Community Analysis

Community Analysis Paper
Sara Kornoski

Macomb Township, Michigan
Sara Kornoski
SW 4020: Macro Theory and Practice
Sara Kornoski
I lived in Macomb Township, Michigan since I was fourteen months old. I have lived in
the same county, city, neighborhood, block, and house as well. I have seen the community
transform. I knew what it used to be and what it is now. Macomb Township is a general law
township and northern suburb of Detroit located in Macomb County in the U.S. state of
Michigan, in the Metropolitan Detroit region.
Community while I was growing up
While growing up Macomb Township was not built up with as many strip malls,
businesses, dealerships, restaurants, grocery stores, doctor offices, hospitals, condo complexes,
and houses as there is now. There werent as many bigger businesses around because there were
smaller ones around. But they were ran out and couldnt compete with the strip malls that were
being built, and since they were built and once they were built people preferred going to them
which drew business away from the smaller businesses to the bigger ones.
The census of Macomb Township shows the population growing as years passes. The
census of 1980 shows the population being 14,230, in 1990 it was 22,714, in 2000 it was 50,478,
and in 2010 it was 79,580, and in 2014 the population is 88,000. (Macomb County Michigan:
Census Information) The census data shows that as the community started getting built up in
2000, people started to immigrant to the community with its growth and development.
Invasion
The invasion of the strip malls, dealerships, restaurants, grocery stores, doctor offices,
and hospitals either brought-out or ran-out the smaller businesses. There has been an increase in
condo complexes, and houses being built in the past decade on property that was once just land
with trees and grass. This invasion has caused Macomb Township to have less vacant land, as
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well as caused rodents, and deer and rabbits, and other animals to not have a home and have to
relocate or find food as easily.
The invasion of the businesses occurred in 2000. The census data shows that the
population has increased with the development of the businesses. The growth in population from
2000 to 2010 was 57.2 percent. (Demographicnow.com) This shows that people were attracted to
the area because of the development of businesses that were built.
Concentration
Due to the increase in dealerships, restaurants, grocery stores, doctor offices, and
hospitals there has been concentration with individuals, married couples starting their lives,
married couples with children migrated to Macomb Township, Michigan because of the buildup
and the houses being built. People also migrated to Macomb Township because of its low crime
rate and its safe to raise children. The cause of the transition I believe was due to the vacant land
in the community not being utilized, and possibilities for the land and what it could potentially
do for the community which was bring people into it based on building businesses that married
couples starting their lives or married couples with children would be attracted to.
The Partridge Creek Mall that is located on hall road opened in October of 2007. It has
ninety distinctive stores and restaurants. It is an open-aired regional shopping center. It is
approximately 612,000 square feet. (shoppatridgecreek.com) This shopping mall brings people
from different areas to it. This impacted the community and its cohesiveness by people being
exposed to people from different cultures and having interactions with them. For an example at
the child play area at the Partridge Creek the parents watch their children play and talk with each
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other, usually based on the ages of their children. So the parents talk about their children together
regardless of race because they have common interests.
Gentrification
Since 2000 there has been an increase in the buildings of homes that are bigger and more
expansive than the homes that were already in the community. The expansive homes have
brought in a higher socioeconomic group of people. The average income is 100,000 to 149,000
which represents 96.2 percent of the residents. According to the census of 2000, 26.9 percent of
the residence have some college but do not have a degree. 14.8 percent obtained a bachelors
degree, 10.2 percent obtained an associate degree, and 7 percent obtain their graduate degree. In
the census of 2010, 27 percent obtain a high school diploma, 21.5 percent have a bachelor
degree, 21 percent have obtained some college but did not obtain a degree, 11.4 percent have
obtained an associate degree, and 11.2 percent obtained a graduate degree. In the census of 2014,
26.2 percent obtained their high school diploma, 22 percent obtained their bachelor degree, 20.9
percent have some college but did not receive a degree, and 11.4 percent have obtained their
associate degree, and 11.3 percent have obtained their graduate degree. (demographicsnow.com)
The census data from the year 2000, 2010, to 2014 shows that the individuals have
increased in the level of education they obtained. Between the censuses of 2000-2010 the
percentage of individuals that obtained their graduate degrees have increased 4.2 percent and .1
percent between the years of 2010 to 2014. The census also shows an increase in individuals that
obtained their bachelors degree has increased 6.7 percent between the years of 2000 to 2010 and
.5 percent. The projection of the census of the year 2019 is that 25.6 percent of the residence will
obtain their high school diploma, 22.6 percent will obtain their bachelor degree, 20.4 percent will
have some college education but no college, 11.8 percent will have obtained their graduate
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degree, and 11.5 percent will have obtained their associate degree. These numbers show an
increase in obtaining a bachelor degree by .6 percent, and an increase of .5 percent in obtaining a
graduate degree, and a .1 percent increase in obtaining an associate degree from 2014 to 2019.
(demographicsnow.com)
This census data shows that the level of education will keep increasing. The higher level
of education obtained the better jobs they will receive. The better paying job has an increase in
lifestyle by buying bigger more expansive homes, cars, as well as buying more expansive
clothing, accessories, and other items.
To make space for the new developments houses and smaller businesses were pushed out
which caused them to rebuild or seek other careers and move somewhere else. It also caused
people to be dislocated in the community and have to move out because they couldnt compete
with the newer businesses and couldnt afford the new expansive homes.
