It started from a young age, and I remember it as clear as day. It was summer camp, an arts camp, where young, innocent souls just wanted to spend some weeks dancing, acting, and just having a good time. As a young child, I was very shy, and not the best at social interactions. It was always hard enough for me to make friends, and so when there was another kid who wanted to hang with me, I was very excited.

But on this week, there was another camper who decided it was her obligation to make me feel unwelcome and tried to get the other female campers to treat me as such. I will never forget the way she looked at me, or how she deliberately would not want to sit next to me. It was not because I smelled bad, or because I was a terrible person; it was simply because of the way I looked. It was because I have dark skin, and I looked nothing like her. And while she never spoke a word to me, eventually I have come to understand her intentions during that week. Little did I know that this would not be the last time I would endure a situation like this.

‘Subtle Racism’ in America is common in society. It can come from all sides and can have as deep an effect as blatant racism. Subtle racism to me is shown from someone who may not consider themselves to be racist, and may see themselves as a supporter of all ethnicities, but expresses certain behaviors and phrases that can come across as offensive and ignorant towards another group of individuals.

It is not as extreme as say people who are white supremacists or Neo-Nazis, but that does not make it any less painful. This is often not intentional, and the person may not even realize that they are a participant in this behavior, but to the minority on the other side, it is perceived very differently.

While I am only nineteen years old, I have been dealing with subtle racism from five years of age. From summer arts camp to my years on my school’s varsity tennis team, to even now, at a predominately white university. For my entire life, I have kept silent on this issue, but I have realized that I can no longer keep quiet because I have been given this platform to state my viewpoints respectfully. Personally, I am so tired of being discriminated against, of being treated less than, and as seen as second-tier in society. America has come a long way in the areas of racism and discrimination, but oh boy, do we have a long, long way to go.

Subtle racism occurs in the little things. From making a comment about all Muslims being terrorists, to calling me an ‘Oreo’ and saying I ‘talk white’, to watching people of color when we enter a store because you think we are thieves, to suspending children of color in schools for behavior that Caucasian children do, but only choosing to punish the students of color, and turning a blind eye to the Caucasian students; these little acts may seem innocent, but they are rooted in discrimination and ignorance.

It makes me upset when I hear some people say that minorities have such great advantages, because you have no idea of the struggle that we have faced to even get to this point in society, and the daily hassle and burdens we must deal with just because the color of our skin is different, or we come from a different country. Every day is a battle to prove ourselves to others, and to the world that we are not a failure; that we deserve the same jobs, the same pay raises and the same educational opportunities. It’s plain exhausting, and at the same time, infuriating.

Despite this, I am determined not to let it hold me back. I will continue to work hard, to fight for the rights I deserve, and to let my voice heard. I will not let certain individuals shut me out just because of the color of my skin. I will not let others be treated as such either, and I will fight for all equal rights. Your subtle racism has not held me back, nor will it in the future, as I have risen, and will continue to rise. I will achieve my goals, whether you think I should be allowed to or not.

The tragic events in Charlottesville were a great reminder for me that there are still people in America who don’t think I should be a valuable member of society and have the same rights as them, which just breaks my heart. Through all these instances I have experienced over the course of my life, I have grown stronger, and stopped running from speaking up. I will speak my truths respectfully, and I will fight until I get what I have worked hard to earn. You can try, but you will not shut me out or quell my fire. You have just made my fire burn brighter.