In modern day America, many people believe that racism is history. Nevertheless, it seems that in society, race and religion still identify who you are, as seen in the shootings in Charlotte and Tulsa. Although the contexts in both cases are not clear, can we all understand that the cases involved two different races, black and white?
I was away from the US for most of the summer. When I returned to school, eager to reconcile with my friends and meet new teachers, I was shocked to hear that Wellesley too was very much involved in this issue of racism.
Often, I hear people saying that Wellesley is a bubble, protected from the brunt of the harsh world. In relation to that, although I am not white, I have never personally been a victim of racism, neither have I seen nor heard of it in Wellesley before this incident. However, this incident seemed to be on a slightly personal level because the victim had been a friend of my friend.
Our country was founded upon freedom and equal rights for everyone, no matter who you are, where you come from, or what religion you believe in. America has had several centuries to work on changing its previous belief that some people should be below others. And although changing everyone’s opinion on this matter is impossible, it should be evident that the majority of America is support of equality, since that is what made America what it is today.
However, this incident was of a Wellesley African American student being attacked with all sorts of racist slurs and insults by his fellow classmates. I realized that the “bubble” Wellesley had been identified to be in didn’t really exist, rather it had been the efforts of my family to protect me from the racism. We must still work hard to make sure that we don’t have victims of racism in our community.