Code Switching and Jazz Bars with Alia Horwick

Got a small glimpse of the real Alia, I but didn't get to hear her talk. Today's meal is with Alia Horwick. As I was leaving work today, Alia was walking out at the same time. We kept walking in the same direction until we both ended up at Esquire. That may seem like a coincidence, but since it is just a few steps from work a lot of people from the city go there for lunch. Since we were in the same place, I told her about the project and asked if she wanted to participate.

Let's start by saying that I am not the best at knowing other people that I work with. My job is pretty isolated, so I don't really get to know what a lot of other people do. That is definitely the case with Alia. I had seen her at work a few times but didn't really know anything about her or what she did. Truth be told, I had no idea what her name was when we started the meal. I am the worst with names. Even worse because I am sure we have talked more than a few times working together.

My first question for her was what she did at the city. Turns out she is one of the assistant attorneys. Wow. I had no idea which department she worked for or what she did. How bad is it that I don't even know my coworkers' names? Well, the good thing about this project is that I do get to know people a little bit more, and then I don't forget their names. (hopefully, ha)

So, we know the end of the story, but let's get started back at the beginning. Alia and her sister's parents are a mixed-race couple. Alia appears very white while her younger sister appears more mixed. In the neighborhood they grew up in everyone knew who they were, so they weren't treated any differently, but when they would travel down south to Mississippi the difference in appearance showed itself by how they were treated. Their parents were up front with them and told them that they would be treated differently, and that Alia would have a lot easier time with things just because of the way she looked.

I can't imagine how hard having those conversations would be as a parent. Having to teach one kid who looked more black that she would have to be more careful with her interactions, not because of who she was, or her family, or upbringing, but just based on appearance. This was not some bygone time. Alia grew up in the 80's the same as me. I like to think things are getting better, but sometimes my optimism is challenged.

This might have been an inappropriate question, but I asked Alia is she felt white or mixed race because of how she looks and is treated. Alia told me she was raised in her early years by her grandmother on the South side of Chicago, so she grew up in a black neighborhood with a mixed-race family and definitely feels that is her identity. She talked about her experiences when she started interacting with others outside her neighborhood. She had to learn to code switch to fit in more with different people. She has gotten very good at it, but her real self comes out when she is talking with her sister. She goes back to her roots, and it sometimes surprises people who haven't seen her talk or interact in that way. She didn't bring that out in our conversation today, so I didn't get to hear the real Alia, but I am glad she was open enough to tell me that part of her story.

She also talked a little more about her parents. They were pretty liberal hippy types. He father owned a Jazz bar in Chicago. She grew up loving music. Her favorite album is Bitches Brew by Miles Davis. I've got it playing in the background as I am writing this. open.spotify.com/album/3Q0zkOZEOC855ErOOJ1AdO?si=ZW4cJBEhSwOzkg60yoSRQg

Hanging out with her dad wasn't her last experiences at a bar. She was a bartender for a while in her 20's at many well-known clubs up in Chicago; Excalibur, Crowbar, Shelter. I am sure there were a lot of good stories from those times, but we didn't go too far down that path. We may get a chance to explore that at another meal. Always good to have more things to talk about.

I'm always curious to learn why people who work in the public organization when they could make more working in the private sector. Alia did go the high paid lawyer route for a while when her kids were a little older, but surprise!, here comes another kid 16 years after their previous youngest. Long stressful hours are great for a paycheck, but not so easy when you have a young child. So, Alia changed things up a little and eventually landed down here in Champaign. (One of the few transplants to Champaign who didn't go to college here).

She says she likes the city and is very happy with the International Prep Academy where her youngest kid goes to school. Seems like a good program where the kids are exposed to many different cultures and the school is fully bilingual. Having that background in Spanish growing up is going to pay big dividends as they grow older. I know a tiny bit of German, but it has never been useful (even when I was traveling through German airports), I do think exposure to another language helped me understand English grammar in a better way, and I definitely learned more about the German and Austrian cultures in the different classes that I took.

One of the things I like most about these lunches is how much I can learn about someone in just a short amount of time. Didn't have plans for this when I started the day, but glad I ran into Alia when I was heading to lunch. So, thank you, Alia for sharing some of your story. And one last thing. As I was leaving, my old rooming house mate got my attention and said Hi. Been a long time since I have seen him. I gave him a card, so Bob!, if you are reading this, send me an email, and we can catch up.