Does the Presence of an Accent mean the Lack of Intelligence in HoCo? A couple of months ago, my mother and I went to the doctor's office, and once the receptionist heard the accented words leave my mother's mouth to announce that she was here for her appointment, she immediately got irritated and repeated that she could not understand my mother at all. It continued like that for about a minute until my mom asked me to repeat what she had said. I could see that my mother was struggling and … [Read more...]
Grocery time
I have been sticking close to home for the last few months. One of the few places I go is the grocery store. There is such a discrepancy between who is shopping and who is stocking/checking out/bagging - working hard and with long hours and probably not very significant compensation or recognition. It’s striking to witness these disparities in Howard County - a place that claims high levels of diversity, inclusion, and successes for all people in the region. … [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...]
limiting college choices
My daughter's top choice for a college to attend was somewhat selective, private college with a high tuition cost which we had determined was within reach both in terms of her academic record and our budget for her college education. Her white, female guidance counselor insisted repeatedly that she needed to go to HCC instead of her top choice. When I questioned her about it, her only explanation was that that was the route her family had chosen for her children and therefore it should be a good … [Read more...]
People Need Housing
I was asked by neighbors in my upper middle-class neighborhood to join them in opposing high-density housing nearby. They cited busy streets and schools, but I felt they were really opposing mixing of classes and that this had racist undertones. I would like for the diversity in Howard County to also include the recognition that people of all race-classes deserve a place to live and that we can share our spaces and resources. … [Read more...]
School Redistricting
The Redistricting of Howard County Schools - it is was obvious that it was racial. Residents did not care about equity. They used devaluing of their property as an excuse. … [Read more...]
Not My HOA
My community was experiencing some conflicts between a renter and an owner that live in townhomes built directly across from one another. The Renter was a Black Woman with a child and the Owner was a White Man and his family of 4. The Owner took issues with things they observed going on in or around the renter's home involving police and also gripes about parking issues. The Renter complained that she was constantly being racially harassed by the Owner. She claimed she had been … [Read more...]
School Inequities along racial lines
For a county known for its diversity, there is a jarring amount of covert and overt racism whenever new school boundaries are recommended. I've heard and read people say that they don't want their kids "going to THOSE schools" and that "some people just don't value education as much as we do" to explain why some schools (with higher White populations) have higher test scores than schools with high Free and Reduced Meals students (and higher Black and immigrant populations). When explanations are … [Read more...]
Racist, Much?
In 2019, the leadership of the Howard County Public School System engaged in planning for redistricting, and I was directly involved in that effort and publicly expressed support for equity-based decisions. Some of my White neighbors -- people who share many of my progressive ideals -- were opposed to the HCPSS proposals for redistricting and argued that their children were going to be heartbroken if the plan was approved. On social media, when I bemoaned some of the awful, racist rhetoric that … [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...]
Traffic Watch
Since hearing a Race Equity Collaborative colleague tell of his son being followed by police here in HoCo, I started watching during my short, pandemic-range drives to see who I saw stopped by the cops. Only once did a see a white person stopped. All the other stops (<10) were people of color. I'm not at all convinced this relates to minding the driving rules. Certainly not speed-related driving rules. I've seen plenty of white males whizzing past me at excessive speeds, ignoring stop signs, … [Read more...]
Gate keepers
People who run boards and other leadership spaces want to keep them the same- same white community members who make decisions for our entire (diverse) community. Diversity is given lip service, but the gate-keepers are real. … [Read more...]
School Equity
It was disturbing to see the serious opposition to school equity plan. last year. Especially here, in Columbia, which was supposed to be founded on equality. … [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...]
Small Changes Make a Difference
At first I was a little hesitant to choose this prompt, because HoCo is known for being progressive. But then I began ticking off recent events: the caller into a town hall who disparaged immigrants, the vandalism of the GMS sign, the property damage at local restaurants over the Chinese New Year holiday. I began to realize there are more instances of "things that have to change" than I would like to admit in the county. … [Read more...]
Affirmative Action and safety
During a church related zoom meeting, a mature, white, female made the statement (which was off topic): "I don't know why they insist that women and black people have to be hired as pilots. The best candidates should be chosen, regardless of who they are." I wanted to ask her if she felt that safety had been compromised because of affirmative action, but it was not the topic of the meeting, and since it was zoom, there was no usual break time to chat. I am frustrated that I'll have to wait until … [Read more...]
Hate and Bias in Education
My daughter (8) wore Bantu knots into elementary school. She was ridiculed for having her hair in a culturally appropriate, but uncommon, hairstyle. Within this same school, she has received requests to touch her hair throughout her different hairstyles including natural and braided. Recently she has asked me to straighten her hair (in order to fit in better and be more accepted). … [Read more...]
Improve Don’t Move?
The most recent debates around redistricting schools in Howard County was the ugliest I've seen. Racism and classism were both subtle and overt. Opponents revived the "separate but equal" sentiments of Jim Crow with "improve don't move" signs which they littered throughout the county, including near schools with high percentages of students of color and students eligible for free and reduced meals. Bussing was a near constant refrain of why things shouldn't change. … [Read more...]
Love Thy Neighbor
I am African American. For the past year, we have been at home due to the pandemic. During this time, I have done a great deal of walking around the neighborhood with my daughters. I have noticed that at the beginning of the pandemic, people (white) were more neighborly and I started to get a sense that we were all in this together and after the Black Lives Matter movement, things were going in the right direction. As the year has gone on, I have watched my neighbors return to their old ways of … [Read more...]
Undesign the Redline
My organization put on the Undesign the Redline exhibit and we received a lot of feedback from the community about racial inequality still having a long way to go. … [Read more...]
Neighbors and Strangers
This is not really a story but more a reflection of my observations in my own neighborhood. I live in a townhouse community of about 95 homes. In my cul-de-sac there are about 15 houses. We have quite a diverse population within the cul-de-sac. We have African-American neighbors, Asian neighbors, Jewish neighbors. What is frustrating is that we seem to live in separate worlds. We are neighborly and acknowledge each other but we don't seem to mix when it comes to our social events within the … [Read more...]
Buyer Beware
Buyer Beware: My husband and I began renting a home when we relocated to Howard County a few years ago. Last year we began looking for a home to purchase here. We were shocked and saddened when our realtor suggested we not look or purchase in certain areas of Columbia (he named them) because the schools and neighbors "were bad". We purchased in Columbia with another agent. I shudder to think how many home buyers have had similar experiences and the detriment it causes to our community. … [Read more...]
Housing Barriers
I work with survivors with domestic violence and sexual violence, as a therapist. One of the ongoing challenges many survivors face - disproportionately survivors of color - is barriers to safe, affordable housing in HoCo. There is the issue of lack of affordable housing, and then the almost impossible process of trying to locate affordable housing (on top of minimal available time = folks already working several jobs, often having limited access to adequate transportation, not to mention other … [Read more...]
Suburbs and Segregation
This weekend my family went to Western Regional Park. We probably saw 200 people - not one African American. Made me upset at the history that underlies that of hate and risk in that area. Made me upset at how much we accept segregated space in our county and our country. Made me worry that people had chosen to live in that space in part for segregation - and made me concerned about how we can make more racial equity real in our county if many of our residents choose where they are to be away … [Read more...]
