The truth is that our world is chaotic and out of control. In the wake of two fatal shootings of unarmed black men by police and the deaths of five officers with seven officers wounded during a Black Lives Matter protest, our world seems to become increasingly catastrophic. All of this trouble is stemming from an artificial concept called race, and the implications race has.
Race has allowed for superiority to be established in society. The supreme and powerful race in society is and has always been the white race. Race went haywire as an idea when it was used to place one group of people over others. Race allows many white individuals to flourish and have access to more opportunities.
See, there is nothing wrong in acknowledging that you are different from someone, but when we let our differences prevent us from being together and allow these differences to have value and meaning, that is when problems arise, and that is exactly what has happened with race in our society.
Race never was “each of the major divisions of humankind, having distinct physical characteristics”, as Google describes, but rather as PBS.org argues “a set of culturally created attitudes and beliefs about human group differences.” In society we have let our physical differences affect our lives and our internal beliefs. We have given meaning to the obsolete idea of race, and that is why America is in such a detrimental state. Race has segregated the only true race, the human race.
Statistically speaking, minorities live in impoverished, unsanitary, crime-filled environments, while most white individuals live in wealthier, cleaner, and safer neighborhoods. Race has created disparities and troubles in this world.
When America was founded, a system of government was enforced that would benefit most white people, These laws have allowed for the white community to retain the power and privilege it was afforded from birth. Race has made sure that some people constantly think about the color of their skin, and has simultaneously allowed others to not even think twice about their pigmentation. Dark skin, broad noses, and thicker frames are frowned upon in society, which happen to be features of many minority groups. Different races are leading generally different lives because of the mental impact skin tone has had in our world.
Race has inspired anger and hate within people on both ends of the spectrum. The implication of race has created a war amongst people. It has made people ignorant from the day it was founded.
White power has encouraged anger and hatred towards white people from minorities. I know people of color who disdain white people because of the power they know members of the white race are afforded, and the freedom whites have. There has been a system that has looked down on people of color for centuries, and naturally, minorities are angry, and sadly this anger is turning into hate. And I know that there are white people who hate blacks because they were raised to hate blacks, raised to think that the skin they were born in makes them superior to other races.
Race is the reason there is a Black Lives Matter movement and attack on the justice system. Race is also why there is an attack on the government in America, and it is simultaneously the reason for why those officers were killed during the at-first peaceful protest in Dallas, Texas.
If we look at the years of oppression suffered by minorities in the U.S., many are understandably enraged and infuriated. This anger is taking the form of violence. Had America been founded ensuring that all people would truly be endowed with the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, our world would not be such a mess. If America was not founded to benefit one group of over everyone else we would be equal. If we acknowledged the importance of minorities we would not be a divided nation.
But right now skin color has blinded us. Our nation is dazed in a facade. It is undeniable that there are racist cops who have blindly been taught to hate and have time and time again killed our unarmed black men, but the mental state of this entire country has to change. The killing of the police officers was unjust and motivated by centuries of outrage caused by racial differences. It was motivated by the killings of many unarmed black men that were made on the assumption of race. Race is literally an entity that has taken over the justice system, government, and American people.
The state of America is heartbreaking. The fact that pigmentation you are born with can determine and speak volumes about who you are and what you are capable of is mortifying. Society has taught us this belief from the day we were born.
If you think about it, all of us are victims to mainstream society and the havoc it wreaks. Society harms us all. And as race relations expert Jane Elliott teaches, we need to own up to our prejudice and there are white individuals who need to own up to their racism and use their power to create change. We can unlearn the lies we were spoon-fed when we entered this world. Elliott explains that we must realize that yes, we are different, but our differences make for an interesting combination. Our differences are just differences. They have no negative or positive value, they are just attributions that we should all be proud of having.
We control what ideas and concepts we give meaning to and race means nothing. Because race has become so important we have changing to do and justice to serve to minorities. In order to forget about being part of different races, we need to treat people from all walks of life equally. There is no such thing as different races, race is not a thing. Color means nothing, but the fact that we are all people means something. It means that we are one and in order to stand as one we need to uplift those who are at the bottom.
We must remove society’s biased measures and go on a journey of evaluating ourselves, stopping hate caused by a man-made idea called race. We have to acknowledge that we cannot say all lives matter when some are left at the bottom of the social hierarchy. To ensure that we are awakened and see that we are the human race, justice needs to be served, our government needs to change, and we need to have a global reawakening.
I am tired of all this grief and heartache, and I am ready for everyone to be empowered. I want all of us to see each other’s differences and embrace them. Most importantly, I want us to be here in harmony, just as we were created to be.