Article by avery deaton

By Avery Deaton

M

e and my partner had no idea at first what we should have done or what we could do the topic on, we were stuck and then someone gave us an idea to do it on the start of the racism talk. We started with my partners little sister who was in the 6th grade. We realized that at age 11 they are starting to understand and know more about rac-

The Fight ism and how it has impacted the world year by year. One of their friends father is Arabic and him and his daughter were taking a walk and there was a group of people who were yelling at him and calling him names right in front of his daughter and couldn’t do anything to them besides asking them to stop. Haley Garrison, a young girl in Tenaya Austin’s class shared that information with us and when

she was explaining what happened her face looked so depressed because she hates hearing mean words behind her friends backs. Watching her explain and even after the camera was off she talked even more about it because she was just letting it all out because she hasn’t told anyone all the problems she encounters at her school, with her friends, or just anywhere.

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I like chocolate, deal with it!

Some people like this man and his daughter have that problem and can’t really do anything to stop it. This happens to people all over the world and they don’t know what to do about it. According to an article called Global Issues, “Racism is the belief that characteristics and abilities can be attributed to people simply on the basis of their race and that some racial groups are superior to others. Racism and discrimination have been used as powerful weapons encouraging fear or hatred of others in times of conflict and war, and even during economic downturns.” (“Rac-

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ism.”) This proves that since we ever sta rted to talk or even speak about race it’s something that will go on forever and could possibly never go away. I mean in time it will decrease in how powerful it could be but it will still be there in the back waiting for someone or something to happen.

People always say that racism is a big deal in this world, but no one is doing anything to fix the problem or do anything to stop it. So many people of d i ff e r e n t ra c es are

being bullied, beat, and sometimes killed because they are different. People need to understand that everyone is the same and they are human like you.

One of my interviewees, Tenaya said that, “if people are saying mean things about me behind my back, I know that they are not true friends and don’t talk to them because I want to know that I can trust them with any of my problems.” Even doing that little thing by defriending them can make a whole difference for someone. Some of her friends have stood up for her and have helped her and others out that are being bullied.

My partners brother plays many different sports and doesn’t think about all the Prejudice different things that can be said a b o u t black Discrimination a t h letes.

Unfair

When we sad down and talked to him he said things that were normally to hear. He said, “oh he’s black he must be very fast...

He’s black he must play basketball...He’s black he must play football.” That doesn’t surprise me to hear that because I also play sports and I hear that on a daily. The thing that shocked me to hear from Jai Austin was when he said, “there will still be racism no matter what your age or who you are or where you are.”

That made me think about this project and my topic on a whole new perspective. In my life I have heard so many bad things about racism, how people talk to others and the way they act around them. I’ve heard names like: Asian eyes, dark chocolate, Osama bin Laden, Niggar. To me being white these names don’t really effect me but that doesn’t mean they don’t hurt me. I have a lot of friends who are differ-

ent races and love every single one of them, so when people call my friends a name, it hurts me to see them down and sad because one word can affect the

way they see themselves. I have learned over the years to stand up for them and sometimes even tell my friends something that will make them laugh or make them see that those words can’t hurt them and shouldn’t.

Another one of the interview-

ers that we filmed talked about what they hear and what they do. Maggie Apter the other girl in Tenaya’s class said, “it’s hard and sad to think that people are hurting or even killing themselves because of what people are thinking or talking about them. But I make sure that I’m there for whoever is in need of a hug or just someone to talk to.”I agree with what she had to say because it’s heartbreaking to think that some people think there lives aren’t important when they do have support behind them and they still hurt the people around them.

Even though she didn’t want that answer in the video because she was afraid that she would cry, she let me put it in my magazine.

Whenever we are asking Tenaya a question she gives us a full and pure answer because she had to grow up faster than anyone else because she had to grow up

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with all these problems with her family. I’ve known Tenaya for as long as I can remember, but I’ve never seen this side of her or think that all these nasty problems could be happening to her now at this young of an age. She has always been the littlefun, crazy psycho girl that I have loved for ever. Racism is a problem all over the world

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that we may not be able to stop, but we can help little by little to take it down bit by bit. You don’t have to do anything big because doing something little can make the biggest difference in the world. In history we have learned all about the problem that everyone in the world has learned as well. I wish we could learn the little things and help

All you beautiful people gotta work it, work it, work it, fierce

do something about it so the people who are not being paid attention to feel as important as the big and known issues.

Tenaya said, “I don’t think it’s very common anymore but that it is still around and people are still racist towards other races.”

In an article about school wide racism, it says, “Students at the nation’s oldest public school have taken to social media to protest the way race is approached in their high school, extending the conversation over racial inclusion that erupted on college campuses in the fall, Jess Bidgood writes in The New York Times.” (“Has YourStu

themselves first and sometimes doesn’t care about the others around them. People are mean sometimes but they are mean because in their past they probably have had something bad happen to them.

Yes it was hard to find people that would be okay with the topic and would be totally fine talking about, but when it came down to dent Experienced Racism in High School?”) This is an important thing to look back on and think about how different schools are from each other. At my school we are a very diverse school and make sure everyone if kind to one another.

We even have diversity assemblies that everyone loves to go to and see all the different cultures there are at one school. People always talk about how race isn’t a problem at their school or in their lives. But what they don’t realize is they don’t see it because it’s not happening to them. So many different kids or even adults get so much crap from people how don’t think of anyone else besides themselves as gods. It irritates me that everyone thinks of

searching information about it, that was my breaking point. It’s difficult to think of what people could do to others or to themselves. When I heard some of the stories the kids told me I wanted to cry so many times because it’s terrible to think that people can be that mean and cruel to others because they have nothing better to do. It hurts but at the end everyone is helping each other and having a friend in the end.

I fully support protests that are fighting for rights!

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` Work Cited “Racism.” - Global Issues. Web. 12 Feb. 2016.

Garrison, Haley. Personal interview. 25 March 2016 Austin, Tenaya. Personal interview. 25 march, 19 April 2016.

Austin, Jai. Personal interview. 10 March 2016 Apter, Maggie. Personal interview. 25 March 2016 “Has Your Student Experienced Racism in High School?” Motherlode Has Your Student Experienced Racism in High School Comments. Web. 12 Feb. 2016.

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