more tha an A COLOR Students of color open up about their experiences with racial discrimination and the Black Lives Matter movement BY EMILYS GIL AND ADDYS PLATA, STAFF WRITERS
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ESPITE THE NATION’S foundational ideals of equality for all, the discriminatory treatment of Black people remains a persistent problem in society today. Black people still face high accounts of racism as demonstrated by a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center, in which 84% of Black Americans said racial discrimination is a major reason why they have a harder time getting ahead than White people. There continues to be different treatment between races that manifest themselves in just about every aspect of one’s daily life.
After Trayvon Martin was killed by George Zimmerman — a White in charge of neighborhood watch — in February 2012, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement flourished with the use of the hashtag on social media. Martin’s death was significant in showing the dangers of racial profiling. In May 2020, a video filming George Floyd’s death while under restraint of White police officer, Derek Chauvin, went viral on various social media platforms. The video shows Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for almost eight minutes while Floyd repeats the phrase “I can’t breathe.” This was only
the beginning in what would soon become a nation-wide roar for change. National protests met with police violence only escalated the issue, leading to international support and protests against the mistreatment of Black people and police brutality. This large-scale issue has made its way into our communities, affecting our own students. Seniors Christopher Valdes, Nathaly Feliz and Imgard Bonheaur share their personal experiences with racial discrimination, as well as how the BLM movement has empowered them to be agents of change for themselves and future generations.
Christopher Valdes For years, senior Christopher Valdes had seen the world through the eyes of a child, shielded from the reality that is racial discrimination. He had always felt that being Afro-Latino, instead of African American had kept him from experiencing harsh racism. That is, until he got a job that exposed him to the front lines of the real world, where no one knew his story and all they saw was the color of his skin. From being called offensive slurs to being racially gaslighted — a term used when a victim is led to question their own sense of reality with regard to racism — Valdes has had a handful of incidents in which the people
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around him have made him feel humiliated and belittled in front of others solely based on the color of his skin. Working as a Publix employee for over three years, Valdes has had to deal with being called derogatory terms by customers. The most recent incident was a few months ago while he was bagging a woman’s groceries during the end of his night shift. After placing her items back into the cart, Valdes made sure to tell her to “have a nice day” before walking away to punch out. The woman then proceeded to complain about Valdes’ service and racially targeted him in front of his manager, coworkers and other customers. “[The customer] probably didn’t even think it was a racist remark, [they] probably think it’s a normal thing to say,” Valdes said. He was taken aback by how confidently the woman had insulted him, but knew it was best to not react because it could affect his employment status. When reflecting on the incident, he always tried not to let it get to him, but is often unsuccessful. “As a Black person, you think you’ve braced yourself for every possible racist comment, but you haven’t. Every time you get insulted or called a slur, it just knocks you down all over again,” Valdes said. Strangers are not
the only ones who have been blatantly racist towards him. Valdes recounts the numerous times when acquaintances have tried to dissipate the intensity and reality of discrimination issues or the times when peers have stereotyped him due to his race. “I’ve had [friends] tell me that I don’t act Black,” Valdes said. This was when he realized that even those who were aware of his ethnicity as an AfroLatino, only saw him for his race and the stereotype behind it. “[It] doesn’t matter if you are AfricanAmerican or a Black Latino, people will always find a way to stereotype you because of your skin color. It’s like my story, who I am, [it] doesn’t even matter when all people see is my color,” Valdes said. Valdes fully supports BLM and is proud to be living through an important time for reform. He hopes that as the movement progressively grows, people will unite in granting equal rights and opportunities to everyone regardless of race. “I believe that it’s a very relevant issue in today’s society. Recently, we have caused change, but there is still so much more that can be done. It seems like people treated [BLM] as a trend. This is an ongoing problem that we’ve had to deal with for years and we can’t stop now,” Valdes said.“It’s a reminder that people seem to overlook the injustices happening in the United States.”
