racism- the white man's problem

Recently I have encountered many issues with the idea of racism. Today is March 6, 2010, it would seem that we could move past our history and embrace the change of the present, but some people want to stay in the past.

My mom told me a story about an encounter she had with a repair man. He came to the house to fix the washing machine and instead I think he found more than he bargained for! He told my mom of an experience that had left him upset. As he was leaving the previous neighborhood he realized that he was being followed out of it. He was only being followed because of the color of his skin-- he wasn't "supposed" to be in that neighborhood. Now, who gets to decide that? This story outrages me. It is not only because this honest man does not deserve to be treated like a criminal, but because he is just one story of so many who are judged by "the color of their skin and not the contents of their character."

My internship allows me to interact with many African American-- black people. It is apparent that we are the same. All made in the image of God with the very core of our being made to love people. What kind of love is it when we judge someone by the way they look and not for by who they really are? What kind of love is it when we do not allow for second, third or even fourth chances?

I have seen some of the effects of my "people's" choices on the black senior adults in the West End community. It was because of the laws of white people that they do not have pensions to pull from, nor were they allowed to work higher paying jobs. They have been making under the poverty line their entire lives. Where is justice in that? In some sense, we put them where they are today. Most of the people I have met cannot choose better because they have not been allowed to.