The Diversity in Clarkston

I currently live in the perfect nonplace of Lilburn, Georgia. This city is the very representation of the suburban areas that are portrayed in movies or on TV, where there is a "perfect" community of people living in harmony. In your dreams, this is the place where you wanted to grow up in and where you want to raise your kids in. In essence, Lilburn is the place where you feel "normal"; however, for the last twelve years of my life, I always missed, for some reason I can't explain, living in a place like Clarkston.



When my parents first came to America from India, a relative suggested that they live Clarkston because it easily provided an area where my parents could start their new lives. From then on and continuing until I was six, my parents stayed in that city, took advantages of various opportunities, and lived happily. As a kid, though, I never like it there. The buildings were too old, the city was too congested, and the lifestyle was below average. Nevertheless, I got my wish and moved to a suburban area, but after a while, I realized that I never appreciated the city as it was.

You heard of Clarkston in one of our readings for class, an essay by Sally Jenkins, where it mentions that the city that houses one of the largest refugee resettlements in the nation. In the 1990s, refugee resettlement programs made Clarkston a home for displaced people of many different backgrounds. Several ethnics groups were also attracted to the city because of the city's location right outside of the core of Atlanta. According to the 2000 census, the racial makeup of the city is as follows:

• African Americans - 56%
• Caucasian - 19%
• Asian - 13%
• Hispanic/Latino - 4.61%
• Other races - 3%
• Two or more races - 10%

As seen by the numbers, Clarkston truly is a ethnic melting pot. In the 2000s, the local high school had students from more than 50 different countries. From these facts, you should probably be able to figure out why Clarkston is a place. I agree with Jenkins in that the city does foil the stereotype of the South, and in a way, it helps build a new Southern identity because the ethnic groups "have revitalized the region’s business and spiritual life" (Jenkins).