More than 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

Despite 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 Bonheur 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 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 Afro- Latino, only saw him for his race and the stereotype behind it.

“[It] doesn’t matter if you are African- American 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.”

Imgard Bonheur

As one of the few Black students in the school’s International Baccalaureate program, Haitian and Puerto Rican senior Imgard Bonheur is often treated as a representative of the entire Black community as her classmates refer to her when they have any questions about the race.

Since she first entered public school, Bonheur has been held accountable to African- American stereotypes. In kindergarten, a student mimicked her Spanish and claimed that, because she was Black, she should not be familiar with the language. In other instances, people have assumed that she enjoys certain foods and listens to certain music.

“I definitely do think Black children are seen differently. They’re seen as misfits, thugs and trouble makers from the get-go. They are seen as less than children, [instead] individuals destined for incarceration and it is definitely a sad reality,” Bonheur said. “Unless you prove otherwise by being a success story or working hard towards being better than living in the hood or living on welfare, that’s the only thing people will see you as.”

Now entering her senior year at the school, Bonheur says the environment is inclusive although she has gotten comments that have made her uncomfortable in the past. Nonetheless, Bonheur has felt pressure to dress a certain way and act a certain way to avoid being perceived as less than. People often praise her for her high-standing academics and claim she is “white-washed” which she feels undermines the beauty of her race and challenges the confidence Black people have in themselves as they work towards attaining success.

“Growing up my mom never explicitly gave me the race conversation, but the lessons she would teach me were that I should never let anyone degrade me in any way or make my worth seem less than it is and to stand up for myself and [my values],” Bonheur said. “I do not think my mom ever brought up color and for that, I thank her, because I grew up with the notion that color is strictly just color, it has nothing to do with who you are as a person.”

For Bonheur, the BLM movement reinstates the urgency of the country’s need for reform. She hopes that people, regardless of race, will be more cognizant of their tendencies or words that may offend those that do not look like them so that future generations do not have to be taught how to deal with racism.

“When I hear BLM I think wow, over 400 years and we are still back at square one. The lack of progress with Black lives in my opinion is just ridiculous, but then I realize t h a t not everyone understands the movement, not everyone is openminded or willing to understand,” Bonheur said. “It is a matter of human rights, not a political game.”

Nathaly Feliz

Growing up as an Afro-Latina, senior Nathaly Feliz has struggled to be accepted by both the Hispanic and Black communities. As she gets older, she is beginning to understand the role her skin color has on how others treat her.

When Feliz was eight years old, she fell victim to racial discrimination for the first time while with her stepfather. They were at a car dealership when they were told to wait for an associate of their “kind.” Before this incident, she had never been warned about racism. Instead, her parents taught her to be respectful of others and informed her that sometimes there were going to be people who did not like her by their own prejudices.

“My mom is from the coast of Nicaragua where, for the most part, everyone has darker skin and speaks broken English. Growing up, that’s the way we’d speak in my household,” Feliz said. “It was only when I began attending school that I began to feel the adversity set against me by my own teachers as they would mimic the way I spoke and call it trash talk.”

Although Feliz has been treated respectfully by all the teachers and staff at the school, she nonetheless feels pressured to present herself differently in order to be granted the respect she knows she deserves.

“I [feel like I] have to act or speak in a certain way depending on where I am in order to portray myself as more professional,” Feliz said. “It is sad that I feel like that sometimes, because the truth of the matter is that the person I am behind the act is way more interesting and unique... it should not be like this, I am different. I am an Afro-Latina.”

To Feliz, the BLM movement has created change but not drastically enough. She believes that in order to induce real change, the police should be trained better and background checks should be run before purchasing a gun. In the past she has been told she is “doing too much” by posting about the movement but to her, there’s not enough being done.

“BLM is not just a phrase, it is a movement. Hearing it feels so powerful. It is a whole community standing up for what is right,” Feliz said. “There is this misconception of people believing that the movement is to make one race more superior but it is not. The point is to raise awareness to the Black community being treated as though they are lesser than."