Race Awareness

Thu, 08/14/2014 - 12:34 -- Skyla

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It is my job to eliminate the stereotypical idea of today’s generation. 

The stereotypical idea of today’s generation is an issue of importance in my eyes. We have made ourselves comfortable with fulfilling the idea of ignorance, laziness, and being “lost”. A lost generation; this applies to our black youth today especially. Many of us have found excuses to validate our struggle and expression of misbehavior. “One in three black males born today can expect to spend time in jail or prison during his lifetime”, this is according to statistics. This is an issue.  Everyone in my opinion has a story. How one tells their story; however, varies from the next. Our black youth today are capable of so much more, but our complex issue is that we cannot address “complex issues”, or can we? We have the ability to pursue our education and life-long goals. We have the strength and the knowledge to escape this issue of today’s black society, and prove ourselves right that we indeed can. We have the ability to help promote fairness and equality in our system, and as a young black American this is exactly what I plan to do. Welcome to the now; we are the generation of today. 

I was asked the question: “What steps can your generation take to promote fairness and equality for all citizens of the United States?”  Equity (eq·ui·ty) has been defined as the quality of being fair and impartial. Fairness, according to Webster’s dictionary, is the quality of making judgments that are free from discrimination. From every color and creed, we have the ability to make change and eliminate inequality and unfairness. It does not matter how young, how big or how small. The first step to promoting fairness and equality in our country is recognition. We must first recognize and be aware of the things that are going on around us. There are too little numbers of people in our youth who are actually interested in what is happening in society today. We have to get involved so that we can take a stand.

As a fellow citizen of Muskegon County, I find myself interested in the equity of my community. One thing that stands out to me is the representation of our county. For example, I feel that Muskegon Country is under-represented in its court system. How can we promote fairness in a place that is supposed to bring justice to society when we are not being fair to ourselves? Amongst its judges, Muskegon County has only one African American who sits in the fourteenth circuit court family division. We have four African American attorneys, but more than half of the defendants in the court system or jail are black. Racism and diversity is not always the case, because everyone seems to use the issue as an excuse; however, fairness is the issue. Where do we stand when it comes to equality in our own society? Before we can address the issues of fairness in our country, we must first start in our local community, and I plan to make a stand. 

It is my duty to eliminate the stereotypical idea of today’s generation. We will promote fairness and equality. We understand what it will take and we have the ability. Today is our turning point. 

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