Rascim in America
Taylor Duffey
Andrea Gillespie
English 225
5 Feb. 2010
Black and White A reoccurrence in my life has came to sight, there has been a battle; black versus white. My eyes have always seen equality in every person and I have never questioned it. Americans have such contrasting and sometimes drastic views on race that, since early childhood, we are aware of the existence of racism. I remember my one and only boyfriend in kindergarten, when I went to a public school. He was a black boy named Stanley. That being true, I assume that I had an innocent view of all people as the same. This was probably true for most children of that age. So how do our minds become so corrupted with this constant tension between races? I find it to be a very basic theory to believe that every human being is of equal mind, matter, and potential. I have three black cousins that were adopted into our family since birth. We are all close in age so we grew up together. Our close relationships and bonding has had a generous contribution to my beliefs and values as they pertain to the subject at hand. We attended Catholic school all through elementary and middle school; they continued to a private High School and graduated. They were the only two minorities in our school in 2nd and 3rd grade. I was proud and anxious to tell people that we were cousins. My whole family loves my cousins of course, but I wonder if they are just some exceptions to how they really feel. My mom referred to all of urban Kansas City, both Kansas and Missouri, as “ghetto”. My associations with the word, as a child, included the images of poverty, crime, and black people. I was scared when a car with loud bass thumping rolled by. When it was dark and we were in the “ghetto”, someone always made it a point to say, “Lock the doors.” My thoughts were all confused. This label that formed upon people from urban areas, particularly blacks, has a discerningly large impact upon the minds of children. My fourth grade year
Andrea Gillespie
English 225
5 Feb. 2010
Black and White A reoccurrence in my life has came to sight, there has been a battle; black versus white. My eyes have always seen equality in every person and I have never questioned it. Americans have such contrasting and sometimes drastic views on race that, since early childhood, we are aware of the existence of racism. I remember my one and only boyfriend in kindergarten, when I went to a public school. He was a black boy named Stanley. That being true, I assume that I had an innocent view of all people as the same. This was probably true for most children of that age. So how do our minds become so corrupted with this constant tension between races? I find it to be a very basic theory to believe that every human being is of equal mind, matter, and potential. I have three black cousins that were adopted into our family since birth. We are all close in age so we grew up together. Our close relationships and bonding has had a generous contribution to my beliefs and values as they pertain to the subject at hand. We attended Catholic school all through elementary and middle school; they continued to a private High School and graduated. They were the only two minorities in our school in 2nd and 3rd grade. I was proud and anxious to tell people that we were cousins. My whole family loves my cousins of course, but I wonder if they are just some exceptions to how they really feel. My mom referred to all of urban Kansas City, both Kansas and Missouri, as “ghetto”. My associations with the word, as a child, included the images of poverty, crime, and black people. I was scared when a car with loud bass thumping rolled by. When it was dark and we were in the “ghetto”, someone always made it a point to say, “Lock the doors.” My thoughts were all confused. This label that formed upon people from urban areas, particularly blacks, has a discerningly large impact upon the minds of children. My fourth grade year
Cited: Clark, C., N. Lichtenstein, N. Hewitt, R. Rosenzweig, and S. Strasser. Who Built America? 3rd ed. Vol. 1. Bedford: St. Martin 's, 2000. Print.