Let Us Speak!

Send your stories about racism, discrimination, and unfair treatment and let your voice be heard! In partnership with Race to Equity, a project of Wisconsin Council on Children and Families.  

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Un-American

I get so frustrated when people refuse to understand why I can’t relax with a police officer near. They think I’m being ‘un-american’ for not trusting the people who have sworn to protect us, but that’s the thing. They’re not here to protect me, or people who look like me. They’re here to protect the paler, whiter, blonder, Americans. Or at least that’s what the recent actions of this country has made me, and thousands of others to believe.

White americans especially, they could never fully understand the fear that drowns me whenever I see those uniforms. They will never understand the utter, raw, terror I feel at the thought that those uniforms will rip my family apart. That one day, I won’t come home to the smell of roasting peppers, hot tortillas on the grill. I won’t see and feel the warmth of family, I won’t hear laughter, I won’t hear the loud blaring noise of trumpets and accordions, but that I’ll come home to a silent, dark house. That mom, dad, and sis are gone and I wont be able to see them for a long time.

There are so many fears that I carry as a first generation american, someone who can barely identify as american with the way that this country treats mexicans, and latinos in general.    

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Color Blond vs Color Brave?

Instead of being color blind, what would it mean to be color brave? What does color brave mean to you? In this TED Talk, Mellody Hobson shows how being color brave can transform our world!

https://www.ted.com/talks/mellody_hobson_color_blind_or_color_brave?language=en

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It Never Ends

Being white, I do not see much discrimination aimed at me nor near my direction, but I have seen it, especially in the media and society; it is everywhere. FOX news, modeling, magazines; it never ends. White people are the only people we really see on TV, for a fashion show, for main video game characters, etc. It’s getting annoying because it is repetitive, and it makes it seem like white people are the only ones who are allowed to do these things, or appear in these things. Take for example the new Netflix show, “Master of None”; they recently won an award and for the acceptance speech, one of the actors said, “Thank you to all of the straight, white guys who dominated movies and TV so hard for so long that stories about anyone else seem kind of fresh and original. ‘Cause you guys just crushed it for so long, that anything else seems kind of different.” This statement sums it up. 'Master of None’ has a cast that only has one white guy one it, compared to other TV shows where they only have one token black guy, not even showing other races other than white and black where as more and more diverse TV shows are showing more than two races, such as 'Master of None’. Racism and discrimination are everywhere, and in America, it is disgusting with TV shows having all white casts, police targeting people for the color of their skin (and killing more and more as we speak), and models who again, just like TV shows, have one token black model. It is disgusting, and we cannot count on the media to portray people fairly like white people. We need to speak out, because right now as Donald Trump gains more white and racist votes and police are shooting black people on purpose, white people are remaining tucked inside their homes with 'The Big Bang Theory’ on, ignoring everything else but themselves.

Submitted by @pawdd 

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The American Dream

I’m a 15 year old female and I’m from Ecuador. My family moved here in 2002 when I was only a few months old because my parents wanted a better life and they believed that moving to the U.S. would make that dream a reality. It was hard for my family to leave all of their friends and other family members behind, we see them sometimes. My parents were very excited to be here and soon found that it was hard for them to find work. Their dream started to wither away. My dad worked two jobs and my mom had to stay home and raise me and my brother. After a year or so, we moved in with friends who ran a daycare and my mom went to work too. They made okay money, but not much. We moved here to Wisconsin a few years ago and we’ve been doing well. My dad found a good paying steady job and so did my mom. Their dream had started to fall into place again. But it’s not the amazing dream they had believed in. People here are mean! They will speak to me and my family slowly and speak very horrible Spanish to us to make us “feel better”. I remember walking down the street and two white teenager guys yelled “go back to Mexico!” and I remember feeling so angry I just looked at them and walked away, and they started to follow me asking me “do you like tacos? Do you even speak English?” and I just kept walking trying to ignore them. Finally they just left but it was the scariest thing I’ve ever witnessed.

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“...I have so much potential to do something great...”

Growing up in a small white conservative town has not been easy for me, especially because I’m not white or conservative. I’m a 16 year old black guy. I’m one of maybe 10 black people in my entire town and the rest are mainly white. It’s hard to feel connected to the community because they look at me different. Some people, like my coaches, are always very accepting and treat me well. Others aren’t as nice and my teachers sometimes treat me as if I’m a child, asking me constantly if I’m understanding the material or if I need help, which is really frustrating. Other people in my town are just straight up mean and will call me racist slurs when I walk passed them, or say that I belong in a gang in the city. But I’ve had family members in gangs who have been killed or have been imprisoned, and I don’t want to turn out like that, I have so much potential to do something great with my life and I don’t want to throw it away.

