My Responsibility to the World
Race plays vital roles in how we move in society, it shouldn’t but it does. Up until high school, I went to a majority black school similar to Spelman, most of my teachers were black and there was only one white student in my grade. So it never occurred to me that race was still an important issue in society. But I’m high school I dealt with race in a new light, from the constant presence of a Confederate flag in my neighborhood to my white classmates saying I was a good black person and calling me their soul sister. Being black and a member of a multidimensional black family is an important part of my identity and has shaped my values in life. Moving forward I want to focus on leaving a positive impact on the next generation. One of the greatest achievements in my life is being a good big sister. I love my baby brothers with my whole heart, but the older we get the more I fear for them. I feel it is my job to protect them but also teach them the ways of the world.
Unlike me, they are growing up in white spaces so they do not have the same experience of blackness as me. I feel it is my responsibility to do my role in showing them the greatness of being black and of black culture. Our parents teach them of the “proper” ways to move through white society in order to be successful and in some cases stay alive. I want to show them the wonders of being a carefree black boy, show them that you don’t have to compromise who you are to fit in and that black people are majestic which is what still drives us today. I want to show them that even though we are undervalued we still matter and always will. Plus, if we’re still gonna be niggas anyway, we might as well be dope ones.