Cities 07

Jesse Kortuem
3/29/07
Paper Topic

Cultural Events

Culture; what is it and who can define it? For the few who think that they might know the answer to these questions, be aware; be very aware, that the definition of culture is very subjective. What I, the writer, see as culture might not be what you, the reader, define it to be. This is something that Sharon Zukin addresses in her book The Cultures of Cities. The actual definition of culture is being blurred more and more each day in the contemporary US by creating a sense of exclusion to those not in the dominant roles of society. The preservation of culture as we know it is something that I feel passionate about. It is through cultural events that the preservation of ancient traditions lives on. We need people to become emotionally involved while observing the events.
Before embarking on a journey that placed me in Austria for a high school exchange, I thought that I had it all in America. From unlimited shopping hours to inexpensive petrol; my life revolved around a culture of convenience. It was not until I lived in Austria did I realize the importance of having and observing culture. From street festivals, Christmas and New Year celebrations, harvest parties, theater musicals, all the way to skiing down a mountain on old wooden beer barrel slots through an obstacle course, and who could forget, Mozart concerts. Such events may seem crazy to an outsider, but to the people of Austria it is something greater. A sense of welcome, pride, community; call it what you want, but it is something that is missing from our contemporary America.
It was not until I returned to my home of Hawai’i did I realize that I need to be living in a place with culture. I was sitting in my apartment watching a special on the Travel Channel entitled 1000 Places to See Before You Die. At one point during the special they featured the beautiful city of Pisa, Italy. Pisa, familiar because of the leaning tower, has what I would argue one of the longest running competitions in history. Since the Middle Ages, the four historic districts of the city gather on June 17th to observe Saint Ranieri, the patron saint of Pisa. For this event, the four districts select eight men to a boat who race 1500 meters to a floating raft in the middle of the river. On this raft sits a flagpole with three flags. The racers row their hearts out to get their climber to the raft and claim that first place banner. And what does the winning team receive for winning the yearly competition? Nothing; just the simple pride that they won. It is events like this that appeal to me.
The intensity level of people becoming emotionally involved in this might seem crazy to an American. The simple fact that people still observe this tradition and come together as a community is something I want and need in my life. Where in this country do we shut down whole cities for a cultural event? Sure we have federal holidays, but they seem to become more and more commercial each year. (Think of sales that are going on now before Thanksgiving even happens, or memorial day/president’s day car sales!) September 11, 2001 has come and passed; we forget things too quickly in this country. I do not think that most Americans can or even will understand how whole cities shut down for the entire day to observe something that has no real meaning in people lives. This is culture and something that is obviously in the void in this country. So, it is this idea of culture that I am going to analyze in Minnesota.
For my final paper, I am going to do a content analysis of cultural events taking place around the state. I am going to e-mail 2 large municipalities (30,000+ residents) in the southern third of the state, middle third, and northern third asking about their events reported to the municipality for the month of March and April. I will repeat the above steps for 2 middle size municipalities (15,000 -30,000 residents) and 2 small size municipalities (Less than 15,000 residents). For the metro area, I am going to include both Minneapolis and St. Paul. I am also going to contact neighboring suburbs, some known for being mainly white, some intermixed, and some thought to be the “urban ghetto.” Finally, in my analysis, I am going to use US Census data to look at the diversity in certain cities and how this influences cultural events taking place. The following is a copy of the e-mail that I sent out to the 26 respective municipalities:
Hello,
My name is Jesse Kortuem, and I am a senior at the University of Minnesota. Currently, I am enrolled in a course entitled Cities and Social Change. One project requirement is to analyze community activities throughout the state of Minnesota. It would be of great help if you could e-mail me or call me with information about community activities as reported to/or sponsored by your city municipality. I am looking at events that took place during March 2007 and activities that are planned for April 2007.
If you have any question, please feel free to contact me either via e-mail.
I appreciate your help in the study! Thank you.
