An acquaintance criticized football players for kneeling during the anthem. I asked how the players could better broadcast their protest of violence toward minorities. She said that the highly paid players should spend their money to do this in another venue. I felt unable to change her opinion. I could only say that the kneeling protest got the desired result of getting us to talk about racial inequity. … [Read more...]
Moving for positivity
A customer recently moved into the area, from a region in the world where there was a lot of social mistrust and hostility, and was overwhelmed with how welcome and accepted they felt to be in the area. They felt they could just live and be a person without feeling like they are being judged or noticed for being themselves. The individual expressed how blessed they felt to be part of the community here. … [Read more...]
Undesign the Redline & 1619 Project
I would say giving tours for the Undesign the Redline tours has given me the most hope as far as improving race relations in Howard County. I was also encouraged about hearing that Nicole Hannah Jones, author of the 1619 Project was part of the Busboys and Poets opening and the Books in Bloom festival earlier this month. … [Read more...]
Let’s actually go there
I was meeting someone for first time and asking about her work in the community. A long-time resident came up and started talking about how he knew her. He said that she was one of the only Hispanic leaders in Columbia and she was such an asset. She said graciously I am not one of few, I am one of many. He said we need more of you, but there just aren't any here. It seemed both she and I reacted at same time. I said, no, that's actually not accurate. Our Hispanic community is sizable and active … [Read more...]
HoCo is a Utopia for White People
HoCo is updating its General Plan. I have participated in several online Design workshops regarding the updates. I noticed that none of the illustrations used by the DPZ included non-white people. There were plenty of images of people enjoying the outdoor amenities, eating in outdoor restaurants, etc. In the post workshop survey, I commented about this, and how it is giving the impression that there are no black, brown, or Asian people in HoCo, nor are they welcome. Visibility is vital. … [Read more...]
Plant a seed
As a children's instructor I have the opportunity to teach a very diverse population. This opportunity provides me with a way to bridge commonalities between these populations through the content I share. It allows me to plant a seed of understanding and friendship in my classroom. … [Read more...]
Coming Together for a Good Cause
I attended the ribbon cutting of the library equity collection and was impressed both by the contents of the collection and by the representation of groups that attended the ceremony. … [Read more...]
Against Asian Hate
I attended the Anti-Asian Solidarity rally at the Lakefront, Columbia to join in their fight against racism and hate. … [Read more...]
Local Community and Law enforcement meeting in the middle
Shortly after the murder of George Floyd a program coordinator at the CA Youth and Teen Center invited me to participate in a community session with the Howard County Police and local community members. There was a moderator from Howard County, can't remember the department. His name was Trent. He was fabulous. There were about 25 people and it was a very powerful and balanced meeting. It gave me some background information on how there are so few black police officers in Howard County, which I … [Read more...]
Group Equity, Individual Liberty & Equality
Racial equity is realized when individual liberty and rights are respected. There is no group equity and equality when individual rights are violated. The purpose of getting organized is to shape government policies not take away individuals rights or undermine individual liberty. … [Read more...]
Sharing Ice Cream
My neighbor celebrated her young daughter's birthday by renting an ice cream truck and sharing ice cream with her guests and neighbors. The truck was ran by folks who support social justice interests, it was a nice way to learn about their efforts and get to know folks in the neighborhood. … [Read more...]
Undocumented
I have been very disheartened to hear about the effort by some in Howard County to overturn the County bill passed that County police not ask people about their status (documented/undocumented). People collecting signatures for a ballot initiative to overturn the law were not truthful in telling people the reason for the petition. I have heard that the question will be on the ballot and people may be uninformed and overturn the bill. It's very sad how people view undocumented people. … [Read more...]
Intentional Engagement
I am a part of a Rotary Club that has recently read the book White Fragility and are having intentional engagement to address implicit bias. … [Read more...]
Social Media/White Privilege
I was sent a social media post reacting to the HCPSS high school lesson on white privilege. First came the “what grade level is this?” and “why wasn’t this optional”/”why weren’t parents told?” comments which didn’t really take root. Then the inevitable “white privilege isn’t real” comment was made, eliciting 50+ replies. However, more than half of the replies were people trying to convince the poster that white privilege is real. The initial responses had a “I can’t believe you think white … [Read more...]
Students Discuss Anti-racism
In the spring of 2016, a student at Howard HS made a racist video about Black students. One of my children attended Hammond HS class of 2016. She and her friends hosted a sit-in at HaHS's parking lot to protest racism and discuss their feelings about the racist vitriol expressed by fellow HoCo students. They invited teachers and administrators and all HaHS students to participate. FYI. Hammond HS has one of the most diverse student bodies in the county. … [Read more...]
