Racism within Palo Alto

Text by ABIMBOLA BOLARINWA Art by SELENA CAO GROWING UP BLACK

MY EXPERIENCES WITH RACISM IN PALO ALTO

WHILE PEOPLE DRUM IT UP AS DIVERSE, My teacher turned towards me to repeat the question, and I liberal, peaceful and tolerant, Palo Alto isn’t as in- felt the entire classroom’s eyes on my face as I struggled to answer, clusive as it seems. That’s because people of color “Why do Black people call each other the N-word?” here, including myself, continue to face the chal- I didn’t want to say something stupid, but I didn’t have a relenges of covert racism through microaggressions and stereotypes. sponse. How was I expected to answer for all Black people?

When I attended Ohlone Elementary School, I didn’t really In this day and age, these issues should be a thing of a past. The acknowledge the fact that I was usually the only Black student in citizens of Palo Alto, who pride themselves on being progressive, my class. However, I still grasped that no one should use their privilege to support their in my class looked like me; almost everyone else was white or Asian. I still grasped that no minority and marginalized neighbors. This can be anything from having a difficult con-

As I got older, I noticed that people treat- one in my class looked versation with family members to creating a ed me differently. I had classmates who asked if they could touch my hair because they had like me; almost every- safe place for your friends to communicate their struggles to supporting Black-owned never seen anyone with my hair type before. one else was white or businesses. I would receive comments like “Wow, it’s so puffy,” or “It feels so soft.” Asian. For my fellow classmates and students, don’t just look the other way; be an ally, be

Their actions reinforced that I wasn’t like an upstander, call out your racist friends, and them, and they made me feel less human as they pet my head like be intentional, not performative, in your activism. one might pet a dog. Teachers and other students would often mis- I encourage you to further educate yourself on how to be an take me for another Black student at my school, even though our ally by reading current and historical news articles about racial jussimilarities extended only so far as the color of our skin. tice movements, listening to speeches from Black, Indigenous and

In eighth grade I attended Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle people of color as well as watching anti-racism films. If you could School, a predominately white and Asian school with very few go to protests all summer long, then you can extend that allyship Black students. One day in English class, as I watched the clock into the year by making space for Black, Indigenous and people of slowly tick towards 3:30 p.m., the words “Frederick Douglass,” color in class discussions and making them feel like their voices are “Black Americans” and “reparations” drifted to my ears, but my being heard. mind was too focused on my after school plans. I quick- Although Palo Alto is far from perfect in its journey ly snapped back to reality when a classmate raised their to address and end racism, it is still my hometown, and I hand and asked, “Why do Black people call each other know the members of our community have the power to the N-word?” make our city a more accepting and anti-racist place. v