The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

GYWN OAK PARK

I have enjoyed taking this course because it has given me a chance to reach out to some of my older family members to ask them about some of their life experiences. Recently I went to work and shared information that we had talked about in our class. One my co-workers asked me if I remembered a park in our county called Gwynn Oak partk. I had heard of the park but it had closed by the time my parents and I had moved to our home in 1978. My co-worker then went on to explain that the park was a small scaled amusement park that was segregated. She said that blacks weren't allowed into the park and the the NAACP had many demonstrations before the park became intergratted. At some point the park was closed and now it has become a park when you can go and have picnics.

When I think about things like this it amazes me that this took place in the neighborhood where I grew up. It makes me feel angry that things like took place in my community. This practice of segregation clearly diminished equity because they made it a point not to admit minorities. It makes me mad to think that just because of the color of your skin, people weren't allowed to go to certain places. 

I'm very passionate when it comes to discrimination of any kind so I know if I had been alive during that time, I would have actively participated in any protests that were organized.