Engl. 148 Sec. 2

11-28-01

Literary/Personal Essay

Growing up in Racine, Wisconsin

It was a Saturday night. My best friend Brooke and I decided to stop by another friend’s house. It was Alicia’s birthday and she was having a huge bash. We pulled into her neighborhood and parked in front of her house. We could hear the loud hip-hop music coming from the tiny, one story home. We walked in, said hello to a few friends standing by the door, but it was apparent that the party was in the basement. We made our way down the dark stairs and walked through the crowd looking for Alicia. Every head seemed to turn and stare at us, yet they continued to socialize and dance. Brooke and I realized we were the only Caucasian faces at the entire party.

Although this was my first experience as a minority, it is pretty typical of Racine. There is always a mixture of races everywhere I go. At this particular party, Brooke and I represented the Caucasian race, while there were also mainly African Americans, Latinos, and a few Asians. Having grown up in Racine for 11 years, I had become accustomed to diversity, felt comfortable with it, and had a variety of friends. I would not change the experience of growing up with such diversity for anything in the world. However, to say that some segregation, stereotyping, or discrimination did not occur would be a lie. There were neighborhoods where the majority of the inhabitants were of a single race or ethnic group. There were those who were not afraid to express their racial opinions, both verbally and behaviorally. I believe strongly that living in such diversity is a huge learning experience. Partially because I lived in such a community, I was interested in taking this course, Introduction to African American Literature. Throughout this class, I have learned more about the history, culture, and opinions of African Americans. Many of the themes we have discussed can relate to and are applicable to the history, my opinions, and experiences in Racine, Wisconsin. This essay will analyze the composition of Racine and interrelate what I have learned both in the town, and within this course.

Racine lies between Chicago and Milwaukee on Lake Michigan. Rodney Brooks, executive director of the Urban League of Racine and Kenosha Inc. said, “...a number of people from major population areas are wanting to settle in the Racine-Kenosha area to get away from the real heavy urban areas like Milwaukee and Chicago” (qtd. in Burke 1A). It has also always been attractive to different types of people. The French began to explore this region in late 1699. However, it was Captain Gilbert Knapp who built the first hut and became the founder of Racine in 1834 (Karwowski RacineHistory.com). Danes, Welsh, Italians, Armenians, and Bohemians began to migrate here. In fact, by 1900, nearly half of Racine’s population was Danish (Anderson 83). The Danish influence is still, to this day, highly apparent. Racine is well known for its Danish Kringle pastry. The city of Racine continues to hold festivals to celebrate the different ethnic groups residing there. African Americans began to come to Racine during WWII. They worked in the factories where housing was sometimes also provided. Even after the war, jobs were easier to obtain in Racine by African Americans rather than in the south (Anderson 83). As mentioned in class, the Great Migration directed people into the North and also into Racine.

However, conditions had not always been wonderful for African Americans living in Racine. They faced racism and hostility. Their jobs were often replaced by Caucasians and housing became restricted to specific areas. Even some public places and restaurants became segregated. Foundry jobs were often the only jobs left for African Americans. Some light skinned African Americans decided to change their names and pass for whites to avoid discrimination (Frahm 3A). This is similar to the conflict James Weldon Johnson experienced in his book, The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man. ‘Passing’ is the term coined to this decision of claiming to be white. This decision was not an easy one to make emotionally for Johnson. Either he must choose to ignore their cultural background and true identity, or dare to be different. There has also been a sense of Black Nationalism in Racine in the past. The districts or neighborhoods African Americans resided in were tightly knit with the connection of cultural history and background. It almost seemed as if they were a nation within a nation. This is the idea of Black Nationalism in plain form.

Despite such difficulties in the past, there has been major improvement over the years of the treatment of African Americans in Racine. “The fact this community has a reputation as a descent place to live is primarily because blacks and other minorities have not resigned themselves to the fate that nothing will change,” stated Racine NAACP President Julain Thomas (qtd. in Frahm 3A). Although many parts of town are still more likely to have racial tendencies, the community has itself become more disperse. Black pride has not left Racine, but today it is much more common to see a greater pride in the city as a whole.

