Member-only story
There Should Be No Shame Around Race (White People Included)
I hated the fact that I was black growing up.
You see, I grew up in an all-white area. And I wanted to be just like my peers. The way I looked and sounded was different from them. It drove me crazy.
Fast forward to present day.
Now that I’m almost 40, I’m grateful to be Black American. I embrace my uniqueness. I am glad that I had the experience of not truly appreciating who I was. Those experiences helped mold me as a person.
But now in 2022 (almost 2023) tables have turned. Being a person of color (POC) is looked at as a bonus. If you’re a POC you are elevated in many parts of America. Companies want to hire you based on your skin color.
You’re looked at as an asset rather than a liability.
Conversely, white people are shamed for being white. They are taught critical race theory. In some classrooms, white children are made to apologize to their POC peers for things like slavery and oppression (which they had nothing to do with).
This is ridiculous if you really think about it.
Why would children be held responsible for events that happened decades ago? This type of teaching keeps racism alive and well. It furthers the divide. The color of someone’s skin is put into the forefront just like it was during the civil rights movement.
There is more to a human than our outer skin color.
It seems like the more we push for equality, the further we get from it. Why can’t we look inward and heal ourselves? Why can’t we appreciate race for what it is and then move on to more important aspects of ourselves? Like the raising of our consciousness.
Instead, we remain embroiled in race wars.
We used to demonize Blacks. Now we demonize Whites. White youth today are forced to feel bad about themselves. Shamed based on the past. This will not end well if we don’t put a stop to it.
We all need to look within ourselves.
We need to find what truly matters to us. We need to rise above the petty squabbles of race. Race is a small part of the overall human experience.
Let us start to live this truth.
