My transition from a Prince Georges County, Maryland resident to an Ocean County, New Jersey resident has been both an interesting and a learning experience. Now that I’ve lived in New Jersey for several months, I feel like I’m finally beginning to settle in to my new life here. The return to a small, rural town, has, in this case, also been a return to white America, and has unexpectedly brought with it a renewed awareness and a humbling appreciation for the cultural differences that still exist in many areas of our country today.
Prior to moving to New Jersey, I lived in Maryland for 22 years where I had become accustomed to living in an area where the majority of residents were not white and represented nearly every ethnicity and nationality. I spent all 22 of those years living between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. where most of my neighbors, acquaintances, and coworkers were minorities. While living in the cultural melting pot of the Baltimore / D.C. area for the past two decades enhanced my understanding of diversity, it’s become evident that it also suppressed my awareness of what day-to-day life is like in predominantly white areas. I grew up in a small, rural, and predominantly white area of Kentucky, so life in white America isn’t foreign to me. That is also what makes this renewed awareness all the more surprising; I know first-hand what it’s like to live in a predominantly white, American town.
When I first moved to New Jersey, it felt awkward every time I found myself actually noticing minorities in this new, yet old and familiar, monochromatic America. I noticed things like the one, black player on a basketball team, the all-white participants in most events and activities, the unfamiliar local jargon, the different types of restaurants and establishments, and the relative absence of diversity in general, compared to what I was used to. Although I had no reason to feel that way, it initially made me uncomfortable and felt similar to guilt. How could I have forgotten what it was like to live in white America? It was as if my brain was telling me, “Ah ha, you do remember things are different here.”
I consciously think about race and diversity more now. I haven’t lived here very long but I’m sure there’s much more to be learned from this experience and as I mentioned before, my move from the ethnically diverse Prince Georges County, Maryland to Ocean County, New Jersey, has undoubtedly provided me with a renewed awareness and appreciation for America’s cultural diversity and for that I’m grateful.
For more information, see: Race & Ethnicity in: Prince Georges County, Maryland and Ocean County, New Jersey.
James
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