Stratification
The stratification that has occurred in my community is the division of socioeconomic
status with the middle class and the higher middle class. This is significant because the
community has a wealthier class of people which has caused people with more money to migrate
to the area. Bigger more expansive houses cause people to pay higher taxes which bring more
money to the community. The building of expansive homes has happened in my community and
not in others due to its reputation of being a low-crime, having good public schools already, and
causing people to move to it.
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Succession
The succession that has occurred is the higher middle class individuals and families that
have moved into Macomb Township, along with the businesses, strip malls, stores, and
restaurants out sourcing the smaller businesses and bringing in bigger ones. When I was growing
up there was a childs play center which was called magic magics right by a grocery store it was
on hall road and right before Romeo Plank. I can remember having my birthdays there as a child
and having a fun experience and memories that I still remember. When I was in middle school
Major Magics was vacant and then it was for sale. This property is now a strip mall with
businesses like, Biggyby, Jimmy Johns, Salsa Rita, Sho Gun. Major Magics went vacant due to
the children in the area growing up and not going there anymore which caused them to lose
business and potentially lose money and not have enough business and money to stay open and
function.
The younger families will not be able to go to Major Magics because it is no longer
open. I dont think families go to places like Major Magics due to society changing and not
being what it once was. The wealthier families that have moved into the community do more
expansive activities like go on vacations rather than going to Major Magics.
Growing up
While growing up in Macomb Township Michigan there was more vacant land with
trees, and grass and not with as many strip malls, stores, restaurants, car dealerships, homes,
condominiums and grocery stores, some of the businesses that were around when I was a child
went out of business and were torn down and/or replaced with new businesses. Within my own
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subdivision there were more children than there are now. Now there are older individuals, single
people, and newlyweds, when there was married couples with children before.
Implication of the changes in the community
The implications of the changes, has caused an increase of the volume of people and
traffic, this increase has caused a break down in the roads now having more potholes, and cracks
in them. The road commission has fixed the worst roads in Macomb Township. The increase in
businesses has made an increase in job opportunities and people owning these businesses as well
as families buying the new developed homes. The building of strip malls and stores and
restaurants caused some smaller businesses to go out of business, get brought out or not be able
to compete.
Impact on diverse populations and populations at risk
The increase of businesses, job opportunities, homes, car ownership, stores, and
restaurants have impacted diverse populations and populations at risk by them buying houses,
buying a new car, shopping and getting jobs at the new developed businesses. The businesses
may and may not discriminate against hiring people from diverse populations. I think they do or
dont base on their own perceived thoughts, feelings, and stereotypes they hold. I dont think
some people from diverse populations want to move to Macomb Township because it is an area
of predominantly white people and they assume that they will be discriminated due to the
historical evidence of the treatment from white communities.
Macomb Township has always been a predominantly white community. According to the
2000 census there was 48,727 which was 96.2 percent white, 328 which was 0.6 percent of
African Americans, 709 which was 1.4 percent of Asian/Native Hawaiians/Other Pacific
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Islanders, 58 which was .1 percent of American Indians or Alaska Natives, 697 which was 1.3
percent of people with two or more races, 673 which was 1.3 percent of people that are Hispanic
Ethnicity, and 112 which was .2 percent of people that were of some other race. According to the
2010 census there was 72,091 which was 90.5 percent white, 3,136 which was 3.9 percent of
people that were African Americans, 2,478 which was 3.1 percent of people that were
Asian/Native Hawaiians/Other Pacific Islander, 1,806 which was 2.2 percent of people that were
Hispanic Ethnicity, 1,243 which was 1.5 percent of people that had two or more races, 519 which
was .6 percent that were some other race, 161 which was .2 percent that were American Indian or
Alaska Native. According to the 2014 census there was 73,128 which was 89 percent white,
3,915 which was 4.7 percent that are African Americans, 2,894 which was 3.5 percent that are
Asian/Native Hawaiians/Other Pacific Islander, 2,013 which was 2.4 percent that are Hispanic
Ethnicity, 1,459 which was 1.7 percent that are two or more races, 575 which was .7 percent that
are of some other race, 172 which was .2 percent that are American Indian or Alaska Native. The
projections of 2019 for the demographics of Macomb Township is there will be 82,063 which is
87.7 percent that will be white, 4,919 which is 5.2 percent will be African American, 3,686
which is 3.9 percent that will be Asian/Native Hawaiians/Other Pacific Islander, 2,490 which
will be 2.6 percent that will be Hispanic Ethnicity, 1,947 which is 2 percent that will be of two or
more races, 708 which is .7 percent that will be of some other race, 198 which is .2 percent that
will be American Indian or Alaska Native. (Demographicsnow.com)
Based on the above data from the census it shows that the population as a whole will
increase. It shows that white will still be the predominant race, there will be an increase in other
races moving into the community. There was a dramatic increase in the number and percentage
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of people from diverse populations that came into the community from 2000 to 2010, and not as
big from 2010 to 2014 or from 2014 to 2019.
