By Allison Perrine
RED BANK – Most of the Red Bank Public Library’s monthly race program discussions are led by guest speakers on a given topic of the evening. But last Wednesday, attendees steered the conversation.
During the most recent virtual installment of the library’s Let’s Talk About Race program, the spotlight was on attendees who were asked to share their viewpoints and experiences with race and to reflect on how the program is running. It was a candid conversation from beginning to end.
“The truth is global warming and racism are both going to destroy the country,” said Linda Hewitt, circulation supervisor and outreach and programming coordinator, at the start of the evening. “I really look forward to an evening where we can look at this program and see what we can do moving forward.”
Hewitt shared her personal experience growing up in “a very white community” where she didn’t think about the issue of race until she attended Atlantic City High School. At the time, the school’s population was about 48 percent white and 52 percent Black, she said, and there was “a lot of confrontation” at school among students.
“A lot of white people now feel attacked, I think because they’re told they have privilege. Well trust me – not all white people grow up in lovely homes and things like that,” she said. “So when they hear that, right away I think there’s a confrontational tone that the conversation takes because their attitude is ‘Well my life wasn’t easy,’ but they don’t think about what their life would be if they were of color.”
Attendee Joe Ritacco, the program chairperson of the Monmouth Center for World Religions and Ethical Thought, said he finds that most people don’t want to be challenged on their beliefs, especially within religions. That includes members of his congregation in the Christian/Presbyterian faith.
“It’s harder to talk intrafaith than interfaith,” he said. “People kind of feel threatened if you say ‘I believe different than you’ and we’re supposed to be the same; that’s very upsetting.”
Attendee Nancy Byron, who co-chairs the Diversity and Inclusion Committee at Seabrook Senior Living in Tinton Falls, said she got involved with the committee because she wants to see greater diversity among her fellow residents at Seabrook. The majority of residents are white and there is a “significant Chinese American” group at the living facility, but there are only about 10 Black people “and that’s not OK,” she said.
With this in mind, she and other committee members are trying to help Seabrook residents “appreciate” the serving staff in the dining rooms and kitchens, many of whom are Black high school students. Currently, the committee is working on a project to spotlight former servers to let residents know how they’re doing. Since June, the committee has highlighted one former server a month with information about where life has taken them since their departure – whether it be college or other professional positions.
“The staff works well with them; residents can sometimes be rude and that’s something that we’re working on,” she said. “We’ve learned the only way we can work is to stay positive, to not challenge. Some people think – they say, ‘What’s with all this diversity? There’s enough diversity,’ and some people respond to it. We just keep it coming and as low-key as we can.”
The committee has also been issuing diversity newsletters to residents every month with links to videos and editorials and has started a scholarship program for servers to encourage them to work at the facility.
“There’s a lot of receptivity and a lot of silence… and we know there’s some reactivity,” she said.
Hewitt noted that the lack of diversity at Seabrook is not unique to that living facility; most of Monmouth County does not have residents of color “and it’s been designed that way,” she said.
“It’s easy to be in an all-white community and say ‘We have no problems with race’ but when you’re all living together – Red Bank has had a lot of problems.”
Ritacco noted that informative race programs can create empathy among those who were not previously informed about the issues.
“Once I learned about some stuff I went ‘Wow’… it turned me into an advocate as opposed to a passive observer. It certainly had an impact on me and I’m not alone,” said Ritacco.
The article originally appeared in the November 4 – 10, 2021 print edition of The Two River Times.
