Residents who have lived in Fort Collins, Colorado through many generations, they are of witness to a population transformation in progress. On the flipside, for someone to move here from a mega-city would be a demotion of such change. The way of viewing this angle have been disconnected due to the stereotypical saying about the town.
“The whitest town ever!”
It is not the people that is the problem, but a problematic interpretation of the community’s direction.
If we identify skin color to be a measurement of diversity, then we are constantly entertaining the separation of being human and excluding the unity of expression. In other words, through the appreciation of art and culture, the town is given the opportunity to be transformative with their limited focus to the meaning of ‘diverse.’
The Korean community recently hosted a festival in Old Town Square that featured Buchaechum, Samulnori, taekwondo demonstrations and other musical performances. The event was a surprise to many locals that wandered into the square like distant tourists, full of curiosity and awe.
Audience members cheered, clapped and waved their hands for the little ones showcasing their skills in martial arts. The crowd bursting full of excitement with every showcasing, like a child, free from stressors and judgmental order of the world. Their minds flowing with joy and a smile to deliver.
Kyeonghee Kim, Colorado State University Korean language instructor, had her students perform sing-a-longs at the festival, she later explained the meaning of Han(한), a crucial word to understand the relevancy of their intent in hosting events like these for the future.
“There are two meanings for Han, first is that it represents Korea as a whole, our country Daehanminguk.” Said Kim. “The other means feeling, very sad feeling…it is a way Korean people express their inner minds because of the past wars.”
Due to the past time trauma of heavy divisions in Korea, they have comprehended what separation among the community is like — a deeply written sorrow that marks their gratitude for togetherness. The significant of this in accordance with the Fort Collins community is that they set a great example to set aside our comparative differences and indulge toward the joy of sharing.
It is rather difficult to recognize unity, when we have little understanding that it is easier to make or join divisions among ourselves.
According to Data USA, “In 2020, there are 11.3 times more white residents(287k people) in Fort Collins, CO than any other race or ethnicity.”
Clarified by statistics, the rumors clearly present to be true, however, data collection has its limits. The numbers may add up to be a calculated understanding of our population, but it leaves out the artistic expression of the people.
The analysis also provided the age range of citizens within the city as well, which shows a unique spike between the younger and much older generations.
In a Coloradoan opinion piece, ‘Lack of diversity challenges people of color in Fort Collins’ written by Kevin Duggan, it explains an experience of a women and her daughter confronted by vulgar language of all places, here in Northern Colorado.
Much of a surprise, it is not out of the ordinary, but not a commonality to represent the people of this area. It would be expected to have this sort of behavior around since much of the historical past of the town is founded upon the white population, however, times have changed and we must differentiate the uneasiness that it brings to people.
Taking a look at figure 2, it can be seen that some people have been around for their whole life. Those with ignorant ways of thinking are historically stuck within the favorable not so distant memory when Fort Collins was not populated by foreigners.
It is not the people which troubles their life, but themselves — unable to move on from the nostalgic days and remain in denial that the place should not evolve.
What people need is the awareness and accessibility to find others within the community that are looking for the same experience. At this international potluck, It was discovered by the couple to the left of the photograph that groups like this can be found, it is just a rare occurance to have this chance of meeting people coming from various parts of the world in a single house.
Although they come from a white background physically, it does not matter when their authenticity shines with an open mind to desire conscious expansion. Skin color serves as the identifier where our roots originate, not a true definer of who we are.
If we let the shade or tone of our hands and feet become a dictation of our representation, then we have failed to be aware of the inner state. Deep within us exist a unity, which connects all living beings. It is an emotional pathway that drives life experiences.
