Diversity Works Well in Ethnically 'Mixed Up' Virginia Community

Diversity Works Well in Ethnically² 'Mixed Up' Virginia Community

During the current presidential campaign, anti-immigrant sentiment seems to have grown in the U.S. But for one community outside the nation's capital, home to more than 130 ethnic¹ groups, diversity is not a problem but an asset.

A team of photographers has documented the evolving life of people and places in a community billed as “the world in a ZIP code.”

At first glance, the six-kilometer stretch of road doesn’t seem very different from other urban streets. But take a closer look, and you begin to notice the many different ethnic businesses side by side along the corridor known as Columbia Pike in Arlington, Virginia.  

Photographer Lloyd Wolf has lived much of his life near the Pike, a road built in 1810 as the main route into Washington from Virginia. Since the 1970s, he said, it has been a magnet for immigrants from every corner of the globe.

'Worth recording³'

“Columbia Pike has become more and more interesting," he said. "There are hundreds and hundreds of ethnicities, people from different countries along the Pike and living in relative harmony. This is something we felt was worth recording.”

So Wolf and four other photographers who call the area home — Duy Tran, Paula Endo, Xang Mimi Ho and Aleksandra Lagkueva — spent 10 years capturing the life of the people who make up the corridor.

Claudia Camacho owns a Bolivian restaurant on the Pike. She likes the community and has lived nearby for 23 years.

"It is really hard to move out from this area," she said. "There are a lot of people from different places of the world. You get to know different cultures, and it is really good.”

Mohammed Mohammed settled in the area 25 years ago. His shop sells imported Ethiopian products.

“I have been successful running a business here," he said. "White, African-Americans, Hispanic people, Asians, Arabs, Africans combined in diversity. So we know each other, we share" elements of culture and language. "We are happy. So I am so happy.”

No separation

Although the historic corridor has been one of the most culturally and ethnically diverse neighborhoods in the nation — and perhaps in the world — for decades, Wolf points out there is no ethnic enclave.

“Here, everybody's pretty mixed up," he said. "There's no one area that's all Vietnamese or all Arab or all Somalian, et cetera. Everyone is sort of living and working amongst each other in a blend. And it's a nice blend. It works.”

Frequent ethnic festivals offer a blend of cultural experiences.

“Bangladeshis have their festival here," Wolf said. "We have over 30 Bolivian dance troupes⁴ in the county that perform [during the] Oruro festival every year. Three thousand of them come up to Columbia Pike. It is beautiful to see."

The photographers have compiled their extensive collection of images into a book, Living Diversity: The Columbia Pike Documentary Project.

"I think this is something we want to share with the world," Wolf said. "I use a phrase a lot: This is what peace looks like. People get along. This is how we should be."

1 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

2 ethnically   

adv.人种上，民族上

参考例句：

• Ethnically, the Yuan Empire comprised most of modern China's ethnic groups. 元朝的民族成分包括现今中国绝大多数民族。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• Russia is ethnically relatively homogeneous. 俄罗斯是个民族成分相对单一的国家。 来自辞典例句

3 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

4 troupes   

n. （演出的）一团, 一班 vi. 巡回演出

参考例句：

• There are six Kunqu opera troupes left in the country. 整个国家现在只剩下六个昆剧剧团。
• Note: Art performance troupes include within and outside of the system. 注：艺术表演团体统计口径调整为含系统内、系统外两部分。