Ethics

Race and My Community Shervon Wade Eth 125 January 16, 2011 Lisa Connor Race and My Community I live in the community of El Cajon. El Cajon is in the most eastern valley in the County of San Diego, State of California. The US Census approximately 95,000 people live in the city of El Cajon in 2006 (US Census Bureau, 2010). The racial makeup of the in the city of El Cajon in the 2000 census was 74.00% White, 5.37% African American, 0.99% Native American, 2.79% Asian, 0.37% Pacific Islander, 10.49% from other races, and 5.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race was 22.47% of the population. I am a member of the racial group of African American. Two of the communities in the city of El Cajon, Lakeside and Santee, are home to members of local hate groups. Hate crimes in these areas have been reported. The area of Santee has been infamously renamed to “Klantee.” Most members of the African American community are frightened to enter this area alone or at night. The El Cajon police department is infamous on their treatment of all minority groups. There are stories told of racism and ill treatment of minority groups. Their presence and interaction is reminiscent of antebellum south. I personally, as an African American female living in the city of El Cajon, have experienced prejudicial treatment from the El Cajon police department. There once was an instance I called for assistance because a neighbor went on a drunken fit and had her children running wild in the streets. One child was nearly hit by a passing vehicle and I informed the mother. The mother immediately verbally attacked me and threatened to harm me. She was in front of my vehicle refusing to move. I called for police assistance and immediately upon their arrival I was placed in handcuffs and they ran to the aid of the drunken neighbor to ask her what was the problem. It took the management office and several others before the officers understood I was the victim in the situation. The attitude of the officers did not change. I insisted the handcuffs be removed. This was a humiliating situation and I lost all trust in the El Cajon Police Department. The African American community is very small in El Cajon and not many groups geared toward the interests in this small city. There are other challenges for those of us living in this small city. There are limited employment opportunities in the city of El Cajon. Most of the jobs in this city do not pay very well. The lower paying positions tend to be taken by the Mexican American members of the community. The city of El Cajon is located just outside the city of San Diego. The city of San Diego has attracted large biotech companies, architectural firms, defense industry, and aerospace industries. Many of the residents of El Cajon commute to San Diego for employment. There is also a large military presence as well as a multitude of military bases located in the city and county of San Diego. The US Census Quikfacts website states the median household income in El Cajon in 1999 is $35, 566, 40.5% of this community own their homes (US Census Bureau, 2010). The median income is reported to be approx. $35, 000. The education provided in the city of El Cajon leaves a lot to be desired. With 79 % of the people 25 or older have high school diploma, and only 14.5 % have bachelor degrees. Many of the schools in the El Cajon school district are considered to be at risk. The children in this area are not receiving the education that is provided to other areas of San Diego County. Housing is far less expensive than in the city of El Cajon. The San Diego Union Tribune lists the median home price in El Cajon costs $420,077 (San Diego Union Tribune, 2010). The health care options in El Cajon are limited to a multitude of small clinics and medical offices. There are no large hospitals in the city of El Cajon. The nearest hospital is in the city of La Mesa, Grossmont Hospital. The hospital is accessible via the freeway running from El Cajon to Grossmont. Although there are many areas in El Cajon with very little crime, in one small area there is drug use and less desirable groups and is isolated to only a small area. With the community of With African Americans being only 5.4 %, there are few African American businesses in the city of El Cajon. I work for a company that processes non-judicial foreclosure. I currently process the paperwork for the state of Hawaii in El Cajon. The company has approx. two hundred employees. This is a very diverse group of people, with employees who are African American White American, Mexican American, Asian American, Chaldean, etc. The company I work for treats all the employees equally. There are leads, supervisors, and managers of every ethnicity. My employer treats all the employees equally and there are rarely complaints from the employers stating otherwise. There is a strict discrimination policy against race, color, creed, or sexual orientation. There is minimal training with the exception of the initial hiring orientation. With such a large group of diverse individuals, it would be a benefit to continue enhancing the diversity training. I would suggest minimally quarterly training to keep the ideas fresh in the minds of the employees. The company would benefit from having culturally themed lunches and provide information on the many. Mayor Mark Lewis grew up in El Cajon and has served three terms on the Council. The councilmembers are Jillian Hanson-Cox, Bob McClellan, and Bill Wells. Gary Kendrick is the Mayor Pro Tem and council member. The El Cajon councilmembers are not racially diverse. All the aforementioned are White Americans. They do however represent the majority of the residents living in the city of El Cajon. It would be a positive change to see African Americans represented in the local government. This would make the African American living in the city of El Cajon to feel like they are part of the community and not feel like outsiders in a community where they do not feel welcomed. The law enforcement in El Cajon also has little diversity. The majority of the members of the El Cajon police department are white Americans. There are few Mexican Americans, and as of this date there are few to no African American or Asian American officers in patrolling the streets of El Cajon. In an interview with Charlotte Lubowe, a fourth grade teacher at Johnson Elementary School in El Cajon, we discussed her views on the diversity in the city of El Cajon. Mrs. Lubowe has taught 4th grade for six years and has taught at Johnson elementary for two years. One important issue is the lack of education of the parents of these students many students are not able to be successful students because they are not able to receive the assistance they need at home. Many of the parents do not read or even speak English. This is a disadvantage to the child trying to complete their homework. One resolution would be an after school program to assist the children with their homework. Mrs. Lubowe answered the following questions: • Do you believe minority group interests are represented in our community' How' “I am not a resident of El Cajon; however, I have interacted with some of the representatives of this city. I believe they represent the city as whole in their focuses on improving the community.” • If you could resolve any inequities within our community, what would you change' How' “I would change the tools available to the non-English speaking students I would like to see a focus on providing both teachers and students the additional tools to assist with the goal of teaching the non-English speaking students.” The views of Mrs. Lubowe were similar to my views. I agree there should be additional tools to assist the students who need the help. Media in the El Cajon and San Diego area consists of four to six television stations. The reporters are slightly diverse. There is representation of white Americans, Asian Americans, and African Americans, although the ratio is close to four white American reporters to one of a different culture. There is far less diversity on the local radio. There are very few news broadcasters on the radio in this area and the radio shows are not diverse or inclusive of any minority group that can be identified. There is one community newspaper geared toward the African American community, the voice and viewpoint. La Prensa is a local newspaper representing the Mexican American community. The Asian journal is a newspaper for the Asian American community. All of the newspaper seem to depict the crimes without bias, however, each individually tend to harp on the wrong doing to the group in the community. The Voice and Viewpoint Newspaper details events and hot topics in the African American community. This week there is an article about racial disparities in health and minority neighborhoods across the counties that are losing hospitals. The community of El Cajon is not a diverse community and would benefit from adding culturally diverse members to the government and police services of this small city. The community would benefit by sponsoring cultural events and implementing cross-cultural lesson in the school system. References Schaefer, R, T. (2006). Racial and ethnic groups (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.  US Census Bureau. (2010). State and county quick facts. Retrieved from http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06/0621712.html