So many things are difficult to talk about. You can name religion maybe politics but for me the topic that has always stood out the most was race. Growing up as a black girl raised by a white man and having a mixed sister, race conversations were often avoided. Granted I didn’t even know they were being avoided but they were. I don’t need to know why, because I know why but the better question is; why is difficult dialogue among different races about race important?
I never thought about how my race would affect my life when I was younger. I really didn’t know how people identified people’s races and treated them as such so easily. According to one researcher from Harvard named Richard Milner: “The meanings, messages, results, and consequences of race are developed and constructed by human beings, not by some predetermined set of scientific laws or genetics” So, in other words race is what people make it. More often than not I have heard my family say race is just a way for people to have acceptance. Meaning if you are white you fit in with the white folks or if you’re Mexican you fit in with the Mexican folks. They also meant race gives you a familiar ‘oh these people are like me” feeling to fall back on. It’s as if you are equal with those of your race but not those outside your race. “Our nation was founded on the principle that we are all created equal,” but “We haven't always lived up to that ideal,” as history shows us. Talking about these issues can not only help student, and adults but even businesses and America as a whole.
We can't act like we don't see color. we can't act like we don't see hate. We can't act like we don't see injustice. We also can't act like, we don't see people of other races trying fix these issues. With recent things like police brutality, cop shootings, and people like Colin Kaepernick and Jesse Williams taking stands its impossible to ignore. And, as these events have shown us being color blind will never solve issues. So don't be afraid to talk it out. Have dialogues not monologues and listen!
