Since the death of Michael Brown and the uprising in Ferguson, Missouri, there has been renewed dialogue around racism. Discussions on the topic have the propensity to make participants uncomfortable and unwilling to truly engage the topic.
Those of us who have been around for a while remember such conversations after the Rodney King events in 1991.
After the shooting at Mother Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, a particular television network led conversions that racism was a disease. I found this ideology to be repulsive and insulting.
Humans are born into racist societies, but no one is born a racist. It’s not part of the human condition. It has nothing to do with chromosomes or DNA.
Racism is a learned behavior, response, and lifestyle. It’s an issue of ignorance and power, where one group suppresses and oppresses another group.
One of the beauties of the United States of America is the fact we have the opportunity to experience, embrace, and learn so many different cultures.
Our children have the ability to be better-rounded adults because they have been exposed to a plethora of ethnicities. The opportunity to understand, respect, and possibly participate in: Ramadan, Passover, Kwanza, and/or St. Patrick’s Day only makes them better.
The time is now to appreciate the things that make us different while clinging to what makes us the same. Different isn’t deficient; it’s a chance to learn.
I’m Joe Mitchell, and that’s my perspective.
