Diversity in Our Town: Balil Chaudry, Maryland

This snapshot was gathered in conjunction with the Maryland Voices initiative at Maryland Humanities, specifically to supplement the "Voices and Votes: Democracy in America" traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian's Museum on Main Street program. This collection, made up of stories of first-time voters between the ages of 18 and 24, showcases the experiences of young people as they wrestled with the 2020 presidential election, issues around social justice, the environment, immigration, and the pandemic. 

Balil Chaudry (00:00): My name is Balil Chaudry. I'm a senior at Salisbury University. I grew up in Brooklyn and Salisbury, Maryland. I was in Brooklyn until I was 10 years old, and then I moved down here for the rest of my life basically, and then I stayed here for college as well. It's an interesting mix because I got to live in both the city, more rush of a vibe, and also Salisbury, which is a really small town. I got to see the disparity and both aspects of America.

Balil Chaudry (00:32): When I moved to Salisbury, I was 10, so I still finished up middle school and high school here as well. And I feel like that's where I saw discrimination because in college, a lot of people are coming from different areas in Maryland or around the nation, and a lot of them are coming from diverse groups, so campus is probably one of the most diverse areas in Salisbury.

Balil Chaudry (00:59): One thing that kind of shoots out to me is when I was in eighth grade, there were a lot of students from Korea moving to Salisbury, and a lot of the kids in my class would say, "Oh, my god. It's the Asian invasion." Middle schoolers, they're going to be childish, but it was one thing that really stood out to me because even before that, when I first moved here, I was shocked about how white everything was.

Balil Chaudry (01:27): There wasn't much diversity. I was just used to this environment where if you're walking down the street, you'll hear people speaking in languages you don't know. If you walk down the street, you could get food from a variety of different places throughout the world. In the apartment we lived in, our neighbors were Italian, Brazilian and Russian, on the same floor. There was that great ... I liked that melting pot vibe. You have people from different back [inaudible 00:01:55], different stories, but as opposed to here, for the most part, it was a lot of white people.

Balil Chaudry (02:06): I think after the earthquake in Haiti, a lot of Haitians started moving here, so they added some diversity to that degree, but overall, it was kind of shocking to see that lack of diversity. It was a little refreshing when I got into college, and I got to see a lot more people from different [inaudible 00:02:21] and all that.

Asset ID: 2021.03.06.c
Themes: Race, diversity, small-town life, discrimination, college, Asian Americans, multiculturalism, melting pot
Date recorded: February 1, 2021
Length of recording: 02:22 m
Related traveling exhibition: Voices and Votes: Democracy in America
Sponsor or affiliated organization: Edward H. Nabb Research Center, Salisbury University, in partnership with Maryland Humanities
More information: https://www.mdhumanities.org/programs/museum-on-main-street/2021-2022-tour/