Assess the current nature of interactions among different racial and economic
population groups
Some people within the community can be prejudice, discriminatory, and judgmental
against people who are from diverse and at risk populations. I have experienced prejudice and
been discriminated against first hand by white Americans within my community with the 22 year
old severally mentally and physically handicap girl I am a home care manager for. While out and
about with her they will stare, make rude comments, in restaurants they will move seats so they
dont have to see her, while checking out at a grocery shopping at Wal-Mart in Macomb
Township Michigan a that was a white couple that were in their 70s, was talking amongst each
other about the child saying things like I bet she was young when she had that thing, I bet the
mother did drugs and caused the child to be that, and giving me and the child dirty looks, even
the cashier was acting this way. People of diverse populations are way more accepting and nice
towards the child because they know how it feels to be different and discriminated against.
The current nature of interactions among different racial population groups is everyone is
nice to people that come from different racial backgrounds. There is a small percentage of people
that are of different racial groups other than white, but if people do move in to the area that are
not white the white people accept them into the area and even if they are opposed to them they
do not mention it.
Certain individuals that are opposed and racist will not talk to people that come from
different racial populations. I think this behavior and attitudes impact cohesiveness and
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inclusiveness of the community as a whole by not being open to individuals and families of color
because of their own prejudices of them. I think the community would not be welcoming of
people of color moving into the community because of the historical experiences and treatments
of different races. The legacy of red-lining which was the practice of denying or limiting the
financial services to areas that were poor or were predominantly people of color areas. The New
Deals Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) created a redlining policy by establishing
color-coded maps of American cities that used racial tests to classify lending and insurance risks.
New, wealthy, racially similar housing areas got a green line while black and poor white
neighborhoods were often delimited by red lines that meant they were unappealing. This redlining method was soon used by banks and insurers to show who and who not to lend to and
insure. (Bradford Hunt, D., 2004) This historical practice may impact the current experience of
certain populations moving into the community because they do not feel welcomed into it
because history shows that.
The current nature of interactions among economic population groups is that everyone is
nice and cordial to them or they just ignore them. There are not a lot of people that are from
lower economic status because the houses in Macomb Township Michigan are expensive so you
need to be of a certain economic status to be able to purchase the homes and live in the area. But
there are trailer parks and apartment complexes that have individuals, and their families that are
not of a higher economic status tend to not have much communication with the other group of
people other than in a business manner or a friendly banter in a store or something like that. So
there is definitely a divide among social classes in the area unless an individual has known the
person of different economic status for a while or if it is a family member.
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These people fit into the gentrified community one of two ways. They either move out of
the community because they can no longer afford to live there or they find a higher paying job.
There are resources available to them within Macomb County but not within Macomb Township
due to people in the area not needing as many services. Some of these agencies include;
Michigan Works, The Department of Human Services, Macomb County Community Services
Agency, Macomb County Veterans Services. These services help Macomb County residents with
finding jobs, provide rental assistance, medical assistance, senior living facilities, provide
families and seniors with hot meals, food assistance, schooling like head start preschool and
early head start, legal matters, and social services. (MacombCounty.gov) A lot of the agencies
are located in Clinton Township which is located approximately 10-20 minutes away from
Macomb Township.
Systems Theory is defined as being a group of things that have something in common. It
includes any grouping of with any sort of relationship, such as a collection of people. (Tamas,
Whitehorse, Yukon, 2000) Certain regions within Macomb Township have the more expansive
homes and other regions have the less expensive homes, the trailer parks and apartments. There
is an older section with moderate homes in them and a newer section with large expensive
homes.
The interactions amongst racial population groups as well as among differing economic
populations impact the communitys relationships with other communities is cordially I dont
think anyone treats the people differently. The surrounding areas are of predominantly white
areas also. If people are against another racial group or differing economic status they usually
ignore them and steer clear of them. Individuals from diverse populations might perceive the
community as being discriminatory against people from outside racial groups. They may think
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the community to be racist against them based on the historic actions and present from white
people towards people of color.
The people within the community behaviors towards economically and racially
disadvantaged populations have impacted the overall cohesiveness by people of higher status not
wanting to associate with the people of lower status. According to the conflict theory which is
competition between haves and have-nots social services fulfill social control function.
(Netting, Kettner, McMurry, Thomas, 2012) There is an inequality of social class in the
community. There are people living in trailer parks and apartments which would be considered
to be lower socioeconomic status and there are people living in 240,000 homes which would be
considered the higher socioeconomic status. There is an imbalance in the socioeconomic with the
community.
Macomb Township is a suburban neighborhood. The median real estate price in Macomb
Township is $267,726, which is more expansive than ninety three point nine percent in Michigan
and seventy two point four of the neighborhoods in the United States. The average rental price is
currently $2, 1072. The average rental price in Macomb Township is higher than ninety eight
point eight percent of the neighborhoods in Michigan. The homes are primarily made up of
medium sized to large single-family homes and townhomes which is from three to five or more
bedroom homes. Many of the homes are newer and recently built in 2000 or more recent. The
vacancy rates is approximately four percent and this is lower than the percentage of vacancies in
the rest of the neighborhoods in United States with a percentage of eight two point three percent.
The housing supply in Macomb Township is very tight compared to the demand for property.
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In Macomb Township the ethnic background of the people are predominantly of Belgian
and Polish. One point eight percent of the residents are of Belgian heritage and fourteen point
five percent are of polish heritage, and four percent of the residents primarily speak Italian at
home that are five years old and older. This is higher than ninety nine point two percent of the
neighborhood in America. (demographicsnow.com)
Macomb Township is among the best neighborhoods for families in Michigan. The
neighborhood is more family-friendly than 97.3 percent of the entire neighborhoods in the entire
state of Michigan. Macomb Township has top public schools, low crime rates which is a major
attraction for married couples with children or having children in the near future because of these
two attributes which play an important role within a community of having or wanting to start a
family. Macomb township public schools spend $12,402 per student. Macomb Township is a
family community which makes it easy to socialize with a strong sense of community.
