I am convinced that many people misunderstand the “Hood.” They misunderstand what i might call Black or African American Culture in urban environments. Having grown up in Detroit and attending an majority black high school I was able to determine the differences in culture and learn to appreciate certain aspects of it. It is funny that people that are so intertwined in American Culture could in small ways act so differently, for better or worse.
I thought I had figured much of their culture out until I took a class at Cedarville called Urban Ministry. The class dealt (as it is not a course offered anymore, but that is another topic) in informing students of the ways of how to minister to people in poverty in urban environments. This class was focused around a weekend that would be spent living homeless in the “Hood” of a city called Springfield, Ohio. It occurs in mid-January, which if you have ever spent any time in Ohio would know is an absolutely freezing time of the year. We slept outside in sleeping bags that we were allowed to bring next to fire barrels that we were also given. We were in a group, so having so many people made it easier to throw some makeshift sort of wind barricade up but nonetheless, none of us slept all that much over the weekend. While the weekend was organized by our professor, we definitely had our time to ourselves to try to stay warm, wander the city streets, and to think. We met with individuals who at certain times were extremely involved with drugs, alcohol, prostitution, or had run into hard times in their life that sent them spiraling down into addiction and homelessness.
This was one of the most impacting experiences of my life. Seeing the way that some of these people live in poverty and homelessness and then looking back to certain aspects of black culture made some connections. Things about the way that the kids who I went to school with acted, in protecting their own things or reputation of their family now made sense. Kids throwing up barriers to the public and trying to look as tough and mean as they can now made sense. Having known kids that only had a mom or only had a dad and then looking at their lifestyles and then looking back towards my experiences in the hood, things began to make sense. Many stereotypes about black culture became so much more interesting because I saw where the origins might have come from.
I grew an appreciation for different cultures and especially for those inner city cultures. I am convinced we as Christians are mandated to care, minister, and love those in the cities specifically. While many of the places we go on the world race are not exactly places in the inner city, they most likely will be areas of extreme poverty. Places where people do things that do not seem rational or make much sense to us Americans who are healthy and get to sleep in warm comfy beds every night.
I used to think that black, urban culture would make dumb decisions when it came to getting involved in gangs, alcohol, drugs, or prostitution but when it comes to the reality of their situations they are the ones acting practically, in their own self-interest for the here and now. They are living day to day, not worrying about the future because they cannot afford to.
I see similarities between this urban culture and the expectation I have of the cultures I will experience around the world’s areas of extreme poverty. The World Race will hopefully give me more of an idea of the connection and a much greater understanding and appreciation for the cultures that are so different than my own.
