Racism is Still Alive Today

Life has its ruthless, unbearable obstacles. It has the audacity to stab you in the heart anytime and anywhere. This intolerable pain overfills your soul with sorrow, fear, and ire. You have no solution to this problem; you seek help, but the only response you receive is a mere gesture. Sadly, these are my barricades and emotions of a melancholy life. As a young African-American teenager, I know how it feels to walk down the street and have white women grasp tightly for their purses. When I enter a store, salesclerks follow me around like I am an ex-convict.

For instance, I went looking for a blouse to match an outfit at one of the stores in Southland Mall. The salesperson actually followed me from one rack to another, and she constantly kept asking me if I need helped after I kindly told her no. The thing that shocked me the most was the fact she told her co-worker she was happy the "Nigger" was leaving when I left from the register's counter. As bad as that sounds, it is the raw truth. If these people would have asked, instead of judged, I could have told them that I'm a very productive citizen. I'm a 4.0 student and participate in Student Council, BETA club, Key Club, and other school and community organizations. They would have known that I don't want to cause any harm.

A few months ago, a white peer told me at school that I could not listen to white boy bands, such as, N'SYNC and Backstreet Boys, because I was black. It made me feel separated as a human. Also, at school we have many interracial couples dating, which leads to more arguments about race. I have not been involved in any interracial relationships, but my close friends continuously inform me about how peers say rude comments about their relationships. It surprises me often how my dark pigmented skin can cause controversy. Teachers, as well, frequently judge their students by their skin color rather than on their character. While walking down a hall, I overheard a couple of teachers discussing nominees for a prestigious award, and one said they would not approve of any African-American nominees. I always thought school was the friendliest and most content place to be from home. I guess that was my vivid imagination.

Racism should not be considered an affair of the past because it is everywhere in the world today: television, school, and workplaces. Many black television shows have been cancelled and very few are shown on high rated broadcast stations. Additionally, several people complain that African-Americans are not qualified for certain jobs and that all their black workers are lazy. I believe employers don't seek out the experienced individuals, yet hire a person just to make their quota look good. It is not all about black and white issues though; racism is perceptible in many different nationalities, bases of common history, and geographic distributions. Additionally, it is one of the deadliest diseases. Racial violence kills individuals, tears families apart, and breaks up communities. It dates back before Martin Luther King Jr.'s civil rights movement and continues today. The Los Angeles riots of 1992, the O.J. Simpson trial, and my own personal experiences are proof that racism continues and is lethal.

This matter cannot just be brushed aside any longer. I believe ignorance is the basic fuel for most of these problems. If people were more open-minded toward others and their cultures, there would be no reason for racism. No matter where we live, we must coexist peacefully with our neighbors. There is no explanation for us to judge others because the hate we see in them is the dissatisfying flaw we view in ourselves. We must unite to get rid of hatred and see ourselves as one race, the human race. Since racism is simply ignorance, I think schools should require students to be taught many cultures. I truly believe that this mandatory course could make a huge difference; it would widen my peers' perspectives of the struggles that other cultures have encountered and are still coping with in life. The important thing is that people need to talk about their background; then, individuals can accept it or reject it, but don't have riots because you have a different viewpoint. That is what makes each of us unique, our mind. We should collaborate not segregate.

Before racism can ever be cured, the world must realize that people are different and should be treated equally. Overlooking our variations and seeking the similarities in everybody can make an improvement. Solving this problem will not just happen overnight; therefore, we should start right now to correct the issue. This injustice of allowing individuals to suffer is outrageous and incomprehensive. No one wants to go through life living in fright from day to day. Life is supposed to be a journey crammed with ardor and ecstasy, not distress and depression. With ambition, motivation, and valiance, we can press for modifications. Hereafter, it should be the aspiration of mankind to advance together toward freedom and justice for all.