(Demographicsnow.com)
The individuals and their families in the neighborhoods in Macomb Township are
wealthy. They are 15 percent the highest income neighborhood in America. Macomb Township
has a higher income than 9.9 of the neighborhoods in America. 5.4 percent of the children 17 and
under that are living in the community are living below the federal poverty line which is a lower
rate of childhood poverty that is found in 74.7 percent of Americas neighborhoods.
The majority of the adults work in the community which; 44.2 percent of the working
population in Macomb Township is employed in an executive management and professional
occupations. 20.5 percent of the residents are employed in occupations like sales, and service
jobs, from major sales accounts, as well as working in fast food restaurants. 18.4 percent of the
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residents are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations. 17 percent work in clerical,
assistant, and tech support occupations. The unemployment rate in Macomb Township is 6.4
percent. In Macomb Township 32.7 percent of the residents in my community spend
approximately 15-30 minutes one-way to their job this is shorter than the time spent commuting
to work for Americans. 90.9 percent of the residents drive alone in private automobiles to get to
their jobs and 8.6 percent of the residents carpool with friends, colleagues, and neighbors to their
job. (demographicsnow.com)
Based on this information it tells me that my community is not very open and accepting
towards people from outside their own. There is an income gap based on the housing prices in
the community, there is no resources available to people in need in Macomb Township but there
are resources available in Macomb County, in Clinton Township. It shows that a lot of the
community is employed in sales and service jobs or are on major sales accounts. They have a lot
of families within the community. There are newer more expansive homes being built since
2000, and there is more people wanting homes than the homes that are being built which have
brought in individuals with higher income levels.
Reflection of the Community
Macomb Township Michigan has made me who I am by my own experiences growing up
until now by providing me with a good education from the great public schools that Macomb
Township has to offer the children in the community. Living in an environment that has a low
crime rate has contributed to my sense of safety and protection when I go out in the community I
am not afraid I feel safe. The majority of the people who live in my community are white people
which made me feel like I was a part of a community I could identify with by seeing people who
were like me. This strengths my community by being among people that share similar
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characteristics like race which brings people together. This has been a detriment within the
community by other diverse populations not feeling welcome because they have a lower number
of individuals from their own ethnic background or the police keep them out by the community
asking them to do so or the community members are racist and do not want them in their
neighborhoods or schools and they dont want themselves or their children to be mistreated so
they dont move to the area.
Community from both a system and ecological perspective
The ecological perspective has to do with the development, adjusting views of human
beings in continuous interaction with their environment. Interactions with others and the
environment are impact to development. Factors like family, classroom, peer group and
neighborhood all have a direct impact on making a person who they are by their family teaching
the children how to be, the classroom a person is in can affect a person by their experiences
whether good or bad they both have an impact on a person, as well as a persons peer group
plays a role making someone who they are. A persons neighborhood makes someone who they
are by influencing what they do or do not do. A childs home and school have a connection with
each other because there two places are two places that children spend a lot of time at. Laws,
policies, and raise in taxes affect a person affects a person by changing something for the better
or worse. The larger culture of a community affects the people in it by help shaping who they are
which is determined based on the characteristics of the community. Environments like a childs
parent work may not directly affect the child but the child is affected in some way. For an
example if a childs parent gets laid off the parent may not have as much money so the childs
life style changes. (Netting, Kettner, McMurry, Thomas, 2012)
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System perspective is a group of things which have something in common. Usually

within a community the people have common characteristics to them. (Whitehorse, Yukon and
Almonte, 2000)
Problem Identification
At first it was difficult for me to identify a problem within Macomb Township because I
always considered it to be a good place to live that did not have problems. After some
consideration and research I did on my community I identified a problem which was diversity. I
do not think Macomb Township is a diverse community.
Probable etiology of the problem
Macomb Township Michigan is a predominantly white community. Within the community
90.5% of the residence in Macomb Township are white, 3.9% are African American, 3.1% are
Asian, 02% are Native Americans, 6% are biracial, and .7% are of a another race. (Macomb
Township Demographics Website) I believe the probable etiology of the lack of diversity within
the community is due to racism. According to the Diversity, Oppression, and Social Functioning
textbook, racism is defined as the subordination of any person or group because of skin color or
other distinctive physical characteristics. I believe the individuals and families within my
community are racist due to lack of other groups that are represented. The individuals in the
community are discriminative towards the severally mentally and physically handicapped child I
take care of and the way people view her while being out in public. People stare, give dirty looks
to her, and move seats in restaurants. They are not inviting towards her so they probably would
be the same way towards people that are from diverse populations.
