I have always felt like I’ve had a disconnect with my Puerto Rican culture and I’m not 100% sure, but this might be somewhat due to the fact that I’ve always lived in segregated areas of the Bronx (never having been predominantly Puerto Rican). I have, however, had relations with individuals in my community that are some form of Hispanic, Jamaican, and African-American. Living in the Bronx my whole life, I’ve grown used to people assuming that I am of a lower class and that I am financially unstable. As I grew up witnessing this prejudice I began to associate negative connotations with people of Latin-American, and African-American descent which made me not want to associate myself with my Puerto Rican heritage. It got to the point where I would have arguments with my cousin Ana, who speaks fluent spanish, about not embracing my culture because I didn’t feel that it would benefit me in any way, in fact I found learning about my culture and its language to be a nuisance. Fortunately I am now aware that it is important to know about one’s ethnic background as well as spread the knowledge because there are still individuals of Hispanic heritage that are just the way I was and don’t care or are merely unaware of the inequalities that are placed on Latinos and Latinas in this world.
Now, although I do not live in a segregated area inclusive of Puerto Ricans I do live in a segregated area and there are segregated areas within the Bronx where you will find Puerto Ricans.
This picture, taken in Kingsbridge Road, Bronx, is the reason why I developed so many negative connotations of the people that I am surrounded by in my neighborhood. In this picture you see two presumably African-American individuals getting on a local public bus. Everyone knows that taking a bus is less expensive than owning a car so if one takes the bus/train to their destination than it is assumed that they have less money than someone who doesn’t. It has occurred to me that areas that are suburban in states like New Jersey or Connecticut have less opportunities to public transit in certain areas therefore anyone who lives there must own a car to get around. With things being the way they are in those types of states you will find individuals of the upper class which includes whites.
Now, although I do not live in a segregated area inclusive of Puerto Ricans I do live in a segregated area and there are segregated areas within the Bronx where you will find Puerto Ricans.
This picture, taken in Kingsbridge Road, Bronx, is the reason why I developed so many negative connotations of the people that I am surrounded by in my neighborhood. In this picture you see two presumably African-American individuals getting on a local public bus. Everyone knows that taking a bus is less expensive than owning a car so if one takes the bus/train to their destination than it is assumed that they have less money than someone who doesn’t. It has occurred to me that areas that are suburban in states like New Jersey or Connecticut have less opportunities to public transit in certain areas therefore anyone who lives there must own a car to get around. With things being the way they are in those types of states you will find individuals of the upper class which includes whites.
However, when I venture outside of the walls of the Bronx I find that things become a lot more diverse, that is in commercialized areas of course. The picture above was taken in Times Square, NY. You can clearly see people of many different races going about their business: shopping, viewing the large advertisements, or just hanging out with friends. There is something to be said about a place that only allows for integration in disneyfied areas, and even then, are we really integrated? Do we all converse with people of all different races when shopping or passing time in areas such as, Times Square? Often times not. I still see people segregating themselves in situations that don’t lend themselves to this.
I’ve found that sports can be a good way of allowing integration of individuals, but sports can also be a very cultural thing. This picture was taken on a warm spring day in Clinton Park, close to my High School. The three younger individuals attend my High School and the three older individuals are college students. Two of the college students look to be Caucasian and the other looks Asian. Obviously going to a public park means that you are going to run into people of different races so the fact that all of us came to this park meant that we were willing to integrate. It is not that we do not all want to integrate because many of us see that there are benefits to this, but because the majority has made things this way we have to fight for what is really beneficial to us all, despite what many might believe.
I previously mentioned that sports can be a cultural thing and this comes from me witnessing the type of people involved with certain sports in my school. The school’s baseball and handball team are not very integrated being that the majority of the baseball team is hispanic and every single person but one on the handball team is Asian. The sport being played in the picture above is volleyball. I play volleyball on my school’s girls volleyball team, manage the guys volleyball team, as well as play outside of school for fun. I’ve found that this sport is not very segregated (depending on if its for a school team or for fun). Sports teams for schools are usually less diverse according to the respective area for example, in Fort Hamilton High School you will find that the majority of the volleyball team is white. But, when I play at the courts at 86th Street it is usually pretty diverse. People come alone to play with anyone who happens to be at the park at that given time which is what allows integration.
This is a picture of the guys volleyball team in the High School that I attend that I am the manager of. This team is inclusive of a Jamaican-French hitter, to a Polish setter, to an Algerian outside hitter, and even a Dominican-Mexican all-around player (and two rather helpful managers that are Puerto Rican and African-French). So, its pretty easy to say that this team is extremely diverse. Not only is it diverse, but all players on this team act as a family so there is no personal segregation between players either. Clubs and sports like this are a great way of allowing integration in schools because individuals are allowed to get together and relate in something other than race and culture. Activities like this are also ignorant of things like finance and materialistic items like a new fancy car. Suddenly these things no longer matter and this is part of what made me realize that we all have different cultures and must embrace this as opposed to assimilating to one expected “culture”.
This image of my neighborhood seems to be that of any ordinary neighborhood but within in it lies much segregation. I wish that one day this imbalance will eventually decrease and we can then all benefit from integration. But, this starts with people that have either experienced lack of culture like me and now long for it or those who have always been exposed to it and already know the benefits of knowing yourself as well as others. It’s also good to know the neighborhood you are living in because it tells you what society will ultimately think of you and your status.