Race and Ethnicity in Baltimore.

Quick history lesson: the Mason-Dixon Line was the line that separated the South from the North during the American Civil War. It is also Maryland's northern border (making it a Southern state), but since Washington, DC is inside Maryland, it is south of the line. Kind of awkward, no? It ended up being one of the "border states," meaning it was a slave state that didn't secede from the Union. But, when you read those stories of the Civil War where brothers were fighting brothers on opposite sides, this is where it was happening most.

I've probably mentioned it before, but there are some people who say that Maryland is the first northern city. They usually come from the south. Then, there are people who say that Maryland is the first southern city. They usually come from the north. In any case, it doesn't really fit and there are still awkward racial tensions that stem from how racially segregated the city is, and how immigration from Latin America especially is changing the old dynamic. Also, the complete lack of Asian people (except right by the universities) has made me understand for the first time in my life how big a part my ethnicity, background, and culture play in who I am, as well as how who others think I am.

There have been a number of ways that race/ethnicity issues have popped up since I've come to Baltimore. The first time, I had landed in Baltimore for the first time, and was waiting for a shuttle. A 40+ year-old Japanese man had been at the counter, and left to go to the bathroom. As I approached the counter to buy a ticket, they start calling reservation numbers for people to go wait outside, and his number is called, but he is in the bathroom. The attendant calls his name a few more times, growing increasingly impatient. He finally walks over to the counter where I'm standing, and says, "Are you the little Chinese man that was standing here and we're waiting for?" "No, he's in the bathroom." "Oh."

Last week, I walked into school and another teacher had gotten a haircut. "Mr. Green! Nice haircut! Looking sharp! Did you do it yourself?" I ask, as I enter my classroom. Before I go on, to be clear, Mr. Green is a very nice guy, and extremely capable teacher who means no harm to anyone and manages his classroom like a pro. I like the guy a lot. Anyway, he comes in and says, "No, man! All my friends make fun of me because I got my own hairdresser. But she's this little Oriental girl and she be like (cue Asian accent) Mr. Green! You no worry! I do you real nice! Real cheap! And she does it real nice doesn't she? Only cost me $8 from those Oriental ones like you, huh?"

Every day, the kids go to a resource class for an hour in the morning. These are classes like art, Spanish, computers, or library. A different person teaches them, and we get that hour to plan and prepare for the rest of the day. The kids had library this past week, and the teacher is notorious for having awful classroom management, just yelling at the students for an hour, and pushing worksheets that either no one understands, or are too easy to they spend the bulk of the hour wondering what they can do, not getting anything to do, talking, and then getting yelled at. The librarian, Ms. Byrd, writes her "bad" kids' names on the board, and when I picked them I read the names. We have two Bens - Ben King, and Ben Price. When I looked at the board, I saw that one of them had gotten in trouble. Just to make sure she knew which one had gotten in trouble, Ms. Byrd (a black lady), had written "Ben (white)" on the board.

So, I realize that this started off as a post about race and ethnicity in a state that has a confused racial identity to begin with, but I realize that all I've really done is told three stories that really have no point and have nothing really in common with each other besides the fact that something racist or uncomfortable happened. I know that we're supposed to take a stand, and clear these misconceptions with our kids, but to be honest, I don't even know where to begin, and I'm having trouble teaching the normal stuff as it is. Also, these stories didn't involve my kids, really. They were all things that adults around them are doing and saying. What am I supposed to do about that?

In conclusion, I am confused. And, since I'm just throwing around stories/thoughts that have no relation to what else has been said, let me just say that I have never been in a place where my "different-ness" has been made so obvious to me. I guess the only other time was in Sweden, but we had all the other UC kids, and it was temporary, so even there it wasn't as glaring. It's really made me appreciate who I am more, even as I start to try thinking about and figuring out what my background and culture means to me. I definitely have found a new appreciation for it, though. It's funny, I didn't think this program would be a growing experience in this way.

If you can help me make sense of all these things that have happened, and what they mean, please let me know. Thank you much.