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Elements and characteristics of the community that make it vulnerable to this problem
The elements of the community that make it vulnerable to diversity is the lack of different
ethnic groups, and races that live in Macomb Township. Other members of diverse groups may
not feel welcomed or accepted because of the low percentages represented and due to this they
may not want to live here. The majority of the time people feel comfortable with other members
of their same ethnic background group. The culture of Macomb Township may not align with
other ethnic backgrounds. People from diverse populations may want to live in communities that
have people from the ethnic group they are associated with. (Thomson& Schoonmaker
Freudenberger, 1997)
The characteristics of the community that make it vulnerable to diverse populations is its
social, economic, historical, and culture factors make not align. Ethnicity does not necessarily a
divisive factor but it is a divisive effect. Divisive effect in Macomb Township is represented by
the percentages of the ethnic groups that are in the community. Diverse ethnic backgrounds may
choice different occupations that pay less that may not put them in the salaries that are high
enough for them to be able to live in Macomb Townships. They may not be of had the same
wants, guidance, opportunities, and means to achieve the same things that people from over
groups have. Different cultures have different factors. Cultures have different characteristics and
factors associated with them that make the people in them be who they are. People in different
cultures may perspective each other differently from the lack of knowledge of the other. Historic
factors play a role in communities. Racism may make people of diverse populations not want to
remain in a community that they feel discriminated against because of the historic background
that oppressed populations have endured. (Thomson& Schoonmaker Freudenberger, 1997)
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Strengths of the community that give the community resilience and the potential for
overcoming the problem
The strengths of Macomb Township are that its family-friendly, has a low-crime rate, and is
of middle to high socioeconomic status. Due to the positive aspects of the community could be
the draw of people of all backgrounds to immigrant in Macomb Township and start a family.
Macomb Township residents could understand the want to live in a community that is family
friendly and has a low crime rate which brought them to the community and could understand
people of diverse populations to it as well. People could bind over raising their children in a safe
community as well as the family-friendly atmosphere it has.
Identify major institutions schools, factories, churches, attraction sites. How are these
institutions contributing to or inhibiting the communitys ability to address the problem?
The schools within Macomb Township have top public schools which would be a
positive attraction for families from diverse populations to settle in Macomb Township and raise
their children. Top public schools provide children with a quality education that opens doors for
their future such as knowledge to progress and further their education in college and obtain a
degree and get a well paying job. Schools could provide cultural seminars to have children learn
about the diverse populations culture, to be more educated on groups that are different from
them and understand them better. I believe its important to gain knowledge about people of
diverse populations to understand why they are who they are. People are scared and
misinformed. They have preconceived ideas of diverse groups. Education could enhance
knowledge and understanding, by awareness of the differences and what they all have in
common. There are few industrial areas in the Township. The majority of the people go outside
of the Township if there are working in factories.
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Churches draw a more diverse membership by being more welcoming and affirming.
Churches do this by incorporating more diverse religious preferences and viewpoints into their
sermons. Churches also have events for the community such as, dinners, programs, and
numerous other events to bring in different cultures to the church. Churches could potentially be
a gateway to introduce individuals and families to a community.
Attractions within the community that could bring in people from diverse populations are
Malls, Macomb Center for the Performing arts, Macomb Town Hall Center, YMCA, and
Macomb Community College and University Center, Lakeside Mall and Partridge Creek Mall.
These are attractions that could bring people into the community. The convenience of having
them close to their home could be a selling point for diverse populations to move into the
neighborhood. Top rated public schools could attract parents with children to move into the area.
It may give their children an opportunity for a better future.
Affected by the problem the most
The people that are affected by the lack of diversity the most in Macomb Township is
everyone. By not having people from different races and ethnic groups in the area is cheating all
of us out of a better life. Children are mostly affected because they do not have much knowledge,
experience, or education about people of diverse populations. They only know their families and
what their beliefs and traditions are. They dont have many interactions with people that are
different than they are. All they know at a young age is what they see and here in their own
families. If children had more interactions with individuals of diverse populations at a young age
they would be more likely to be open and accepting of them.
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Three lay leaders perceptions of the problem

The three lay leaders that I interviewed were teacher, business owner and a pastor from a local
church. I think some of the businesses I contacted did not want to participate in an interview with
me because depending on my questions and their responses it could potentially affect their
businesses. So this made them uncomfortable and didnt want their business to be affected so
they declined participation. I found that diversity is a subject matter that a lot of people do not
want to speech on.
I interviewed the Revere at Immanuel Lutheran Church and School located on Romeo
Plank and is close to my house. His name is Revere Greg S. Griffith. When I interviewed him I
asked him questions about whether or not he thought his church and community were diverse.
He told me that he did not think the community was diverse nor was his church but that everyone
is welcome regardless of their ethnicity or race. I asked him if his church adverse their activities
to different areas to bring people in from various ethnicities and groups. He said that when they
have upcoming activities that they usually just adverse locally because many people are not
always willing to travel long distances. He did say though maybe they could put upcoming
events and activities in various newspapers, and websites to bring in people from different areas
into the church as members to bring up a bigger congregation. He also said by bringing people
into the church they would get more affiliated with the community and have a want to live in it
and raise their children. He also said it would be nice to get new people with their fresh ideas
into the church to share and be a part of. They could bring a fresh perspective of new activities
and thoughts into the church that it currently does not have.
I also interviewed a grade school teacher. I asked her what her thoughts were about
putting culture education into the class, and she said that she thought it would be helpful for the
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children to learn about culture at between 5-8 years because children usually have their own
opinions and ideas about different cultures at the age of 9. So she thought it would be better to
put it into the classroom early. She thought that the children would be more receptive to it if the
teachers made it fun for them. She said it may be costly on the school districts for the materials
that would be used. She also said some teachers and parents may not be for the students learning
about culture because they are too young.
