Reflecting on Race

The other day I opened my Twitter only to find a promoted tweet from the movement “my-black-is-beautiful.” I couldn’t help to think, what if the promoted tweet had read, “my-white-is-beautiful.” I clicked on the tweet to get more information regarding the movement. Pictures were posted saying “black girls rock.” I then went to their website to see what the promoted tweet was in support of and it stated “community of black women and everything that makes them beautiful.” I applaud the organization for celebrating their beauty; however, I also feel like if pictures were posted saying “white girls rock,” they would be seen as more controversial. People responded to the promoted tweet, which confirmed that I was not the only one having these thoughts. One response read, “I challenge a white woman to start a page called ‘my-white-is-beautiful’ I doubt it will be received as well”. Another user said, “A group known as ‘my-white-is-beautiful’ would be deemed a hate group and exiled from society, while ‘my-black-is-beautiful’ is promoted on my feed. I come from a large and diverse family. I have an adopted African American cousin, as well as an adopted cousin from China. Many of my cousins and my sister married from another ethnicity. I don’t deny the fact the racism still exists today, but in my eyes race was never a factor in judging somebody’s character. Racism exists today, but I believe it exists among ‘all’ the races. I think any person is capable of being racist, it is not just specifically ‘one race’ that is racist. It is important as teachers to know that racism exists. It is also important for teachers to be able to identify racism as well, because students may encounter racism among their peers. Many times our views on racism are passed down from generation to generation, so students can vary depending on how they were brought up. It is important to be aware of all these factors so we can identify racism, as well as make a conscience effort in trying to end it in our society.