Thinking About Race

Thinking About Race in Your Community

Shirley Flowers

Western International University

ETH123 Cultural Diversity

Dr. Meg Garberina

Thinking About Race in Your Community

If you travel approximately 40 miles east from Atlanta along Interstate 20, you will come upon the historic town of Covington, Georgia. It offers the best of the South's historic site attractions which includes the old antebellum homes and the popular shooting locations from the hit TV series "In the Heat of the Night" and "Dukes of Hazard" which was filmed in various locations throughout the city of Covington. With the beautiful scenery and historic sites located in Covington, Georgia, how did the community get to be so diversified?

Here's a bit of history to show how Covington, Georgia, has become a community filled with several different nationalities. The original land owners / inhabitants of Covington-Newton County, Georgia, were once part of the Creek Indian Nation. The Creek Indians lived on and worked the land until Georgia Governor Thorp negotiated a treaty in 1813 with them whereby they relinquished their ownership to the land (Smith and Patterson, 2000). The Creek Indians remained in the Covington-Newton County area for a decade before being banished to Oklahoma over the "Trail of Tears." In 1822, the city of Newtonsboro was renamed Covington after General Leonard Covington who was a hero in the War of 1812 (City of Covington History, 2005).

The early settlers in Covington were mainly white Americans. The new settlers were mostly farmers. The crops grown included barley, corn, cowpeas, grain sorghum, hay, oats, soybeans, sweet potatoes, watermelons and wheat (City of Covington History, 2005). Cotton soon became the crop of choice with the invention of the cotton mill. Once the railroad was finished in the Covington, Newton County area in 1845, the county's agricultural base helped to produce other related industries such as textile mills, saw mills and pulpwood industries (Smith and Patterson, 2000).

As noted by Smith and Patterson (2000), the population in Covington, Newton County, Georgia in 1940 was approximately 317, mainly White Americans. The city continued to grow as textiles, concrete pipes and lumber mills became the main trades for the area. With such a small land area of approximately 12 square miles or 7,680 acres, Covington, Newton County consisted of 10,267 people in 1970. By the time we reached 1990 the population had decreased to 10,026 (Smith and Patterson, 2000). According to ESRI Business Information Solutions (2005), the City of Covington consisted of 17,775 people in 2000 and 25,561 in 2005. The ethnic groups that were comprised in this number are: White alone, Black alone, American Indian Alone, Asian Alone, Pacific Islander Alone, Some Other Race Alone, Two or More Races, and Hispanic Origin (any race) (see Example 1).

Example 1 Table

Table 1

A Comparison of the Race and Ethnic Diversity in Covington, Georgia, During 2000 and 2005

2000 2005

Race and Ethnicity Number Percent Number Percent

White Alone 13,668 76.9% 18,742 73.3%

Black Alone 3,537 19.9% 5,833 22.8%

American Indian Alone 52 0.0% 80 0.3%

Asian Alone 157 0.9% 272 1.1%

Pacific Islander Alone 2 0.0% 5 0.0%

Some Other Race Alone 132 0.7% 240 0.9%

Two or More Race 227 1.3% 390 1.5%

Hispanic Origin (Any Race) 389 2.2% 723 2.8%

Note. From ESRI Business Information Solutions, 2005.

The Covington community has grown since their first inhabitants, the Creek Indian Nation. According to ESRI Business Information Solutions, the three major races that are in Covington, Newton County are White, Black and Hispanic (Demographic and Income, 2005). According to the Newton County Chamber of Commerce, the historic downtown area consists of antique stores, gifts and accessories, hardware items, florists and a day spa (Downtown, 2005). New housing in the downtown and rural areas has increased over the past eight to nine years. According to the Newton County Chamber of Commerce, along with the historic homes two new traditional developments and new lofts have been erected downtown (Downtown, 2005). These homes have brought an influx of residents from Atlanta and out of town to the Covington area.

Since the community has so much diversity, education and job opportunities are available to anyone looking to get ahead. We have a local Department of Labor which has listings of over 500 jobs opening in the various counties. Job training is offered to those looking to change professions at little or not cost to them. When we first moved to Covington in 1996, we thought it was a very friendly community. Well, our first impression was correct. The people in this small town are very friendly and seem to get along well together. The local businesses range from Michelin, the manufacture of truck tire retreads, to General Mills, the dry cereal manufacturer.

Upon closer look at the residents, I found that even though the community started out as an all-white American community, it had opened its doors to inter-racial couples and families, Hispanics, Asians and even gay and lesbian couples. Being that my husband and I were originally from Connecticut and were not subject to much of the aforementioned, we had never seen so many mixed race couples and families in one place. It was truly a rude awakening. Covington was a small section of metro Atlanta that people of any race could come and live comfortably.

I came in contact with the local branch of the Chamber of Commerce in early 2005. The chamber members will assist business owners and the community with information on networking, growth potential for your business, and community interests. The Chamber of Commerce supports programs such as Teacher of the Year, Youth Leadership Institute, Special Olympics, and tourism assistance. Also there is the Department of Family and Community Services which assist individuals and families with foster care and adoptions, employment services, food stamps, temporary assistance to needy Families, and Medicaid. Covington also has several Volunteer