I interviewed the business owner of Salsa Ritas which is a restaurant in the strip mall by
my subdivision. The owner of Salsa Ritas is a man in his late thirties who is homosexual. I
wanted to interview him because he is a person from a group of people that is discriminated
against and I wanted to get his take on diversity within the community to get his perspective on
the matter. I first asked him if he thought Macomb Township was diverse and he told me he did
not think it was diverse with different ethnicities and races and people who are not heterosexuals.
He told me that not everyone is accepting of him because he is gay. He said people discriminate
against him for being gay. I asked him why he thinks people discriminate against him, is it
because people dont agree with his life style or is it because people dont understand his life
style. He said he thinks it is because people dont agree with it and dont want to understand it
because their mind is made up with it. He also said people dont care about understanding people
that are different because it does not directly affect them and until it does they dont care about
it. He said he is more open to people from diverse populations because he is gay and he knows
how it feels to be discriminated against in his own life so he doesnt do it to other people. He
does think that their needs to be people from diverse populations in the community to open
people up to people that are different from them. He suggested that maybe Macomb Township
could be more open and have educational or activities that could teach people
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Assessment tool to assess how community members view the issue

The assessment tool I used to assess how community members view the issue of diversity
within Macomb Township is though surveys. Based on my interviews with the lay leaders in my
community, I realized, not a lot of people thought the community was diverse Due to the role
that the lay leaders have within the community there responses were more open to diversity.
Selection of the people I surveyed
The selection of the people I surveyed was from diverse backgrounds. I surveyed the six
women that work with me as direct care workers for a severally mentally and physically
handicapped 23 year old girl. The women are of various ages, ethnic backgrounds, family
compositions, and have achieved different grade levels. Not all the women live in Macomb
Township but do work in the community so I wanted to get their perspective. While surveying
people I wanted to have various peoples input from all walks of life. I interviewed individuals
from 18 to 78 of both genders. I thought that based on the individuals ages they would have
different perspectives on the problem. I wanted to see if the peoples answers varied due to these
characteristics. Some people were not willing to take the survey and some people were willing to
take it, changed their mind when they heard what the survey was about. Some people were
willing until they found out what the survey was about. I was surprised at the number of people
who are not willing to discuss diversity. I believe racism is still predominant in our society. It
seemed to me their thought pattern was if we dont discuss it, its not there.
Survey
On the survey that I administered to people within the community I first asked their
gender, ethnicity, age group which was from 18-25, 26-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65 and older. I
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asked about their income level. Other questions I asked were based on the diversity within the
community. Whether or not they agreed with putting culture education into the schools, if
children learned about culture would that make the children more culturally educated, diverse,
and sensitive as adults, do you think racism, oppression, discrimination still happens, would they
want their children/future children/older children to learn about culture, if they have a lot of
communication with individuals from diverse populations, do you think teaching culture in
schools would help the children be tolerant towards culture different than their own.
Analyze survey responses from community members
Based on the surveys I collected from community members, I found that the majority of
the people in the community do not think that the community is diverse. A lot of people were not
willing to take my survey due to the subject matter made them feel uneasy. I think people did not
want to discuss diversity because it makes people face their own racist thoughts, and perceptions.
Due to this people dont want to acknowledge that it happens and if they are not directly affected
by it, they dont care as much. People do not care about a subject until it directly has an impact
on their life. I did get people to take my surveys, but the majority of them were relatives or
people that my family has known for a very long time.
Actions and plan for action
One possible action that could be taken to address the problem of diversity in Macomb
Township is to educate people about diverse populations. I think children would be more
receptive to the information about cultures so I would implement culture into their curriculum in
Grade School. I think the younger the children are the more receptive they would be of learning
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about different cultures and diverse populations. I believe knowledge is power and its important
to learn about things people are unaware of.
According to the author Richard Gregory Johnson who is the author of "A Twenty-First
Century Approach to Teaching Social Justice: Educating for Both Advocacy and Action, states that
cultural diversity is a substantial/valuable perception to understand during childhood. Accepting

that people are not all the same will allow children to embrace and value the things that make
each person or group of people different. Children observe cultural differences so its important
to take the time to teach about every culture which can help foster acceptance and understanding.
(Ipatenco, S., 2013)
Charles Ahovissi who came up with a curriculum to help students learn about culture
stated that it is important for children to learn about various cultures to instill knowledge to help
students accept, understand, and appreciate culture, race, social class, religion, and gender
difference. He gets students ready to live and work in the real world so they can contribute to
society. The goals for teaching children about cultural diversity are to have the children
recognize the full implications, worth and values of cultural diversity. It helps children to
appreciate the social living conditions of other groups. Children are able to understand how
cultures have mutual relations with each other as well as how members of the group mutually
depend on the others. It helps to assist students to be able to develop abilities to communicate in
a world that has several of cultures and to assess their attitudes towards other races, religions,
and cultures. Its important for children to establish a profound respect and understand of
different cultures other than their own.
Teachers can incorporate culture into the curriculum by showing the attraction of
diversity. With students Social Studies class teachers can give the history of the different
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cultures. Teaching geography of the culture is also important. The aspects of geography are
where the people of the culture come from and the physical features of the country. Examples of
these aspects are the climate, population, land use, and industries. Its also important to teach
children the traditions, values, and beliefs of different cultures to have them understand key
components of different cultures. In the physical education class students can learn culture
through showing them the rhythm, dance movement, and health that is a part of a culture.
