Racial tensions in our country are now at a high. The truth is racism has been around since the beginning of time. Unfortunately, it has taken many tragedies for society to wake up and take notice. We clearly live in a broken world. It’s 2016 and it’s crazy to think there are still people who believe racial prejudice doesn’t exist. We live in a society where races are not all treated the same. Certain races tend to receive special privileges and allowances, while others are stripped of their rights and dignity. We see headlines in the news all the time. It would be easy to ignore the issues plaguing our society, but it is clear that we are being called to action.

I grew up in an urban neighborhood and as a resident of Minneapolis. I am no stranger to tense racial relations. I have seen school administrations ignore students of color, witnessed fights on street corners, and heard stories of unspeakable injustice against people of color. I have always been acutely aware that racism was real, but I never knew what to do about it or how to fix it.

The senseless acts of violence, the hate speech, and the fear that characterizes our current social situations are just some of the many signs that the system is clearly broken. As much as we might want to blame the system, the truth of the matter is that we are the system. We're in a war here at home and it's clear that no side is winning. The lives of so many innocent African American individuals have been taken and similarly innocent lives of police officers have also been taken in retaliation. Both sides have failed because they have let hate control their actions.

I am not going to sit here and pretend like I know what it is like to grow up black in American today. I am also not going to sit here and pretend that I had any idea what it is like to be an honorable police officer here in America today. I can't even begin to imagine how it feels to live in fear of the people who are supposed to protect you or what it's like to be fearful of those whom you must protect.

What I do know is this, treating all blacks as criminals and portraying all cops are killers is both ignorant and incorrect. I am not trying to diminish the fact that police brutality clearly remains an issue in America, but I'm also not willing to condone actions of violence taken in retaliation taken by protesters. Rather than playing the blame game, it's time we acknowledge the issue and take action.

In my opinion, racism has become one of those issues that everyone loves to talk about -- but few actually act to change. Instead of being proactive about the issue and working together to solve the problem, it has become a battle between political parties, racial affiliation, and socioeconomic demographics. This only furthers the problem because rather than working together to solve the greater issue, we find ourselves once again divided.

The truth is that racism is a part of all of our lives whether we like it or not. We see, experience, or reinforce it within our school, communities, and day to day interactions. We have been trained by society to instinctively perceive people in a certain way based on the color of their skin. As much as we hate to admit it, we see people differently and we all too often act according to this judgement. This is what must change.

We have to rewire our thinking and see a person who is fighting just as hard as we are to make it in this broken world. Rather than being judgmental and fearful, it's time that we face the reality that in order for our world to change -- we must change as well. We can post on Facebook in outrage and protest in the streets, but the first change really has to come from us. We start helping the problem when we make the choice to see a person, rather than a skin color. We make the choice to ignore the boxes that society has locked social groups in and reach out with love to all who we encounter.

Racism isn't going to be solved overnight. In fact, I'm confident it will always pose a problem in our society. There are always going to be people who will extend hate to those different than themselves, and these people may never change. Rather than yelling at a broken system, it's time we fix it one mind at a time.

The battle against racism can only be won with unity, peace in the face of hatred and violence. Racism isn't going away unless we all commit to changing the way that we think and act toward others. Maybe society isn’t listening yet, but it’s time that we force them to understand the reality that change is coming!