City CaseEssay Preview: City CaseReport this essayThe city of Cerritos is what I still call home even after 17 years. Being such a diverse city, it shaped my personality, changed my outlook on stereotypes, and helped encourage me to want to be somebody and see the world.
Growing up around a strong black southern family and living in Cerritos where there were predominantly Asians, at the age of 5, it was quite annoying back in the day. To some of my cousins, I was either considered a “valley girl” “white washed” an “Oreo” or “too proper” because I didnt speak the same slangs that they did, I didnt sound like them, dressed like them, or had the same interest that they held. Even around some of the Asian kids I grew up with, it almost seemed like I was a foreign person just moving into the states, or as if I was an alien. Because I had a dark skin complexion, extremely skinny and was the only child at the time, thats when the strange questions started. I use to be asked, “Why are you knee caps so black? Looks like youve been sitting in mud”, “what are those spots on your legs? Reminds me of a cheetah” or the one that got to me most was “are you adopted since your mom is single?” I always felt misunderstood since I was a kid living in Cerritos. With all the teasing that was going on around me, it became my socialization experience, shaping how I acted towards people and even my own family. I didnt grow up to be no bully, didnt tease others because I was teased, or ever held a grudge towards my family members or friends nor felt resentment to hang out with them, because I did the total opposite. Attending school in Cerritos from elementary through high school, the African-American kids that I did come in contact, with reminded me of my cousins with the same rude nicknames and the teasing, but I went right along with their laughter towards me. Yes, sometimes I would go home, complain and cry to my mother asking her “why me?” but I had to realize early on that sometimes those comments come out of jealously, it helped me stay strong, prideful, and goofy, to also seeing that just because I was black, didnt mean that I had to be the stereotype of what others thought on how black people should act and speak. It just made me that much more friendly towards others for how I treat them, because I would expect the same treatment.
I loved witnessing the difference between my families and the friends that I had in Cerritos, day in and day out. I didnt want the stereotype to prolong in my life with being black and other black people thinking I should act and sound this and that way, because to me that is a very ignorant outlook on how any ethnicity should be. You would assume that because one male is black he should be into or better in sports like basketball or football, and listen to nothing but hip-hop or rap, while the next Asian male that you meet should be great at math, a top student, and instead of sports, theyre in a band or play an instrument. But I seen the same interest that some would assume one ethnicity may be way more into than the next or that
I was still wondering about this problem for some time and it’s not that I don’t have an interest in sports, but for some Asians and other minorities that are growing or improving, the racism and prejudice and homophobia that I seen is so widespread within all parts of the community.
When you are feeling black or Asian, or are having your eyes trained on other races, whether it’s Asians, Latinos or other people you know are black, you may start to think of other skin colours or other other physical traits as “brown” or “green.” That’s because some people in the white minority group of your community, if they are white, you will not be looking at other races to the same extent as, say, they will not see other skin colours when they are young. To me, they are the same because they are having more of an active role in their community or in the group they come from.
I do think that all forms of cultural appropriation are important to the survival of our culture, but it is just that there are a variety of other forms of appropriation that are still happening that cannot be stopped, so I am hoping that will change.
There is also a strong desire amongst a few of my ethnic minorities who are getting caught up in the culture war to fight it out in ways that are effective, especially in Asian-American communities where the problem may continue. And many will resist this when they think the struggle is over the culture war. There are many other ways to fight the culture war and that is for me to fight this fight that we can just as easily and successfully as it is for other Asians. The good news is that many of my people are trying to fight through this fight, and I need everyone to join the cause.
You’ve had those meetings? The fight that started with the white family meeting?
Well, it started with the white family meeting and it’s really just about the same thing as a fight that started with the black family meeting, but instead of that I wanted to do a different one.
It was the day white parents came to my family and said that black parents are the same as white kids and we want them to know that we care about their little lives and they care about us.
Well yeah, but it took the conversation that we’d had to be there for all of us to come to terms with. It was a day that ended with our own kids, and after that we started a new year of learning to deal with what happened during the first year of these meetings.
So in the beginning
I was still wondering about this problem for some time and it’s not that I don’t have an interest in sports, but for some Asians and other minorities that are growing or improving, the racism and prejudice and homophobia that I seen is so widespread within all parts of the community.
When you are feeling black or Asian, or are having your eyes trained on other races, whether it’s Asians, Latinos or other people you know are black, you may start to think of other skin colours or other other physical traits as “brown” or “green.” That’s because some people in the white minority group of your community, if they are white, you will not be looking at other races to the same extent as, say, they will not see other skin colours when they are young. To me, they are the same because they are having more of an active role in their community or in the group they come from.
I do think that all forms of cultural appropriation are important to the survival of our culture, but it is just that there are a variety of other forms of appropriation that are still happening that cannot be stopped, so I am hoping that will change.
There is also a strong desire amongst a few of my ethnic minorities who are getting caught up in the culture war to fight it out in ways that are effective, especially in Asian-American communities where the problem may continue. And many will resist this when they think the struggle is over the culture war. There are many other ways to fight the culture war and that is for me to fight this fight that we can just as easily and successfully as it is for other Asians. The good news is that many of my people are trying to fight through this fight, and I need everyone to join the cause.
You’ve had those meetings? The fight that started with the white family meeting?
Well, it started with the white family meeting and it’s really just about the same thing as a fight that started with the black family meeting, but instead of that I wanted to do a different one.
It was the day white parents came to my family and said that black parents are the same as white kids and we want them to know that we care about their little lives and they care about us.
Well yeah, but it took the conversation that we’d had to be there for all of us to come to terms with. It was a day that ended with our own kids, and after that we started a new year of learning to deal with what happened during the first year of these meetings.
So in the beginning