How to Put an End to Racism

For my final post about race in America, I want to leave you with this– how to end racism. It may seem impossible, considering there are many race issues in our society today, but it is in fact really simple. The hard part about it, is getting everyone to follow these tips and actually make an effort to put an end to it. Racism is a mindset, and unless people are willing to change how they view others, things will continue to stay the same.

Here are a few tips on how to end racism:

1. Take time to learn more about other people and their backgrounds.

Hate stems from ignorance, because people fear what they do not know. If people took the time to learn about others, they would be less afraid. A person just needs to get to know someone that is different from them, and they will learn that each person is more alike than different. Once people realize that they actually have a lot in common with those with different backgrounds, they will no longer fear, and they will no longer hate.

2. Don’t make assumptions.

Do you assume that African Americans like rap music, or that Asians are good at math? Stereotypes hurt everyone. Even if you don’t mean to do it. Examine what prejudices you hold and make adjustments and learn to look at everyone as an individual, not a label or group. Also, everyone has implicit biases, so you should think about which ones you have, and try to eliminate them.

3. Try to see things from a different perspective. 

Attend an organization meeting, religious service or travel to a new region where you are in the minority. For example, if you are Christian, attend a Muslim prayer in a mosque. If you go to a primarily white suburban school, visit an inner city school. This first-hand experience can be enlightening and give you perspective. Once again, this is an attempt to eliminate your ignorance on different people and cultures so that you are more aware of each other. This can help you eliminate any hatred or prejudice you once had towards them.

 

There are many other ways you can help try to decrease the amount of racism that is prevalent in our society today, but these are just a few that I thought were the easiest for people to do, and are incredibly important. I really hope my blogs gave you another perspective on race in America, and that you will want to try to help and make racism a thing of the past. Thank you for reading!

 

America: Melting Pot or Salad Bowl?

For the longest time, people seem to be under the impression that America is now a melting pot. They say this, because of the number of immigrants that have made it into this country (my family included). I understand why they think this. Of course, when an immigrant comes over here, they don’t just erase their culture. They bring along with them their language, religions, food, and everything else that makes them who they are. As time goes on, there came more and more people from different backgrounds, who look different, speak differently, and dress different. It gave people the idea that now our country has a mixture of different races and ethnicity, making us a melting pot so to speak.

However, I disagree with this. I do not believe that our country is a melting pot, but rather a salad bowl. Yes, there are many different types of people living here, but we are not all mixed together as one big happy community. Our country is so incredibly divided. Even in towns where there are many different groups of people, they are still split apart. You always see that the run down inner city part of the community is where they put all of the minority groups like blacks and Hispanics, while the clean, rich communities are where the white people reside. This is not us “living together” this is us still separate, and not equal.

In order for a society to be considered a melting pot, in my opinion, everyone has to be welcoming and embracing one another’s cultural differences and backgrounds. This is not happening in America.. people hate each other for their differences, rather than coming together as one. People in America were never very welcoming of immigrants, and it is even more prevalent now. Our own president wants to build a wall that divides us from Mexico, in order to prevent more immigrants from coming in. This is not what being a melting pot looks like.

If we really want to consider ourselves to be a melting pot society, we need to embrace each others differences and welcome immigrants into our country, while understanding that the culture and backgrounds that they bring are what will make our country better. Until we can all agree on this, our country will remain a salad bowl instead.

 

 

Who is really to blame?

In October, a group of white nationalists, who are referred to as “neo-Nazis” held a torch-lit rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. This rally led to deadly violence against minorities. When horrific events such as this occur, we expect that the leader of our nation will speak up against it and condemn those who were in the wrong. However, we saw that this was not the case when it came to President Donald Trump.

After the events that happened in Charlottesville, not only did Trump not condemn the white supremacists, but he even stated that both sides were to blame. This caused a public outcry for our President to take back his statements, for they seemed very biased and somewhat racist. The group that was targeted by the white supremacist groups had no wrong doing besides being upset that they were being attacked. According to The New York Times, Trump stated that, “You had a group on one side that was bad. You had a group on the other side that was also very violent. Nobody wants to say that. I’ll say it right now.”

I, as a woman of color who has had to deal with racism for all 18 years of my life, cannot fathom how a person can say that both sides are to blame. Why are we wrong for standing up against hateful events that happen in our own neighborhoods? Why are we, as minorities in America, expected to just sit back and take all the hate and acts of violence as if we deserve it?

This is deeply concerning, to have a president who does not make an effort to protect his people, especially in a nation that claims to promote and welcome diversity in a so-called “melting pot.”

Americans Coming Out of the Racist Closet?

It seems that ever since Donald Trump was elected, more and more Americans began to feel comfortable with expressing their racist ideas, and some even acting upon them. Not only have I seen this happen across social media platforms and all over the news, but I have experienced it first-hand.

I live in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Yes, the Amish country of the United States. I went to a predominantly white high school, where my peers were all pro-Trump. We had a mock election prior to the presidential one, where more than 3/4 of the school voted for Donald Trump. When Trump won the presidential election, I felt everything shift. I began seeing more and more confederate flags while walking down the halls, and people even brought a huge one to a sports game and waved it across the stands. I began hearing more white people saying the n-word unapologetically. A few days after the election, I was standing at the bus stop by my house to go to work. Out of nowhere, a red pick-up truck drives past me, and the driver shouts at me, “F*** you, n*****!” I never felt so unsafe in a community I called my home.

I was shocked to see so many people express their racist ideologies, only days after America elected a new president. It was almost as if the prior 8 years of having a Black president never happened. This new election allowed people to feel more comfortable with being racist. They didn’t have to hide it anymore– after all, their president pretty much condoned it. This election was the beginning to a more racist America. After thinking we became a post-racial society, we went back to where we began. This leads me to believe that America may never get to the point of actually becoming a post-racial society, and as a black woman living in this country, it worries me deeply. 

America is a Post-Racial Society: True or Myth?

Many people seem to believe that America has turned into a post-racial society ever since we’ve had our first African American president– Mr. Barack Obama. His victories in the primary elections of 2008 took many people by surprise, especially considering he won in many rural farming communities that had a history of voting republican. This led many people to think that racism is over and done with, and that our country was finally beginning to move forward from our horrendous past of treating African Americans so terribly. Although it did seem like that could have been a potential outcome to Obama’s presidential election, these hopes we had for a post-racial America did not last very long. Fast forward 8 years of an African American presidency, and we have a presidents that promotes racism rather than condemn it. The election of President Donald Trump completely erased any ounce of hope the minority community in America had of a potential post-racial society.

In order for a society to be considered “post-racial,” racial prejudice and discrimination needs to be nonexistent. This is definitely not the case in America today, so our society cannot possibly be classified as one that is “post-racial.” Ever since the presidential election of 2016, closet racists came out and felt as though they were finally able to speak up about their racist ways that they had to hide while living under an African American president.

This blog will be taking a look at the role race and discrimination plays in our society today. The good, the bad, and the ugly. I will be exploring events that have occurred and the impact they leave on our country. Each post will attempt to further explain and put into perspective why the minority population in America believes that the fact the our country is a post-racial society is indeed a myth.