Racism is something that is still going strong around the world, and something that I'm not sure will ever go away. Being an African American in America right now is a thought that is constantly on my mind, knowing that it is running rampant on the streets. Knowing that I have family members that i adore, and knowing that there are things being done that may hurt them. Even though none of these things are new, it is still shocking to see when you grow up hearing that we are living in a "new" day and age. My grandmother grew up in the 1940's in the south, and has told me millions of stories of her racist encounters over the years. She spoke to me about going to segregated schools, and when she went to a integrated school for the first time, a lot of the white parents pulled their children from the school. She told me about how she was called the "N-word" and was spit on and made fun of for her skin color. She told me tales of how tough she needed to be as a child to withstand the judgement that you receive daily, even as a small child from an adult. How she had to let everything roll of her shoulders like water, as to not cry from the hatred she was being shown. Weakness, back then, could not be shown, or it could mean the end of your life. I have never had to experience those things in my life, but I know that they still happen, and not always behind closed doors. Racism is one of he most touchy subjects right now I believe, because some people would rather act as though it doesn't exist than to face it head on and try and get rid of it. I am an African American women, who is married to a Caucasian man, and we have received looks and comments that have shocked both of us in the 21st century, so I know that racism is alive and well.
The country that I decided to study was India. From what I have read, India is having a huge racism problem with their citizens. Indian people in India, have previously shown that they do not particularly care for people who are not of their own race, or that have darker skin than them. In 2016, a 29 year old Congolese French Language teacher was killed in an attack against African people. An slur that people of darker skin are being called is "bandar" which means "monkey." The Indian Foreign Minister Tweeted that a "sensitisation Programme" would be launched to prevent "such incidents against foreign nationals (that) embarrass this country." I would say that growing up hating anyone that is darker than you would have a very negative impact on a child's development. Of course I am sure that not everyone in that country raises their children that way, but for the ones who do, the emotional trauma that would have on a small child would be devastating. There would be certain children that you wouldn't play with at school because of their skin color, and for no real reason than their skin color. I do not believe that you are born with hatred in your heart, I believe that it is taught, and I believe that it goes against everything that we have been put on this earth for. I don't think that hate comes naturally to people, so forcing a child to hate certain people, would confuse and hurt them. Especially because they will not have a deep enough understanding on the matter at hand. Racism is something that I believe that we will be fighting until the end, all we can do is try and raise our children to love one another, and hope that someday the hate will die out.
Resources:
The National. (2016.) Racism is a clear and deadly reality in India.
http://www.thenational.ae/opinion/comment/racism-is-a-clear-and-deadly-reality-in-india
Racism in any form can be devastating to entire communities. Children are especially vulnerable to the suggestion that we can judge people based on their skin color. I was somehow surprised to read that racism is rampant in India. For some reason I would not have thought of that as an epidemic in that particular country. Thank you for sharing the information you researched.
ReplyDeleteHello Felisha,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post. I am also an African American woman, and I have heard stories from my relatives as well. I can recall my mother telling me about a time when she was very small, and a Caucasian woman basically interrogated my grandmother about her because she was so light skinned. She is the lightest of all her siblings, and she was even lighter as a child. I can also recall always being grouped together at school in MS with students of the same race, but not doing this in Illinois. It seems that the South is very different from the North. I also fear for my male relatives due to the police brutality and unexplained deaths. One of the nicest persons I have ever met was an older Caucasian lady. I met her when I was going to nursing school years ago, and suddenly didn't have a ride to school. She gave me a ride, and we built a relationship. I ended up leaving the program due to other family issues. She tried to see if there was anything she could do. She was a really sweet person. Racism is taught, and it is so disheartening that it is still very much apparent today.