WNYC is doing a video series called Being 12. Twelve years old is when everything changes, and you realize you’re not going to be a kid forever. It’s tough. In this episode, 12-year-olds talk about racism and what they’ve experienced and learned so far. (via Buzzfeed)
Very powerful. I taught in minority schools in South LA and Compton, and I'm aware of some of the terrible stuff these kids are subjected to. It's so grossly unfair to judge a person by their looks with a stereotype. I don't know how we overcome this. More than half-way through his second term as president, there are still people who insist that he's an African Muslim. Not that that's a bad thing, but to them it is. Kids from Venezuela and Honduras were ragged on by African American kids for not speaking English, and for hanging around with the "Mexicans". That just shows how broad and varied prejudice is in this country.
Three of my grandchildren are half Mexican, and that includes some African blood, as well as Native American, Spanish, and Arabic. Two of them are very fair-skinned, and the one with the dark skin has totally Anglo features. Here in Southern California in their neighborhoods, they're accepted for the great people they are, but outside those "enlightened" neighborhoods, they're subject to the prejudice as well.
I hope for a better world for all of us. Its better than when I was young, but a long way from being good.
1 comment:
Very powerful. I taught in minority schools in South LA and Compton, and I'm aware of some of the terrible stuff these kids are subjected to. It's so grossly unfair to judge a person by their looks with a stereotype. I don't know how we overcome this. More than half-way through his second term as president, there are still people who insist that he's an African Muslim. Not that that's a bad thing, but to them it is. Kids from Venezuela and Honduras were ragged on by African American kids for not speaking English, and for hanging around with the "Mexicans". That just shows how broad and varied prejudice is in this country.
Three of my grandchildren are half Mexican, and that includes some African blood, as well as Native American, Spanish, and Arabic. Two of them are very fair-skinned, and the one with the dark skin has totally Anglo features. Here in Southern California in their neighborhoods, they're accepted for the great people they are, but outside those "enlightened" neighborhoods, they're subject to the prejudice as well.
I hope for a better world for all of us. Its better than when I was young, but a long way from being good.
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