media include the racial discrimination and exploitation of certain people at the work place. The African Americans and the Latin Americans have for long been exploited by being worked for many hours and getting less money (Soule & Peirce 2007). As a result of the media announcement of this it is now slowly changing and the people are now treated fairly. This is however with the exception of the print media which has sometimes been misused to spread hate speech by groups which believe in the white supremacy.
People in the leadership position in the city as discussed earlier have taken various grounds when it comes to this issue of racism. The majorities stand is mostly based on their race. The majority of the residents being whites mean that most leaders are also white (Friis & Sellers 2009). This is because they have the voting power and they can decide to vote for the leaders they want as a block. This leaves the other groups especially the minority not represented and therefore their views are not in any way addressed. It also acts as a challenge to fighting racism in the city because the leaders tend to follow the views of the people who elected them. They also tend to protect the rights of the majority groups at the expense of the minority. This is clearly shown in the way the leaders are reluctant to stop the All American Boys because they represent the majority. I feel that it would be a different case if the group was against the whites.
The issues addressed here are of great importance and should be addressed by the relevant authorities for the well-being of our neighborhoods and the Rochester city at large. It is very important and fair to treat all people with respect because despite that they are different in terms of color or background they still remain residents of this great country. Given a chance to change I would make sure vigorous campaign is done to try and change the way people think or treat each other. I would also change the leadership in the city to make it work or serve all people equally without victimizing others by ensuring that groups that disrupt peace are dealt with according to the law. Racism paints a negative image of the country to the rest of the world and therefore everyone should be ready to stamp it out of the United States of America. I would also make sure that this issue is addressed in schools and that students from all races are put together in school to make sure they work as a team. This way they will understand that there is actually nothing different from between them apart from the color of their skins and hair.
Reference:
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Hein J. (2006). Ethnic origins: the adaptation of Cambodian and Hmong refugees in States.
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Mitchell W. (1999). High technology and low-income communities: prospects for the positive
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Friis R & Sellers T. (2009). Epidemiology for public health practice. Michigan: Jones & Bartlett
Learning
