Personal Narrative: Prejudice And Racism

It was three o’clock in the afternoon, when I had arrived at the camp. I got out of the car and carried my suitcase to my room. When I opened the door, I was face to face with someone of a different complexion than me. We looked at each other with surprised faces but never stating the obvious difference between us. I smiled and greeted him and he did the same in return. After we introduced ourselves to each other, I told him, “Don’t worry I wont steal anything from you.” You may ask yourself, “Why would he make such a random comment?” However, the real question is when will everybody be truly equal? This is a great generation that we live in today. People of all races are able to communicate and interact with each other. Different races
I introduced myself again and was surprisingly welcomed as family by everyone else, or at least I thought. After my gruesome first day there, we finally were able to go back to our rooms. My roommate and I would then begin to have a in-depth conversation. We laughed and joked about things we had done throughout our lives and even our opinions on political matters. Of course, I had to steer the conversation towards his opinions of blacks. I wanted to know what he thought of us as a race. I gave him the benefit of a doubt that I would not get upset or do anything irrational over what he said. With an honest answer, he told me how he disliked black people because the ones that he has encountered have always been disrespectful , ignorant, and
It wasn’t just the mere fact of being black. It was the way the majority of blacks presented themselves. Most blacks try to be hard or hood when it’s not necessary but wonder why people look down on them. So I explained to him how every black person wasn’t ghetto, unintelligent, and inferior. I explained how the media has created this public opinion that blacks are the lesser, more animalistic race. Also, I had told him that a lot of black people have been brainwashed into thinking that being hood or thug is the cool way to live life. In addition, I even told him how blacks are one of the main reasons why America is even a great nation. We have practically built America with our bare hands, and we have made some of the most important technology that is used today. After I had finished speaking, he sat on his bed without a word to say. I was happy because I felt like I had accomplished something; like I had finally gotten through to somebody. We then laid there the rest of the night in silence and woke back up with smiles on our faces. This time he looked at me without fear in his eyes. He understood that all blacks weren’t the same. My message had actually changed his