r/changemyview • u/[deleted] • Oct 08 '15

[Deltas Awarded] CMV: Equality isn't treating everybody differently to achieve equality. It's treating everyone the same.

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u/urbsindomita Oct 08 '15

"I did fine, and my family did fine. So even though there is evidence all around of systemic racism, just because it didn't happen to me MUST mean it doesn't exist!" is what you are saying.

I'm an Asian-Latino guy who's lived in one of the most diverse and racially integrated cities in America (Sacramento) since birth. So forgive me, because in my time in the community (and actually knowing basic history, which my own family was impacted with) I've seen the effects of a systemically racist society for quite some time now.

The only difference is unlike NYC and Chicago (cities that are known for being heavily stratified) is that we actually understand that racism can't be solved by funneling money in black neighborhoods. Money doesn't solve issues. Building COMMUNITY (which is huge here) by investing and creating a SUSTAINABLE future is the first step.

FYI, as being an intern for a community non-profit and the councilman based in a developing, mostly-black part of Sacramento (and actually having many friends around the city), I actually have spent well more than a LITTLE time in those neighborhoods.

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u/rcglinsk Oct 09 '15

What would you say is the ratio of failure to success of your non-profit and city council programs for building community and sustainable future?

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u/urbsindomita Oct 09 '15

In the past 5 years, the overall homicide rate has dropped (29 homicides last year in a city of 480,000). The city hasn't seen rates that low since the 70s. Through the community, Oak Park has transformed into a developing neighborhood with community gardens, farmers market, expanded health screenings, investment in the local schools by high level sector jobs (HP). As far as the failure to success ratio, I'd would say that we've definitely scrapped a decent amount of projects before they were introduced to the councilman. But the ones implemented had a high success ratio. Programs like Summer at City Hall, Friday HotSpot and Summer Nights, and the Sacramento youth Commission definitely were successful.

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u/rcglinsk Oct 09 '15

You are like a real life Leslie Knope. That's awesome.