-Jesse Kortuem
As for theorists from the course, I am going to be building off of Wirth’s idea that the increased density will ultimately increase the number of subcultures within a certain area, ultimately influencing the number of cultural events taking place within the municipalities. For Wirth, urban life is a mosaic of personal traits, occupations, and cultural life, which members of such a community are expected to range, i.e. polar opposites, that is often absent most of the time from rural life (Wirth 99). I will also take into account Zukin’s ideology of the dual city. She argues that in order to clean up our cities from crime, drugs and homeless, we need to attempt to be exclusive at who and what uses the public space. I feel that many cities in Minnesota have silent forms of exclusiveness that tell people where they are welcome to live, what parks they are to use and finally what events they are welcome to attend.
SMALL
As defined by my sampling methods, I sent e-mails to 6 small Minnesota cities – defined as have less than 15,000 in total population – outside the Minneapolis-St.Paul area. With only one respondent it is hard to generalize about all small towns in Minnesota. This particular small town hosted its 4th Annual Commerce and Sports Show during the month of March. There were no activities planned for the month of April. The US Census reveals that the population of this particular city was 1,984. The racial break down of the city has Whites in the majority as 97.3 percent and American Indian/Alaska Native with the next largest percent, 1.3. Latino/as accounted for .8 percent of the population, while African Americans made up .2 percent of the population. For other small cities that did not respond to me with their events, all but one city has Whites making up more than 90 percent of the population. Although these cities were larger than the actual city that responded to my e-mail, I think that it can be generalized that the types of cultural events that take place in small rural cities will be, for the most part, along the same lines – geared toward the majority population. Personally, I feel that if we were to look into Zukin’s idea of the privatization of public space, we can see that those on the outside, meaning those who are not part of the homogeneous society because of race, religion or ethnicity, will most certainly not feel welcomed by a society who does not look like them. A Black Muslim woman would definitely not feel welcomed at a Commerce and Sports show held in a city with over 90 percent of its population as white.
MEDIUM
This particular group of cities had the highest response rate of all. Four of the six cities that I had contacted sent me extensive e-mails about cultural/community events taking place. The average size of the cities was around 16,863, with one city having 27, 069. Events in these cities varied, however the most prominently reported of all events had to do with councils and commissions. Other events included Cop and Fire Talk as well as a city wide clean up effort. Other events focused on seniors living in the area and included events such as defensive driving and the senior board. Pancake breakfasts and fish frys came in as a major event in one community being held four times over a two month period. This same community also held the “Most Beautiful Baby” contest on two occasions as well as the most “cultural event” that I have seen, Norwegian Roll Pancakes. The racial background of the cities varied across the regions. In the southern third of the state, a city with a population of 18,350 responded, of which 92.8 percent of the population was White. Latino/as made up the largest minority population with 9.5 percent of the population. The city in the middle third of the state, with a 97.0 percent White population, held many commissions and committees geared toward the legislation in the municipality. Latino/as were the largest of any minority group in this city, with a population percentage of .9. Finally, the cities that responded in the northern third of the state had White populations of 97.3 and 84.3 percent respectively. The population of American Indian/Native Alaska took on second ranks in both areas with .7 and 11.5 percent of the population. The second largest minority group in both cities was Latino/as, making up .7 and 1.1 percent of the population. At this point in the analysis it became clear to me that even with 12 percent of your population identifying as American Indian/Native Alaska and all that your city sponsors is a city wide clean up, there is a serious issue. Sure, those in power can identify which events they are going to sponsor, but with such a large minority percentage and to not address their culture highlights Zukin. Clearly, the American Indian people in this community are not wanted and this is reflected in the community events. Also, for the northern city with .7 percent American Indian and Latino/a population, there are serious implications to only sponsoring cop and fire talks, as this minority population will always be the focus of your efforts because once again, they are not wanted in the White homogenous society, however, this is not done intentionally but through, what Zukin argues, quiet acts.
