Lois Fields
Last year I saw the community come together when our troops left the National Guard Armory. It did not matter whether one was black or white that day. I have never seen that many people, it seemed like over 1,000 people.
Everybody was there for the same reason. There were as many people outside as there were inside. They wanted to come together but couldn’t because they didn’t have the space. I was one of those people outside.
You try to have functions that both groups will attend, but we have groups that cling together. I would like to see people with different backgrounds interact. With work and a little bit more trust we can get to that.
Activities need to be structured, from the very young to the very old. We need to be all different cultures and backgrounds as a group. I believe one thing and you believe something different. Your surroundings are what you learn, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you are right or wrong.
It would be more beneficial to have one community center than to have multiple family life centers. Building a center would need to include everyone’s opinion... the very poor and the very young. What is important to you may not be important to me, so if our ideas are put together... we build from there.
It would be an opportunity for community to come together. It would offer the opportunity for us to start building trust in each other instead of the way the majority of us feel now. There’s this divisive line of mistrust and hate... I would like to see those lines gone.
If people start thinking “do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” we’d be a better county. I think it is more about power and control. One group wants to be in control and keep the other one down. One always has to be on top. It’s working both ways; both groups are doing it to each other. It really is scary. You’ve got to have trust and be willing to compromise: two things the majority of people aren’t willing to do. A lot of mistrust and lack of interaction is your perception. You see a person and this is what you think he or she likes.
A lot of people think I’m mean, but I’m not. I will not tolerate being pushed around, but if I can do anything to help you I will. I guess it’s just a look and my loud authoritative voice. People have a wall built already and eventually it might come down, but I’m not going to go without the wall between us. I think that’s the way most people feel. It’s not going to happen overnight, but for us here in Hale County it’s the only way that we are all going to survive. If we keep with “I’m over here, you’re over here, there’s no in-between,” we’re all going to perish like fools.
Something has to be done. Who’s going to do it? We need to do it. You will be surprised at the number of people who hate the hate and division... the way we are. We're never going to prosper until that’s resolved. I don’t know how, but we need to start somewhere.
Lois Fields
County Commissioner, District II. Sawyerville, Alabama
Outsidein. A Community Space for Hale County.
outsidein: a community space for hale county. build space with your voice.
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