Race and My Community

I live in a very small town. At one point this area had a very small population of mostly white people. Within the past fifteen years, cultural diversity has hit our town with full force.   When I first moved here, there were many people who felt that they did not want to have other cultures moving into our town. Many felt that having cultural diversity here would be the start of serious crime sprees. I have chosen to use my neighborhood as an example of how racial issues have affected my community.
Most of the members of my community look very similar to me; however, they are white.   I am a Mexican/Hispanic with a lot of other European cultures combined. Most people in my community do not realize that I am not white. I am light skinned, light eyes and fairly light hair. Most of the people out here have white hair, since they are mostly seniors. We have one family of Mexicans and one family that is half black. The rest of the residents in my area are of mostly European descent.
Our Association President is an elderly white woman. We have noticed that she tends to be very nosy and in everyone’s personal business. She is very kind, but she does favor certain people. The family of Mexicans and Blacks are always a topic on her agenda at the frequent association meetings. She complains that the Mexican family has far too many residents in their household. She also complains that the Black family has too many dogs and far too much clutter around their house.   I think that she targets the minority families because she would rather that they did not live within our association. Our Association president treats the rest of the residents pretty well other than the occasional legitimate complaint.
The residents of our neighborhood do not seem to notice that the minority families are being targeted. I have only noticed because I have always felt that all people should be treated equally. I also have noticed because both of these families are very close friends of mine.... [continues]

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