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Matters of Race. Essays
Diversity
in Dearborn
By Megan Dearborn High School students Jessica and Lauren recently gave their
views about the diversity amongst them. Dearborn, located in Southeastern
Michigan, contains one of the largest populations of Arab Americans
in the area.
Jessica and Lauren say their school is predominately Arabic, although
the school is celebrated for its racial diversity.
The presence of other races at Dearborn High School is evident, however.
Asian and African Americans mingle just as equally with the Arab and
Caucasian Americans. Jessica's boyfriend of six months, Chris, is of
Asian origin. Racial barriers that cause so many problems in some areas
are not much of an issue at Dearborn High.
While Jessica and Lauren note that race is not much of an issue, they
agree that Dearborn is not totally without racial discrimination. Most
of these problems occur between Arabic and White males.
Lauren commented on a fight that occurred after September 11, 2001.
Throughout the school day, rumors circulated about a brawl between Arabs
and Whites that would occur later in the day. As with previous situations,
Lauren regarded these statements as untrue. The fight actually did occur,
but it was not as violent as some made it out to be.
As time passed, many began to realize that the Islamic religion is
not associated with terrorism. Some of the "cliques" are predominately
one race, but racism is not the reason. Perhaps these divisions occur
because students of one race share similarities with others of the same
race. These divided "groups", therefore, are based on culture
rather than race.
When asked whether or not verbal discrimination frequently occurs,
Jessica commented, "Anything I hear is not really serious."
Words can offend as easily as actions, but students seem to have drawn
a line between what is serious and what is not.
Another interesting aspect of the diversity at Dearborn High is the
fact that so many of the students speak Arabic. In fact, students of
different racial backgrounds have begun to pick up on commonly used
Arabic phrases, such as "yullah", which is Arabic for "hurry
up". One would see an African American or White student using words
like this one while walking down Dearborn's hallway just as often as
an Arab American student.
This past year, Dearborn High School started a program called Discover
Islam. This program's intent was to raise awareness about the unique
culture and religion of the Arabic race. While this program was targeted
at the general public, Lauren commented on the fact that most of its
attendees were Arabic. Perhaps poor publicity or bad timing caused the
program's turnout to be as it was, but it would be beneficial for students
at such a diverse school to learn about one of the many cultures present.
The theme for Dearborn High School's yearbook this past spring was
"Diversity All Around". Ironically, the yearbook pictured
only Caucasian students on the cover. A simple oversight, perhaps, but
many still considered this an unacceptable mistake. It does make sense
that students from all races would be featured on the cover of a yearbook
with such a theme.
Stereotypes, formed in most areas of this world, do not skip over Dearborn
High School. Some kids may associate one poor personality with a whole
race. Of course, only the most gullible of ears buy into these generalizations.
When rumors of racial fights zip through the halls of the high school,
most students consider such rumors as just that: rumors. Students do
not have to live in fear of potentially violent racial conflicts. This
kind of security should be sought in more areas in this country, and
perhaps even in this world.
Dearborn is a very diverse area, but it is not unsusceptible to prejudice.
While the extreme barriers between races do not exist, there is evidence
of a certain amount of division. Some comments made receive terse looks
of warning, but most of them are considered jokes and overlooked. Many
have learned to recognize the differences between the various races
present at Dearborn High School. Now it is imperative these differences
be embraced.
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