Growing up Black in America, I’ve sadly had to learn how to deal with this disgusting disease known as racism. I’ve been taught not to cause a scene in some situations just to prevent being seen as the aggressor. I’ve learned to suppress my feelings to not make others feel uncomfortable. I remember in fifth grade all my female peers had a sleepover and I wasn’t invited. I thought maybe it was because they didn’t like me, but not because of my skin color! When I went back to school the next day I found out my other peer who just so happened to also be Black wasn’t invited either. It may not seem like that big of a deal to some people, but that small exclusion leads to many more. I have always gone to predominantly white schools and I do sometimes feel excluded. There was always the group of people who would call me names like darkie, black night, midnight, etc., etc. It would hurt my feelings, but it was so normalized, and I felt like if I even showed that I was uncomfortable that I could be seen as sensitive.
The three years of middle school were definitely the hardest out of all my years of being in school so far. The constant name-calling and picking were frustrating and made me feel less worthy. And even these two years of high school have been challenging. The majority of my friends are Trump supporters, and I never had a problem with that because I didn’t want to end years of friendships over different political views. Up until recently I never even thought of ending a friendship over who they support.
Every single one of my friends knows that I’m pretty chill and don’t involve myself in politics. But since Trump has been in office, the internal racism has been starting to show more and more in my daily life. I’ve had many friends make slavery “jokes” and call it dark humor. But I’m not allowed to be offended, because it’s “just a joke.” Now I’m not against educating others about modern-day racism, but I feel like we shouldn’t be obligated or responsible for the undoing of someone else’s ignorance. It gets very frustrating and stressful preaching the same things over and over for years upon years. It’s also frustrating hearing things like “racism will always exist, is in our nature” when racism is taught!
No one is born racist, and it’s always the people who have never experienced racism saying these triggering statements. We should be doing everything in our power to eliminate the normalization of racism, because there are so many people who are not afraid of being so hateful toward a race.
People say the rioting and looting is domestic terrorism and non-American but won’t admit that racism is violating many parts of the U.S. Constitution that clearly states everyone is equal. So, does this mean anyone who is racist is anti-American and should be hated just as much as many people hate on the Black Lives Matter movement and people fighting for basic human rights and equality?
Thank you all for being a part of the positive change and willing to listen to how I feel, and hope you all have a blessed day.
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