What is it really like to be a minority? The better question is, what is it like to know people will always approach you with different stereotypes about your race running through their mind? Or maybe, what is it like to know whenever you walk into a store you always have eyes watching your every move because of the color of your skin you're 'more' likely to steal.
People are quick to wonder why minorities tend to stick together whenever something happens against a Black, Latino/Latina, or even someone who is a Muslim or an Asian. It's because we all know what it's like to be discriminated against for something as simple as our skin color.
They say there is truth behind every stereotype and to an extent that is definitely true; however when it comes to someone who is a minority the stereotype is always there and always following them throughout life.
As a light skinned Black girl, I'm constantly asked the question, "Wait are you mixed because you don't 'act' Black." People assume that because I didn't grow up in the inner city and I'm not as dark as others that there is no possible way I am black.
Or maybe those who speak Spanish must be a Mexican who is living here illegally and of course let's not forget about the jokes of having to cross the border. Heaven forbid someone who speaks Spanish is from some other place besides Mexico.
I have often heard the phrase, "We all have issues we are going through and being a minority is not a different battle than being white." I do agree with the statement that every one of us is going through a battle no one else knows about, and I would never compare my battle with someone else's, but there's also a difference when you are being hated on for the color of your skin instead of the content of your character.
For minorities, we know that racism will never just be a thing of the past. We will always have the battle of defending our race through the end of time. The news only shows the bad parts of a race which are the shootings and the gang violence. Why not show other things? Why not show minorities in a positive light instead of showing us as thugs and criminals? Or on the opposite spectrum, why only show us as rappers or professional athletes?
If I could change one thing in society it would be the way we view minorities. We are no different underneath. Every race has their good, bad, and ugly, so why is being minority somehow always associated with the bad and the ugly? Maybe if people actually took the chance to get to know us they would realize our skin might be different, but we are some really great people on the inside.