(Ahovissi,C.) Every month could be a different culture that the students learn about and
incorporating and implementing lesson plans for each subject to have to do with the culture that
is to be taught that month.
A teacher by the name of Jane Elliott did an experiment with her class titled a class
divided: the brown eyes/blue eyes. This exercise was to teach the children about racism and how
it feels to be discriminated against on the basis on their eye color. The teacher did the experiment
during brother week. Brother week was a time to acknowledge your brothers and treat everyone
like they are your brother. The teacher asked the students who are treated like there not our
brothers and the students respond with the African Americans and the Native Americans. She
asked her students what people think when they see people that are different from their own and
the students replied with look at the dumb people, she asked the students if they knew how it
felt to be judged by the color of their skin which the children didnt because it was a classroom
of white children who are not discriminated against based on their skin color, and she also
discussed the stereotypes that are out there. (Frontline: A Class Divided)
Jane Elliott separated the students in the classroom by their eye color. The children from
the dominant eye color had extra recess time, were able to help themselves to more food at
lunch, were allowed to sit at the front of the classroom and participate in the class discussion.
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Jane also made a scientific fact that the melanin that caused blue eyes had been found to be
associated with higher intelligence. The conclusions of this exercise were shocking. By the end
of the day the students that were blue eyed were belittling, criticizing, and attacking the children
that were brown eyed. The privilege that came with being blue eyed also helped the students
have the self-esteem and confidence to do well on their assignments for that day. The students
that were brown eyed and normally did well on class assignments did not do well on the
assignments they had in class that day. The brown eyed students became passive, distressed,
anxious, and angry. (Frontline: A Class Divided)
The next day Jane Elliott reversed the exercise and had the blue eyed students be the ones
who were discriminated against and have the brown eyed students be the ones with privilege.
The results were the same as they were the first day of the exercise. Blue-eyed children scored 25
percent to 35 percent lower on their spelling and mathematics tests than they had scored on the
previous day. The end of the second day, when the exercise was finished all the children in the
class were hugging and crying with each other. This exercise showed a classroom full of white
students what it was like to be discriminated against and learned what racism felt like. (Frontline:
A Class Divided) Fourteen years after Jane Elliott did this experiment with her third graders.
Jane Elliott asked her former third grade student why he was so eager to discriminate against the
children that were the other eye color. The student responded with that it felt tremendously evil
and devious, all his inter-assumptions were gone and no matter if they were his friends or not, all
that bent up hostility or aggressions have ever caused you, you had a chance to get it all out.
When the students were the out-group they hated the teacher for putting them through it. A
former student said that no one likes to be discriminated against. Due to being discriminated
against it caused them to feel demoralized and humiliated. Jane Elliott asked her former students
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if the agony that they experienced during this experiment was worth it and they responded with
yes, because it made things a lot different than what it was. (Frontline: A Class Divided)
By participating in the experiment the former students grew up to be more accepting of
individuals from different cultures because they put themselves in their shoes and knew how it
felt when they were discriminated against and didnt want to do the same to others. They realized
that just because someone is different it doesnt mean that they are bad and to judge a person
based on whom they are as a person and there character not based on their race. Jane Elliott
performed the blue eyes/brown eyed experiment on 300 students. She didnt get any
backlash/reaction from school administers or parents. Jane Elliott also performed this experiment
on adults as well, she found similar conclusions. (Frontline: A Class Divided)
I think this experiment should be mandatory to perform in the classroom to teach children
how it feels when discriminated against and teach them to be more accepting of people from
different cultures, judge people based on who there are as people not based on their race. This
experiment did show positive changes in the lives of the students Jane Elliott performed it on.
This experiment can be implemented into the grade schools curriculum and can be administered
by trained professionals. The teachers could get training on how to appropriately follow through
with this assignment. Or professionals that are trained to administer this activity to its students
could do it with the students.
Discuss community factors that would support this action plan
The people that would be for having cultural education and awareness in the classroom
could be the school administers, school officials, teachers, students, and parents who see and
realize the benefit. The community factors that would support this action plan would be the
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growth in knowledge that the students would gain that would help them later on in life. It is best
to teach grade school age children about culture because that is the time when the children are
forming their own ideas and opinions about themselves and people around them, so it would be
important to teach them the accurate information about different populations so they have the
correct information and form healthy ideas and opinions about others. Grade school aged
children can put racial and cultural differences in perspective. Teachers do not have to teach the
students about tolerance because children are born with a natural sense of justice and fairness.
Children are taught to be hurtful, cruel, have prejudices, and to discriminate towards others.
Teachers should not discourage children from asking questions because children ask them due to
their curiosity. (Lee,K.)
