My name is Mikaela and I am in 8th grade. I am in honors English and had to pick a topic that interested me for a semester long assignment. I chose racism and more specifically if it still exists today. So..... I need your help, I need your comments and your input. I need viewpoints from all over the country if possible. I want to know... do you think racism exists today? Do you think it is better than it was years ago? How does racism change depending where in the country you live? I would love to hear your thoughts, they will help me do well on my project. You can leave your thoughts in the comment section, anonymously if you wish.
Please take my poll, the more responses I have the better! After all that watch the video I have posted, what do you think?
THANK YOU for your help, I really appreciate it!!!
Oh and don't forget to feed my fish! :)
Hi Mikaela,
ReplyDeleteThis is a topic I am very passionate about! If you look at our local school district, 1/3 of the students at PMS and probably a higher proportion at RMS are non-white, yet almost all of the teachers and administrators are white-this is even more so at Noble, where I work. This can only give minority children the message that only white have power/authority and financial power-the educated jobs. What a horrible message to give our kids! Those kids NEED to see minorities in positions of power and authority, or they will have a very hard time making the connection that they have that same opportunity. This extreme imbalance in ratio is a subtle but VERY powerful example of racism here in our ownh neighborhoods.
Alyssa tells me that at lunch at PMS, the students segregate by race, and my rhetorical question is, "WhY" This breaks my heart! Have we come no where in the last 60 years.
I have educated family members who make racial slurs without even thinking about it. It is appalling!
Another example: It cannot possibly be a coincidence that a very high percentage of the inner city in impoverished neighborhoods in non-white. We, the whites, keep them there. I had professors who told me they could not get student loans because of the color of their skin. Banks, those in financial power, still keep non-whites from gaining power by refusing equal access to opportunities such as these.
We have given non-whites the message that they are powerless, and if we do not stand up and do something about it, if we are kind but complacent, then we are part of the problem. I am proud of you that at such a young age, you are tackling such an important social issue!
Also, I think we have a responsibility to reach out and help alleviate the pain that non-whites have been casued. What you are doing here is a marvelous way to do that!
Kudos to you!
-Julie De Wilde