Right Next Door

It is no secret that minorities still face discrimination and racism in 2020. In Charleston it is the same way. Within Charleston, there are many sub-cities and it is easy to observe the racial difference between them. In my time of living in Charleston, I have seen that there are a lot of upper-income white families in Mount Pleasant and in North Charleston there are a lot of lower-income black families. Commuting from North Charleston to Downtown Charleston last year opened my eyes to the environmental racism in our community.

After doing more research I have seen the weight of the issue itself. Environmental racism is not just expressed in words or finances but in education as well. Low-income neighborhoods have less funds for education and families struggle to help provide school materials.

An theoretical example that we could think of is a black family with a child going to Mitchell Elementary. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, approximately 80% of African American students graduate high school and 30% earn their Bachelor’s degree. It is safe to say that both parents have graduated high school and are working a job. Because they did not go to college, they have less of a chance at a higher paying job and they are usually working their jobs all day and everyday to provide for their family. Families who are doing this would have a harder time being engaged in their child’s education. This is not because they do not care or because they do not love their child. It is because they are having to work harder to put food on their table and provide. Research even shows that only 30% of African American families have a two-parent household. With that information, we take the whole scenario and subtract one parent’s income. This has now become a whole lot harder.

This painting illustrates the racial differences between neighborhoods in Charleston. One half represents an affluent area with a lot of higher-income families. Those houses are stamped with the college logo of which they attended. On the other side, there is a lower-income neighborhood stamped with some local Charleston high schools and colleges in South Carolina. Some houses do not have any logos at all which mean they either did not finish or did not go at all. This is what I wanted to bring light to in this painting. It is hard to see people who look like me struggle for something that every child deserves.