Need Better Communication
I sat in on a Racial Equity Task Force meeting, where I heard one speaker's testimony that was very troubling and misinformed, which targeted one specific ethnicity in Howard County. The backlash to that testimony was very aggressive but no solution or communication was reached. This was indicative to me of the work and communication that is still yet to be achieved. … [Read more...]
Inspired
This year, in our program, we have elevated the dialog with our class about DEI and specifically racial equity. the open, honest discussions as people have shared their issues and challenges has inspired me because of the support and encouragement the class has given one another. … [Read more...]
Sick and tired of being sick and tired
I had a long conversation a few months ago with a self-identified Black African American woman leader who's a native born Columbian. She's been active with several community and progressive political action committees as well. After just asking her, how she's doing, she unloaded a ton about her frustration in working with some well-intended but passive white bystanders within one of the committees she's worked in. I noticed just how exhausted and stressed she was and encouraged her to center … [Read more...]
Scary Situation
I work in Howard County at the library but I have a story from last year that happened where I live (different county). My son and a friend went to a National Park last year (right before the Pandemic). It was a nice day and they wanted to take a hike and explore history. My sons have grown up going to the parks and love them. They completely got questioned and patted down by a police office. They were accused of having pot. They did not and are completely the best kids. Super friendly, polite … [Read more...]
Placing Blame Instead of Taking Responsibility
I was recently on an email thread about CA/village elections. There are currently no people of color of on the Board. The exchange started with someone raising the need to get people of color elected to the Board, and unfortunately the responses were defensive and blamed people of color for not being more involved in village boards rather than recognizing that we have a system which is clearly not inclusive. … [Read more...]
My Church
I go to Christ Church Episcopal Church in Columbia. We are currently involved in a ministry called RAGE. Racially Aware Group of Episcopalians, which explores issues of systemic racism and what we can do to be educated and active in seeking justice and equity for all … [Read more...]
Denying the Problem
"An elementary school in HCPSS had "Black Lives Matter" on their marquee and someone spray-painted over "Black" on Friday. This afternoon, HCPSS leadership (BoE and Superintendent) shared a press release denouncing it as a hate crime and standing in solidarity with BLM. The story doesn't end there. On the Facebook post from HCPSS sharing the press release, many people dismissed the vandalism and criticized the idea of the original message saying Black Lives Matter was a political statement … [Read more...]
New to HOCO
I am new to Howard County, so I am still coming to an understanding of "typical race relations" here. What I can say is, I have never experienced the level of commitment to conversation and knowledge surrounding racial equity and race relations that I have seen in Howard County. … [Read more...]
Feeling Seen
[Name] and I serve on a local Howard County board together. She is Filipina and I am a Black woman. We are Facebook friends and I noticed how she was very vocal about her support of Black Lives Matter, and I appreciated that. I felt seen. When the Anti-Asian hate was making the news, I reached out to her and showed my support. We have since grown deeper in our friendship and sisterhood. … [Read more...]
Youth-led Antiracism March
Participating in the June 2020 youth-led antiracism march following the murder of George Floyd gave me hope for improving race relations in Howard County. Seeing so many people of many races and backgrounds coming together in a common humanity and in protest against police brutality was an important step in affirming the desire for justice, motivating change and finding solutions. … [Read more...]
Education is the key
I'm one of the managers for the library system. Shortly after I got this job, a library co-worker told me that people of my race don't make good managers. The same co-worker is now working through the training as the rest of us and, maybe I'm reading too much into this, but I can see subtle changes in how she relates to me so I remain hopeful that race relations will improve through more education and open dialogues on this topic. … [Read more...]
Now They Know
I participated in the Howard County Equity Collaborative. It was interesting to gather a group of citizens who want to see change in the county, but didn't always realize their own biases. There were some Asian participants who had not felt the sting of being considered less than or being hated until the COVID 19 pandemic hit. They became targets for hatred comments and other negative behaviors. Then they understood what many African Americans have gone through for many many years. … [Read more...]
Hope for change
Neighbors and colleagues who, in the past, would have avoided acknowledging or discussing racism, microagressions, and their existence in Howard County - either because of discomfort or denial - are now engaging in these discussions. I find this encouraging because we can only begin to address these if we admit that it is happening here. … [Read more...]
AAPI
Stop AAPI hate rally After the horrific incidents of AAPI hate around the country and in Howard County, I was heartened by the way a range of groups, representing a wide set of racial and religious communities, came together quickly to organize a rally to be in solidarity with the AAPI community here. This action reminded me of how Howard County came together in response to Black Lives Matter, the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting, and other events. In all of those incidents, I felt a greater … [Read more...]
