Mass Perceptions

Living in Massachusetts, having grown-up in the Virgin Islands, always invokes the question of, "Why did you move here?", well sometimes I do ask myself that same question.

I know more than a handful of people that either grew-up in Massachusetts, attended college, graduate, law or medical school and enjoyed their experience, to some extent.

Being either Black or Hispanic living in Massachusetts means that there's a history of desegregation and racial tension that is sometimes very palpable. There was the Racial Imbalance Act of 1965, which led to the creation of the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO) program, which opened the flood gates of racial tension of late 1960s, and we can't forget the image that was captured on April 5, 1976, by photographer Stanley J. Forman, then a photographer for the Boston Herald American, that continues to plague Boston. The attack of Ted Landsmark by Joseph Rakes with the American Flag, is still remembered as being a sore spot in the Commonwealth, and was aptly titled, "The Soiling of Old Glory".

So, through many tensions, some major incidents were put on public display for the United States and the world to see; all presented Boston as a city that is not kind to Blacks and Hispanics nor very welcoming, to say the least.

Fast forward to July 16, 2009, and we have the Henry Louis Gates, Jr. arrest by Officer James Crowley, because a neighbor reported seeing two men attempting to break-into a house in Cambridge, MA. Yes, the audio tapes have been released by the Cambridge Police Department and Lucia Whalen, the person that called Cambridge Police to report the suspected break-in, was vilified in the news and media, is now viewed as a concerned citizen, rather than a "racist, nosy neighbor".

President Obama's comments, made at the end of a press conference that was scheduled to address the proposed health care reform bill proposal, were very telling and understandable from my vantage point because I, too, thought Officer Crowley and the arresting officers "acted stupidly" for arresting Mr. Gates, Jr. in his own home, for which he provided identification that proved that he lived there.

On July 30, 2009, the "Beer Summit" took place at the White House between Officer James Crowley, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Vice President Joe Biden and President Obama. Cooler heads seemed to prevail and some talk about the incident took place where, we hope, each person left having learned something from one another.

Now, there's the matter of dealing with Officer Justin Barrett, who sent an email to his National Guard colleagues about the Gates, Jr. and Officer Crowley incident and referred to Mr. Gates, Jr. as a "jungle monkey".

Officer Justin Barrett's comments don't end there. We now know that he sent an email to Yvonne Abraham, a Boston Globe columnist, disagreeing with the opinion piece she wrote regarding the Gates, Jr. arrest and wrote that Gates, Jr. was a "banana-eating jungle monkey." and that she, Ms. Abraham, should serve him," I like a warm cruller and hot Panamanian, black. No sugar."

There is only so much negative news that one can put up with, and, as of late, there seems to be a plethora of negative news, particularly news that involves race and social status.

With the myriad of so-called reality television shows, it's no wonder why websites such as YouTube.com and Vimeo.com have become so popular for children and young adults to post videos of themselves doing things that, in my day, we would be ashamed to have shown or seen by our parents and friends.

Lately, I've been watching alot of national news, but every night I am drawn to watch the local news to see if there's a story that I may have missed in reading on Boston.com or Telegram.com. Nine times out of ten, it's the evening news is "old news" and I gather little new information from it.

When I'm asked about Massachusetts and what it's been like for me to live here, I always catch myself saying that it's "Nice", but what does "Nice" really mean? It means that it's a good place to live, and if you like the constant change in weather, along within close proximity to cities such as Providence, RI, Hartford, CT, and New York City, then it's a good place to live.

Having grown up on the islands of St. John and St. Thomas, Cape Cod is not attractive to me. My favorite part about Massachusetts is the fall foliage, because there is nothing in the world quite like it and I can see God's hand at work.

The winters can be tough, and, especially after this past winter, I ask myself more frequently what I'm doing living in Massachusetts. But the beauty of it all is that I know when my family and I are ready to pack it in, we have some very good locations to pick from.

So, if you ask me about Massachusetts, I will say that it's "Nice", but don't take it the wrong way. It's just Massachusetts has a long way to go to shake off the perceptions that have haunted it for many years and I highly doubt those perceptions will be changing anytime in the near future.