Personal Narrative: How Racism Changed My Life
Since I was a little boy I often wondered why people treat people the way they do for better or for worse. This could be because of difference in personality, background, culture, and most apparent race. Racism has been an issue for thousands of years, and I would like to find a solution to this problem.
Originally growing up in a rural community, there was little diversity where i was from. From racist slurs to actually yelling at a minority, i could tell there was a problem at the age of 6. When my mom and I moved after my parents divorce, we lived in a primarily black community. Over the next six years of my life, I did not only expand my knowledge, but I learned how to accept and embrace others whom were different than myself. When I was
12, I made the transition to move back in with my father. I was then suddenly secluded from all races and was in a predominately white school. There was a noticeable change in the culture and how people were interpreted. As time went on there were more and more racist remarks that were offensive and hurtful to other minorities. As i met more and more people from other small schools, i noticed that there was a pattern with the way others were treated. We were not the only school that had been openly racist for “humor” or “teasing.” This is an ongoing problem not only in rural south but across our nation and the world itself. Arrogance is the nucleus to this hatred, however there is also a lack of knowledge apart of the problem as well. Many kids and adults have had no exposure to diversity and have gone off only what they have seen. What I propose is that we educate those who unaware of other people's culture or background. This could be teaching whites about african american culture, african americans learning about hispanics, and so much more. Once we understand each other is when we can start to make a difference.
Although many people believe that racism is “not as bad” as it was before, it is still very apparent in our everyday lives. Even in a small community there are things we can do to help make a difference to reach our ultimate goal; to end racism.
Originally growing up in a rural community, there was little diversity where i was from. From racist slurs to actually yelling at a minority, i could tell there was a problem at the age of 6. When my mom and I moved after my parents divorce, we lived in a primarily black community. Over the next six years of my life, I did not only expand my knowledge, but I learned how to accept and embrace others whom were different than myself. When I was
12, I made the transition to move back in with my father. I was then suddenly secluded from all races and was in a predominately white school. There was a noticeable change in the culture and how people were interpreted. As time went on there were more and more racist remarks that were offensive and hurtful to other minorities. As i met more and more people from other small schools, i noticed that there was a pattern with the way others were treated. We were not the only school that had been openly racist for “humor” or “teasing.” This is an ongoing problem not only in rural south but across our nation and the world itself. Arrogance is the nucleus to this hatred, however there is also a lack of knowledge apart of the problem as well. Many kids and adults have had no exposure to diversity and have gone off only what they have seen. What I propose is that we educate those who unaware of other people's culture or background. This could be teaching whites about african american culture, african americans learning about hispanics, and so much more. Once we understand each other is when we can start to make a difference.
Although many people believe that racism is “not as bad” as it was before, it is still very apparent in our everyday lives. Even in a small community there are things we can do to help make a difference to reach our ultimate goal; to end racism.