Community and Context

 

If you’re following the Columbia Conversation, on July 27th you saw the following photograph:

Photo by @imiivo, courtesy of Columbia Association 

When I looked at the photo in combination with the prompt, I had some conflict. 

How has your definition of “community” changed? How has what you desire in a community changed? How does Columbia stack up in meeting those needs?

My first thoughts were that, over the years,  I have come to find photos that prominently feature white Columbians to be troubling and off-putting. In this photo only one Black woman is truly recognizable and her face is partially obscured. This is only one photo, but it’s one of many shared by CA where white people are centered as the norm. 

My definition of community has become one where adequate representation is essential. This photo made me uneasy because it appeared to perpetuate an unspoken Columbia credo: just enough diversity for white people to brag about, not enough to make them uncomfortable. 

There’s no question that when I first came here I wouldn’t have noticed any of this. Living here has changed me. Getting to know people has changed me. The times we are living in have changed me.

I didn’t respond publicly to the prompt because I couldn’t find a way to express this without sounding accusatory. Also, the women in the foreground - - those friendly, smiling ladies - - are real people. I didn’t want to make my point at their expense. But I kept thinking about it.

Yesterday County Executive Calvin Ball shared a video online as an invitation to Columbia’s 55th birthday celebration. I don’t have a direct link to the video. Go to his Facebook page and scroll down a bit. This video evoked in me the kind of Columbia community feeling that I found so lacking in that one photo the week before. The footage was clearly taken at a recent Lakefront event. 

Wait. There are those friendly ladies.

Screenshot from 55th Birthday Video

Here they are, but this time they are presented in context. They are surrounded by neighbors of all kinds, enjoying a Lakefront event that is quintessentially Columbian. They don’t stand alone as the face of community, they are a living, breathing component of a larger whole which is inclusive and diverse.

Yes, I know it’s a carefully crafted video piece.  I know Columbia doesn’t look like this every day. But my own internal pictures of community have come to be ones where all these people (metaphorically speaking) are in the room. Are invited. Are listened to. Are lifted up.

So, if you ask me to talk about my feelings of community in Columbia, Maryland: don’t just give me a picture featuring white people. It doesn’t adequately speak to who we are in Columbia and it does a disservice to the perfectly nice women who are simply enjoying a night out at the Lakefront.

Speaking of enjoying a night out:

A LAKEFRONT LIVE HEADLINE EVENT! 

Produced by Columbia Festival of the Arts

 Sons of Mystro (brothers Malcolm, 26, and Umoja, 23) use their violins to interpret reggae classics, American pop songs, and their own creations, accompanied by a DJ and a drummer. Winners of the Emerging Artist under 21yrs Old award at IRAWMA (International Reggae and World Music Awards), they have appeared on Showtime at the Apollo and Steve Harvey. Mentored by world-renown Black Violin, these artists’ stars are on the rise.

 CA will also be celebrating Columbia’s 55th Birthday! Come out for a fun, festive craft, plus donate school supplies to the Prepare for Success School Supplies Connection drive and enter a chance to win great prizes. All donations will go to students in need across the community. Click here for a list of supplies that are needed in Howard County.

This event will feature a fully curated food and drink menu by Chicken + Whiskey, all menu items are priced at $10 or less!

RSVP here (it’s free) so they’ll know how many folks to expect. 

Lakefront Live, August 4th, 2022

Has your definition of community changed? If so, how? Tell me.