LA Times reports on racial tensions in Paso Robles
‘Even with the city’s diversity, some people of color feel invisible’
– The Sunday edition of The LA Times featured a front-page story, “In Paso Robles, a struggle to belong,” by reporter Tyrone Beason.
“The debate over critical race theory and a controversial ethnic studies class brought me to the California wine town of Paso Robles,” writes Beason on Twitter. “But I discovered that a deeper crisis plays out beyond the classroom: People of color are tired of feeling invisible.”
The article begins:
PASO ROBLES, Calif. — Paso Robles is idyllic: Victorians line its streets; wine tasting rooms ring a grassy plaza; country roads wind through oak groves; and grapevines stream like braids over steep hillsides. Children walk to school on their own, and on warm evenings, couples stroll past sidewalk patios where diners enjoy gourmet meals.
But as the setting sun casts golden hues on the quaint wooden shop fronts on the bustling town square one Sunday, the lack of people of color leaves me feeling lonely.
Given that nearly 40% of the population is made up of Mexican Americans and other Latinos, many lured here by jobs in the dozens of surrounding vineyards and wineries, their near-total absence in the square is conspicuous. There isn’t a single Black American besides myself among all of the white pedestrians, either.
The reporter interviewed Susana Lopez, a psychologist and Cal Poly instructor; Paso Robles High School student Mel Ruth González; Geoffrey Land who teaches an ethnic studies class at the high school; local businessman Michael Rivera, school board Trustee Chris Arend; and Juanetta Perkins, who leads efforts to celebrate Juneteenth in Paso Robles.
“The complicated reality is that even with the city’s diversity, some people of color feel invisible and that issues of concern to them go ignored,” Lopez tells the LA Times.
Click here to read the full story
Comments
