Dear Future President,

I’ve been called yellow way too many times. Being called yellow may not be that bad, but I know that other Asians have suffered far worse. Lately, on the news I see a lot of the “Black Lives Matter” campaign. Of course Black lives matter, but don’t Asian lives matter too? Many people don’t realize saying “ching chong,” or saying we have squinty eyes is racist because they’ve been saying it forever. I believe it’s time people realize how much of an impact these comments make on Asians lives and what they lead to.

More than 73% of the Asian population gets bullied for their race. In my opinion, that’s a lot. Over the summer I met a Korean American actress named Arden Cho. She told me what it was like growing up in America as an Asian. “As a kid, I didn’t know my skin color would be such a big problem.” Being the only Asian in her school, she was often made fun of. Her mother always said to be nice to everyone no matter what they do, so she never talked back when people bullied her. Once, the bullying went so far she ended up in the emergency room. One of her classmates pushed her off of the bus, resulting in a broken arm and a couple stitches.

I know for a fact that Asians, including me, get made fun of for grades at school. For instance, if a teacher says that someone made a 100 on a test they all say it’s one of the Asians. If it isn’t one of the Asians they say things like “are you going to get in trouble for not getting a 100?” or “I thought you were supposed to be smart.” I used to wonder why students never said these things to other kids, but now I realize it’s because I’m Asian.

From my point of view, many people are getting hurt, and it needs to stop. When you become president, I think you should focus more on all races, rather than just a couple of races. For example, when you present your speeches you should talk about the bigger issues, but focus on the smaller ones as well. People may say that the biggest issue is black lives, but people of all races are getting bullied and no one seems to care. America is supposed to be a country of equality. What happened to living the American dream? We’re destroying a vision that was once perfect.

No one deserves to get pushed off a bus. No one deserves to be made fun of for grades, and no one deserves to be bullied, especially for their race. I believe that this problem can be fixed with a little bit of effort. It hurts to be made fun of especially for something stupid like grades. This is a problem for most Asians, but together, we can make America better.

Sincerely,

Jumi P.