THAT SIDE OF TOWN by Colin Mulholland

I grew up in white suburbia of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I hated it. I've always known my place was in the working class burbs of this city. My mom and dad are both working class people and come from that background as well so that is very well embedded in me. But my mom and dad worked their asses off so they could provide me and my brothers a nice house to live in and not to always be living in an apartment complex full of drug dealers like we were back in 1994. That being said, I currently live on Oakland road, predominantly a working class neighborhood on the outskirts of town it's nowhere near the SE side, it is more close to Coe College, but even more so, it is right on the outskirts of where the good side of town meets the bad. I walk past black people from that side of town all the time, they look like they dont wanna be here when they are, and I dont blame them. This part of CR is friggen white beyond belief. I lived on the SE at one point and actually got along with the people in the neighborhood well because they would see me around walking so they knew I belonged there. You need to show you belong where you are, and I think that's where alot of the racism in this city comes from. Uncomfortable african americans walking through sides of town getting gauked at because they dont feel welcome because how the people here proceive them. It's no different on the SE either. This world would be a better place if we dropped the borders of where people belong and end the whole "That side of town" thing, because if you live in a city it shouldnt be "That side of town" it's your town! It's their town too! If you live amongst one another you belong anywhere despite class or race. And that's a huge problem amongst the wealthy people, they wouldnt go near "That side of town" if we payed them. They dont care to understand the love and unity that side of town actually has and how much better it would prosper if the buildings and houses were shown a little more love, but instead of seeing all of that they just see is a ghetto. If the rich actually cared about their city they would open up their hearts and donate a portion of their disposable income to the cause of AFFORDABLE LIVING, and not just affordable living but the idea that people who make less can have a beautiful home. But that's the problem. Nobody wants to do that, especially for black majority parts of town. So the Black community become disgruntled, tensions raise, police get called, than innocent people start dying. Than the riots happen. Because nobody takes the time to actually educate themselves about what's happening in their community. They let the negatives outweigh the positives and it obscures their vision with a smoke screen preventing the change. And that is what we sincerely need in this country right now is positive change. Not just for black lives but for ALL lives.