It is also true that as the population grows in Racine, so does the number of minority groups, such as African Americans and Hispanics. During the 1980’s, and still continuing today, more blacks and Hispanics rather than whites are calling Racine their home (Burke 1A). In all of Wisconsin, Racine came in second place (to Milwaukee) in the highest numbers of black and Hispanic members. There are many employment opportunities these days. Rodney Brooks even claims “generous welfare benefits” adds to Racine’s appeal (qtd. in Burke 1A). None the less, according to the 2000 Racine census, African Americans make up 20.3% of the city’s population. Hispanics make up 14.0%. The majority remains white, but these statistics are predicted to greatly increase in the next 20 or so years. The black population is expected to increase more than 65% of its current standing. The major increase will occur in Milwaukee. Already, the Southeast region, including Racine, Kenosha, and Milwaukee, has the highest minority population in all of Wisconsin (Petersen 7A).

I am not shocked by this information. In high school, although the majority of the students were Caucasian, I felt as though it was pretty much equal between whites and minorities. My classes were pretty equally distributed. I also never felt that there was one superior race. There were areas in the hallways that tended to attract the different cultures and races, but nearly everyone had a friend somewhere in another circle. I even felt that race wasn’t so much the issue as gender was. Many of the teachers had their least favorite gender to hold accountable for issues rather than race. This isn’t a good thing either, but you quickly knew who to avoid. I personally loved being involved with so many other cultures and races. I believe that this shapes people’s tendencies towards prejudice and racism. With interaction, people learn who each other is by the individual rather than by their ethnicity and color. By growing up with diversity around you, you aren’t as likely to hold a group of people to a certain prejudice or stereotype. You learn who people are on the inside.

In fact, returning to my birth town of East Grand Rapids, Michigan, I was amazed to see the prejudice and stereotyping. East Grand Rapids is nearly all upper middle class Caucasian. I will never forget the day my friend (from East Grand Rapids) and I were walking down the street. A black man was walking on the street towards us. My friend suggested we switch to the other side of the road to pass the man. I looked at her with disgust, refused, and we exchanged “hellos” as we passed the man. Even coming to Eau Claire for school gave me a different sort of culture shock. I was not used to the lack of diversity and fewer minorities. It seems I come here and hang out with my “white” friends and I go home and hang out with my “mixed” friends. I love the fact that I grew up with so many different cultures around me. I love the fact that I can get a long with other races without prejudices stopping me. Of course, no world is perfect and there are still stereotypes. However, I love that I was given the chance to disprove them or learn better than them, if I so chose. I am continuing to learn about the world around me. Eau Claire is teaching me not only a college education, but also the world of a Caucasian small town. More specifically, this course is teaching me much of the culture and history of African Americans that I did not learn in Racine. The more I think about it, research, and write this paper, the more I appreciate growing up in Racine. I can only wonder what it was like to grow up without racial and ethnic diversity.

Works Cited

Andersen, William H. Racine Trivia. Racine: Andersen, 1996.

Burke, Michael. “Blacks, Hispanics up sharply here.” The Racine Journal Times

23 February 1991: 1A.

Frahm, Robert A. “Racine blacks have roots to 1830’s.” The Racine Journal Times

13 May 1984: 3A.

Karwowski, Gerald. RacineHistory.com. November 16, 2001

<http://www.racinehistory.com/timeline.html>.

Legislative Reference Bureau. 2000 Federal Census of Population: County and Municipal Totals. Wisconsin: 2001.

Petersen, Alan. “Study sees increase in area blacks.” The Racine Journal Times

23 January 1996: 1A, 7A.

Sankey, Alice. Racine - The Belle City. Racine: Western Printing and Lithographing Company Foundation, 1958.