The Globe brings us this personal story of navigating race, from Newtonian philanthropist Aixa Beauchamp:
Sometimes you really have to couch what you’re trying to say. My husband and I joined a chichi country club about 10 years ago — at the time we were the only Latino couple who were members — and we were having dinner with a few other couples, and it turned out one woman owned property in Puerto Rico. She said, “The only thing I don’t like about Puerto Rico is that people don’t speak English.” I said to myself, I can be a hard-ass about this and ram her, or being a good Kennedy School grad, I can educate. So I went to the facts. I told her that the official language in Puerto Rico is Spanish, and English is considered a second language. Most people under 40 spoke both languages, and it’s enriching.
I asked why she felt this way, and she shared that as a preschool teacher she had experiences with kids in bilingual programs not learning English well. After I got to know her better in a golf group, I learned that she also volunteered as an English-as-a-second-language teacher and wanted to help people learn English so they could get better jobs, become citizens, and help their kids with school. I also learned she and her family spent part of their vacation in Puerto Rico helping preschool kids learn English.
So what did I learn? Sometimes people don’t share their full stories, and this creates difficulties in communication and understanding. Having these conversations, although hard, opens us up to our own biases. For me, it’s assuming that affluent white people’s remarks come from a place of racism, when it’s actually more a lack of cultural awareness.
“Most people under 40 spoke both languages” – that was not my impression from a week-long visit. Not saying there’s anything wrong with that, but I don’t think it’s true. We got lost on the road about an hour from San Juan and could not find a single soul in a whole town who could give us directions.
That said, I do like the message in this paragraph.
I think that the author was making the point that although she shared so much with her peers at the club- education, affluence, sophistication- her fellow members still harbored a certain ignorance towards her background and also pre-set beliefs about her and her island compatriots. After talking some more, she acquired a grudging respect for the actions and good intentions of the other as well: a story well worth reading.
Actually, I think the statement could also have been interpreted by Ms. Beauchamp as “I love everything about Puerto Rico; In fact I love it enough to live there part of the year. I just wish more people spoke English.” It could have been interpreted more positively. The club woman obviously was comfortable enough in PR culture and with the PR people to live there.
Just about everyone I encounter from a Spanish or Portuguese speaking country knows far more English than I am able to muster for either of their languages. I’m in no position to tell anyone outside the US that they have to learn English. One major exception. I spent two years in Morocco with the Navy back in the mid-60’s and got pretty deep into the culture, music and people. Not many spoke English at that time, but they told me to concentrate on improving my French and forget Arabic for all but customary greetings, salutations and other niceties. They were convinced (rightfully so) that I’d never be able to carry on any kind of serious conversation in Arabic because there were just too many nuances, double meanings and other obstacles.