Reflective Essay: Discrimination In The Classroom

I thought I was immune to discrimination. I don’t understand how that philosophy can come to fruition in any person of colors’ mind. I was always discriminated against, but I was too young or too naive to pay attention. From the age of four, I lived in a predominantly white neighborhood and I attended a school where I was the minority. When I looked back on my life I would feel indignant because my early years of schooling were dreadful. Nothing is as humiliating as sitting in my kindergarten class and having a girl raise her hand to ask, “Why is Haley that color?” I couldn’t formulate a response to that question so I looked at my teacher hoping she would scold her for asking such an inappropriate question, but she didn’t. I remember that my teacher had to make an announcement to the class to not pass out Birthday invitations if they weren’t going to invite everyone. She had to do this since my parents told the school I would come home crying because the students would invite everyone but me. Everything that was occurring right in front of my eyes didn’t register as malicious actions and it shouldn’t have, …show more content…
I didn’t see color when I was young, I saw people just like me who were trying to make sense of this game called life. I can no longer believe that discrimination can’t touch me because of where I live, where I go to school or how I walk and talk. In a way I am thankful for everything that occurred in my life. I’m not going to say that those events made me who I am today because not only is that overused, but it also wouldn’t be true. Instead I’ll say that all of those events and more gave me the tools I need to navigate through life and people in the most efficient way possible . I used to say ignorance is bliss, but for me life is in full color now and I can’t ignore something everyone else sees. Wherever I go, I now know I will be seen as black first, woman second, and human being