Listening Post 1

I did my first Listening Post assignment at Blakey Park in Homestead, and it bombed. There's a basketball court at the park where guys usually go to shoot hoops and just catch up. It's located next to a housing project on Redland Road near Mowry Drive, in the heart of Homestead. I typically saw a lot of people playing basketball there, so I decided to stop by and see what these people talked about.

When I drove up, I was really intimidated and scared because the basketball courts were full of large black men who looked at me kind of funny when I pulled up. After a few minutes of psyching myself up, I had the balls to get out and approach a group who was taking a break. They were kind of confused by my assignment, and it turns out it's not really a "hang-out". They just meet up randomly. Bummer.

The next day I decided to change my focus. Homestead is home to a huge immigrant population (mostly from Mexico and Central America), and while driving around the day before, I noticed a cafeteria with a lot of people outside, hanging out. Cuatro Ruedas. It was grimey and the men all stared me up and down as I drove by. I was super uncomfortable, and I knew this was where I needed to do my post. I came back the next day and found that the restaurant serves the immigrant population specifically. Grimey field workers: check. Creepy stares: check. I was completely out of my element. Yeah, I speak spanish, but that doesn't make the situation any easier. It's not even like I can connect with these people. But, I tried.

I had a seat next to a guy named Armando. Surprise! He's not Mexican. He's actually Guatemalan. He's been working here for about 3 years, and he usually sends money orders to his family every month or so. I asked him if it's been easy finding work with this economy the way it is. He said it's always hit or miss, but there's always work to be done one way or another. "You have to find a way to provide for your family no matter what," he told me in Spanish.

I asked him if he came here often. He did. His family in this country are the friends he makes here at Cuatro Ruedas, so he usually comes to get a drink after a long day's work or a huge breakfast to start it. It's a very small cafe, it's like the definition of a "hole in the wall." I actually enjoyed myself, and will be going back. There are so many interesting stories here.

Journal #1

This was the first thing I thought of when I walked into Reisner's almost legendary Multiethnic Reporting class a couple of weeks ago.

Warning! It's a show tune. Extremely cheesy.



Now obviously, this is a song which is sung by puppets, and the entire show is equally as politically incorrect (and hilarious), but I think the song is actually very true. The truth is, everyone is a little bit racist, and until we get over that reality, we can never truly embrace and accept other cultures for who they are and where they came from.

I was born and raised in Miami, so I guess that should make me a little more tolerant of different cultures (and I definitely wouldn't consider myself a racist by any means). But I've realized that everyone, including myself, has their prejudices, and I think sometimes that living in a place such as Miami, your prejudices sometimes come out a little more than you like to admit.

I think, before this class, I would always be content with living within the unmarked boundaries of my life. I always lock my doors when I go into the "ghetto" neighborhoods and one night, I got lost in Overtown at night and almost went crazy thinking that the Big Bad Black Men were going to randomly shoot me. I have a vivid imagination.

I haven't started doing my Listening Post yet, but I know I'm doing it somewhere in Liberty City because of my Print News Reporting class. I went there for the first time today, at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Parade. And surprise! I'm alive, writing this. Big Bad Black Men don't really exist at noon. Everyone was so nice and friendly, and I didn't really feel threatened at all.

I'm really excited about this project and what it will do for me, both personally and as a journalist! It's important in this profession to have as little preconceived notions as possible, and to be able to step out of your comfort zone and get a different perspective on things is a great way to put that into practice.