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Pity Changes Everything

I feel like people, kind of like, pity black people. Cuz they all think we’re all poor and uneducated. So it’s like, whenever I get accepted into programs I always wonder if it’s because of me or is it because of what color I am and so, I don’t know, I would say that they think we’re less fortunate, so it’s like whenever I get accepted into a class that other people didn’t get into and they’re like, well maybe it’s cuz you’re black.

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Top 2

Hi my name’s Carley, I’m 17 and black. Considering everyone judges based of what you look like or who you are, being black is definitely, I don’t know- it shows me sides of people in sides of the world that you would never see if you were white or…you know?

Every time I go into a store the workers there walk to me and are like, “do you need finding anything?” ‘cuz they think I’m gonna steal and also, one time I went to my friend’s house and her mom said the n-word, like with the –er ending not the –a ending, and either way it’s not okay, but like this one really bothered me to the point where literally I was like ‘I’m gonna go home.’ I would say those are probably the top two situations I can think of.

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You Only Got In ‘Cuz You’re Mexican

Being a young latinx in a ‘liberal’ city brings great material for this blog. My name’s Melissa, I’m 17 and Mexican.

I think the one memory that sticks out to me the most about is overall how many people in my city react to poc’s (people of color). Like, they seem to think that no one could be racist for the sole fact that it’s a very open minded area.

Like, I remember talking to a friend once and mentioned that I was involved in the PEOPLE program (a pre-college program), and explained that it would help me get into the local university and if accepted receive a scholarship for tuition, they seemed to be bothered by the fact that they were never offered a place for the program. They asked about why weren’t they asked to join, and before I could answer they said:

“You only got in ‘cuz you’re Mexican.”

I was shocked. To even suggest that the only reason why I was accepted into the program was because of my ethnicity, by someone I thought was smarter than that just really jarred me. Why would the deciding factor between both our opportunities to get into this program be our different races? And then, why would they think it would be okay to even say that?

The more time I spent being in the program and talking to more people about being in there, the more similar the comments became. Especially as I grow older and get closer to apply for the university, more people like to say that I’ll get in only because:

“They need to fill a quota, you know. You’ll only be accepted because they need more Latinos.”

It’s so degrading, to be reduced down to solely my race, and while I take pride in being Mexican, I despise being looked down upon and have my achievements disregarded for the purpose of making others feel better about their lack of them. I end up feeling so frustrated because while I know that it’s not entirely true, it gets so tiring to keep fighting the ideas that they want to put into my mind. I just want to be able to go to school and have pride in what I’ve managed to do, rather than to feel that everything that I’ve done has only been a result of needing to appear more diverse.

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Love Your Neighbor

Being a 17 year old, white, female, I usually don’t have racist remarks thrown at me, I’m not followed around a store, and I’m not discriminated against. I’ve seen a lot of really horrible things on social media and in the news. When I see these things I just cannot believe what I’m seeing, and to think about the families that are impacted by these things is unbearable. People are people and should be treated equally no matter what skin color they have and whenever I see this I always wonder “why can’t we all just get along”, it’s not that hard to simply love you neighbor. The rate at which racial minorities are being incarcerated is outrageous and it’s not like they commit more crimes, it’s that they are targeted and tried more frequently. Growing up was not easy. My mom was a single parent trying to raise two kids. It must be even harder for families of color who are discriminated against every day.

-Sam

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Race

“Race, although something that impacts the decisions and judgements of many around me, was never really something I noticed or payed attention to. I had, and still have, the luxury to drive, take walks, and go virtually anywhere without fear of the way others will treat me based on the color of my skin. I am only 17 and still can’t possibly understand what a great advantage I’ve been given just because of my skin color. Although I cannot connect to the many racial injustices affecting this country, I do fear for my non-white male relatives, friends, coworkers, and neighbors. I don’t know how much race had affected my life, but I am sure that having parents from white middle class families has influenced my life differently than if I would’ve been born a different race.”

-Anonymous

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Hi everyone!

This blog aims to gather voices of youth from different communities all across Wisconsin to share their experiences with race, racism, equity, discrimination, the juvenile justice system, and how it has affected them, their families, and friends. We want stories from all people who have experienced, witnessed or confronted any sort of racism or unfair treatment.