I live in Stone Mountain, Georgia. What a beautiful and diverse group of people live here! We have Whites, African Americans, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders and Hispanics.


This photo shows how the minority groups have spread across the United States.

This chart shows the races in Stone Mountain.(2008)
I am originally from Guyana. My country consists of people of 6 different races; Indians, Africans, Chinese, Portuguese, Amerindian and Europeans. My close friends belong to other races. I have always been world embracing in my thoughts. I never thought a person us different because of their skin color. My parents have always instilled in me that everyone is equal despite of their skin color. My fore-parents are originally from India. Since our culture and appearance are very similar to the Indians of India I mostly am categorized as an immigrant from India. I pride myself in keeping friends from all nations.
There are many members of my community in Stone Mountain that do look like me. There are others that don’t necessarily look like me. My community is predominantly blacks. There are blacks from the Caribbean as well as African American. I have also seen blacks from Somalia, Africa. The blacks from the Caribbean and the African American blacks do not necessarily look very different from me. They all dress similar to the way I do. Their complexion is not very much different from Indians who have migrated from the Caribbean. The blacks do have a different hair than other races. I would not be able to determine if the blacks are from the Caribbean or are African Americans as they all dress alike. The difference is only in the accents of their language. People of the Caribbean have an accent. I have observed that the blacks from Somalia can be easily distinguished as the women dress differently. In my experience they do not speak English well. I have taken the taxi a few times. On every occasion that I’ve taken the taxi, the driver is from Somalia.


This picture illustrates how the women of Somalia dress.
Leaders are very important to any community. Leaders help mould and shape a community. Leaders also have a great responsibility to the members to the community. They should live their life as an example. The religious leaders in Stone Mountain do treat people within our community equally. I have visited a few churches within the area and was quite impressed with the way the pastors spoke to the guests. People of all races and background were shown love and respect. I have seen people of various backgrounds being employed by political leaders. A person may not get a job, not because of their race or ethnicity, but because they are not qualified. People of my group, Indo-Caribbean, do hold prestigious positions within the community. Some are business leaders. People of other minority groups get treated fairly as well. People of other groups hold important jobs such as teachers. Some of them are well educated as well.
Since my community is such a diverse group, everyone gets treated equally. I have not sensed or observed people being treated unequally at the grocery stores or at the banks. Everyone gets respect from each other. Being a Mom, I take my son to playschool very often and interact with children and parents of other groups. All the parents are equally nice. I have admired the children themselves, being loving to other children as well. This sends a strong message that the parents are raising their kids to be prejudice free.
I belong to the minority group of immigrants from the Caribbean, Indo-Caribbean. Though the study materials did not discuss my group directly, the materials covered minority groups of which I am a part of. “People in the United States and elsewhere are beginning to consider that the same principles that guarantee equality based on race or gender can apply to other groups who are discriminated against. There have been growing efforts to ensure that the same rights and privileges are available to all people, regardless of age, disability, or sexual orientation. These concerns are emerging even as the old divisions over race, ethnicity, and religion continue to fester and occasionally explode into violence that envelops entire nations.” Racial and Ethnic Groups, (2006). As stated in the materials provided a minority group does not necessarily mean a small group. A minority group can outnumber the dominant group. As also stated in the study materials, “A minority group is a subordinate group whose members have significantly less control or power over their own lives than do the members of a dominant or majority group”. Racial and Ethnic Groups, (2006).
The local newspapers as well as radio stations do cover news and issues faced by minorities in my community. Local news are published in the newspaper regularly. Jobs openings are posted. There is even a local Indian community radio station that covers the songs, news and community members successes as well as the students achievements. There are other radio stations that broadcasts songs and events that relates to Somalians and African Americas as well as the Whites. There are also Hispanic radio stations covering the Stone Mountain area.
There are many great similarities between myself and the leaders of Stone Mountain area. I feel strongly about the betterment of the community members at large. I, as well as the leaders, encourage children to take their education seriously so as to be better citizens which will in turn make the community a richer at large. I would like to see that all the adult members of my community be employed. The differences between the leaders and me are, they have the resources and finances to help the community as a whole, I don’t. The leaders have the assets and support of the community to undertake tasks and complete them successfully. The political leaders can even provide grants and scholarships to students of the community to further their education. I feel happy, as a member of the community, that the minority group interests are represented in the community. Our community has health centers and hospitals as well as an remarkable school system. The Stone Mountain Park, the largest granite in the Northeast section of the United States, serves as a great recreational park to children. There are also elderly care centers which are available to people of different ethnic backgrounds. There are also programs at the libraries such as ESL, Spanish classes and computer classes among others. There are also the YMCA which is available to everyone at low or no charge. The Government also provides aid such as foodstamps and housing to low income families.
I have not seen any inequities within my community. A benefit to this community will be free 2 year college education. This will place the members of the community the competitive job market. The reason why I feel strongly about this is because I’ve seen young adults who are not able to secure a job due to lack of a college education. This opportunity will enforce that people of all ethnic backgrounds be given a fair opportunity to develop themselves and be able to achieve goals that seem unachievable without this chance. This will greatly benefit the Stone Mountain community. These individuals with the now 2 year education will be in jobs which will provide them with the chance to choose forward to achieve a higher education and or create families. As educated parents, these individuals will be an asset to the community and their children. Their children will benefit due to the guidance and financial support which will create a better community for the future generations.
This community is comprise of various ethnic groups. A lot of these ethnic groups within the community are categorised based on race. Although all the ethnic are not racially defined, for example the African Americans , the Africans as well as some of the Indo-Caribbeans , with the doctrine of racism, people are categorized into ethnic groups that make up cultures in the community. “Racism is a doctrine of racial
supremacy, stating that one race is superior to another (Bash 2001; Bonilla-Silva 1996).” Racial and Ethnic Groups, 2006. In some instances, a person belonging to one race or minority group can be interpreted to be part of another group and be given a job vacancy. I am oftentimes thought to be Spanish. Some favoritism can sometimes stem from this. The material further states that race is more of a social standing rather than a biological difference. People of different race gets categorized as prettier or more hardworking or richer for example.

This is a photo of an ethnic minority group.

Reference:

1. Retrieved October 20, 2008 from
Racial and Ethnic Groups, Tenth Edition, by Richard T. Schaefer. Published by Prentice-Hall. Copyright © 2006.

2. Retrived October 20, 2008 from
Racial and Ethnic Groups, Tenth Edition, by Richard T. Schaefer. Published by Prentice-Hall. Copyright © 2006.