My first example is something that I have actually challenged, but when it is repeated over and over again, you just learn to ignore it. I am ashamed to say that my brother and daddy do not see eye to eye on the subject of labeling other races even though they have friends from them.
The first time I heard my brother say the most degrading name for African-Americans, it was in front of my one year old son. I told him that he better not say anything like that in front of my child again because I don't want my son growing up thinking as they do.
I am ashamed to say that I was brought up hearing the names and phrases white people have for other races. Fortunately, I was able to break away from that. My class in school was the type that it didn't matter what color you were, we all hung out and I'm proud to say that I had many friends from other backgrounds.
But, when you hear those degrading words and phrases over and over again, you get tired of getting on to the person and begin to just ignore it. The one positive is I put my foot down about saying those things in front of my son and they don't do it.
This next example isn't anything that has been said or even done, it is just something I have noticed. In one of my classes this semester, there are about fifteen students. Out of those fifteen students, there are two black girls.
I have noticed that when we are just hanging around the classroom talking, there may be two or three groups of white girls and then the two black girls are off talking by themselves. I'm afraid that may begin, if they don't already, to think that they are being excluded from the rest of the class.
I have other classes with one of them and I have talked to her a little and she seems really nice. I think because the people we have classes with now are the same people that we will be seeing over the next year or so, we should all make a conscious effort to get to know one another.