The people that would be for doing Jean Elliots Blue eyed/brown eyed experiment in the
classroom would be school administers, school officials, and parents that realize the benefit, and
the impact the experiment would have long-term. It could also change negative views of people
from diverse populations or making it so they dont have them. By the first hand experience of
discrimination and learning how it feels so they may not do it to other people. When Jean Elliot
did this experiment with her class, she did not have a lot of school administers and officials as
well as parents that opposed it. (Frontline: A Class Divided)
Discuss community factors that would discourage this action plan
People that would be against cultural education and awareness in the classroom would be
school officials, school administers, parents that believe their children are too young to learn and
attain the knowledge. The cost of classroom materials and supplies for the children would be
much higher than what the school is able to pay for. Some of the childrens parents would not
want their children to learn about cultures in school because they dont know what their child
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would be learning. The school could get the teachers to send home their curriculum to show the
parents what would and would not be covered and how. The community factors that would
disadvantage this action plan would be that teaching children about cultures devalues the core
American value of treating individuals without the regard to race, creed, or color. Diversity
violates the American Creed. (Thomson, & Schoonmaker Freudenberger, 1997)
Some of the teachers have bias against certain cultures which would influence the
materials that they taught the children. Teachers found that their control over the class was lost
when discussing culture. Some male teachers are against teaching culture in their classrooms.
When talking about culture, there was a very broad range of attitudes among the teachers talking
about teaching culture in their class. (Lea, K. Multicultural Attitudes in Teacher Education)
Jean Elliotts Blue eyed/brown eyed experiment had criticism that came with it. Critics
said that it could cause psychological damage on the students, who participate, because it causes
the children to be bullied, get angry, and upset. (Frontline: A Class Divided) Some parents may
not want their children participating in the experiment due to the effects. School officials, school
administers, the students may not think racism and discrimination doesnt exist and if it does its
not that often, so they may feel like there is no purpose to do the experiment in the classroom.
Some parents have children that are already bullied, discriminated against, and because of this
they would not want their children to be subjected to it again and it may be worse than before.
Some of the children may not want to participate in the experiment for the same reasons the
parents wouldnt want them to do it.
Discuss a plan for evaluating the change effort
After the lessons on learning about different cultures in the classroom is over the children
would take tests to determine how much of the information they retained. Some of the questions
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could be based on the information about the culture as well as asking questions to the children
like; what characteristics about the culture they found interesting, what they not found
interesting, what stuck out to you the most about the culture.
After the cultural learning seminars for adults, surveyors could be administered to gauge
the peoples overall experience. The surveyor questions that would be asked are; what did you
find interesting, what new information did you learn, what made you interested in attending the
seminar, did the seminar help you learn about the culture, what would you change about the
seminar, what would you keep, did this seminar help you learn about the culture, did it change
your perceptions on the culture. These surveyors could be used to help better the seminars in the
future by the feedback it receives.
To measure the effectiveness of Jean Elliotts blue eyed/brown eyed experiment the
teacher could have an open discussion and an assignment with the students about how they felt
being the privileged group, and the oppressed, discriminated group. Ask the children how they
think people feel from diverse populations when they are discriminated against. Ask the children
what they gained and learned from doing the experiment. To gauge the long-term effects on the
children that participated in the experiment I would administer surveyors about ten years later. I
would ask them what the long-term effects had been, do they treat people differently that are
from diverse populations, do they accept people and do not discriminate against people from
diverse populations. This could be done by administrating surveyors. The long-term effects of
this experiment could show the potential impact it has.
In conclusion I have discussed my community. I have provided census data and other
information, and what has gone on in the community. I identified the problem as being not
diverse, interviewed lay leaders about the issue, as well as 20 community members. I came up
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with two action plans to help the community with this problem which is I would implement
culture education into the classroom as well as do Jean Elliotts Blue eyed/brown eyed
experiment with the students. I discussed how I would the measure the results, as well as
community factors would support and be a discourage for the two action plans.
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References
Thomson, J., & Schoonmaker Freudenberger, K. (1997, January 1). The characteristics of
the community and resource management incentives. Retrieved from
http://www.fao.org/docrep/w7483e/w7483e06.htm#key%20characteristics%20of%20thecommu
nity
Ipatenco, S (Oct 21, 2013) How to Teach Culture & Cultural Diversity to Young Children
(LIVESTRONG.COM) http://www.livestrong.com/article/188586-how-to-teach-culture-culturaldiversity-to-young-children/
Frontline: A Class Divided (PBS)

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided/etc/view.html
(K, lee) Teaching Kids about Race and Cultural Diversity

How to help your grade-schooler learn to appreciate differences in people
http://childparenting.about.com/od/socialdevelopment/a/teachdiversity.htm
Against Diversity National Association of Scholars;
http://www.nas.org/articles/against_diversity
Multicultural Education Courses And The Student Teacher: Eliminating Stereotypical Attitudes
In Our Ethnically Diverse Classroom; Tran, M. T., R. L. Young, and J. D. Di Lella., Journal of
Teacher Education
Lea, K. (2011) Multicultural Attitudes in Teacher Education ReNew Group
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Kendall, Frances E., Diversity in the Classroom: New Approaches to the Education of Young
Children. Second Edition. Teachers College Press, Columbia University
Netting, E., Kettner, P. Kettner, P., McMurtry S & Thomas, M. (2012). Social Work Macro
Practice(5thed.) Allyn/Bacon
Macomb County Michigan : Census Information (Macomb County Michigan : Census
Information) retrieved from http://www.macombcountymi.gov/census.html
Tamas, Whitehorse, Yukon, Almonte (January, 2000) System Theory in Community
Development
Bradford Hunt, D. (2004, January 1). Redlining
http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/1050.html
Ahovissi, C. (2013) Action Plan to Promote Cultural Diversity
demographicsnow.com
shoppatridgecreek.com
MacombCounty.gov
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