Somehow, racism has played a fleeting role in this journey. I feel like it has somehow become the elephant in the room, or more yet, in the blog. The other day’s response to the post about “the n-word” proved many of us have things to learn, as well as ideas to share. Well, my experiences of the last week are interesting as they’ve developed on some of the not-so-great parts of traveling through this entire country.
One night last week we stayed in Madison, Florida, a very small town. I got there after finishing the longest ride of my life, 150 miles from Chipley to Madison. Eric Brewer from Orlando rode with us and followed by generously sponsoring us by checking us in at the Holiday Inn. Eleni and me went off to eat at the local Chinese buffet where we met the owner Amy, who immigrated from China 10 years ago. She explained her catch-22 situation in the USA, raising children in America and struggling to keep the business open in an economy unforgiving to small business owners, especially in a small town hit with high unemployment.
While eating, she shared her life story as well as introduced me (via phone) to her best friend in town, a man named Willie. It turns out that Willie had seen my story on Fox News, and being a fellow cyclist and generally awesome guy, he offered to pay for our dinner! While I never met Willie face-to-face, I can say that he was definitely a highlight of positive individuals I’ve met.
The next day Willie met with Eleni and Albert as they interviewed him and Amy about their experiences in the small town of Madison. Willie is a black man, and while he didn’t seem too comfortable talking openly about the towns racial politics, he did share a little history about Madison’s connection to Willie Lynch, the infamous carribean slave master who is said to have trained north american slave owners how to condition slaves and reap the highest economic profits from their exploitation. It turns out that Lynch had resided in the town at one point in his life.
So we found out that we were officially in the Deep South by the time we hit central Florida. The next day confirmed it as I passed through Live Oak Springs in Suwannee county. While announcing what I was doing (I tend to get confused looks in small towns when I walk into pubs in my spandex) the waitress took one look at my card and said, “hmm, well I wouldnt be speaking up about this too much here..you see, our town didnt take to fondly to the election”. Meeting two black women from the town confirmed it, as they told me “you best keep on moving through here, for your own good!”.
The election of Barack Obama and subsequent reactions across the nation shed light on just how contrasting our nation can be. Many are overjoyed, while MANY others, i repeat, MANY others, are not too happy about a ‘negro as president’.
So, while Newsweek and others keep on writing about this “Post-Racial” society that we’ve suddenly found ourselves in, I encourage anyone and everyone to suspend that thought and recognize that we still have a whole lot of work to do.
Heres an interesting example of some racial depictions in mass media.. This cartoon is from Betty Boop.
hh
Departing December 2, 2008
Arrival: January 20, 2009
on Jan 16th, 2009 at 2:37 am
I think the more that people are exposed to each other and alternative thinking and lifestyles, they become more receptive to the fact that we are usually more alike than we are different. From my experience, people who are intolerant of people based on race, sexual preference, religion, etc. have usually not been exposed to people who have these differences. They may have seen the person they claim to “hate” on television, in a store, or riding a bike across the country to go to the inauguration, but have not had any signifigant contact with them.
America is just over 40 years past the Civil Rights Movement and some parts of the country are still going through growing pains. There are definitely places where people are completely open and accepting of different people and viewpoints. Hopefully the Obama presidency can be a catalyst to the growth and healing of race relations in the rest of the country.
on Jan 16th, 2009 at 6:47 am
One of the more striking analysis of the 2008 election was the finding that voters under 30 do not use race as a marker in casting their votes. That give the father of a 6 and 77 year old comfort. I believe the President Elect fostered that trend by running a campaign that spoke about America and not race. Some bad habits die slowly and the internal death of the spirit of those people who still feel that way is a sad fact. The intellegent people move on past them, with the speed of Major Taylor, champion African-American cyclist 100 Years ago! Ride on Ryan, in his spirit!
on Jan 16th, 2009 at 10:50 pm
Ryan, it’s just the reality of America my brother! I guess in your individual dealings along your journey you’ve experienced a microcosm of what America can be like at it’s best and worst. And it shows why REAL CHANGE is so critical…right now!
I like to use a term that was the title of a Gil Scott-Heron song in the 70s…”WINTER IN AMERICA.” If you’ve never heard it, check it out when you get chance…WINTER is just a metaphor that describes the history of contradiction and conflict in America.
Peace and Safe Travels!
on Jan 17th, 2009 at 10:43 am
Ryan, I regret, but am not surprised, that you experienced these negative things along your ride. I am thrilled that Obama was elected, but because of social and economic realities of living in a small town in Georgia, I can’t be very vocal about my support, especially as a while female. You’d be amazed at how many of my white friends just assumed I was a McCain supporter. Sometimes when I set them straight, the looks on their faces were priceless! I love many things about the South, but so often I feel like it is out of step with the rest of the country. Racial relations have improved in recent decades, but you are so right that we still have a long way to go.
P.S. Some of my cycling friends and I have gotten similar looks while wearing Spandex. Here’s a quote from one friend’s blog:
“The cyclists inspect this problem in the parking lot. Only 3 of the 5 crank bolts remain, all next to each other, meaning the big chainring is next to go if they can’t move one of the bolts to the opposite side to more stably hold the chainring. Only problem is they don’t have the necessary tools. After a few minutes of struggling in vain to remove a crank bolt, they find a man in a van who has the necessary tools. This country gentleman seems bewildered by the request, but the “USA” stamped on the cyclists shorts appear to convince the man that the lycra-boy deserves a helping hand. So, he reaches for the allen wrenches and not the 12 guage.”