LARGE
All but one city that I e-mailed had a majority population made up of 91.7 percent of the population being White. One northern city had an American Indian/Native Alaska as their second ranking percentage of the population with 2.4. The other northern city had a very large Latino/a population, over 4.5 percent. As for the city selected in the central third of the state, 3.1 percent of the population was Asian followed by 2.4 percent Black and 1.3 percent Latino/a. I was, however, surprised by the two cities that I selected in the southern third of the state. Although only 80 miles separate these two large cities, their racial characteristics are quite different. The city with a White population of 87.2 percent also shows Asians making up 6.4 percent of the population and Blacks 4.5 percent and Latino/as 3.0 percent. The other city, with a White population of 92.5 percent, records the Asian population as 2.8 percent, Latino/as as 2.2 percent and Blacks 1.9 percent. This is something that struck me as odd; however, it might have something to do with the type of business located in the municipalities. One is heavy in health care while the other is predominantly a university city. As for the cultural events taking place in the cities, I only received one response e-mail, which I found pretty disappointing. In the city that responded to me, a multitude of council and committee meetings were held, as well as commissions. School board meetings dominated the calendars every other Monday, and high school orchestra concerts along with choir concerts and band concerts were reported to the municipality. I did find one “ethnic” event that took place over the two months. This particular event was the Chicano-Latino Conference. Working toward a mutual understanding of a small minority of its population is a step toward equality in the area. I would be a little nervous to generalize about my findings from one city to the others in the state, especially for large cities because there is some differentiation with the increased density, but it is contingent upon the collective efficacy of the community to recognize the others living in the area.
METRO AREA SUBURBS
I am sitting here in shock because 100 percent of the suburban municipalities that I e-mailed responded not only promptly but also with very detailed calendars of events taking place. The percentages of each race within the municipalities vary somewhat but Whites still dominate all racial categories. The first city that I e-mailed is made up of 93.5 percent Whites, 2.5 percent Asians, 1.7 percent Latino/as and .9 percent Blacks. Events in this particular area ranged from children’s art workshops, monthly music concerts held at the city hall, an egg hunt and finally safety programs aimed at seniors and bicyclists. Interestingly, the cities that had consistent White populations of around 90 percent had relatively high percentages of Asians living in the area, around 5 percent. Latino/as in these four areas accounted for 1.6 to 2.7 percent of the population. However, these four municipalities failed in their representation/sponsoring of community events geared toward any minority population. One city offered a historic farm tour along with men’s and women’s choirs. One city responded but said that there were no community activities taking place. Another municipality reported having a poetry reading night, park clean up and an animal open house. The final municipality of the four held several events, however none were geared toward the Asian or Latino/a population. These events included: a youth tennis “carnival”, community band concert, an ice show, earth day celebrations, a pancake breakfast, ladies golf league, pottery making, and finally egg dying. It is frustrating to see, in my eyes, a significant number of minorities of Asian and Hispanic heritage to not have one single event sponsored by the local city municipality. Here again, we can use Zukin to describe the sense of welcomeness in an area. We will welcome them because it is the “right” thing to do, however, our actions will not speak this. We will not provide activities for those who are different than us, making our society more exclusive than inclusive. Sure, members from the other races are welcome to come to the events, but they will be made to feel very uncomfortable. This is Zukin’s idea of controlling people covertly.
The final two suburbs that I have included in my study are suburbs in “transition.” These municipalities were at one time dominated by Whites. These two areas are now represented by 81.2 percent and 88.1 percent White. Blacks accounted for 6.6 percent and 3.6 percent of the population. Latino/as were close behind, with 6.3 and 3.1 percent of the population. Asians accounted for 5.3 percent and 3.5 percent of the population respectively. Cultural activities in these two municipalities ranged from: a 150 year celebration of the county, bake sale, church chorus concert and dinner, a mock American Idol contest, commissions, young artist competition, youth actors, puppets and popcorn, wine tasting, earth day festivities, a human rights commission, an ice skating show, a silent auction and, finally, a night with the Harlem Globetrotters at the Target Center. Here again, from a list of 15 or so activities, two or three possibly stand out as “cultural”. Some events are obviously a great starting point for many of the areas surrounding the Minneapolis-St. Paul area; however, still many municipalities have nothing to reflect cultural events taking place in their area.
