How to Go Against Segregation in Our Daily Lives?
Category: Unitarian Universalism - General
In “Is My Life Too Good?,” Unitarian Universalist blogger Hafidha Sofia reflects on how, as her financial circumstances have improved and she’s transitioned from being single to married, her circle of friends has become more privileged and homogenous:
When I was working, I knew people who were single moms, heads of families struggling with four kids to make ends meet, people of diverse racial backgrounds. But now I’m at home, interacting mostly with the self-employed and active retirees.
This leads her to question whether she should make some life changes: “What kind of connections will I need to build in order to feel more grounded - more invested - in the well-being of all?”
This question really got at me. It’s a question I’ve asked myself too, in relation to my own life experience. I don’t have a satisfactory answer yet. I am convinced that being surrounded only by people of similar socio-economic status has a corrosive impact on my own ability to be ‘invested in the well-being of all.’
Simply getting involved in lots of different activities in hopes of meeting people with different backgrounds isn’t enough. In my local community (Cambridge), I play on sports teams, take classes both at community centers and various local universities, attend parties, and, of course, go to church. Cambridge itself is somewhat racially and economically diverse.
But in every single one of the activities I just described, the participants are mostly white, middle-and-upper income people (like me). I believe that gives me a narrower view of humanity and the range of life experiences. It’s especially troubling to me that my own congregation is part of the problem, because I feel torn between spending my time investing in my faith community, and working with people with different life experiences, both of which are critical for spiritual development.
As I said earlier, this is a problem with no simple solution. One thing I have done over the past two years is to get involved with the Boston public school system, first as a teacher, and now as an afterschool volunteer. It’s a joy spending time with the youth in my afterschool program. They are kind-hearted, intelligent, and funny. The activities that we do together are things I liked when I was their age, but never seem to find time for as adult, so it’s fun to be able to do them again, this time as a mentor.
Even though the adults and youth in the program have different roles, I hesitate to see the program as a service that I and the other volunteers do for the youth. It’s more like a shared experience that we are all creating together and benefiting from.
But as I don’t want to be too quick to say “problem solved!” There is still a problem in my life and in American society as a whole: the problem of de facto segregation in the educational system, in our neighborhoods, and even in our congregations.
On a political level, there are policies we can support that will increase equality of opportunity and distribution of resources in America. I support these policies and believe they hold the best hope on the macro level of dismantling segregation. The question I’m struggling with in this particular post is how to take steps on the personal level, on the level of daily interaction, to counter the negative effects of segregation in my own life.
I write this post not to claim any easy answers, but to further open up the discussion that Hafidha has begun.
How do you, readers, experience segregation (or not) in your own lives? How does that experience related to your spiritual health and your investment in well-being of others? What solutions do you recommend on the personal and political levels to make a change?
Update: Terri Pahucki makes a welcome addition to the conversation with her post, Segregation: The Conflict and a Possible Answer.
February 4th, 2008 15:01
I feel so relieved to read your post. Although, like me, you are still looking for solutions, the way you state things - even your use of the term “de facto segregation” helps a lot. The word “segregation” never even came to my mind, which is odd, but I was struggling to figure out what I was experiencing, and you nailed it.
Part of what is so troubling is how easy it is to live like this - unless one makes the effort to go into other communities. And isn’t that sad? Because then that means it’s still about privilege - who has the privilege to enter the communities of “other” people at will?
At the same time, I think working with kids at the after school program is a good example of breaking the barriers.
I’m trying to think of this in terms of not “what can I do?” because I don’t know that it’s possible for me, by myself, to integrate society! That might be a bit of a tall order. For this reason, I also appreciate your mention of policy changes on the political level. It takes me than good intentions to restructure society.
February 5th, 2008 01:38
This is such a good post! I read Hafidha’s a few days ago, and I’m so glad you highlighted it. I had too many thoughts to post here, and ended up going off in a slightly different direction…so I posted at UU Intersections instead. I do share this similar experience of de facto segregation, caused not by a change in class, but a change in vocation. Ironically, UUism has led me into a more homogenous group of people than I’ve ever worked with in my working life. But I think there are ways to make our justice work as UU’s more connected to people–and not just issues.
February 5th, 2008 10:37
Hi Hafidha,
Thank you for writing back. You noted, “Part of what is so troubling is how easy it is to live like this - unless one makes the effort to go into other communities. And isn’t that sad? Because then that means it’s still about privilege - who has the privilege to enter the communities of “other” people at will?”
This raises two critical issues. The first, to me, is WHY our country is segregated. I believe that it is not by chance, but rather because many powerful people believe (consciously or subconsciously) that it is in their best interest to have an unfair distribution of resources, and then to isolate other powerful people from the negative impacts of that unfair distribution.
A person is less likely to go after the mayor for the city’s high homicide rate if no she knows is murdered and she’s still safe in her own neighborhood.
The second issue is about how people who have privilege interact with those who don’t. To put it briefly, there is in these interactions a risk of replicating the power dynamics of larger society, in which the powerful in any number of ways demean and harm the powerless, even unintentionally. This is something I frequently worry about. But I do believe it is possible to build those connections with respect and care, and that it’s better to do so than to stay isolated.
Terri,
Thank you for your own post, which I read this morning. I found the connection to environmental justice fascinating, especially as you wrote:
“At least, we are if we believe in the interdependent web of existence, in the idea of our interconnected lives, and the idea that when we speak out for those who cannot, we also speak out for ourselves. That is also spiritual deepening for me—the move from ‘ego’ consciousness to ‘eco’ consciousness made real through envisioning and pursuing a more just world.”
I also was heartened by your efforts to bring your experience with youth of color and immigrant youth back to your congregation through the Green Sanctuary, and encourage other congregants to find “ways to connect.”
I worked in a program at one point that connected UU youth groups with urban youth for discussions about the public school system. Those individual discussions had some value, but I still wish there was a more sustainable model for building partnerships. Community action coalitions, like the one you mentioned, are probably one of the best ways to go. UU Urban Ministry is doing some great work too, with a different model.
February 6th, 2008 04:50
Shelby - yes, yes, more yes. Especially to the power dynamics piece. And absolutely, the segregation is no accident.