ERASE Racism 2013 Essay Contest Winner
Margaret Liendo, Junior at Brentwood High School
Essay Question: As a student, how can you change public perceptions of race and racism in ways that create greater racial equity? Why is it important to do so?
They say that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, yet everyday people are judged just based on their skin color. The amount of melanin in my skin should not play a significant role in defining who I am. In today’s society, a person tends to discriminate against someone who may seem different due to their own narrow-minded concepts built up through living in a nation that has suffered from countless years of oppression and racial segregation. We are fundamentally more similar to one another than different; instead of building up walls to separate us, we should be building bridges to bring us closer together and leave behind years of mistreatment and shame towards those considered to be inferior. However, pretending that race doesn’t exist will not solve the problem. Rather, we have to be willing to embrace our rich cultures and defy the prejudices and stereotypes.
Students are the future of any country, and as such, we need to strive to give a better education in not just math and science, but also in the world around us. Schools, such as my high school in Brentwood that has a minority percentage of more than 80%, should not be stereotyped. If only intellect were taken into account more often rather than relying on assumptions that we make about others without knowing them, society would be very different.
The ERASE Racism Student Leadership Forum was the tool that helped to enlighten me on topics related to racism. I was unaware of the housing discrimination many black Long Islanders suffered and the long-time segregated communities on Long Island, such as Levittown. To even think that segregation still exists is mindboggling, yet I find myself living in a community without the diversity I know we can all benefit from.
Racial and ethnic integration should be, and have been to an extent, implemented in various universities. Many now promote multicultural programs that allow people to embrace their own cultures, while sharing them with others. As a Hispanic, I feel Latinos have always received the rotten end of the deal, generally being blamed for the immigration problem. Therefore, multiracial programs that both allow us to be proud of our heritage and that bring together students from different racial and ethnic backgrounds, would greatly benefit all of us, especially Latinos and African Americans who are often subjected to more negative stereotypes. It would raise awareness that those stereotypes are not true and it would help motivate students to walk in the steps of important role models of color, such as Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
Ultimately, the education system may serve as the key foundation for a more racially diverse and multicultural future. Racial equity is being demanded by immigrants who line the streets in Washington in hopes of immigration reform, and by African Americans who continue to fight for equal rights. I feel that I must perform the act of a defiant Hispanic girl and help create racial and ethnic bridges if I wish to see change in the world around me. I hope that not too far away, we can fulfill the dream of Martin Luther King Jr. that “one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.'”