Financial gap represented by the need of money to bridge the divide. Graphic by Elan Perry

Moving from Omaha to Elkhorn was tough. There is a large racial divide in Omaha with no improvement in sight. As an African American teenager moving to Elkhorn where an overwhelming majority of the population is White, I didn’t feel welcome. For the first time in my life, I was exposed to rich kids whose only culture comes from their favorite country song.

Many of those who were born and raised in Elkhorn have referred to North, Central, or South Omaha as ‘ghetto’. They’ve criticized the lack of cleanliness, high crime rates, and low-income levels. In school, I have heard countless students say they are scared to go to high schools in those parts of Omaha because “everyone is in a gang” and “carries guns.” Statements like these are absurd and continue the racial divide even more. 

The same group clutches their pearls and purses when walking in the ‘unsafe’ sides of town, while they appropriate that ‘ghetto’ culture by listening to rap music, copying fashion trends, and using African American Vernacular English (AAVE). 

AAVE is a local dialect of English spoken by African Americans, informally called Ebonics. It is grammatically different from standard English. It consists of double negatives, omitted and habitual ‘be,’ the present perfect tense of ‘been,’ and common vocabulary such as ‘slay,’ ‘lit,’ ‘dope,’ and ‘spill the tea.’ 

Terms and sentences framed from AAVE are reused by those same people who consider Omaha ‘ghetto’. White people like this look down on Omaha and the main culture that is rooted in Black people, but (un)consciously use the same language invented by African American ancestors. 

This judgment and separation goes back decades and has been well-documented by historian Adam Fletcher Sasse.

North Omaha has struggled to rebuild after years of racial degradation and segregation. White West Omaha residents including surrounding communities such as Elkhorn, Bennington, and Gretna continue to ridicule these parts of Omaha for their poverty and city presentation even though they were instrumental in creating such a wide divide. 

The criticism does not go unnoticed. Residents of the “less desirable” areas of Omaha have realized the shame put on them from the rich areas, but it does not stop their pride. 

Many Elkhorn students have only experienced wealth. Many live without struggle, not recognizing the luck with which they are gifted. They surround themselves with friends just like them. In their free time, they talk about each other behind their backs and take Instagram photos with Lululemon and Sephora shopping bags. 

I am different externally from my Elkhorn peers, but that’s not all. I did not grow up here, I live on the outskirts of Elkhorn, and most of all, I have witnessed more in my life than many here can fathom. There’s not a day that I am not reminded of how different I am. Engaging in conversation is vastly different because, until I moved here, I regularly communicated with people who were down to Earth. 

The district switch was not hard because of my race. The switch was hard because of the people who now surround me.