by Walter Horne
When I overcome racism it allows me the privilege of expanding on the true essence of humanity. As it stands in this day and age, racism has been one of our downfalls for as long as I can remember. There will always be times when it will try to get in the way of righteousness. But when a person showcases good character in all that they do and stands on the grounds of Liberty and Justice For All Mankind, equality will always be the main objective in the fight against racism.
One of the ways I was able to deal with the ignorance of racism was by taking an anthropological approach. The only reason why I know is because of the anthropology course I took in college. A particular method that anthropologists use is studying what makes one culture different from the next. The ironic thing is I was younger and did not know what I was doing at the time. Turns out I was learning that racism is learned behavior and no one is born racist towards other people.
Due to me interacting with my friends and family who were different ethnicities, it taught me a lot about another culture of my own. This to my understanding of racism is being an independent state of mind that is taught or observed. Since racism turns into a habitat of practice for a lot of individuals, like any other habitats can be remedied or flat-out eradicated. So by the time I came into my early stages of adulthood, racism did not have a severe effect on me because of my analogical understanding of its origin.
The power to combat racism starts with the individual because in order for change to occur, you have to want what’s best for others as well as yourself. Another way to do this is by not putting other people in negative categories. A categorized method that Society subconsciously or consciously adheres to is that of a caste system. This is when people are classified by whatever position or status they hold at the time in their life.
We must keep in mind that racism is not strictly about the color of one’s skin. If any bias towards another culture two straps or impedes on their equal opportunity for fair treatment, then some type of prejudice or racial motive is being perpetuated. Like I mentioned previously, the only way to overcome racism is by starting with the individual.
In my opinion, this will be a negative aspect of life that will continue to plague the various societies of the world.