DIVISION OVERPOWERED
For 3 days in September of 2016, the city of Charlotte, North Carolina experienced violent riots as a response to the shooting of Keith Lamont Scott. This shooting only intensified the already present racial tension in the city that has yet to dissipate. Divisiveness derived from racism is unfortunately not the only picture of disunity that is experienced in this city, and most any other. This short project is an effort to combat that divisiveness by giving a voice to those who live in all parts of Charlotte to first acknowledge their experiences with division, but more importantly share opportunities they see for the community to better foster peace and unity. I found that the most simple suggestions can create some of the most powerful shifts in community dynamic.
“I see that people tend to analyze others based on their first impression, and we don’t always give people a second chance. I believe that God created us all, which means that we’re literally all cut from the same cloth. I may look different, I may act different, but if we’re looking at people at their core, they share the exact same essence that we have. Diamonds are beautiful because they are not flat, they’re faceted. If we see the world in a flat way only from our perspective, there’s nothing beautiful about it. It’s when we realize that things are multidimensional when the true beauty can be seen. Zabb’s is a thrift boutique that trains and employs local young adults with special needs, but we really see them as having special talents. We don’t really think that the needs are all that special, we all come with needs, but the talents that they have that we don’t. Jonathan (pictured above) has actually been with us since the beginning, and we opened almost 5 years ago. He’s grown tremendously, we’re totally like a family.”
“I’m Latino, but I’m from here actually. Charlotte is growing in diversity, but I still see segregation. It depends person to person whether I feel welcome for who I am or not, and it’s caused me to question if I can even fit in. I want to keep the culture I come from, because I believe we should celebrate all cultures! You can learn so much from people that are different from you. About food, culture, really anything.”
“People should say hi when they walk by one another, we think it can do a lot more than we realize.”
“You have to sit down and talk to people. I come out here and sit and eat with the homeless community almost every day. It’s simple, all people are worth valuing.”
“We see division regularly when we go out in public, depending on what part of town we’re in. We see people giving us funny looks, most of the time it’s older people. At my old job there’d be co-workers that would talk about customers who shouldn’t be in this country. I’ve had a lot of people make comments like that, because people assume I think like them if I look like them. I wish they just had a chance to walk a mile with us. Things were different when the older generations were kids, so sometimes you can understand why they feel the way that they do. They’re limited in perspective. Just because people thought a certain way for so long doesn’t mean that it’s right.”
“Here at Matthews Help Center, we try to meet people right where they are. We hope for our work to overcome some of the stigmas about people who are in need of help. We’re all in this world, and it’s better when we do this thing together. We hope to foster unity by fostering compassion within our volunteers for those regardless of how they appear. We desire for everyone who walks in these doors to feel valued regardless of the language they’re speaking, or their abilities. When someone walks in, we want to be able to say yes to them. It’s hard to ask for help, and we want to dignify them in that.”
“There’s division between us and the homeless, we look at them as a danger when many of them truly aren’t. They need help, and we have the opportunity to be that help.”
“It’s the mindset’s people have that are divisive. Color of the skin, how much money people make, etc. We should all have equal opportunity because we’re all human.”
“I grew up in Charlotte, so I know that division is here. I don’t quite feel as comfortable in other parts of town where I’m more of a minority. I just hope people could be viewed simply as humans. We all live here, we might as well all try our best to get along.”
Police Officers also had the opporunity to speak into ways they believe we can be greater peacemakers. Here’s what a few of them had to say:
“A major cause of the split in our unity is how we handle the poverty divide. There’s a big gap. People can’t have the perspective of the homeless community being deserving of being shunned out of the world. There’s a lot of good people out here.”
“You can’t always decide what you think of people based on what you hear about them. For example, a lot of people don’t like all cops based on what they see in the news, but I feel like with everyone you deal with, you should take time to get to know that person. Consider how this particular officer you’re interacting with is treating you, or how is this particular person on the street is reacting to you. Just because someone could’ve had a bad reputation, that shouldn’t speak over who they are at that moment in time.”
Listening stripped of bias and agenda is critical to developing genuine compassion especially for those who by nationality, political stance, ability, or financial status greatly differs from our own.