When I go outside I see many different races and faces in my community. Unfortunately, the city of Salisbury, Maryland is about 20 years behind the times as far as race is concerned. For the most part we are a self-segregated community. The African-Americans live on the west side, Hispanics in the east with the Whites on the north side. On the south side we have Salisbury University and this area is comprised mostly of college students. Each of us, having chosen where to live, have made the community this way. Not only do we have racial problems but we also have the come-heres and been-heres. People who move here are discriminated against as well, almost as much as the minority groups.
The city of Salisbury became just that in 1732 (Salisbury, n.d.). Being the Eastern Shore's biggest municipality it also houses the largest number of residents. The total population as of 2000 was 23,743 people. This includes 60.7 percent Whites, 32.3 percent African-American, 3.4 percent Hispanic and 3.2 percent Asian (Salisbury, Maryland, n.d.a). This is higher than the state average for Hispanics and the foreign born inhabitants here are well above the state average with 6.8 percent of residents. Almost a quarter of Salisbury residents live in poverty (Salisbury, Maryland, n.d.b). Unemployment is a problem for us but, as with everything else in Salisbury, it is racially divided. 13.4 percent of unemployed are White while 23.4 percent are Black. Male Hispanics have the lowest unemployment rate in the city with Black males having the highest. Income level is divided as well. In 1999 the average income for a White family was $31,694, for a Black family it was only $22,870. The Asians make the most with a mean family income of $35,500 (Salisbury, Maryland, n.d.b).
Our minority population, especially the Hispanic population, is growing rapidly. Between 1990 and 2000 the Hispanic population increased 200 percent here. Many of the Hispanics in Salisbury are illegal aliens, causing them to seek jobs that pay under the table and avoid necessary health care. Many businesses in the area are hiring translators and gearing business more toward the growing Latino population (Gates,2005). While many are trying to help Hispanics, they have a problem helping themselves when crimes are committed against them. Hispanics have a history of being abused by law enforcement and therefore, are afraid of the police. Unaware that the Salisbury Police Department is not like this, many Hispanics simply do not report crimes committed against them. Unable to speak English and working in low paying jobs, many Hispanics are made to live in poor neighborhoods. This, with the combination of fear to report, makes then easy targets for crime (Some in Hispanic, 2006). In my community, I feel the Hispanic groups are hard working people. In spite of the fact that many are here illegally, they are, in my opinion, law abiding citizens. They are peaceful and friendly, though guarded when meeting them in public. They try their best to fit in and not cause problems.
While many in the community say no one group commits more crime than the others, the statistics speak volumes in the opposite direction. The Salisbury Police Department publishes crime statistics broken down by area. These cover a four week period. As I already said, Salisbury is a self segregated community. The West side, comprised mostly of African-Americans had 110 crime reports filed. There are very few businesses in this area; it is mostly a residential region. The Pinehurst area, mostly White, only reported 10 crimes. My neighborhood, which is a business district, reported 60 crimes, many of which were shoplifting incidents (Neighborhood crime, 2006). Besides committing crimes the minority population is having difficulties learning as well. “If a new graduation requirement demanding students pass four assessment tests were in place last year, more than half of the county's poor, Black and Hispanic high school students wouldn't have received their diplomas”, according to Jaime Malarkey (2005). I see this as a huge problem at home. Students need help from their parents at home with schoolwork.
They need encouragement to do homework, read, and study. They need help with assignments and instructions. I feel these particular students are not receiving this. Many poor parents seem uninterested in helping while many Hispanic parents, facing a language barrier, are unable to help. This is a problem the community needs to address, but it seems no help is available. More members of my community look like me than those who do not and of those who do not most are African-American and Hispanic. Community leaders seem to treat all people in the community equally. With the leaders I have seen no racial bias. Community members on the other hand, are a different story. This city is very segregated and very racially biased. Many residents still hold on to old prejudices and feel very strongly about their peers. Blacks stay to themselves, often avoiding Whites. Many Whites, due to the crime statistics, fear Blacks. Then there is the come-here been-here syndrome. People born and raised in Salisbury hold very strong negative feelings towards people who move here. I do not know the reason for this, I can only speculate.