MINNEAPOLIS – ST. PAUL
I have to admit that I was a little bit disappointed, as I did not hear back from the City of Minneapolis. I sent them 2 follow-up e-mails, but I must not have been high on the priority list. If I hear back from them before the final draft, you can be sure that I will include such information.
Breaking down the racial backgrounds of both Minneapolis and St. Paul, we can see that they are very similar. Minneapolis has a total population of 382,600, of which, 65.1 percent are White, 18.0 percent are Black, 7.6 percent are Latino/a, 6.1 percent are Asian, and 2.2 percent are American Indian/Native Alaska. St. Paul on the other hand, has a total population of 287,151, of which, 67.0 are White, 12.4 percent are Asian, 11.7 percent are Black, 7.9 percent are Latino/a and 1.1 percent are American Indian/Native Alaska.
Events in St. Paul as reported by their city calendar include: plays, the cirrus, the women’s expo, the raptor center open house, the chamber orchestra, hockey, a World War II roundtable discussion, a tour of the state capitol, a lacrosse game, the Victorian dance club, an urban expedition about Vietnam, an artifact tour, an art tour, an international film festival, music concerts, a fashion celebration of the 1950s, a ladies etiquette luncheon, a heart walk, roller girls and finally a tour of the historic Fort Snelling. On the surface, some of these events seem simple but they are indeed cultural. For example, some of the plays put on focus on religious oppression and sexism. Also, I personally feel that there is some sort of emotional connection with the circus. This is still something to get involved with, but to a much lesser degree than in years past. Before it was the whole wagon train of animals, the big tent, and great hype about the “world’s greatest show under one roof.” Now, people can buy their tickets online, show up for the event, become involved and leave. This is the changing dynamics of our society, a culture of convenience. I would still argue that in the city of St. Paul we have different cultures living together in a dense setting, which according to Wirth will increase the number of subcultures. Be that as it may, it is not, however, reflected in the city’s sponsoring/listing of community events taking place in the area. These events, such as theater and orchestra, are what Zukin claim to be changing public institutions. “Such high culture institutions as art museums and symphony orchestras have been driven to expand and diversify their offerings to appeal to a broader public. These pressures, broadly speaking, are both ethnic and aesthetic. By creating policies and ideologies of ‘multiculturalism,’ they have forced public institutions to change” (Zukin 137). The people that are going to use these high end places are going to be, let’s face it, mainly White and from the upper-middle class. They are not connected to the city and in fact, their fear of the city as a violent place have intruded on the rights of public space dwellers by the hiring of private police forces (Zukin 137). This is clear for me to see, the listing of community events that was sent to me do not include anything geared toward the relatively high levels of Asian and Black minorities living in the city.
So, what are we left with after all this? This is a great question, but one that is very hard to answer at this point. Culture is what people want it to be, and if a city wants to exclude certain individuals from their ideals of culture, they will do so; however, this will be done mainly covertly but sometimes overtly through staring, public humiliation and the sense of unwelcomeness. Exclusion will also be made simply by the announcement of events taking place in the area. For example, a city with a known large Asian population can choose to not announce certain events taking place in the Hmong community. By doing so, they are covertly excluding the Hmong culture as well as the Asian population in the area. Community event calendars are a good representation of a city’s attitude toward “cultural events”.
I am glad to see that the theorists that I used helped to justify my research process. In rural settings, we do have low levels of cultural integration; however, in the city we do have an increase in the number of subcultures. This seems to be true across all places, excluding the suburbs where people feel safe from the violence in the big city. Since the perception is that the city is violent, those who are in charge of the city are going to produce and support events that reflect a non-violent group; in this case, the events are going to be geared toward Whites. Since we have more Whites using the city, they will as a result, cast judgment on those that do not look like them. This is where Zukin comes into the picture. The loss of public space in America is really tragic. By creating a sense of exclusiveness rather than inclusiveness, those at the bottom of the social ladder remain there for fear out of those now in charge of the public space. Ultimately, we are left with the rhetorical question posed by Sharon Zukin, “Whose Culture? Whose City?”

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