Race and Your Community

In Tampa, Florida there are influences of race as it relates to my community. Human interactions in my community have been racialized, some being positive and some negative. These interactions have impacted relations in my neighborhood, service groups, clubs, schools, and environment in which I am a part. Even though a leader of the community’s opinion of race and the community is negative, interactions in my community have had positive influences on race and the community because of a member of the community’s opinion as well as a new channel’s report on the community. In this thesis we will examine whether members of my community look like me and in what ways do they look the same or different? Also how do leaders within my community treat people who are like mean how do they treat people who are different? How do other members of your community treat people who are like me how do they treat people who are different? We will also examine texts or work manuals and if they contain information by or about people like me? If the local media represent people like me, and if so, in what ways? We will also ask what are some similarities and differences between you and the people who are in leadership positions in your community and if I feel minority group interests are represented within your community? Also if I could resolve any inequities within your community, what would I change? How and why? And lastly which main concepts from the text relate to race?

Within my community members of the community do bare a resemblance to me. My heritage is that of a Sicilian background. If you were looking at me you would probably note that I have dark hair, olive complexion, and no doubt that I come from a Latin origin. Within my community in Tampa, Florida there are many Italian Americans as well as many people of Hispanic decent. These two cultures have many visual similarities and sometimes I may even have a Hispanic person approach me and begin to speak to me in Spanish. Apart from the visual similarities there are also many cultural similarities such as a strong sense of family and extended family and religion. Many Italian families as well as Hispanic families have several generations of their family that with them or within very close proximity to them and are heavily involved in the raising of children and family decisions. In the area in religion many Hispanic as well as Italian Americans are Roman Catholic and attend many of the same church services. In Tampa, Florida there is a historic section of town called Ybor City. In Ybor City it was the cigar capital of America as well as the cultural starting point for many of the original residents of Tampa. When walking down the blocks of this very quaint city if you stop and take notice of the restaurants, cigar companies, and the people you will notice a blending of Spanish, Hispanic, and Italian cultures that were the building blocks of Tampa, Florida. There are many similarities in the way many members of the community bare a resemblance to me.

Leaders of the community treat people who are like me much the same as other cultures in my community. Since the majority of the population is that of Hispanic, Spanish, and Italian background leaders treat these members very similar to that of other members of the community. From my interactions with leaders of the community there is much emphasis on keeping the bonds that tie the community together. They do this with cultural events, education, and awareness programs. These blending activities such festivals and school programs make interaction with other cultures very normal and inviting instead of hesitant and not normal. These activities make different cultures seem not so different and create a sense of invitation for other cultures to be apart of the community.

Text or work manuals do not contain information by or about people like me. When I examined these documents there was very little mention or no mention at all of cultures and these texts were very vague in the matter of pointing out any cultural differences. These texts were very nonbiased and were written for everyone in an equal opportunity manner.

The people in the local media do represent people like me in the community as well as other cultures. The local media is very fair in the way it represents members of the community and gives fair time to people like me as well as other people in the community. There are many cultural pieces written in the local newspapers, pieces done on local television, and many local websites that identify people like me in the community. Through these media channels there is a sense of awareness and feeling of community. The local media does a great job in representing people like me in the community as well as other cultures in the community.

Some similarities between myself and the people who are in leadership positions in my community are that of the previous