Easton: Stronger Suits.

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Posted by: Gavin J. Vincent



I've always thought that Easton Pennsylvania was a peculiar place. An oddity at the edge of the state wrapped in a curious blanket of colorful histories and slightly off kilter pasts. It seems especially odd when Easton's rough hewn charm is compared to the sleepier, stuffier townships that surround it. Easton as a community both defies description and evokes odd reactions from people in surrounding areas. "You live in Easton? Why?" I've learned not to take this sort of reaction too personally, but I've never fully understood why Easton has such an image problem. (Its something I might make time to ponder in later blogs) In this entry, I'd rather talk one of Easton's strongest suits.


One of the things I’ve come to appreciate about the city of Easton, which stands out drastically in comparison to some of the other places I’ve lived is the city’s unassuming approach to diversity. My family arrived in this part of the North East after pulling up roots in a Mayberry-esque West Virginia suburb with about as much multiculturalism as being one of two black families could afford it. I moved
through my youth there gradually more aware of differences, and arrived here a boy keen to how our experiences in this American life could differ wildly based on them. Easton in the early nineties to the eyes of a green, bashful boy seemed wild yet not entirely unwelcoming. It seemed imperfect and slightly dangerous and yet somehow more real than the places I’d been.

In hindsight I know the jobless rates and subsequent crime of the early 1990s had been far less than kind to the Lehigh Valley, and with Easton’s unemployment rates typically climbing higher than national averages, it is unsurprising that the time period had been hard on its residents. So there I stood, wide eyed and intimidated by the pluck and swagger of the place, and quickly became aware of and heartened by something else Easton offered so casually. Diversity.



` It’s a very rare thing to live in a place-even in a world where an African American can aspire to the highest office of the land- where neighborhoods boast an ethnic population that deviates beyond a collection of one type of people. Ethnic enclaves or class based territories that keep us separate and marginal are still the norm in much of American society, and while Easton has its less diverse suburbs, the overall experience of this area is decidedly multicultural. Easton, over the years has developed a very different sort of neighborhood structure, one that either intentionally or otherwise fostered in the nonchalance in which people interact, court and mingle about this city. Race seems like less a binding, rigid concept within the confines of this city, feels like an incidental aspect of character more than a telling determinant of caste here. In surrounding areas and beyond people stay safely behind their good fences and warily regard the xenophobic other. This is less the case in Easton. The ethnic makeup of my neighborhood alone ranges from Caucasian to Dominican and all points inbetween, and it seems a matter none of my neighbors feel is peculiar. Biracial couples share stories about their long ago courtships with an air of casualness here you don’t get in some areas in the rural South. In Easton it often feels that people are considered by their character first. Since I was a child, Easton has always struck me as a collection of clever histories and colorful backgrounds, and everyplace I’ve lived since pales in comparison when it comes to that; Easton is peopled with hard living, charismatic individuals who honor diversity, and welcome equality in ways other communities don’t approach. These childhood observations have long stayed with me as I’ve been out in the world, and Easton, though misunderstood and undervalued by those outside it has always had a special place in my heart because of it. As the third most ethnically diverse city in Pennsylvania perhaps its that we don’t stop to consider the ethnic and racial differences as much as less integrated communities because its something long time residents have had plenty of time to grow into. As contact with other racial or ethnic minority groups becomes more frequent, the perceived differences tend to go away, making peoples who were once taboo or alien individuals, neighbors and friends. It’s an effect that I see on a larger scale when wandering the streets here. People are people, for all of their quirks and foibles, and their racial characteristics may matter less than other things. Its for this breezy casualness when it comes to integration and diversity that I first came to appreciate Easton. Its for these reasons I’m still pleased to call it home.

That said, what are some of the things you value about Easton? What quirky things make this city unique that non-Eastonians don't "get"?