Staci Becker, Post 1

My name is Staci Becker. My personal heritage is German and English. My family traditionally identifies mostly with my father's German heritage. My grandparents speak German and English and I was raised by what my grandmother calls a "proper German upbringing." To this day, I'm not sure what she was talking about. Through my mother's side of the family, I mostly identify with religion. Through our Baptist Church, I recognized a sort of community at an early age.

I was raised in a very small town, in which everyone knew each other (and nearly everyone was related in some way). The kids I went to high school with were the children of the people my parents went to school with. My town was not racially diverse. As a result, I was not aware of issues in ethnicity and race until nearly middle school. In my 8th grade year, two new families moved to the area. One was a large family, and many of the children were adopted. There were 4 African American children, one in the grade right below me. The other family was a Muslim-American family. One of the kids was in my grade and I eventually became very good friends with him. I became aware of race and ethnicity then, when my mother and a friends mother began talking about the new families and how they should treat them. I was curious then about why they would treat the families differently. I had met the new kids and I had liked them. What was the problem? When I asked my parents about it, they told me that there were some people that were different from the people I was used to and had grown up with. I don't think they were necessarily racist, just brought up in a different time and in a small, sheltered town. Luckily my parents also raised me to form my own opinions and to stick to them. At the dinner table, debate is strongly encouraged. Teachers in my school never actually commented on racial and ethnic issues, just gave us the history and facts. Debate did not occur in these classes. My peers were much more open with the new kids. Everyone in my class was friends with each other, so nothing major ever occurred in school. While my parents tend to be more close-minded about race and ethnicity issues, I disagree with them and tell them this every time it comes up.

While I do not recall ever changing my views on race and ethnicity, I do remember my mother gradually did. She began working for Economic Opportunity Program (EOP) in Elmira, she began to work and become friends with people of different races and ethnicities. She has become more open minded since she began working there.

I have witnessed verbal attacks about race and ethnicity, mostly African Americans from different family members over time, but fortunately they have been few and far between. However, sexual orientation is something that is becoming a much talked about topic in my family. My parents and grandparents are quite negative about this, while my sisters and I hold an entirely opposite view. Negative remarks bother me, but I am not quite sure how to handle it. I generally tend to ignore anyone who makes such remarks, and walk away. I have found that arguing with my family does little. Many view me and my sisters and cousins who share my views as being naive. I see it as being more lucky than anything, as I was able to form my own opinions about race and ethnicity. Hopefully this open-mindedness will last, as I'm sure I still have much to learn about this topic.