On Racism

Letters from a Lesbian…

Dear World,

It seems that as of late, we have been inundated with news of racial issues. Murders, protests, riots, revenge attacks…our country is facing some incredibly tense times.

We are literally looking at everything as black and white. The reality is that our world is anything but. We are only looking at superficial colors, not at the people underneath those colors.

I know that for my family, color was an issue. According to family legend, one of my Hispanic ancestors was fair-skinned. Their spouse was black. From what I have been told, my father and his sisters were treated poorly due to their dark appearances. As a result, my father lied about his family and heritage; he also held such resentments that he was not necessarily accepting of people with melanin.

Looking at me, you’d never know that I have black ancestors. But I do. I have black and white, and I am proud to be both.

What we need to do is stop looking at people as either or. Our skin color does not determine whether or not we are a good person. The tone of our skin does not reveal who we really are. The melanin, or lack thereof, does not represent our humanity.

Rather than blaming every person who is of a different race than us for all of these issues, we need to look beyond pigment. Not every black person is bad. Not every white person is racist. Not every kid is a thug. Not every cop is a murderer.

I know for myself that who I am as a person is far deeper than my appearance. I think it’s safe to say the same is true for you… and every other human being on this planet. We need to remember that. We need to look at the person under the skin. We need to see other people for who and what they really are. We are not labels, we are not colors. We are human beings. We all belong to the same race: the human race.

I’ll be honest: I hate racism, prejudice, and bigotry. I want it all to stop, and right now! Though we may not be able to eradicate it completely, we can all play a role in stopping the hatred. If we all work together toward a goal of peace, understanding, and respect, we will outnumber the bigots, and we will see the racism diminish. As Hispanics, as LGBTS, and as humans, we all need to come together and create a world of harmony.

Please join me, and we can all coexist as members of the human race.

Live life in your own special way,

Lauren