Carrying Our Culture, Serving Our Community

My name is Raymond Rhone, and I am the coordinator for the Mid-Ohio Market at Greater Columbus Community House—but I am also much more. Each and every day, I carry the legacy of my Puerto Rican grandparents and the ancestors before them. That legacy began in 1956, when my Abuelito traveled to Lorain, Ohio with nothing but the clothes on his back and the money in his pocket to work in the steel mill. He worked to earn enough to buy a house and bring my Abuela to Ohio to start a new life. My Abuelito worked in the steel mill until he retired, and my Abuela worked as a seamstress in Lorain for 30 years. Meanwhile, they raised three children, sent them all to college, and now have five wonderful grandchildren.

I share the origins of my family to say that I am forever grateful for the sacrifices and challenges my grandparents faced. Their courage to move to a place where they did not speak the language—and where the weather was completely different from what they were used to—has given me the privilege of serving a community that shows the same courage my grandparents had in 1956.

In the market, we serve a prominent Hispanic community with families from the Caribbean, Central, and South America. When I look at these families, I envision my grandparents, who had to rely on food pantries and local produce markets to feed my mother and two uncles. The families we serve are hardworking, loving, and proud of their heritage and the countries they come from. I also feel immense pride in my own heritage, knowing that I am serving such a community every day.

It is incredibly rewarding to see the smiles on their faces when I greet and assist them in Spanish, because I know from my grandparents how intimidating and frightening it can be to ask for services when you do not speak the primary language of an agency. Through our work in the market, my Latino families know that when they walk through our doors, they are visiting one of their own. They know they are safe, and they know that my staff and I will do everything we can to provide the highest quality of service—without prejudice.

Earlier this month, former NBA superstar Carmelo Anthony, who is also of Puerto Rican descent, said during his Hall of Fame induction speech:
“Puerto Rico, my blood, my soul, my heart. I carry the flag in my heart, I carry the island in my veins.”

Puerto Rican platinum recording artist Bad Bunny shares a similar sentiment:
“I am Puerto Rican, I am Caribbean, and my music, my culture, my country’s history runs through my veins.”

Both Anthony and Bad Bunny capture the feelings that not only Puerto Ricans, but Latinos and Hispanics across the world, hold: no matter where life takes us, we never forget where we come from and who we are. We are a proud, hardworking, loving, and beautiful people, carrying the legacies of our countries and ancestors wherever we go.