Dear Future President,

Racism is the belief that all members of a certain race possess characteristics or abilities specific, especially to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races. Because of this, racism has became a huge topic again over the last few years, Racism is dangerous in many ways and I believe that it's tearing this country apart. America needs to have unity because it will keep us stable. (google.com/definitions)

Racial discrimination is harmful no matter what form it's in, and you may see it in numerous places. Sometimes you see racism happen more frequently in these everyday places. Forty-three percent of young people from the ages 13-17 witnessed or experienced racism at school. Online it was 38 percent. (pewsocialtrends.org, On Views of Race and Inequality, Blacks and Whites Are Worlds Apart) 

If someone is experiencing racism somewhere, they may feel unsafe. No one wants to be in a place where they feel unsafe. If one group is racially discriminating against another group, that could mean that those groups do not want to be around each other. When people aren't coming together then there is no community. When there is no community, then there is disunity within a country.

In 2015, Business in the community reported that almost a one-third or 32 percent of all blacks, Asian and ethnic minorities have witnessed or experienced racism at work. (BITC.org,racism at work)

In a studies made by American Psychological Association 44 percent of youth reported that they have experienced online discrimination on a social network site at one time. (apa.org,online racial discrimination) Racism can happen anywhere, at anytime. America is a country that has a strong workforce. If many people feel that someone is being racist to them at work ,then they won't want to be there because they feel unsafe. Again, no one wants to be in a place where they feel unsafe. If many people are not coming to work,then that's how America's strong workforce breaks down. Then everyone would be homeless, and we would turn into a third word country, where everyone is poor, hungry, tired etc.

Racism has impacted America in numerous ways. Jim Crow was a racial caste system. Under Jim Crow African Americans were related as second class citizens. Jim Crow was more then a series of rigid anti-black laws. It was a way of life. Normal, everyday, African-American people had to live with those laws,and were harmed if they didn't follow them. (FerrisStateUniversity.com) People are still hurt by the impact that Jim Crow laws left on them.(ferris.edu/jimcrow) There are people in the South whose family members have died from the abolishing of Jim Crow. After all, Martin Luther King was evidence of someone who died from racism. He fought until the day he died for blacks and whites to come together as a community, and love each other.

Some ways that racism impacts America now is the fight against police brutality. Yes. We are still fighting this war between African-Americans and the police. It still rages on after many many years. About 865 people — many of whom were unarmed, mentally ill, and people of color, have been killed by the police this year in 2016. (thinkprogress.org)

Police officers have been killing people for unethical reasons, and the victims are not getting justice for it. Thats why—On BlackLivesMatter.com, it says that BLM is working to rebuild the black liberation movement,and get justice for the fallen ones. It's the humane thing to do. (BLM.com,about)

Racial discrimination could be a microaggression. Recently, a friend of mine had a job interview at a grocery store. The interview went great! Everything was fine until she told him to, “Tame his messy hair.” Now my friend and his mother were infuriated! After that, he walked right out of the store. Telling someone that a natural part of their body isn't “right,” is very unpleasant. My friend realized that he was the only African American identified person at the store. So he wondered, Would she have told the blue-eyed, straight-blonde haired boy the same thing? To tame his blonde mane? Or is it because I have dark curly locks, tanned skin, and don't look the same as everyone else?

His experience was a microaggression. Microaggressions are the everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults, whether intentional or unintentional, which communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely upon their group. In many cases, these hidden messages may invalidate the group identity of target persons, demean them on a personal or group level, communicate they are lesser human beings, suggest they do not belong with the majority group, threaten and intimidate, or relegate them to inferior status and treatment.(psychology.com,microaggressions) Microaggression are these little negative comments or remarks that continue to build up over time, and become a huge problem. If someone is continuously telling you that you don't look right, and that you are ugly. These comments stack up in your brain, and could mentally hurt you. The longer it goes on, It can turn into a bigger problem, and potentially physically harm you. Such as suicide. If people are always getting brought down by something that they cannot control, that makes them unhappy. Always being unhappy gives you this sense of prolonged hopelessness and can lead to depression. If a WHOLE COUNTRY is depressed, they are mentally ill. A country that is mentally ill, is more prone to fall if a epidemic crisis happens.

Someone who's racist can feel threatened by anyone who is from a different race or culture (childonline.org,racism) . Their views and beliefs develop as they grow up. If you grow up within a family where some members are racist, or have friends who are racist, you may believe that racism is normal and acceptable. Because of the things they were influenced by, their ideas and ways of thinking are different. Someone who is being racist doesn't think they are doing anything wrong, because they were taught that being racist is right.

I believe that racism is wrong because we are all human. We are all made up of the same components, we all have emotions, and we all can feel love and hate. Not liking someone because they're different from you is ignorant and foolish. Racial discrimination is like a banana hating all oranges because they are different. Even though they both come from seeds, they both have a peeling, and they both have pulpy insides. The banana still hates the orange because their flavor and shape is different.But when there are bananas and oranges that put their differences aside, and come together in a smoothie, they come up with this amazing flavor that couldn't be made without each other .

The acronym ‘TEAM’(that I learned from camp), which can stand for, ‘Together, Everyone Achieves More. Racial discrimination is harmful, no matter what form it is in. If we all can just come to understand one another, and be together as one. Then disunity and racism will be no more. “A Divided house cannot stand.” -Abraham Lincoln

Sincerely,

Eboni Koch-Simmons

10th Grade

St.Paul MN