The Unbreakable Cycle of Racism
It has to change. And I must believe it will.
Update 6/7/22: Level has a new home. You can read this article and other new articles by visiting LEVELMAN.com.
I grew up attending a small private school with mostly White students. I was almost always the only Black kid in class. It didn’t matter much. Until second grade.
One day near the beginning of that school year, my teacher sat all of the students in a circle. “I want you to each tell the class one interesting fact about your family,” they said.
For the most part things that my classmates spoke about were harmless. I can’t remember what I shared. But I do remember the girl who sat next to me.
“My family hates Black people,” she said.
The room fell silent and every single face turned to me. I was stunned, and didn’t quite know what to say. I decided to just be honest.
“But I’m Black,” I said. “Do you hate me?”
My classmate just shrugged.
“You’re not Black,” she said. “You’re Brown. So no, I don’t hate you.”
I was young enough to still have questions about race. But I was also old enough to understand that just because my skin was Brown in color, I was still a Black person. The…
