As I was cramming food down my throat and hustling to class, a group of students were walking down the hallway in the opposite direction. I moved to one side of the hallway but, with a mouth full of donut, was unable to say "excuse me," or something to that effect.
Then one of the people in the group looked at me and said, verbatim, "Look at the white boy, scared of a pack of blacks."
First of all, this campus is very diverse, and I didn't even notice that everyone in the group was black. I have to deal with my own shit, and being a racist would take too much time out of my day.
Secondly, don't ever assume you know my intentions. I've been around the block enough to know who to be wary of, regardless of race. I live in Westport, and have had to chase people out of my backyard with a baseball bat. Don't dare believe that I'm afraid of anyone because of the color of their skin. I judge people by the color of their eyes: yellow for the crackheads and red for the drunks.
My family is mixed, with almost every race represented, and I grew up in a much more diverse area than Kansas City has to offer. If you don't believe me, look at Census data from Washington D.C. I don’t ever want to hear again that I don’t understand the plight of black people or that I can't possibly understand what it means to be poor. Ask my creditors how well I'm doing financially.
It's sad to hear kids who have only lived in Kansas City make generalizations about other people because they have never left the confines of the metro area. What is sad to say is that this community segregates itself. White people can't move out to Johnson County or the Northland quick enough, while the majority of the black population lives east of Troost Avenue.
This division need not manifest itself within the walls of this campus. Everyone is here because a major university is too expensive or time-consuming. Let's remember that when we assemble every day.
Tell us what you think. Write Spectrum at editor@mcckc.edu.
Copyright 2007 Metropolitan Community College